Manhar Bansal, a final-year student of the five-year BA LLB (Hons.) programme at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, has been selected as one of the six Rhodes Scholars-Elect from India for 2026.
With this, Mr. Bansal becomes the 26th scholar from the NLSIU to receive the prestigious scholarship. He will join a cohort of over 100 scholars from across the world at the University of Oxford in October 2026, where he plans to pursue Master of Studies in Comparative Literature and Critical Translation.
The Rhodes Scholarship, established in 1903, is the world’s oldest and among the most prestigious graduate fellowships. In India, the scholarship has been awarded since 1947 to five outstanding applicants. This year, a sixth scholarship, awarded in partnership with the Radhakrishnan-Rajan Family, was included.
Hailing from Muktsar in Punjab, Mr. Bansal has pursued an interdisciplinary academic track at the NLSIU, with a focus on philosophy and literature. His work examines the possibilities of a human self that is influenced by but not reducible to its socio-historical contexts. His writing has been published in several platforms and recognised by the Society for Humanistic Anthropology and the South Asian Studies Association of Australia, said a release.
At the NLSIU, he served as chief editor of a student journal, headed a student-run academic support programme and co-convened a theory reading group. Outside academics, he has been learning French, writes a public newsletter, and enjoys dancing and swimming. He hopes to build a public-facing academic career centred on humanistic education, added the release.
Published – December 05, 2025 07:32 pm IST
