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Hello I am Pavan Nair from Pune, India. I retired from the army in 1997 after serving for 30 years. I have been working with an NGO, Jagruti Seva Sanstha for over 20 years. I am supporting this campaign for Sanobar Fatma. I look at it as an investment, like planting a sapling that will provide shelter and help to the next generation. I know Sanobar from her work in the Indian Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) and her support for the downtrodden. She has a brilliant academic record. Do join me in creating an asset for our country.
Read her story in her own words.
“Hello, I am Sanobar Fatma and I currently work as the head of research and policy at ICLU.
I have been selected to do an MPhil from the University of Cambridge for what would be the first study to understand the evidence-based discrimination of the minorities in South Asia.
I completed my masters from Jawaharlal Nehru University and was ranked among the university’s top one per cent. At St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, I read for BA History Hons. and was awarded the St. Stephen’s College Prize for Academic Proficiency.
Before moving to Delhi I finished school at La Martinere Girls’ College, Lucknow where I was the ISC board topper with all India highest marks in three subjects.
I started a share a meal campaign called Iftar4All from a railway slum in Lucknow. Today, it has now spread the message of peace and charity across three continents and in more than a dozen cities in India.
After college I worked for a couple of years as an assistant professor in a small town in Uttar Pradesh and taught, mentored students from the rural areas making sure that have access to resources required for higher education including making them aware of various government available to them to improve their lives. I briefly worked for Youth Leader based in Berlin, Germany for their award-winning educational media with a focus on changemakers across the globe. At the same time, I also started a community-based organization to increase the primary school enrollment of children and tried to bridge the gap between them and their access to healthcare services.
A year later, I started working with the Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India, Mr Sanjay Hegde as a Research Associate and in the process learnt from him about issues related to citizenship, migration, and rights. It was while working in the legal sphere that understood the historical background of the most important social, political, and economic issues. This is also the time that I realized the need for further understanding of law and democracy.
I have over the last two years published about issues of law and policy for YouthKiAwaaz, the Wire, Livelaw, the Citizen, NewsD, National Herald, and the Firstpost among others.
In mid-2020, I joined ICLU where I have helped organize workshops for women in rural India and those living in the tribal belts, to educate the people of India about their constitutional rights, legal remedies, and providing representation to the poorest. I have also started a program to make the law accessible and simpler for all citizens.
This academic year, I applied to six universities (five gave me an application fee waiver) and have got an offer for admission in all including the London School of Economics (ranked 2 for social sciences QS ranking) and Institute of Development Studies (rank 1 in the world for Development Studies QS ranking). But with the pandemic, many scholarships have been cancelled, taking a reduced cohort, or halting their aid for few a countries.
I have few personal savings and I am trying to raise a loan to cover the expenses but there is no way I can raise enough money for the fees.
Therefore this year, I am reaching out to people to help me fund my MPhil at the University of Cambridge.
Read her story in her own words.
“Hello, I am Sanobar Fatma and I currently work as the head of research and policy at ICLU.
I have been selected to do an MPhil from the University of Cambridge for what would be the first study to understand the evidence-based discrimination of the minorities in South Asia.
I completed my masters from Jawaharlal Nehru University and was ranked among the university’s top one per cent. At St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, I read for BA History Hons. and was awarded the St. Stephen’s College Prize for Academic Proficiency.
Before moving to Delhi I finished school at La Martinere Girls’ College, Lucknow where I was the ISC board topper with all India highest marks in three subjects.
I started a share a meal campaign called Iftar4All from a railway slum in Lucknow. Today, it has now spread the message of peace and charity across three continents and in more than a dozen cities in India.
After college I worked for a couple of years as an assistant professor in a small town in Uttar Pradesh and taught, mentored students from the rural areas making sure that have access to resources required for higher education including making them aware of various government available to them to improve their lives. I briefly worked for Youth Leader based in Berlin, Germany for their award-winning educational media with a focus on changemakers across the globe. At the same time, I also started a community-based organization to increase the primary school enrollment of children and tried to bridge the gap between them and their access to healthcare services.
A year later, I started working with the Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India, Mr Sanjay Hegde as a Research Associate and in the process learnt from him about issues related to citizenship, migration, and rights. It was while working in the legal sphere that understood the historical background of the most important social, political, and economic issues. This is also the time that I realized the need for further understanding of law and democracy.
I have over the last two years published about issues of law and policy for YouthKiAwaaz, the Wire, Livelaw, the Citizen, NewsD, National Herald, and the Firstpost among others.
In mid-2020, I joined ICLU where I have helped organize workshops for women in rural India and those living in the tribal belts, to educate the people of India about their constitutional rights, legal remedies, and providing representation to the poorest. I have also started a program to make the law accessible and simpler for all citizens.
This academic year, I applied to six universities (five gave me an application fee waiver) and have got an offer for admission in all including the London School of Economics (ranked 2 for social sciences QS ranking) and Institute of Development Studies (rank 1 in the world for Development Studies QS ranking). But with the pandemic, many scholarships have been cancelled, taking a reduced cohort, or halting their aid for few a countries.
I have few personal savings and I am trying to raise a loan to cover the expenses but there is no way I can raise enough money for the fees.
Therefore this year, I am reaching out to people to help me fund my MPhil at the University of Cambridge.
You can contact me at sanobar.fatma@iclu.org.in or on twitter @_Sanobar "
