President Droupadi Murmu to attend Nalanda university convocation, inaugurate 2,000-seat auditorium

President Droupadi Murmu will attend the second convocation of Nalanda University as the chief guest on March 31, the institute said on Friday. Murmu will also inaugurate the university's 2,000-seat auditorium at its campus in Rajgir. "During her first visit to Nalanda University as President of India, Droupadi Murmu will deliver the convocation address, confer degrees, and personally award gold medals to meritorious students," the varsity said in a statement.

"This marks a historic milestone for the university, as it will be the first convocation at its permanent campus, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2024," it added. Following the university's revival in 2014, the first convocation ceremony was held in 2016 at the site of the permanent campus in Rajgir.

Graduands from postgraduate and doctoral programmes, representing countries like Vietnam, Bhutan, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Myanmar, Serbia, Ghana, Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe, have been invited to receive their degrees in person, officials said. The convocation will witness the awarding of 10 PhD degrees and 36 gold medals.

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A special alumni magazine, 'Manjiri', developed by current students of Nalanda University, will be launched during the event, the statement said. The Centre for Southeast Asian Studies will also be formally launched here at the university, it added. Bihar Governor Syed Ata Hasnain, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are expected to attend the event.

According to the institute's website, the first residential university of the world was founded at Nalanda by Emperor Kumaragupta in 427 CE, and it flourished for over 800 years till the end of the 12th century CE. Nalanda had attracted scholars to its campus from places as distant as China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. To revive it, Parliament passed the Nalanda University Act, 2010, and in September 2014, the first batch of students was enrolled.