Indian academics have long dreamt of resurrecting Nalanda University, one of the world's oldest seats of learning which has lain in ruins for 800 years since being razed by foreign invaders.

Now the chance of intellectual life returning to Nalanda has come one step closer after the parliament in New Delhi last month passed a bill approving plans to re-build the campus as a symbol of India's global ambitions.

Historians believe that the university, in the eastern state of Bihar, once catered for 10,000 students and scholars from across Asia, studying subjects ranging from science and philosophy to literature and mathematics....

"In the history of universities and learning, Nalanda's name is sacred and its end was a tragic episode," said Ravikant Singh, a professor of history in a private college in Bihar.

"Everything was burnt down but its illustrious legacy has remained forever."...