Thai princess meets Amartya Sen

KOLKATA: Nalanda University may receive funds from Thailand. It was reportedly discussed at a meeting between Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and Thai princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn at a city hotel on Tuesday. Later in the day, the princess visited Rabindra Bharati University and expressed a desire for her country to start cultural and academic exchange with the university.
Though both Sen, who is part of the governing body of the university, and the princess were tight-lipped about the meeting, a source close to Sen said: "Princess Sirindhorn had a meeting with Sen in the morning where she was told of the central government's plan to transform Nalanda into a university of international repute where academics from all over the world will come and share their views."
On being asked whether there was a possibility of the varsity getting funds from Thailand, the source said: "The discussion is at a very nascent stage and there are lots of factors to be considered before the Thailand government can think of funding the university.But she was very positive about the discussion and asked Sen to visit Thailand."
The dream project of the central government ran into trouble after the finance ministry raised questions on its management. Earlier, the Centre decided to provide a Rs 2,727-crore financial package to the university over 12 years. The university, the campus of which is still under construction in Rajgir, aims to start its session from this year.
Speaking at a gathering at Jorasanko Rabindra Bharati University later in the day, the princess, who is professor of history at the Royal Military Academy in Bangkok, said: "India is a place of eminent personalities and we will greatly benefit if we go into collaboration with different universities of this country. There have been some discussions and we hope that cultural and academic exchange will benefit both countries."
Speaking to reporters, Rabindra Bharati University vice-chancellor Sabyasachi Basu Roychowdhury said: "She has been very keen to go into academic and cultural collaboration with different universities in India and Rabindra Bharati is one of them. There have been some initial discussions and some universities of Thailand have expressed their willingness to have cultural and academic exchange with us."
On when it was likely to begin, Basu Roychowdhury said: "The discussion is at an initial stage and she has asked us to visit Thailand. After that, a team comprising representatives of different universities of Thailand will also come here. It will take some time."
Princess Sirindhorn later performed Thai traditional music at Uday Shankar Hall in the university.