As many as 5 Rhodes scholars were selected by The Rhodes Selection Committee, India under the chairmanship of N R Narayan Murthy in a low-key event in Delhi. 3 girls and 2 boys were selected from Kirorimal College, Delhi University; St. John?s Medical College,Bangalore; Governement Law College, Mumbai; St. Stephens College, Delhi University and NLSIU, Bangalore.
The final round entailed an interview for nineteen shortlisted candidates of about 30 minutes each with eight key panelists including Narayan Murthy and others including previous Rhodes scholars.
The 5 winners all under the age of 25 heaved a sign of relief on hearing the results and said what saw them through the interview with the eminent panelists was, ?strong faith in themselves and confidence regarding their subject matter?.
Murthy is serving his final year of the four-year term as Chairman of the Rhodes Selection Committee. The Trust has begun its search for the next Chairman. ?As per Committee rules an ex-Rhodes Scholar is not allowed to be Chairman of Rhodes Selection Committee?, says V S Chauhan, Indian secretary, The Rhodes Trust and himself a former
Rhodes Scholar. Previously Manmohan Singh before he became Prime Minister of India was also chairman of the committee. The Rhodes scholarship is a 100-year-old institution which every year selects 60 international students including 5 from India to pursue post graduate studies at the University of Oxford.
?The Rhodes scholarship has no parallel elsewhere in the world and the only scholarship which comes a distant second is the Gates Scholarship ?, says Colin Lucas Warden of Rhodes House and secretary to the Trust.