Revived Nalanda University's First Session Begins Monday

Applications have been received from the U.S., Russia, England, Spain, Germany, Japan, Myanmar, Austria and Sri Lanka, among others, as also from West Asian and Southeast Asian countries.

Those 15 selected students will be housed in Hotel Tathagat, owned by the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC) in Rajgir.

The classes will be held in the nearby convention hall of the state government.

Rajgir attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world every year. It is the second most visited tourist place in the Buddhist circuit in Bihar after Bodh Gaya, considered as the birthplace of Buddhism, where Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment over 2,500 years ago. Rajgir (then Rajagriha) was the first capital of the Magadha kingdom and one of the favourite places of the Buddha.

The university is an initiative of the Indian government and the 18 East Asia Summit (EAS) countries.

During his trip to Brunei in October 2013, then prime minister Manmohan Singh had inked agreements with seven EAS countries - Australia, Cambodia, Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand, Laos and Myanmar - that have pledged their commitment to the project.

China has committed $1 million for the project and a MOU on this was signed during Manmohan Singh's visit to Beijing in November 2013. Singapore has pledged $5-6 million and Australia about $1 million Australian dollars.

In May 2013, the Nalanda board had approved the architectural plan of the university, proposing a massive lake at the centre of the campus. A library, a huge dome-shaped structure, would come up in the middle of the lake and be half submerged.

The cental government has sanctioned 2,700 crore ($445 million) cost for the university, to be spent over 10 years.

Established in the fifth century during the Gupta dynasty, the ancient Nalanda University was once flocked by thousands of scholars and thinkers from across the world. It was destroyed by the invading Turkish army of Bakhtiyar Khilji, a general of Qutbuddin Aibak and the blaze in the huge library is believed to have raged for several days.
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