For Delhi-based Sushant Singh, crowdfunding is the only way to raise roughly Rs 28 lakh which he needs to pursue a Master’s in Human Rights Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, where he was accepted last year. In 2020, after his scholarship was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he had to defer the course. This is about more than just a degree for Singh. Gaining global exposure and expertise in human rights will boost the 28-year-old’s ongoing efforts to uplift the marginalised community in rural Uttar Pradesh’s Madhogarh (Bulandshahr), from where he hails.   

“I am from a Dalit background and the first in my family and village who has been able to study up to this level together with my sister who just did her MD in Homeopathy. I chose human rights over a corporate job because if I get the opportunity, I will give back what I owe to my society. I have been trying to make a bigger impact at each level, not just for my family but the whole community. It is my duty and if I don’t do it, it feels as if I am betraying my community,” he says. The LLB degree-holder from the National Law University has been assisting Indian students whose English is weak with their curriculum, as well as creating legal awareness among government school kids. He also takes up cases pro-bono for people from underprivileged backgrounds.