Nalanda University Bihar India Celebrates 1600 Years of Transformation

Denpasar (Atnews) - Humanist Putu Suasta considers the transformation of Nalanda University as the oldest model of the world in terms of boarding education as a symbol of academic heritage of India and dynamic global cultural exchange.

The new campus of Nalanda University in the state of Bihar was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in Rajgir, Bihar, Wednesday (Jun 19).

The university was built as a result of collaboration between India and the East Asia Summit (EAS) countries. Several prominent figures including the Heads of Missions from 17 countries attended the inauguration ceremony. Prime Minister Modi also planted trees as a symbol of growth and transformation.

At the inauguration of this international university, apart from India, 17 other countries also participated, namely Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Those countries have signed MoU to support the University. A total of 137 scholarships are available for international students. This includes scholarships sponsored or funded by the ASEAN-India Fund, BIMSTEC scholarships and Bhutan Scholarships by MEA. It offers Postgraduate and Doctoral research courses as well as short-term certificate courses. Also present on that occasion were the Governor of Bihar, Shri Rajendra Arlekar, Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar, Union Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri Pabitra Margherita, Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar, Shri Vijay Kumar Sinha and Shri Samrat Choudary, Chancellor of Nalanda University, Prof. Arvind Panagariya, and Vice Chancellor of Nalanda University, Prof. Abhay Kumar Singh along with other dignitaries.

According to Suasta, who is also an alumnus of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and Cornell University, Nalanda University is an example of the modern campuses like the University of Bologna in Italy, the University of Oxford in Great Britain as well as Cornell University in New York, United States of America.

The university has a deep connection with history. The original Nalanda University, founded around 1600 years ago, is considered one of the first residential universities in the world. The Nalanda ruins were declared a UN Heritage Site in 2016.

The campus was founded during the Gupta Dynasty at the end of the 5th and early 6th centuries AD, supported by the Gupta King named Shakraditra. This institution was able to survive for 600 years until the reign of Pala Dynasty and was finally destroyed in 1203 by the Muslim invasion from Turkey. In 1204, the last abbot of Nalanda, Shakyashribhadra, fled to Tibet.

Nalanda University has become the largest center for Buddhist education in India in its time. More than 30,000 monks, including 2,000 teachers, lived there, studied and practiced in the university.

Nalanda is famous throughout the world as a center for high level education having students from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Turkey, Greece and Persia.

Even though Buddhadharma is the main subject, Nalanda also offers the studies of various other subjects, such as: astronomy, medicine (Ayurveda), grammar, metaphysics, logic, philosophy of language, classical Hindu philosophy, and even non-Indian philosophies. Subjects taught here included religion, history, law, linguistics, medicine, public health, architecture, metallurgy, pharmacology, sculpture and astronomy.

Famous scholars who studied at Nalanda include Harshavardhana, Vasubandhu, Dharmapal, Suvishnu, Asanga, Dharmakirti, Shantarakshita, Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Padmasambhava, Xuanzang (the famous founder of Buddhism in Tibet) and Hwui Li. Shilabhadra (Silavadra) was the Chinese teacher or monk Hiuen Tsang during 645 AD. He came from Comilla, Bangladesh.

What is even more interesting is that the relationship of the campus with Indonesia dating back to the Srivijaya era.

Suasta explained that this good relationship was realized by student exchanges between the Srivijaya Kingdom and Nalanda University, which has been a center for Buddhist education since around the 5th century AD.

Then, the Srivijaya Kingdom began sending Prince Dharmakirti to study Buddhism in Nalanda. Having finished, he returned to teach at Srivijaya. Meanwhile, the Pala Kingdom (India) also sent Atisa Dipamkara to study Buddhism in Srivijaya.

After 12 years of living and studying with Dharmakirti in Srivijaya, Atisa returned to the Pala Kingdom. He also became one of the leading Buddhist teachers.

According to the notes by I-Tsing, a Chinese monk, around the 7th century AD there was a Buddhist college in Srivijaya, which had more than 1,000 monks from various regions. The monks studied Buddhism and studied Sanskrit in Srivijaya, before finally studying Buddhism in Nalanda.

