Nalanda University set to start next year

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, who heads the group comprising eminent academics and representatives of East Asian countries, said, “The ancient aspect of the university is very strong and its significance lies in the fact that Nalanda University was destroyed in the 12th century, coinciding with times when the Oxford University, one of the oldest universities in the West, was being established.”

The university will be set up with the help of financial and infrastructural contributions from 16 East Asian countries, which have Buddhism as the common thread. Once it is adopted as an international treaty, a legislation will be passed by the Indian Government in Parliament and a necessary legal framework will be created for the institution.

The mentor group — including Lord Meghnad Desai, N K Singh, deputy chairman of Bihar’s Planning Commission, professor Sugata Bose of Harvard University and professor Wang Banwei of Beijing University — later met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, where they explained the progress made with regards to the timeline of the university. The group will also be submitting a report later this year, which will be presented at the East Asian Summit in Bangkok in December, 2008.

Mentor group member N K Singh said, “One of the schools, the school of International Studies, will have its footprint in Delhi,” adding that this will be an additional incentive for the faculty members.