New Delhi
7 March 2006
In the film 'Rang De Basanti', Alice Patten as Sue inspired the
GenNext to change their destiny. Her father is in India on a similar mission.
As the tagline of the film suggests, Chris Patten wants a generation of young Indians to
awaken to the idea of studying at Oxford.
The chancellor of Oxford University is disappointed there are fewer Indians studying at
Oxford than before. "[Not only is] the number of Indians studying at all universities in the
United Kingdom outstripped by Australian and American universities [but] Indians at
Oxford have been overtaken by the Chinese," Lord Patten observes.
Last year, there were 200 Indians studying at Oxford as compared to 540 Chinese.
Although more Indians today are studying for an MBA degree at Oxford than the Brits
themselves, their number in the more conventional streams of education is diminishing.
"It is disappointing we have not done better," says Lord Patten. He hopes to change all
that by "[raising] the profile of Oxford in India" during his weeklong visit to New Delhi,
Bangalore, Mumbai and Goa. (He will also co-chair the India-UK Round Table in Goa.)
The university has a lot to offer to young Indians, he assures you, before making an
elaborate presentation on how he intends to recruit the best (Indians) in the world.
"[My] long term priorities would be to introduce more Indian studies programmes at
Oxford [like] Indian history and culture, starting an Indian business centre at the Oxford
Business School, devoting more attention to India's external relations in the
international relations course work.
"Institutional collaboration in IT, chemistry and physics besides [the popular courses
like] medicine and attracting more Indian students to the business school [are also
planned]," he says about his three-pronged strategy to make Oxford the preferred
destination of Indians for higher studies and research work.
He would not attribute the drop in the number of Indians studying at Oxford to the
availability of scholarships. "We haven't tried hard," he asserts. "Scholarship is not the
main issue [because] students go regardless of [it.]" It is more expensive to go to the US
Ivy League than Oxford, he whispers.
Ask him why a programme on India's external relations and he says, "India's role [in
world affairs] is crucial. It deserves proper academic attention. No problem can be
resolved without India becoming a part of the solution." The WTO talks were saved from
failing due to India's intervention, he adds for good measure.
On Monday, Lord Patten called on Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh who, like Indira
Gandhi, is an alumnus of Oxford University.
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