IndiaPost.com - Three Indian Americans among 2008 Rhodes Scholars

NEW YORK: Three students of Indian origin and one of Indo-Caribbean origin are among the 32 Rhodes Scholars for 2008. Each of these scholars will be studying at Oxford with a $45,000 funding per year for two or three years.

The names of these scholars are Praveen S. Rajan, who is a US Marine training to go to Iraq and Afghanistan; Shayak Sarkar, Deep J. Shah and Ishanaa N. Rambachan, who is a Hindu American Foundation executive council member and is working on the Hindu Human Rights Report.

And at least two other scholars have an India connection -- Andrea M. DenHoed, whose mother is of Indian origin; and Nicole Novak of Iowa, who has done research on dental health and socio-economic status in India. Pravin S. Rajan, Albuquerque, New Mexico, graduated from Georgetown University in 2007 with majors in science, technology and international relations. He served as class marshall and as president of the student body.

He has written an article on "Muslim Brotherhood" that has been accepted for publication and has researched terrorist movements in 20 countries. He is now a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps and will enter training to become a Marine Infantry Officer in Iraq. In the winter, he will work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. Pravin plans to do a D.Phil. in international relations at Oxford.

Shayak Sarkar, Edinburg, Texas, received his B.A. in applied mathematics at Harvard in June, where he also graduated with a master's in statistics. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior and won a prize for his thesis on America's homeless children. He is interested in applying his analytic skills in mathematics, statistics and economics to the problems of poverty, and especially affordable housing and education reform.

Already very active in community service, Shayak intends to do a doctorate in evidence-based social work at Oxford. Deep J. Shah, Duluth, Georgia, is a senior at the University of Georgia where he majors in international affairs and biology.

A Truman Scholar with a perfect academic record across a wide range of disciplines, Deep has publications in both public policy and biochemistry. He founded the University's first student think tank, has done research in primate neuroanatomy relating to Parkinson's disease, and has served as an intern in the U. S. Senate, New York City hospitals, and at a children's clinic in Costa Rica. He has also been active in community service organizations.

He plans to do the M.Sc. in global health science at Oxford. Ishanaa N. Rambachan, Apple Valley, Minnesota, is a senior at St. Olaf College where she majors in political science and economics. Ishanaa is chair of the student senate and active in college and Twin Cities political organizations.

She has strong interests in international development and has studied or worked in Turkey, Egypt, and with an NGO in microcredit and women's empowerment in India. She has written about discrimination against the Hindu Diaspora and about caste abuses in India. She plans to do the M.Phil in development studies at Oxford.