Padma for Singapore ex-minister with Nalanda connect
January 25th, 2012 - 6:54 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS) Former Singapore foreign minister George Yong-Boon Yeo - named for a Padma Bhushan award Wednesday - is helping set up an international university in Bihar’s Nalanda.
The Nalanda Mentor Group, headed by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, held a meeting last year in Patna to discuss the progress of setting up an international university at the ancient seat of learning. The meeting was attended by George Yeo, Lord Meghnad Desai, Sugata Bose of Harvard University and others.
The excavated site of the ancient university at Nalanda is a place of national importance. A fifth century architectural marvel, the university then was home to over 10,000 students and nearly 2,000 teachers.
Named after the Sanskrit term for ‘giver of knowledge’, the ancient varsity, which existed until 1197 AD, attracted students and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey, besides being a seat of higher education in India.
That is not George Yeo’s only India connect.
A blog says that George Yeo “requested that the National Heritage Board restore (a) memorial to Subhas Chandra Bose, who is celebrated in India as a nationalist and independence fighter”.
Singapore’s National Heritage Board has marked the site of the INA Memorial, the foundation stone of which was laid by Bose in July 1945 and subsequently destroyed by Lord Louis Mountbatten who was then the head of the Southeast Asia Command.
Besides George Yeo, another Singaporean finds mention in the prestigious Padma list tnis year.
Gopinath Pillai is slated to get the Padma Shri in the trade and industry category.
- Amartya Sen-headed Nalanda varsity group to meet in Patna - Jul 05, 2011
- Nalanda Mentor Group holds meet in Patna - Jul 06, 2011
- Global competition for Nalanda university design - Jul 07, 2011
- Eight people of Indian origin in Padma list - Jan 25, 2012
- Mario, Dharmendra, Shabana conferred Padma awards - Apr 04, 2012
- World's oldest university poised for revival in India after 800 years - Aug 04, 2010
- Singapore Foreign Minister Yeo calls on S.M. Krishna in New Delhi - Aug 03, 2010
- Singapore Buddhist groups to help finance Nalanda university - Aug 03, 2010
- Singapore honours Nehru as friend, visionary - Nov 20, 2011
- Singapore Foreign Minister attends Nalanda panel meet - Aug 03, 2010
- Mario Miranda, Bhupen Hazarika in Padma honours list (Roundup) - Jan 25, 2012
- Global design competition for Nalanda university - Feb 21, 2011
- Singapore Foreign Minister Yeo meets Chidambaram - Aug 04, 2010
- International funding sought for Nalanda University: Amartya Sen (Lead) - Aug 03, 2010
- Nalanda University bill in parliament next month - Mar 27, 2010
Tags: ancient seat, china tibet, education in india, george yeo, harvard university, higher education in india, independence fighter, japan china, korea japan, lord louis mountbatten, lord meghnad desai, mentor group, national heritage board, nobel laureate amartya, padma bhushan, padma shri, sanskrit term, singapore foreign minister, subhas chandra bose, sugata bose