Like every year, it was women who bagged the maximum number of gold medals at the 25th annual convocation of the premier National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, here on Sunday.
Out of 21 gold medallists, 14 were women. Vice-Chancellor R. Venkata Rao too said it was “girl power” at the law school and added that the faculty was extremely supportive towards this cause.
Shruthi Ashok, 23, from Bengaluru clinched the maximum number of 16 gold medals. She has refused a well-paying corporate job in order to pursue her Masters at the University of Cambridge. After that, Ms. Ashok plans to practice litigation law.
She says that the idea of putting forth arguments in court and having her own set of clients excites her. “Studying consistently helped me. So there was no pressure during exams,” she said. She also said that she was constantly in touch with her seniors who gave her valuable insights into law.
Aradhya Sethia, 22, who bagged two gold medals, including a medal for the best outgoing student, said that he would go to Yale Law School to study public law and law and technology.
Hailing from Jaora in Madhya Pradesh, he said he was inclined towards this subject as it had an impact on society. “It gives you a sense of power. Moreover, I enjoyed law as it has both theory as well as technical aspects,” he said.
A total of 581 students were awarded degrees in B.A. LLB, LLM, Masters of Public Policy and Ph.D programmes.
Rhodes scholarship for Mumbai lad
Keeping alive the legacy of NLSIU students bagging the prestigious Rhodes scholarship, Vanshaj Ravi Jain, 23, made his law school proud by bagging it this year.
The Mumbai lad said he would be pursuing Bachelors of Civil Law in Oxford University and specialise in international law. He said that he has been focusing on bagging the scholarship since his third year. “There are four areas we need to excel in to get this scholarship. This includes academic achievements, leadership abilities, contribution to society and extra curricular activities. So I had to ensure that I had a combination of all these,” he said.
Mr. Jain said that besides having good grades in college, he also actively took part in debates and had a good sports record. He also took part in several outreach programmes of the legal services clinic by participating in street plays on legal literacy. He says that he hopes to work in tribunal court like the international criminal court. Speaking about his biggest learning from law school, he says: “It teaches you to be critical with every piece of information you encounter.”
A well-deserved honour
While 581 students were awarded degrees at the NLSIU, one student got a standing ovation and the applause did not seem to stop.
Tarang Jain, 27, an orthopedically impaired student from New Delhi, who received her LLM degree, got a special mention by Vice-Chancellor R. Venkata Rao. Ms. Jain, who completed her B. Com as well as LLB from Delhi University, has specialised in business law. She said she wants to be involved in framing laws. “There are some laws I want to change. I want to do something for people with disabilities. Sometimes, their voices go unheard,” she said.
She used a walker to attend classes and said that she received immense support from the faculty as well as her peers. Overjoyed by her achievement, her father J.P. Jain said, “She is her own inspiration.”
