Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the new campus of Nalanda University. It is established as an ode to the original Nalanda University established in the 5th century CE. Ambassadors of 17 nations were also present during the inauguration.
The Gupta dynasty established the original Nalanda University during their rule. It was the first residential university of the world and a global seat of learning.
During the campus inauguration, Prime Minister quoted “Nalanda means ‘न अलम् ददाति इति ‘नालंदा’ i.e., a place where the flow of education and knowledge is uninterrupted.”
Nalanda University campus
This new campus of Nalanda University spread across 100 acres is located at Rajgir in Bihar. It has global collaborations with,
– Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore)
– Peking University (China)
– Bihar Heritage Development Society (India)
– Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, University of Erfurt (Germany)
– Borlaug Institute of South Asia (India)
– Deakin University (Australia)
– Universitas Sebelas Maret (Indonesia)
– Kanazawa University (Japan)
– Academy of Korean Studies (South Korea)
– CSIR – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (India)
The History of Nalanda University
Nalanda University was established in 5th century CE at the ancient kingdom of Magadh during the reign of the Gupta dynasty. It attracted scholars and students from many nations and the subjects taught ranged from medicine, Ayurved, Buddhism, astronomy, philosophy and many more.
Aryabhatt, the founder of zero, was one of the prominent educators at Nalanda University.
The admission to Nalanda was considered very tough and its library had nine-million manuscripts which were all destroyed by the invaders. Some manuscripts that survived the destruction are now preserved in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Yarlung Museum in Tibet.
In a bid to revive its legacy, former President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam proposed the idea to re-establish the Nalanda University in 2006. Former President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee laid the foundation stone for the new campus of Nalanda University in 2016 and this new campus was inaugurated by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today in 2024.
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