Till Nalanda, all the Gurukula's did not admit student's on the basis of merit, but on the basis of caste and kept out the non twice-born. Nalanda, with its Buddhist influence firmly rejected the caste based admission and admitted anyone with a thirst for knowledge.
Nalanda was a pioneer in another way. It did away with another lind of reservation which is practised in India - jobs in universities for Indian nationals only. One of the reasons why US universities are so good is that they attract and retain talent from all over the world. Wonder why no one bother's about this kind of reervation.
