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7 Wonders of India: Nalanda Internationa University !!

India's Missile Man APJ Kalam ready to renew Nalanda link

APJ Abdul Kalam, who as President of India had first proposed setting up of the Nalanda International University, today agreed to chief minister Nitish Kumar's request to serve the upcoming centre of excellence as a visiting faculty. Kalam was in the state capital on the invitation of the Assembly secretariat to address members of both Houses of the legislature.

It was during his address to a joint sitting of the legislature in March 2006 that Kalam, then President, had first mooted the idea of Nalanda International University on the lines of the great ancient seat of learning. Kalam on Tuesday played professor to the "class of legislators", imparting them lessons in leadership and tips on how to transform themselves into perfect leaders of the people.

Nitish, who was among the "students", recalled how Kalam was the "first visionary" to envision the Nalanda university, becoming its first visitor. "Kalam's vision has seen the light of day with Parliament enacting the law for the institution,” the chief minister said. "I requested Kalam sahib to continue as its visitor. But he refused."

"It is, however, heartening that Kalam sahib has agreed to my request to teach in the university despite staying away from its governing body," Nitish said. Kalam said he would keep coming to Bihar. "I have agreed to the chief minister's request," he said. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is the chairman of the mentor group-turned-governing council of the university. The incumbent President of India is the visitor to the university as per the Act.

A controversy had broken out over the university some months ago following Kalam's decision to "disassociate" himself from the university, apparently because the governing council had decided to appoint Gopa Sabharwal, an associate professor of sociology at LSR College, Delhi, as the vice-chancellor-designate without consulting him. A section of academics has questioned the decision to appoint Sabharwal, arguing she was not competent enough to helm such an important project. The charge has been rebutted by Sen, who has given his vote of confidence to the sociologist.

JD(U) legislator Irshad Ahmed on Tuesday raised the issue again and asked Kalam if Sabharwal was the right choice for the job. The former President sidestepped the query. "The President of India is the new visitor to the institution and it is for the visitor to decide on issues related to such positions," Kalam said.
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Chinese Ambassador Presents One Million US Dollar Donation to Nalanda University, Bihar

on behalf of the Government of the People's Republic of China, H.E. Zhang Yan, Chinese Ambassador to India, presented a donation of one million US dollars to the proposed Nalanda University at the Indian International Centre. Dr. Gopa Sabharwal, Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University received the donation. Mr. Wang Xuefeng, Minister of the Chinese Embassy in India, Dr. J.N. Mishira, Joint Secretary (Nalanda) and Mr. Gautam Bambawale, Joint Secretary (East Asia), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, and other representatives from the university attended the donation ceremony.

In his remarks, Ambassador Zhang Yan said that H.E. Mr. Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of China, made the announcement of the donation during his visit to India in December, 2010, as a friendly gesture from Chinese people to Indian people. It marked a substantial step by the Chinese side to take an active part in this important and meaningful project. Through friendly discussion, it was agreed that the donation would be used for building a Chinese-style library in the future university. Ambassador Zhang hoped the Nalanda University project would further promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges as well as mutual understanding and friendly relations between the two countries and two peoples.

Dr. Gopa Sabharwal expressed her gratitude to the Chinese Government for this very first official donation the Nalanda University had received. She hoped that both sides could further promote exchanges and cooperation. At this ceremony, the new logo of the university was unveiled which also showed the importance the university attached to this event.

Nalanda University was named Nalanda Temple in ancient times, when some Chinese monks, one of them the famous Xuan Zang (Hsüan Tsang) from the Chinese Tang Dynasty, once studied and teached Buddhism there. It was destroyed at wartime.
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Revival of ancient Asian university hits trouble !

Plans to revive Nalanda university in India, one of the world's oldest seats of learning, as a totem of Asia's renaissance are facing trouble as supporters admit to little progress in fund-raising.

The Indian parliament passed a bill in August 2010 approving plans to rebuild the university, which was founded in the fifth century, close to its ancient ruins in the impoverished eastern state of Bihar.

Backers hope the proposed new campus will one day attract thousands of the finest teachers and students from around the globe, just as the university did centuries ago.

But money has been slow in coming to turn the $1 billion dream into reality, despite the support of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Indian government.

"It took 200 years for the first Nalanda university to be built," Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen, who is piloting the project, lamented at a recent conference in New Delhi.

"I hope it won't take as long for this new campus to be built."

In its first incarnation, when Europe was in the Dark Ages, Nalanda was a renowned Buddhist centre of learning, drawing scholars from as far afield as China and modern-day Turkey.

The university, known as an architectural masterpiece with temples and parks, instructed students in medicine, mathematics, astronomy and politics, but was burnt to the ground by Muslim invaders in the late 12th century.

In reviving Nalanda, "we want to create a world-class institution bringing in the best of talent from all countries", said Sen, head of the project's "mentor" group which also includes Singapore's former foreign minister George Yeo.

Its revival would come as India and China lay claim to being the economic superpowers of the future and for Yeo, the project is "the icon of Asian renaissance".

