‘It is with this object in view’ continues he, ‘that the Government of this State has decided to establish the Magadh Research Institute for study of Pali and Prakrit and research in Buddhist literature and Philosophy. Nalanda is the symbol of the most glorious period of our history, for not only did the quest for knowledge blossom here into its finest shape but also because it bound together, at that time, the various different parts of Asia with links of knowledge’.

India’s first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, perhaps the tallest Bihari of 20th century, visited his home-state in the fourth week of November, 1951 to lay the foundation stone of two institutions being built by the government of Bihar. On November 20, he laid the foundation of the building of Magadh Research Institute that soon came to be known as Nava Nalanda Mahavihara. On November 21, he was in Darbhanga to lay the foundation stones of Sanskrit Research Institute at Darbhanga. There he delivered his speech Sanskrit literature –A Treasure. These twin speeches are available in Speeches of Rajendra Prasad published by Publication Division, Min. of I&B, Govt of India (Pp.263-276).

It is ironic that today Bihar looks towards an Oxbridge-Harvard intellectual brigade to ‘revive’ the glory of Nalanda. The Nalanda mentor group held their parleys in hotels of Singapore, Tokyo and New York. They find it beneath their dignity to interact with Buddhist scholars and accredited institutions. They nominated a V-C who is thoroughbred Delhite and has no intellectual credentials regarding Nalanda. They clandestinely set up their headquarters in New Delhi even against the provisions of the Act.

But there was a time, soon after independence, when Bihar sought to revive its ancient glories on its own. In the 1950s, the government of Bihar set up five such institutions a) Mithila Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Sanskrit Learning at Darbhanga b) Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute for research in ancient, medieval and modern Indian History at Patna c) Bihar Rashtrabhasha Parishad for Research and Advanced Studies at Patna d) Institute of Prakrit, Jainology and Ahimsa at Vaishali and e) Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (formerly Magadh Research Institute for Research and Post-Graduate Studies in Buddhist Learning and Pali) at Nalanda. Until 1972, Nalanda was part of Patna district.

Nava Nalanda Mahavihara can be placed in a different category than the rest. It was the only ‘heritage revival’ project and had an international appeal. But its ‘internationalism’ – like the ‘internationalism’ of ancient Nalanda – was on the terms of Indian ethos. The ideas developed in the ancient Nalanda had influenced large parts of Asia and not vice versa. Nalanda (Na-alam-da) meant unsatiated in the spirit of giving. In ancient Nalanda Mahavihara Sanskrit was the medium of instruction and students of foreign origin had to adopt an Indian name. Hieun Tsang, accordingly, became Mokshagupta. This was quite contrary to the concept of ‘internationalism’ currently championed by Oxbridge-Harvard paratroopers. They want to impose a ‘hip internationalism’ or ‘pop internationalism’ where Indian ethos will have no place. They are unsatiated in the spirit of ‘taking’ beginning with ridiculously high salaries for the V.C and OSD.

Nava Nalanda Mahavihara was founded by Bhikkhu Jagdish Kashyap (born Jagdish Narain) in Bihar in 1908. He was a son of the soil who dedicated his entire life for this dream project. He worked in close association with Rahul Sanskrityayana and Ananda Kausalayan, great Buddhist scholars of 20th century, to translate Pali Tipitaka into Hindi. He fulfilled Dr. Rajendra Prasad’s longstanding dream of re-establishing Nalanda Mahavihara. The Nava Nalanda Mahavihara grew out from the soil of Nalanda. The budding NalandaUniversity is being imposed from the top. Little wonder that the Nalanda Mentor Group did not take any cognizance of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara.

The fate of the other institutions founded by the Bihar government in 1950s remains to be confirmed. But Nava Nalanda Mahavihara has been taken over by the Ministry of Culture, Govt of India in 1994.

Bihar today will have to make a conscious choice. Whether they want to foster Rajen Babu’s model of Nalanda or Amartya Sen’s model of Nalanda?

Speech of Dr. Rajendra Prasad ...

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