Nalanda University is one of the oldest universities in India, dated back to 400 AD was founded during the reign of Gupta Emperor. It was ruined by Turkish leader Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193 but in 2006, former President APJ Kalam proposed the idea of reviving the university. So, in 2010, the university came into existence through Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between countries making Nalanda University an International Varsity supported by Australia, China, Laos and Thailand. But lately, MEA announced that no funds have been received from the countries for the last three years.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) led by Subrahmanyam Jaishankar informed the parliamentary committee that the last contribution by the participating countries was in August 2016 and only India has been contributing with the last installment released in July 2019.
“Nalanda University is an excellent institution for intellectual, philosophical and historical studies and the delay in the project completion is highly condemnable,” the committee said.
Before August 2016, Australia and China granted $1 million each, Thailand gave $132,000 while Laos gave $50,000. The construction of the university is said to be finished by 2021-2022.
Nalanda University situated in Bihar has been named as an ‘International Institute of National Importance’ by the Parliament of India. Lord Buddha, Mathematician Aryabhatta, Emperor Harshvardhan and Buddhist master Atisa are said to be a part of the original Nalanda University.