Two Pakistani students get admission at Nalanda University

Rajgir: Ignoring political tension between Pakistan and India, two students from Pakistan have been granted admission at the Nalanda University in Bihar, an official said on Friday.

Nalanda's officer in charge of admissions Saurabh Chaudhary said: "The university has offered admission to 83 students, including two from Pakistan this year." 

He said of the 83 students from 13 countries, 80 have already taken admission, and the other three -- two from Pakistan and one from Mayanmar -- were awaited.

Chaudhary said: "We have offered admission to two students from Pakistan, both have also informed us about their willingness to join the university but they are yet to report to us."

Eighty students from Bhutan, Vietnam, Brazil, Laos, Peru, China, South Korea, South Africa, Nigeria, Mayanmar and Japan have got admission in Nalanda in 2016.

Chaudhary said the students from Pakistan "informed us about the delay in visa clearance that has prevented them from reporting here."

Nalanda University's Director (Communications) Smita Polite said the two students from Pakistan will study in the School of Environment and Ecology.

The university had received over 6,000 applications from students of 50 countries from across the world, she said.

Last week President Pranab Mukherjee attended the first convocation ceremony of the university in Rajgir, in which he awarded degrees and medals to students. 

Nalanda along with Takshashila, Vikramashila and Valabhi were ancient seats of learning that attracted scholars from all over the world and stood at the crossroads of many civilizations.

The new university complex of Nalanda is coming up in Rajgir, about 12 km from where the ancient university stood till the 12th century, when it was razed by an invading Turkic army.

The university admitted this new batch of students in August and also started new departments -- the School of Buddhist Studies, Philosophy and Comparative Religions.

It had started its first academic session in September 2014 in a makeshift campus.

The building of the fully-residential university is set to be completed by 2020. It would eventually have seven schools for post-graduate and doctoral students, offering courses in science, philosophy and spirituality and social sciences.

The university is an initiative of the Indian government and 18 East Asian countries.