Indian mining magnate anil agarwal is having a tough time giving away a billion dollars. He pledged $1 billion to start a university along the shores of the Bay of Bengal in eastern India. The grand plan for a 6,000-acre campus looks to Stanford University for inspiration. Academics would be poached from every corner of the globe. Research centers in bio- and nanotechnology, crop genetics and alternative energy would save the planet. His ultimate dream: When every building is completed and every classroom filled, 100,000 students will be enrolled, making it one of the largest universities in the world on a single campus. A more realistic goal is 10,000 students in the first eight years and double that in the next four. Ground-breaking is expected this month.rnIndia needs more universities, and more first-class ones, but Agarwals plan is under attack on all sides. Eighteen villages are in the way, and seven will be displaced completely. In November arnmob armed with sticks broke up a prayer service to start construction on a highway to the campus, attacked the attendees and damaged some of the construction equipment. The protests have set the project back by two and a half years.
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