Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new campus of Nalanda University at Rajgir, Bihar. The new university holds a deep connection with history. The original Nalanda University, established around more than 1,600 years ago, is considered as the first residential universities in the world. During the year 1193, an army led by the Turkish leader Bakhtiyar Khilji, the general of muslim invader, Qutubuddin Aibak destroyed this historical university. In year 2016, the ruins of Nalanda were declared a UN Heritage Site.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to arrive in Bihar on June 19, where he will inaugurate the new campus of Nalanda University located in Rajgir. He will also address a gathering on the occasion.
“On June 19, the PM will visit the ruins of Nalanda around 9.45am. At around 10.30am, he will inaugurate the campus of Nalanda University in Rajgir,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced on Monday. This visit marks Narendra Modi’s first trip to Bihar since being historic sworn as the Indian PM for the third consecutive time.
The governor of Bihar, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, and CM Nitish Kumar will also be present at the event. The University is conceived as a joint collaboration between India and East Asia Summit(EAS) countries. The inauguration ceremony will be attended by several eminent people including the Head of Missions of 17 Countries.
On March 28, 2006, the eleventh President of India, proposed the idea of reviving Nalanda University while addressing the Joint Session of the Bihar Vidhan Mandal. In 2007, the Bihar legislative assembly passed a bill for the creation of a new university which aimed at reviving the original Nalanda University. Further, The Nalanda University Bill, 2010 was also passed in the both houses of Indian parliament. The bill received Presidential assent on September 21, 2010, thereby becoming an Act. The university was officially established on November 25, 2010, upon the implementation of the Act.
The Campus is a ‘Net Zero’ Green Campus. It is Self-Sustainable with solar plant, domestic and drinking water treatment plant, water recycling plant for reusing wastewater, 100 acres of water bodies, and many other environment friendly facilities.
The campus features two academic blocks with 40 classrooms, offering a total seating capacity of around 1,900. Additionally, there are two auditoriums, each with a capacity of 300 seats. The student hostel can accommodate approximately 550 students. The campus also boasts various other facilities, including an International Centre, an Amphitheatre with a capacity for up to 2,000 individuals, a faculty club, and a sports complex, among others.
Here is some breathtaking architecture of newly revived Nalanda University:
