Earlier this year, Confederation of Alumni for National Law Universities (CAN) announced a monthly stipend based project named Project Dhananjay aimed to aid new entrants from economically weaker backgrounds to a career of litigation.
According to the CAN Foundation, Project Dhananjay is essentially about providing an ‘incubatory period’ to budding, meritorious law graduates (from Economically Weaker Families), who have the potential to raise the standards of Bar in multiple ways.
Samikshya Thapa, a 2019 graduate from GNLU became one of the 4 recipients of the prestigious scholarship this year. Samikshya is currently working under the guidance of Advocate Bharat Ahuja in Saket District Court, Delhi. She chose to enter litigation after completing her graduation and exploring career options available to her. In her own words, ‘Litigation is something that requires a lot of commitment and patience, but you can be a part of fundamental changes if you are persistent‘.
While struggling to strike a balance between her zeal to earn the art of litigation and the desire to be financially independent in a city like Delhi, she came across this opportunity by CAN Foundation. According to her, ‘
“Dhananjay scholarship by CAN is a wonderful initiative that allows fresh litigants the leverage to focus on learning the law and not worry much about the finances. It was a great opportunity to allow myself the time and energy to focus wholeheartedly on learning the nitty-gritty of the law.”
While highlighting the importance of her constitutional law and evidence law teacher at GNLU in motivating her to pursue litigation, she mentions ‘discussions with friends about contemporary issues in the GNLU canteen and the classroom discussions on points of law were very helpful in giving us different perspectives on a matter at hand, something that comes handy during practice’.
Lastly as an advice to future applicants for the scholarship and future litigators, she expresses that
“Dhananjay scholarship is an initiative by CAN foundation to support you financially at the start of your litigation career. What they are looking for is dedication and a passion for the profession. Litigation demands a lot of patience and commitment, things that we as millennials may find hard to master. But persistence in litigation almost always pays. So do not lose heart too soon.”
