India, Dec. 27 -- 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 ...