The planned new Nalanda university has been granted 500 acres (200 hectares) of land close to the huge red-brick ruins which, along with some marble carvings, are all that remain of the original campus.

The Indian government bill pegs the cost of the university at 10 billion rupees ($200 million), but project officials admit that figure is unrealistic.

"The target is to create an endowment of $1 billion," said S.D. Muni, professor at Singapore's Institute of South Asia Studies.

The Indian government has committed $10 million as an endowment fund to get the project going in the form of a special grant.

China last week gave $1 million to build a Chinese studies library, while Singapore says Buddhist organisations have promised up to $5 million for another library. A private donor has also pledged $1 million.

ASEAN, which includes Singapore and mainly Buddhist Thailand, has strongly backed the project as a chance to "strengthen regional educational cooperation" but it says funding must be on a voluntary basis.

Singapore has "been very supportive, China is very interested but Japan is going through a bad time", Sen said. Buddhist groups worldwide are also being targeted for financial support.

"There is a long way to go in firming up the financial base of the university," he conceded, but he rejects suggestions by critics that the project is doomed to remain a pipe-dream.

"I am sure the money will come," said Sen, who has been giving lectures about the university in the United States and in Asia to drum up support.

Another challenge is Nalanda's location in one of the most isolated parts of Bihar.

"There are no hospitals or schools... academics don't like living in the wilderness," Sen said. Creating the infrastructure "is an enormously uphill task".

Still, Nalanda officials insist the university will one day again be alive with busy students attending top-class lectures.
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Influential Chinese monks set to visit Bodh Gaya amid Nalanda University work

A group of 30 monks linked to the Buddhist Association of China is going on a visit to Bodh Gaya and other Indian towns and cities as part of a move to strengthen people-to-people relations between the two countries. The highlight of the visit will be a ritual during which new monks will be ordained at the Chinese Buddhist temple at Bodh Gaya.

The visit is seen as a significant political move because the association is closely linked to the Communist Party of China, and plays an important role in helping the government enhance its relationship with countries with significant Buddhist presence. It played a key role in sending and displaying relics from the body of Lord Buddha, in Myanmar recently.

The group led by association president Chuan Yin is expected to meet Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, experts involved in the establishment of the Nalanda International University and the officials of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in New Delhi. The monks are expected to visit different Buddhist sites in India, and hold discussions with monks of the order besides meeting officials at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, sources said.

The move comes at a time when work on establishing the Nalanda International University is in full steam. China along with Japan and Vietnam is one of the major participating countries while the Peking University is a collaborator. The monks are expected to leave for India on Friday.

The Indian government is expected to take a keen interest in the activities of the association because of its close links with the Chinese government. It plays a key role in persuading rebel monks in Tibet to accept Beijing's views. It is facing an uphill task in weaning rebel monks away from their loyalty towards the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing regards as a politician set to split China to create a free Tibet.
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APJ Kalam wishes to teach at upcoming Nalanda university

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam on Tuesday expressed his desire to teach at the upcoming Nalanda University.

"I disassociated myself from the project as the visitor to the university because I want to teach there after the university becomes functional," Kalam said as he conducted a class at a free residential English school, Shoshit Seva Sangh (SSS), at Khajpura in the state capital. About 250 students belonging to underprivileged sections attended the class.

Kalam earlier visited the dormitory, classrooms and cafeteria of the three-storey school building and expressed happiness to know that most of the schoolchildren were able to speak English. Kalam conducted the class in English.

"I was just like you one day, living in a dormitory and working hard, like you, to acquire knowledge," he said.

The former president also recited a poem to inspire the children: You are born to fly, you are born to fly; You are born with potential, you are born with goodness; You are born with ideas, you are born with dreams; Work hard to live up to those dreams.

Hailing retired IPS officer J K Sinha, who has been running the school for the last six years, Kalam said the idea of SSS was conceived against the backdrop of poverty.

"It is an inspirational effort to prevent the underprivileged children from meeting the same fate as their parents. It will change lives; create new dreams and empower the innocent children to realize their dreams," he said.

During his 45-minute talk to the children at the school's rooftop, the former President profusely used poems to drive home his point. He also made the children recite these poems after him.

"Don't be scared of problems; take them with horns and defeat them. Work hard. Time is important. We have no control over time. So when the time flies, fly with it to acquire knowledge," Kalam told the students.

Kalam concluded his talk by administering an oath to the students: I will win, I will have my goal; I will work hard to achieve the goal; I will work with integrity, I will succeed; I will be a good member of the family, I will be a good member of the society; I will be a good member of the nation and I will be a good member of the world.

The former President donated 100 books to the library of the SSS which was founded in 2005, the year Sinha retired from the IPS.

The school has 247 students in its Class I to X and a faculty of 13 teachers "to help them evolve as educated, responsible citizens of the country".

Later, Kalam had an interactive session with over 10,000 students on the campus of DAV School in BSEB Colony. Questions like how to curb corruption were also raised. The former President inaugurated a club, "What Can I Give", at the school. The club will ensure ideation among its student-members on changing the society and making India a developed nation.
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