The Rhodes Scholarship is one of the world’s most prestigious academic fellowships. In today's Indian context, the award has become a credential circulating within a narrow circuit of elite institutions. Furthermore, the operative definition of leadership within the Rhodes India framework appears unduly narrow. What was envisioned as a scholarship to broaden horizons and democratise access to world-class education has, in India, come to resemble a mechanism for elite reproduction. For the Rhodes Scholarship to realign with its original purpose in the Indian context, it must undertake a fundamental redefinition of merit — one that accounts for context, adversity, and the profoundly unequal landscape of institutional resources.

Source: The Telegraph February 16, 2026 03:05 UTC