Nalanda varsity plan takes shape

With the Nalanda University Bill set to be taken to Parliament by the Ministry of External Affairs,the stage is set for the revival of the ancient university in Bihar. The Nalanda Mentor Group headed by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and with Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo on board,met on Tuesday in New Delhi to draw up a detailed plan for the varsity.

Gopa Sabharwal,Head of Department of Sociology at Delhi Universitys Lady Shri Ram College for Women,will be the inaugural Vice-Chancellor of the varsity while the President of India will be Visitor. The university will initially be posited as a postgraduate institution,with the School of International Relations and Peace Studies; School of Business Management and Development Studies; School of Information Sciences and Technology; School of Historical Studies; School of Buddhist Studies,Philosophy and Comparative Religion; School of Languages and Literature; and School of Ecology and Environmental Studies.

When asked about the omission of the Dalai Lama from the varsity,Sen said,Being religiously active may not be the same as being an appropriate person for religious studies.

The Nalanda University Bill got the Cabinets approval last month. Once Parliament clears it,the Bill will go to the East Asia Summit meet to be held this October in Hanoi. After EASs nod,work will begin on the varsity,Sen said.