It is also revealed in the Nalanda Inscription found in 1921 in Bihar, Nalanda, India. The inscription describes King Devapaladeva from the Palla Kingdom, India. It is said that King Devapaladeva granted the request of Sri Maharaja of Svarnadvipa or Srivijaya to build a Buddhist monastery in Nalanda.

The inscription also states that five villages in Calcutta (currently Kolkata) India were exempt from taxes for the purposes of Buddhist missions in the Srivijaya Kingdom. On that account, the campus can once again strengthen the diplomatic relations of Indonesia with India, which is entering its 75th year.

Moreover, Indonesia will have Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in 2024 who will continue the leadership of President Joko Widodo with India having a Hindu leader as Prime Minister Modi for the third time.

The commitment of India to strengthening its plans for ‘Amrit Kaal’, a period of massive national transformation that will lead to ‘Viksit Bharat’ or advanced India by 2047. Hopefully, this will provide inspirations for Indonesian leaders in realizing a Golden Indonesia 2045.

The cooperation in the education sector between Indonesia and India is expected to be increased to advance human civilization towards peace. Campuses in Bali in particular are expected to be able to collaborate with Nalanda University.

The Nalanda University campus has two Academic Blocks with 40 classrooms with a total seating capacity of around 1,900. It has two auditoriums with a capacity of 300 seats each, a student hostel with a capacity of around 550 students and various other facilities including an International Center, an Amphitheater which can accommodate up to 2,000 people, including the Faculty Club and Sports Complex.

This campus is a ‘Net Zero’ Green Campus. It is Sustainable with a solar power plant, domestic and drinking water treatment plants, a water recycling plant to reuse waste water, 100 hectares of water bodies, and many other eco-friendly facilities.

In advancing Indonesia towards golden generation of Indonesia in 2024, the key is human resource development through education. However, Bali only has upper secondary level education at a boarding house in Buleleng which is a legacy of the Governor of Bali for the 2008-2018 period, Made Mangku Pastika, namely Bali Mandara High and Vocational School.

Meanwhile, there is no Nalanda University model boarding campus yet. This is the dream of the Balinese people in creating human resources that are ready to compete globally. Nalanda University has been proven to produce clergy, great academics and politicians for the glorious kingdoms of its time.

“The 20 percent of State Budget and Regional Budget for education regulated by the constitution can be seriously optimized,” said Suasta, who has traveled around India and even visited large Hindu campuses in the land of Bharatavarsa.

Suasta has learned a lot from India, and has even traveled to the country seven times within more than 30 years. He even lived in holy places for Hindus, namely Punjab, Varanasi, also called Benares, or Benaras, or Kashi or Kasi, known as a holy city of Hinduism on the banks of the Ganges River, located in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India.

Varanasi, for Hindus, is like Mecca for Muslims or the Vatican for Catholics. While in India, Putu Suasta socialized with saints or sadhus.

Suasta also undertook a spiritual journey to India (Bharat) specifically visiting the holy sites of Jyotisar, Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana, North India. It also included visiting Akshardham which is a Hindu temple complex covering approximately 200 hectares on the outskirts of metropolitan Delhi, India and so did the Ganges River in Haridwar, Rishikesh and Mathura.

Likewise, he already visited Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, a Hindu temple complex covering an area of 100 square km built years ago. He also visited the Batu Caves Hindu Temple in Malaysia some time ago. 

In his speech, the Prime Minister quoted via the narendramodi.in website expressed his joy and thanked him for his good fortune in visiting Nalanda within 10 days of taking oath as Prime Minister for a third term and stated that this was a positive indication of development journey of India.

“Nalanda is not just a name, but an identity, an honor. Nalanda is the root, that is the mantra. Nalanda is a proclamation of the truth that knowledge cannot be destroyed even if books burn in fire,” the Prime Minister exclaimed. He underlined that the establishment of the new Nalanda University would usher in golden age of India.

The Prime Minister further added that revival of Nalanda near its ancient ruins will introduce capabilities of India to the world as it will tell the world that countries with strong human values are capable of creating a better world by rejuvenating history.

Shri Modi emphasized that Nalanda carries the heritage of the world, Asia and many countries and its revival is not limited to the revival of the Indian aspect alone. This can be seen from the presence of so many countries at the inauguration today, he added, recognizing the contribution of friendly countries in the Nalanda project. He also praised the people of Bihar for their determination to restore its glory as reflected in Nalanda.

