It was a fortuitous coincidence that just around the time that the Nalanda University was re-inaugurated, symbolising the achievement of a historic milestone in India's quest for re-emerging as a significant knowledge society, Prof Amartya Sen was present in India. The professed aim of his trip was to rejoice on the reduced seats for the BJP and the postponement as he termed it - of the 'Hindu Rashtra' project. One need not take cognisance of such puerile statements emanating from an increasingly senile mind. What is of significance is that Prof Sen was present in India when, within days of taking office for a historic third time as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi inaugurated the new campus of Nalanda University in the presence of an eminent array of academic leaders and diplomats. Heads of Mission from 17 countries were present, expressing a keen and anticipated interest in the taking off and success of the project.
The new campus of Nalanda University symbolises, in a very concrete manner, and rekindles, India's civilisational aspirations for being recognised once more as a knowledge society, an incubation-centre of ideas, knowledge, research, innovation and invention. The successful rebuilding and launching of the new Nalanda University campus, was a stark contrast to the nepotism, waste of public funds, prevarication, inaction, stunted vision and lack of direction and intent that characterised the period when Prof Amartya Sen and his cabal of academics and ideologue-scholars dominated the project and drove it astray by nearly grounding it in the quick-sands of intellectual cronyism and unaccountable arrogance. It showed a mirror to the likes of Prof Sen, who had predicted that the project would sink without their tutelage and mentorship under the Modi dispensation. Not only did the project not sink, it acquired its actual status, developed its real scope and took off in a way, which neither Sen nor his doting pupils would have imagined or anticipated.
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