1. To begin with, kindly tell us a bit about yourself
I hail from Kanpur and pursued my undergraduate degree in law from Jindal Global Law School on multiple scholarships. In my fourth year of law school, I received placement offers from multiple tier one firms but then I got a full scholarship to go and read for the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) at Oxford. A large part of my motivation to come back to India was to contribute to my community and practice at the intersection of law and marginalisation equipped with academic insights.
2. When did you decide to pursue law and what were your motivations? Did you always wanted to pursue higher education abroad?
Law was both an accidental as well as a rebellious decision in the family. I had no lawyers in the family or relatives. I was not doing well in school having taken up the Science stream and my interests started leaning towards Humanities and away from the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) crowd. After taking a crash course for my Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) preparations, I felt confident that this is something I would enjoy. In law school, I enjoyed my classes, and my professors became my first friends who I am still close to today. Most of them were young, having pursued Master of Laws (LLM) abroad, and they inspired me to give it a shot.
3. What did your law school journey look like? Looking back, would you have done things any differently?
Law school can be an alienating space depending on where you come from. Multiple scholarships enabled me to afford law school but I still found it difficult to fit in. It took me some time to find supporting people who could relate to my struggles. The silver lining was that I had supporting professors and plenty of opportunities that allowed me to explore my interests, work on impactful projects or at times just have fun. I really enjoyed participating in the Jessup and Vis moots, doing debating for the first few years and then moving on to more academic work.
At the Citizenship and Statelessness Clinic, I was able to put my international law knowledge to use. Working there taught me how well-designed research can inform legal practice such as the challenge to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) foreigner tribunals and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Looking back, I feel very lucky as many of the ideas I learnt there shapes my current litigation practice on issues of citizenship and statelessness.
As a Teaching Assistant in my final year, I taught Jurisprudence and Critical Legal Studies at the Jindal Global Law School and a module on caste and intersectionality at Disha Wadekar’s elective at the National Law University Delhi. Both of these experiences were intellectually rewarding and I enjoyed engaging with students in class.
4. To an average law student just starting to take an interest in the field of equality law, what suggestions do you have? What is something that such a student should know beforehand?
Equality and discrimination law in India is a rapidly growing field and will keep growing as we increasingly see social movements and civil society groups choosing to pursue strategic litigation.
One of my primary reasons to pursue the BCL was the comparative equality law course taught by Prof. Sandra Fredman. Besides the course, the Bonavero Institute does ample research on equality jurisprudence from India. The classroom discussions with peers exposed me to various judicial innovations in Canada, United Kingdom (UK), United States (US) and South Africa. These insights inform my approach to equality law litigation in India. Law students in India should study deeply the founding principles of equality and affirmative action by looking at the Constituent Assembly Debates, speeches and writings of Dr Ambedkar.
5. In your estimation, which particular factor helped you crack the scholarship? What would your advice be to any student applying for either a Rhodes or a Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarship?
There are multiple factors that go in landing a scholarship. Luck is indeed one of them in a very competitive pool of applicants. What can be controlled is how you tailor your application for each scholarship you apply for. Therefore, the approach for Rhodes is going to be different compared to the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust or the Chevening Scholarship. Candidates should understand the values and qualities that each scholarship is looking for. Try to demonstrate with experience and not merely describe those qualities in their applications. I strongly encourage students to avail free resources and detailed webinars for each scholarship at Project EduAccess.
6. Of the whole process of applying for a master’s degree in the UK, what do you think are the most overlooked aspects?
It is important to start preparing early. You will need to give ample time in picking referees and allowing them enough time to write your letters of recommendation. A lot of time also goes into self-reflection and articulating your statement concisely within word limits. After that you will also need to reach out to multiple people and find those who can offer you feedback. Multiple revisions will be needed for your curriculum vitae (CV), statements, and writing samples.
7. Looking forward, what are your career plans after your BCL?
I am now joining litigation to “unlearn” law school and learn court craft. I wish to develop my legal insights from a practice-based approach. I still keep writing occasionally whenever I get the time to stay connected to the academy. In the long run I wish to combine my experience in academia and clinical work to bridge the gaps between theory, lived experiences and legal interventions for marginalised communities in India, particularly Muslims and Dalits.
8. Finally, what would be your words of advice to your juniors?
Don not let LinkedIn and social media lives of lawyers or law students intimidate you. Everyone has their own circumstances and grows at their own pace. What is most important is to cultivate a genuine passion and keep pursuing it in whatever opportunities you get.
1. Weidenfeld-Hoffmann scholar at the University of Oxford and Advocate Supreme Court of India.
2. Student Ambassador (Retd.), Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.
