A law student committed to citizenship rights, a literature major who wants to pursue museum anthropology, a philosophy student who aims to study epistemological injustice, an aspiring astrophysicist from IIT-Bombay, and a veterinarian are among the Indians selected as Rhodes scholars for 2025.
The quintet will head to the University of Oxford in October 2025 to join a cohort of more than a hundred scholars from around the world to undertake fully funded postgraduate studies.
The Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s oldest graduate fellowship, based at the University of Oxford since 1903. The scholarships for India began in 1947 and have been awarded to outstanding applicants each year.
“The Rhodes Trust is delighted to introduce the extraordinary 2025 Class of Rhodes Scholars Elect who represent cultures and perspectives from every corner of the world. For more than a century, the Rhodes Trust has brought exceptional individuals to Oxford and fostered a vibrant global community,” said Rhodes Trust CEO Elizabeth Kiss.
“We eagerly anticipate the invaluable contributions these scholars will make, not just during their studies, but throughout their lives as they join the community of Rhodes Scholar alumni who are creating a more equitable and sustainable future for the world,” added Kiss.
The Indians selected include — Rayan Chakrabarti, who is completing his master’s at the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of Arts and Aesthetics; Vibha Swaminathan, a final-year law student at the National Law School, Bangalore; Avanish Vats, who conducted research on accessibility in education and health care for disabled individuals in Jharkhand; Shubham Narwal, pursuing a bachelor’s in veterinary science and animal husbandry at ICAR, Bareilly; and Pal Aggarwal, a final-year BTech engineering physics student at IIT-Bombay.
“It is heartening to see candidates from diverse disciplines, institutions, and parts of the country apply to the Rhodes Scholarship. We are always impressed by the level of intellect as well as the character and empathy that they all display. As is the case each year, we had a diverse and talented field of applicants,” the Rhodes India secretariat said in a statement.
“We are very grateful to all the selectors who assisted us through a rigorous selection process and very proud of the five Rhodes Scholars-Elect who have emerged from the process. They will benefit from the rich intellectual resources of the University of Oxford, and will join a lifelong community determined to change the world for the better,” it added.
