Congress leader Tharoor praises MEA for efforts in restoring Bihar’s Nalanda University

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor praised External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Ministry of External Affairs for the revival of Nalanda University in Bihar, highlighting it as one of the ministry’s significant but often overlooked contributions.

“…I was hugely impressed by the Nalanda University campus while attending the @nalandalitlive. My warm congratulations to @DrSJaishankar and @IndianDiplomacy for this wonderful achievement, which deserves a higher rating among the many unsung contributions of MEA to our nation,” Tharoor said in a post on X.

Tharoor was attending a literature festival at Nalanda University when he made the remarks. “I came to Bihar to witness its culture, not to fulfill any political agenda. I encourage others to explore the Bihar Museum and the Bapu Tower,” he said.

The former Union minister has often praised the Narendra Modi government, occasionally making statements that differ from his party’s official positions.

Tharoor, the MP from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, noted, “India no longer hosts any of the world's leading universities.... While a few universities have now entered the top 200, none figure among the top 10 or even the top 50 worldwide.”

He described the revival of Nalanda University as a symbol of India’s civilizational legacy.

The Nalanda Mahavihara site contains the archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution dating from the third century BCE to the 13th century CE. The ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016.

Tharoor said the ancient university had been a leading global educational institution, “not just because there was no competition, but also because it was an extraordinary institution.”

He expressed “great, great satisfaction” that Nalanda University has been re-established nearly 800 years after its destruction by Bakhtyar Khilji around 1200 AD.