________________ 478 Homage to Vaisali. Kundapura, the birthplace of Lord Mahavira, the twentyfourth and the last Tirthankara of Jainism. Establishment The first practical step to translate the scheme into action was taken by the Government of Bihar in the form of their resolution dated November 25, 1955 followed by the appointment of Dr. Hira Lal Jain, Head of the Department of Sanskrit and Allied Studies, Nagpur University and an emiment scholar of Prakrit and Apabbramsa studies, as the Founder-Director of the Institute. Dr. Jain joined the Institute at Muzaffarpur on December 1, 1955. The effective functioning of the Institute, however, began from July 1956 in a rented house at Muzaffarpur. Matters progressed quickly. Certain formalities with the Bibar University were completed and the Bihar University granted recognition to the Institute as a centre of postgraduate studies and research in the subject of Prakrit and Jainology. A constitution was also promulgated for the administration of the Institute and in accordance with it, several bodies were formed to regulate, control and advise for the proper functioning and development of the Institute. Administration The constitution for the governance of the Institute provides for three chief bodies, viz., the General Council, the Executive Committee, and the Publication Committee. The first two bodies are constituted by the Government of Bihar in the Education Department according to the rules laid down in the constitution for specified periods from time to time. The Publication Committee is constituted by the General Council itself. The Governor of Bihar is the ex-officio Adbishtbata and the Education Minister of Bibar is the ex officio Adhyaksha of the General Council. The Executive Committee and the Publication Committee are headed by the Commissioner of Tirhut Division as ex-officio Chairman. The General Council is the supreme Governing Body of the Institute. It takes policy decisions regarding the development of the Institute and recommends to the Government for the implementation of various programmes and schemes formulated from time to time. The Executive Committee looks into the day-to-day administration of the Institute and exercises control over its routine matters. The Publication Committee deals with matters of detail pertaining to the publication programmes
