The Rhodes Scholarship in India: Fighting the World’s Fights
I have been deeply involved with the Rhodes Scholarships since I was selected as a Rhodes Scholar in 1989, a life-changing event for me. Rhodes Scholars share a unique mission and a powerful set of values, best exemplified in the Rhodes Trust’s slogan: ‘Fighting the world’s fights’.
2022 saw us celebrating 75 years of the Rhodes Scholarship in India. Our community of Rhodes Scholars from India agreed to use this anniversary as a jumping-off point so that we can grow the Scholarships and bring even more talented students from India into the Rhodes family.
The first Rhodes Scholar from India, Asim Datta, took up his studies in Oxford in 1947. Since then, nearly 250 Scholars have come to Oxford from India. Although relatively small in number compared to Rhodes Scholars from some other parts of the world, our community is a powerful one. Rhodes Scholars from India include, to name only a few:
Menaka Guruswamy, a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India who has played a significant role in many landmark cases before the Supreme Court (including the Section 377 case). She has held positions at Yale Law School, New York University School of Law, and University of Toronto Faculty of Law.
Sid Mukherjee, a hematologist and oncologist whose books include The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer which won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction and the Guardian First Book Award. His 2016 work, The Gene: An Intimate History topped the New York Times Best Seller List and was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Prize.
Girish Karnad, the actor, director, Kannada writer and playwright who won numerous awards including, in 1998, the Jnanpith Award. He was conferred the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.
Rhodes Scholars from India have been great role models for the Rhodes Trust’s mission of attracting exceptional young leaders-in-the-making to Oxford University, and then sending them out in the world to make it a better place for future generations.
A Rhodes Scholarship is a route to a fully funded Oxford University education. That is a valuable prize in itself, of course, but the Scholarship is also so much more than that. Becoming a Rhodes Scholar is about joining a family of change-makers, always looking to make a difference.
In keeping with India’s growing stature in the global comity of nations, we need more Rhodes Scholars from India. Currently, 5 Scholars per year are being selected. Rhodes Scholars from India are already working with the Rhodes Trust to increase the number of Scholarships worldwide and bring these opportunities to the next generation of young people. Recently, for example, Rhodes Scholar and trailblazing advocate Menaka Guruswamy was selected as a Trustee of the Rhodes Trust.
Each Rhodes Scholarship is established as an endowment to make it sustainable and support Indian Rhodes Scholars in perpetuity, while continuing to build an impactful community. There are multiple ways in which new Scholarships can be created, ranging from an endowment donation(s) to full bequests with naming rights for benefactors, to coalition funding of Scholarship(s) and through annual support. Benefactors become a valued part of the Rhodes community, with the chance to meet impactful thought leaders and decision-makers across the globe.
Increasing the number of Rhodes Scholars for India is a top priority for the Rhodes Trust, because this would ensure that more outstanding students from India will have the opportunity to gain from the world-class education the University of Oxford offers. In addition, they will benefit from being part of the Rhodes Scholars remarkable global community. The result? A growing number of Indians going on to take their deserved place at the global top table of leaders.
Mukund Rajan graduated from IIT Delhi and went on to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, completing a Masters and Doctorate in International Relations. During a 23-year career with the Tata group, Dr Rajan held a number of senior executive positions, including the first Brand Custodian of the group. He is currently Chairman of ECube Investment Advisors Private Limited, which focuses on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in India. For more information on how you can support the Rhodes Scholarships in India or get involved in expanding the Scholarships, please email Rhodes4India@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk
