After Nalanda, another Bihar university now set to rise from the ruins

A decade after Nalanda University came up in the foothills of Rajgir, work is on to revive another ancient centre of learning in Bihar - Vikramshila.

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While the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has, since December last year, been developing the site of the ancient Vikramshila university to attract more tourists, the Bihar government recently identified 202.14 acres at Antichak village in Bhagalpur district for the Central university.

Though the Centre had approved the project in 2015 and sanctioned 500 crore, with the state government unable to identify a suitable land for the project, there had been little progress until now. Speaking in Bhagalpur on February 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “At its peak, Vikramshila University was a centre of knowledge for the world. We have already fused ancient Nalanda university's glory with the new Nalanda University. After Nalanda, it is the turn of Vikramshila as we are opening a Central university.”On a weekend morning, workers at the site of the ruins of the ancient Vikramshila Mahavihar weeded out vegetation and carefully brushed off the soil to expose the underlying features. As part of the conservation and preservation process, the entire site has been divided into grids. Rising above the ruins, glistening in the sun, is a cruciform brick stupa, the centrepiece of the Vikramshila site.