Five Indian students selected for prestigious Rhodes scholarship 2025

Five Rhodes Scholars-Elect for India 2025 have been selected after a competitive application process and two rounds of preliminary interviews, Rhodes Trust announced on Nov 14. The shortlisted finalists were recently interviewed and five were chosen to receive the prestigious scholarship.

The five winners of this prestigious scholarship include Rayan Chakrabarti, Vibha Swaminathan, Avanish Vats, Shubham Narwal, and Pal Aggarwal.

The students come from Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand states.

They will be heading to the University of Oxford in October 2025 to join a cohort of over a hundred scholars from around the world to undertake fully funded postgraduate studies.

World’s preeminent and oldest graduate fellowship

The Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s preeminent and oldest graduate fellowship, based at the University of Oxford since 1903. The scholarships for India began in 1947 and have been awarded to five applicants each year. Students from anywhere in the world can apply for a Rhodes Scholarship.

"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 in a statement.

"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 Rhodes selection process aims to choose young people with proven academic excellence who also show exceptional character, leadership, energy to use their talents to the full, and a commitment to solving humanity’s challenges. With a selection committee composed of experts and leaders in diverse fields. the selection process includes a rigorous review process before the final interview.

Rhodes India secretariat in a statement congratulated the selected students.

"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," reads the 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.

Applications for the 2026 Rhodes Scholarships will open in June 2025. Detailed information about the scholarship application be found at the official website — rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/apply.

About the students

Chakrabarti is interested in building and working on an archive and museum of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact in South Asia at Oxford.

He is completing his Master’s at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He holds an undergraduate degree in literature from St Stephen’s College. His work lies at the intersection of memory studies, critical heritage, and anthropology.

He is a trained pianist, and loves writing and translating poetry that centers around politics and nationhood.

Swaminathan is a final-year law student, pursuing LLB (Hons) at the National Law School, Bangalore. She also holds a BA (Hons) in Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. She is interested in studying the political and legal fragilities of citizenship regimes, and hopes to combine this academic engagement with a human rights litigation practice before trial courts in India, she was quoted as saying.

Avanish who hails from Ranchi has completed his bachelor's in Philosophy from St Stephen’s College, Delhi. He conducted research on accessibility in education and healthcare for disabled individuals in Jharkhand, under the State Disability Commissioner’s office in Ranchi. He is also the third scholar with a visual impairment to have been elected from India.

He is a Tabla player and has written and directed short films. His academic interests include epistemology and making philosophy accessible to disabled people.

Narwal is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry at ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly. Growing up in the National Dairy Research Institute sparked an interest in studying Veterinary Science, he was quoted as saying.

He will now pursue a Master's in Clinical Embryology and explore new conservation strategies for the critically endangered bird, the Great Indian Bustard. Shubham is the first Indian scholar-elect in veterinary medicine.

Besides his passion for volunteering in nature conservation organizations, he likes Harry Potter and is a basketball enthusiast.

Narwal is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry at ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly. Growing up in the National Dairy Research Institute sparked an interest in studying Veterinary Science.

He will now pursue an MSc in Clinical Embryology and explore new conservation strategies for the critically endangered bird, the Great Indian Bustard. Shubham is the first Indian scholar-elect in veterinary medicine.

Besides his passion for volunteering in nature conservation organizations, he likes Harry Potter and is a basketball enthusiast, he was quoted as saying.

Aggarwal is a final year BTech Engineering Physics student at IIT Bombay. Her academic journey has been driven by a deep-seated interest in astrophysics, mathematics, and data science, having worked with researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics.

She was quoted as saying that she wants to study high-energy astrophysics at Oxford in pursuance of her dream to become an astronaut and advocate for women in science. She is also a trained Bharatnatyam and contemporary dancer.