Nitish pleads for revival of all ancient varsities

Rajgir (Nalanda): Chief minister Nitish Kumar has pleaded for revival of all ancient universities of the country, including the ones at Vikramshila and Telhara in Bihar.
"We need to begin with all seriousness the process for revival of the universities at Vikramshila and Telhara, where antiques dating earlier than Nalanda have been excavated. The world should know the light of knowledge spread from India in ancient times," the CM said on Saturday while addressing the maiden convocation of Nalanda University (NU), established as a bid to revive the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara.
The CM also announced the state government's decision to grant 70 acres of land to NU near its permanent campus as endowment. "We want the university to be fully self sufficient," he said.
Expressing happiness over Nalanda Mahavihara's inclusion in Unesco's World Heritage sites, Kumar asked if a site that is centuries old should not be a world heritage, what should be?
The CM also hoped the NU's construction work would be completed soon. "The ministry of external affairs officials have said it will be completed in three years. The sooner it is, the better," he said and added the road construction work had begun.
He recalled former President A P J Abdul Kalam's address to the Bihar legislature in March 2006 when the idea to revive the Nalanda Mahavihara was mooted. "The state passed a Bill, which was later withdrawn when the Centre passed Nalanda University Act, 2010. We transferred the land we had acquired for the purpose to the central government," he said.
Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind, who also addressed the gathering of 500 and odd guests, said academic pursuits are the mainstay of any knowledge-based society. "Nalanda graduates are bound on a path that will not only take their career to zenith but will also put the state on the global knowledge map," he said.
Maintaining that rebuilding the magic of ancient Nalanda is a challenging and tantalizing exercise never attempted before, Kovind said it could be made possible because of the commitment of its scholars and the patronage of the state.