Last week, I attended the first Nalanda Literature Festival at Rajgir, which is close to Nalanda, in Bihar. It is a commendable initiative, and Ganga Kumar, its prime mover, deserves our felicitations. The event was well attended, with danseuse Sonal Mansingh, parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor, historian Vikram Sampath, author Abhay K (who has written a well-received book on Nalanda), among many others, participating.

A festival of ideas in Nalanda’s name is a befitting tribute to the world’s first world-class university. Founded in the early 5th century CE during the reign of the Gupta dynasty — traditionally dated to 427 CE — it blossomed into a residential academic campus long before the medieval universities of Europe took shape. When the University of Bologna — often cited as the oldest in Europe — was established in 1088 CE, Nalanda was already over 650 years old. In its prime, it remained the jewel of India’s intellectual life for more than seven centuries.

I first visited the brooding ruins of Nalanda — a World Heritage Site — in August 2012. My wife and I were the guests of chief minister Nitish Kumar, and he sent us on a tour to see Bihar Sharif (next in importance only to Ajmer........

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