• Source:JND

Nalanda Literature Festival: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday praised the Centre for building world-class infrastructure of Bihar's Nalanda University. He also congratulated the government for successfully organising the Nalanda Literature Festival (NLF) at Rajgir, taking place from December 21 to 25.

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Replying to a tweet posted by ex-Niti Aayog CEO, Amitabh Kant, Tharoor congratulated the team of Indian Diplomacy and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Coincidentally, his admiration comes at a time when Tharoor is under fire by his party colleagues for his soft approach towards the Modi government.

"Couldn’t agree more @amitabhk87 ! I was hugely impressed by the Nalanda University campus while attending the @nalandalitlive. My warm congratulations to @DrSJaishankar and @IndianDiplomacy for this wonderful achievement, which deserves a higher rating among the many unsung contributions of MEA to our nation," the Thiruvananthapuram MP Said.

"Thanks to the Nalanda Literature Festival, i got the opportunity to make a visit to the Nalanda University. The architecture, the campus, the net zero initiative, the serenity, the knowledge – everything about it is awe-inspiring! In my view, it has one of the finest campuses in the world. #NalandaUniversity #India #Heritage," Kant's X post read.

India Has Long Way To Go To Become Global Learning Centre: Tharoor

Meanwhile, Tharoor on Monday flagged India's slipping global standing in university rankings and cautioned that "unrealistic global aspirations" cannot substitute for basic investments in schools and higher learning institutions.

Congress leader, also a renowned author, was speaking during an interactive session on literature with Prof Sachin Chaturvedi at the ongoing Nalanda Literature Festival.

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"India no longer hosts any of the world's leading universities... While a few universities have now entered the top 200, none figure among the top 10 or even the top 50 worldwide," the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

He welcomed the revival of Nalanda University as a symbol of India's civilisational legacy.

Nalanda University's Historical Significance

Nalanda University is one of the oldest and first residential varsity of the country, which was ruined by the foreign attacker, Bakhtyar Khilji in around 1200 AD. The Nalanda Mahavihara site comprises the archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution dating from the third century BCE to the 13th century CE. The Nalanda University was revived in 2010. The ruins of the centre of learning is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a coveted tag it earned in 2016.

(With PTI inputs)


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