Pointing out that Nalanda was once the center for Indian culture and traditions, the Prime Minister stated that the meaning of Nalanda is the continuous flow of knowledge and education and this has been an approach and thinking of India towards education.

“Education goes beyond borders. It inculcates values and thoughts while shaping them,” said the Prime Minister, while highlighting that students are admitted to the ancient Nalanda University regardless of their identity and nationality. He also emphasized the need to strengthen the same ancient traditions at the newly inaugurated Nalanda University Campus in modern form. 

The Prime Minister declared his happiness that students from more than 20 countries have studied at Nalanda University and added that it is a perfect example of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.’

The Prime Minister highlighted the tradition of India treating education as a tool for human welfare. He touched on the upcoming International Yoga Day and stated that Yoga Day has become an international festival.

Furthermore, he added that despite developing so many types of Yoga, no one in India can claim a monopoly on Yoga. Likewise, India shares Ayurveda with the rest of the world, he stated.

PM Modi also underlined the devotion of India towards sustainability and explained that in India, his government has brought progress and environment together. This allows India to deliver on initiatives such as Mission LiFE and the International Solar Alliance. 

He mentioned that the Nalanda Campus with its pioneering models of Net Zero Energy, Net Zero Emission, Net Zero Water and Net Zero Waste would prioritize the spirit of sustainability.

The Prime Minister emphasized that educational development leads to the deepening of economic and cultural roots. This is proven by global experience and the experience of developed countries. “India, which is working to achieve its goal of becoming a developed country by 2047, is transforming its education system,” the Prime Minister said.

He further added that his mission is for India to become a center for education and knowledge of the world. The mission is for India to once again be recognized as the foremost knowledge hub of the world. He noted initiatives like Atal Tinkering Labs which serves over a crore children, the interest in science generated by Chandrayaan and Gaganyaan, and Startup India which generated 1.30 lakh startups in India since several hundred and 10 years ago. He noted the number of patents and research papers and research funding has reached 1 lakh crore.

The Prime Minister highlighted the efforts of his government to create the most comprehensive and complete skills system and the most advanced research-oriented higher education system in the world. He mentioned the improving performance of Indian universities in global rankings. Highlighting recent achievements in the field of education and skill development within the last ten years, the Prime Minister mentioned the increased in the number of Indian educational institutions from 9th to 46th in the QS Ranking and 13th to 100th in the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking. In the last 10 years in India, the Prime Minister informed that one university has been established every week, a new IIT has been established every day, Atal Tinkering Lab has been opened every third day, and two new colleges have been established every day.

He further added that India currently has 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the number of Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) has increased from 13 to 21 and the number of All India Institutes of Medical Science (AIIMS) has almost tripled to 22. “In 10 years, the number of medical colleges has also almost doubled,” he said. 

Touching on reforms in the education sector, the Prime Minister mentioned the New Education Policy and stated that it has given a new dimension to the dreams of young generation of India. Shri Modi also mentioned the collaboration of Indian and foreign universities as well as the opening of new campuses of international universities such as Deakin and Wollongong.

“With all these efforts, Indian students are getting the best educational institutions in India for higher education. This also saves money for our middle class,” added PM Modi. Mentioning the recent opening of global campuses of leading institutions in India, the Prime Minister expressed similar hopes for Nalanda.

The Prime Minister underlined that the eyes of the world are directed on youth of India. “India is the country of the Buddha, and the world wants to walk shoulder to shoulder with the mother of democracy,” the Prime Minister continued.

“When India says One Earth, One Family and One Future, the world supports it. When India says One Sun, One World, One Power Grid, it is considered the way of the future for the world. When India declared One Earth One Health, the world respected and accepted their views ‘Nalanda Land can give a new dimension to this sense of universal brotherhood and Nalanda students are getting bigger,” PM Modi said.

Calling the students and scholars of Nalanda as the future of India, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of the next 25 years of Amrit Kaal and appealed to them to take the ‘Nalanda Way’ and ‘Nalanda values’ with them. He asked them to Be Curious, Courageous and Above All, Be Kind as per their logo and asked them to work for positive change in society. (GAB/001)