12 IDIA Scholars crack CLAT 2023 to gain admission to top NLUs

Twelve law aspirants from underprivileged backgrounds have been admitted to top National Law Universities (NLUs) after cracking this year's edition of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), and will join the 2023 batch of IDIA Scholars.

More students trained and mentored by IDIA Charitable Trust are expected to secure admission to various law schools in subsequent lists. The organisation will support these students through their five years at the top law schools in India.

A press release issued by IDIA on the success of these students stated,

"These young people have worked hard and showed relentless determination in the face of many hurdles in their lives due to the lack of resources and opportunities that many from more privileged backgrounds are able to access more easily. Their journeys to crack one of the most competitive entrance examinations in the country hasn’t been easy and here is a glimpse into some of their lives."

Here are a few of their stories.

Habibul’s journey

Mohammad Habibul Haque lives in Raina village, West Bengal with his family. His father works as a daily wage labourer to support his family. Habibul has been visually impaired since birth and has had very few affordable and accessible resources available to him. He was inspired to study law and fight for the rights of people with disabilities after he attended a session conducted by IDIA volunteers about law as a career. He knows that people with visual impairment can contribute as well as anyone else with the right tools and opportunities. He has been offered a seat in the first list of National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), Kochi.

The struggles and victories of Stanzin

Stanzin Nedon is from the Hanu village in Ladakh, and her parents always dreamed of their daughter getting a good education. They enrolled her in a Delhi school due to the lack of good schools in their region. Then, unfortunately, the pandemic hit and Stanzin struggled to learn through online classes. Nevertheless, she topped her class in the board examinations and scored 99% in legal studies. She learnt about IDIA through her teacher. Despite exhaustion, stress, and anxiety, Stanzin successfully cracked CLAT and has been offered a seat at Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar.

The dreams and aspirations of Satish

Satish’s father is a farmer, and his mother works as an agricultural and domestic worker. He is from Narayanpet, Telangana and helps his parents at the farm in his free time. He received a scholarship for studying free of cost at a residential school and scored a perfect 10.0 GPA in the 10th standard. Satish chose the unconventional field of law when most children around him wanted to become engineers. He wants to introduce other children from his village to law and inspire them to become lawyers. He says that IDIA gave him a new direction in life by providing him with the best possible training through mock tests, training classes, and personal mentorship. He wants to become a judge and make a difference.

Diversity among IDIA Scholars 2023

IDIA Scholars f the 2023 batch have come from different parts of India including Ladakh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Many of these areas have limited resources, opportunities, and connectivity. Five of the twelve students who got seats at NLUs have disabilities and eight are from Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities.

They have also faced many financial difficulties, with their parents supporting them while working as farmers, daily wage labourers, domestic workers, factory workers, welders, running small kirana (general) stores, and selling and repairing weighing machines. Some of them are below the poverty line and many belong to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category.

Hopes and dreams of the IDIA Scholars

These twelve bright young law aspirants aim to make a difference in their communities, families and society. They dream of becoming judges, litigating lawyers, JAG officers, advocates for disability rights, etc. IDIA will support them every step of the way through its scholarship program, which will include mentorship, financial support, training sessions, internship support and a lot more.

In a press release, IDIA expressed its gratitude to student team members across law colleges in India who worked tirelessly to train the IDIA Scholars.

The organisation now needs your help to sponsor the education of these students. They have proved their mettle and a lack of finances should not stand in the way of pursuing their education.

If you want to contribute towards their education, please write to info@idialaw.org.

IDIA is a nationwide movement that selects and trains students from marginalised and underprivileged backgrounds to crack CLAT and other law entrance examinations. Once selected to top law colleges, IDIA gives them a holistic scholarship that includes financial assistance, training sessions, mentorship etc. The aim is to create community leaders and change-makers who are CHAMPS (Creative, Holistic, Altruistic, Maverick/Moral, Problem Solvers). It is hoped that this will help empower communities by creating capacity from within.

Read more about IDIA here: https://www.idialaw.org/