YOUNG ACHIEVER

The road to Rhodes

In November 2008, the long-drawn process for selecting India’s five Rhodes Scholars culminated in each of the 19 finalists undergoing a gruelling 30-minute interview session with a panel of luminaries, headed by the Chairman of the Rhodes Selection Committee, N.R. Narayana Murthy.

I was both elated and humbled when it was announced that I would be one of India’s representatives among 70-odd students chosen worldwide for 2009-2010. The scholarship is perhaps the most prestigious academic award available to undergraduates, but even more significantly, it represents a grand tradition and a fantastic platform for young people who are committed to excellence in their chosen fields.

I will be graduating this year with a B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) degree from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, which has the distinction of being the definitive trendsetter in legal education in India, as also its most reputed law school.

The five-year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) degree not only entails extremely rigorous and challenging study, but is also astonishingly versatile. Students must complete advanced courses in Economics, History, Sociology and Political Science, apart from a multitude of law subjects. Civil and criminal law are no longer perceived as the paramount “pillars” of legal education, as students increasingly specialise in corporate and commercial law, mediation and negotiation, international law, intellectual property law, environmental law and human rights law.

It has been rightly said that the NLSIU experience equips you, not just to be an accomplished lawyer but also a businessperson, bureaucrat, diplomat, social activist or academician. I have benefited immensely from my time at NLSIU, and have honed my research, communication and writing skills. My intellectual energy was canalised into academic and creative writing. My work as an Editor of NLSIU’s journal, the Student Bar Review, and the Indian Journal of International Economic Law was a fascinating educational exercise.

NLSIU also offers a wide range of co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities, and abundant avenues for personal growth. Apart from gaining valuable exposure at national and international debates and moot court competitions, such as the 2008 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships in the Philippines, and the Willem C. Vis Moot Court in Vienna, I also spent a semester studying at Georgetown University Law Centre, in Washington, D.C., as an exchange student. The Rhodes Scholarship — established through the will of Cecil Rhodes in 1902 — is tenable only at the University of Oxford. I will begin reading for the Bachelor of Civil Law degree at Balliol College in September 2009.

The manifest attractions of studying in one of the world’s premier universities and gaining access to its tremendous resources notwithstanding, Oxford’s unique tutorial system also holds out the promise of independent yet intellectually rigorous study, and a novel opportunity for close contact with peers and professors.

India’s legal fraternity is not bereft of gifted litigators or competent law firms. Yet, it often fails to attract sufficient talent in the areas of academic scholarship and policy research. Feted as technological masterminds, Indians are yet to be recognised as pioneering legal thinkers. A pre-requisite is a thorough grounding in the ‘law of nations’ and sweeping changes in extant pedagogical methodologies. I hope to contribute to this enterprise and work out innovations in the field of public law and policy.

The Oxford Law faculty’s strengths in public law, evidenced by the range and depth of courses on offer and its faculty members, are renowned throughout the world. I look forward to exploring courses such as Comparative Public Law, Jurisprudence and Political Theory, Comparative Human Rights and Law in Society, taught by eminent legal luminaries, amidst a diverse group of motivated students.

I am sure that the exposure and opportunities that are available to Rhodes scholars will stand me in good stead.

Sushila Rao is one of this year’s Rhodes scholars selected from India. Currently studying at the National Law School of India University, she will soon be heading to Balliol College, Oxford.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu