Nalanda University Revived

Pragna Talks – Nalanda University – revived. Bharat as a Vishwaguru.

A talk was held in the evening of 25th june 2023, at ASCI, khairatabad, Hyderabad.

Prof Sunaina Singh, Vice-president, ICCR. Ex-VC, Nalanda International University, is the keynote speaker of the program.
Sri Sirish Dhopeshwar, President of Pragna Bharati, introduced the keynote speaker Prof Sunaina Singh.

Padmashri T. Hanuman Chowdary, Chairperson of Pragna Bharati, in his opening remarks stated how Bhaktiyar Khilji destroyed Nalanda University, and other centres of knowledge and learning. Millions of books were burnt for over 3 months and reduced to ashes, 90000 bhikshus were also burnt alive. Dr Kalam, ex- president of India, wished that the great ancient center of learning was revived. Unfortunately, under the leadership of Amartya Sen, the leftists have hijacked the revival process. He lauded the efforts of Prof Sunaina Singh, who helped revive the great beacon of knowledge, the Nalanda, which can help Bharat to become Vishwaguru. During her 6-year term, she helped in the physical, intellectual and spiritual revival of nalanda. He said, we need National Universities, in intellect and spirit.

Padmabhushan Shri K. Padmanabhaiah, ex-Home secretary, Govt of India, the other chief guest of the evening, stated that we need to grow to the extent that other countries recognize Bharat as Vishwaguru. He said Sanskrit, traditional arts and culture need to be revived. He said India is also a known and reputed peacekeeping force of the world. The ancient scientific spirit and philosophies need to be followed by present day Bharat.

Prof Sunaina Singh in her keynote address explained the background of her appointment as VC of Nalanda at the invite of Late Smt Sushma Swaraj. ‘Na-alan-da’ means ‘no stopping the gateways of knowledge’. Nations draw from the cultural wealth of the past, to build the future. People of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, China etc, are culturally Hindu, even as they practice different religions. In the ancient Nalanda Maha-vihara, Sciences, Philosophies, Vedas and Upanishads, Buddhist philosophy were taught to students from 98 countries. The 2010- Nalanda Act has a unique goal- to develop regional peace and harmony.

Today, a 64-credits Masters program, 4-year global PhD program with 130 credits are designed and are being run. New research centers are being built. Nalanda developed inter- institutional MoUs with several reputed international learning institutes. It’s a cafeteria model with integrated courses of indian knowledge systems with our cultural values. Students from 38 countries are studying in the university now. A Masters course in Hindu Studies is also running since 2021. Sustainable Management course has an ethical core, along with ecological and environmental preservation knowledge.

A green campus of 300 acres was built, with more than 40 acres of water bodies created in that. Unfortunately, bhaktiyarpur railway station still functions.

She stated that Swami Vivekananda said, every nation has a destiny of its own. India’s destiny is to become the Vishwaguru. India’s philosophy is of a reflective culture.

The talk concluded with enthusiastic question & answer session by the participants.