Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the newly built & renovated Nalanda University in Rajgir, Bihar. Before visiting the newly built university building, PM Modi visited the ancient Nalanda University Ruins that Invader Bakhtiyar Khilji reportedly demolished in 1193 CE. Bakhtiyar Khilji was a Turko-Afghan military general. The campus blaze reportedly raged for three months, reducing to ashes what was arguably the richest repository of Buddhist wisdom. The few manuscripts, which survived the destruction, are now safeguarded in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Yarlung Museum in Tibet.
Before inaugurating the new Nalanda University Building, PM Modi took to his X handle and wrote, "It’s a very special day for our education sector. At around 10:30 AM today, the new campus of Nalanda University would be inaugurated at Rajgir. Nalanda has a strong connect with our glorious part. This university will surely go a long way in catering to the educational needs of the youth." Now, many are wondering whether the Government of India has actually renovated the Nalanda University Ruins or has made an entirely new building.
The answer is it is a new building. The new Nalanda University is located in the Rajgir town of Bihar. It is located over 100 km from Bihar's capital Patna. The campus is merely 12 km from the ruins of Nalanda. The newly built Nalanda University was inaugurated in the presence of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and ambassadors from 17 partner countries, including representatives from ASEAN nations. Now, another question arises what will happen to Nalanda University Ruins?
The answer is nothing will happen to Nalanda University Ruins. UNESCO designated the ruins of the ancient Nalanda University, which date back to the third century BC, as a World Heritage Site on January 9, 2009. It means the Nalanda University ruins continue to be a tourist hotspot in Rajgir, Bihar.
What's new in the newly inaugurated Nalanda University?
As per the official release, the newly inaugurated Nalanda University Campus has two Academic Blocks with 40 Classrooms having a total seating capacity of around 1900. It has two auditoriums having a capacity of 300 seats each. It has a student hostel with a capacity of around 550 students. It also has various other facilities including International Centre, Amphitheatre that can accommodate up to 2000 individuals, Faculty Club, and a Sports Complex among others.
The Campus is a ‘Net Zero’ Green Campus. It is Self-Sustainable with solar plant, domestic and drinking water treatment plants, water recycling plants for reusing wastewater, 100 acres of water bodies, and many other environment-friendly facilities.
The University has a deep connection with history. The original Nalanda University, established around 1600 years ago, is considered to be amongst the first residential universities in the world. In 2016, the ruins of Nalanda were declared as a UN Heritage Site.