Santiniketan to host South Asian University
INDIA: Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's 'abode of peace',
Santiniketan, is set to be the location for the South Asian University,
proposed at the previous (13th) SAARC summit by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh.
A technical committee comprising members from all SAARC countries
okayed the proposal last week. The green light for what has been
projected as a regional centre of higher learning and excellence is
expected when the foreign ministers of all the countries meet, just
prior to the 14th summit that New Delhi will host on April 3 and 4.
Initial proposals for locating the project ranged from Nalanda to
Srinagar, but it was Santiniketan - where Tagore conceived of a 'Viswa
Bharati' - that has finally found favour.
The infrastructure for a centre of learning already exists at
Santiniketan and more land will be available next to the existing campus
for the proposed university.
Regional centres for various subjects could be located at several
sites in other SAARC countries, but the headquarters of the university
will be at Santiniketan.
Hindustan Times |