It is a pleasure to announce that Mr. Aditya Swarup, a final year student of NALSAR University of Law has won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship for the year 2010 to pursue Bachelors of Civil Law (B.C.L) studies at Oxford University. It is an outstanding achievement for the student and evidence of the high standards of education at NALSAR.

The Rhodes Scholarships owe their origin to the remarkable vision expressed in the Will of Cecil J. Rhodes, British colonial pioneer and statesman, and were established in 1902. He dreamed of betterment of the lot of humankind through a diffusion of leaders. Rhodes hoped that his plan of bringing able students from the entire English-speaking world to study at the Oxford University would aid in the promotion of international understanding and peace. He believed that the Oxford University offered an environment highly congenial to personal and intellectual development.

Students eligible to apply to become a Rhodes Scholar are supposed to have high scholastic attainments, have a fondness for sports, or success in sports, strong moral character, devotion to duty, interest in one’s fellow citizens and desire to lead. Being a Rhodes Scholar is quite an accomplishment and comes with extraordinary benefits. Not only is the full tuition fee paid, students also receive a generous stipend to live on, and may receive additional scholarships through Oxford.

This year a total of 120 law students, 18 were shortlisted out of which three were called for the final interview at Mumbai. Out of five students who have been awarded the scholarship after being interviewed by an elite panel chaired by Mr. Ratan Tata and which included Rahul Gandhi, Dr. Vijay Raghavan (Scientist), Dr. Nilofer Bharucha and four previous Rhodes Scholars, two students selected are from Law.

Getting the Rhodes Scholarship, a rare achievement by any standard, is not new to NALSAR. In a decade since its establishment since 1998, the University has produced three Rhodes Scholars with various other students being selected for other prestigious scholarships to pursue studies in the best Universities abroad. This year itself, Ms. Ruchira Goel received the Inlachs scholarship to study at New York University and Mr. Prasan Dhar received the Felix Scholarship to study at Oxford. There are other students who are studying at Berkeley University, George Washington University.

Mr. Aditya Swarup, who would like to later pursue a career in Human Rights litigation and be involved in the social movement states that "Although winning the Rhodes is one of the best experiences of my life, I feel that just the application process makes the whole experience worthwhile. It makes one reflect on his character and past experiences and helps him grow as a person”. “More importantly”, he says, “If it was not for the excellent academic curriculum and exposure given to me at the University, I couldn’t have seen myself getting the scholarship.” He expressed his gratitude to all the faculty members, the Vice- Chancellor, Prof.(Dr.) Veer Singh, the Registrar, Prof.(Dr.) KVS Sarma and Prof.(Dr.) Vijender Kumar who he says have guided him through out.

The entire NALSAR Family is proud of the achievement and hope for a bright future for him. They however state that this re-enforces their commitment to impart quality education and make NALSAR a world class institution.