Sixth Rhodes Scholarship for India Announced

The Rhodes Trust is delighted to announce the creation of a sixth Rhodes Scholarship for India endowed in perpetuity in partnership with the Radhakrishnan-Rajan family.  The Trust is enormously grateful to Dr Mukund Rajan (India & Worcester 1989) and Mrs Soumya Rajan for their generosity and leadership in establishing this Scholarship, and for the partnership of an American Rhodes Scholar and his wife, and the University of Oxford, in providing additional funding to secure its permanence.

The Rhodes Scholarship, established in 1903, is the world’s oldest and preeminent international post-graduate scholarship, supporting students from around the world to study at the University of Oxford.  The Rhodes Scholarships for India were established in 1947.

The new Indian Rhodes Scholarship was announced by Warden and Trust CEO, Dr Elizabeth Kiss (Virginia & Balliol 1983), at a reception in New Delhi on 26^th September, attended by invited guests including members of the Radhakrishnan-Rajan family along with the United States Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti (New York & Queen’s 1993), his wife Amy Wakeland (Michigan & Wadham 1993), the Rhodes National Secretary for India, Dr Dhvani Mehta (India & Magdalen 2009), and Rhodes Trustee Menaka Guruswamy (India & University 1998).  Rhodes Scholars Elect from India took a break from preparations for their imminent journey to Oxford to take up their own scholarships to be present for the special occasion which included a conversation on leadership and education, and the role of the Rhodes Scholarship today and in the future.

Dr Kiss said “The Rhodes Scholarships have, for more than a century, sought out exceptional young people of character from around the world and brought them to Oxford University to study, encouraging them to build bonds of friendship and to pursue lives of service.  This new Scholarship honours two individuals, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, one of India’s great scholars and statesmen, whose birthday is celebrated each year in India as National Teachers’ Day, and Raghavachari Govindarajan, both of whose lives have been dedicated to public service. I look forward to seeing the purposeful impact of those who take up this opportunity in the years to come, as they join our global network of Scholars who are impatient to change the world for the better.”

The first selection for this new scholarship will take place next year, with the successful candidate arriving in Oxford in autumn 2026.

Scholarship benefactors Dr Mukund Rajan and Soumya Rajan shared their motivation for this gift: “Oxford, where we first met as students, changed our lives, and we hope that this Scholarship will do just that for many more in the years ahead. Our family values underline the importance of education and a spirit of public service, and while we were not born into wealth, we hope that our act of giving will inspire others who have achieved success to also consider ways in which they can support investments in India’s future.”

Dr Mukund Rajan, Chairman of ECube Investment Advisors and a pioneer of ESG initiatives in India, works extensively in the field of sustainability and good governance.  As well as authoring a number of acclaimed books on business and politics, he spends time mentoring young people to become better decision makers.  His wife Soumya Rajan, an alumna of Balliol College Oxford, is founder and CEO of Waterfield Advisors, which provides wealth management services and advises clients on investments, governance and philanthropy.  In 2021 she was included in Forbes India’s Most Powerful Women List.