Aparajita Singh is in her final year studying for a BA in International Relations at the University of Westminster. She obtained a scholarship to study at Westminster which means her accommodation is provided by International Students House in London. Aparajita talked to UKCISA about her experience of living and studying in the UK, about the challenges she faces as a woman from India and about her future ambitions. Aparajita was also interviewed recently by the BBC and you can hear her speaking on the final episode of Scenes from Student Life
A chance to dream
My school has got a scholarship link with the University of Westminster. So every year they would choose one girl for a full scholarship to come to London. They started the scheme when I was in tenth grade and the moment this opportunity came to the school I thought this is something I could do. I thought this was a possibility because definitely I could not pay my fees. But the funny thing was that my parents did not know that I had filled out the application. I didn’t tell them anything up until I got a conditional offer. I kept planning in my own head. My parents think that you’d better be realistic about things. They feel like we’re just kids, like teenagers; dreaming too much and not getting what we dream and they feel like you shouldn’t dream too high about what you can’t achieve. But they were happy at the end.
Studying International Relations in the UK
I’m studying International Relations and I found that London is the place to study this. You know, when you’re studying international relations and you are in a place where you have got international people… everything you are reading in the textbooks you are then hearing from everyone around you in the class – I mean you’re sitting learning about US foreign policy and there is one boy and one girl sitting in the class from the US telling you about foreign policy – the inside story – which you might not be learning otherwise. I’m very much into political relations and there are people here from war zones. I met people from Yemen. I mean they’ve been telling me eye witness stories of what has been happening, how their families are affected and things like that. You wouldn’t read it in text books. But when you hear stories from someone from there - I mean you wouldn’t get that in India or anywhere else. That’s what was very motivating for me.
living in fast-paced London
I find London very fast. And that struck me, you know, when people are literally rushing and there is a lack of close-knit society. And the food was different. I really like spicy food so I wondered how to start managing that. Shall I change my taste buds to English kind of food or shall I find ways to find my Indian food? If you’re a student and you’re studying in Delhi or somewhere you’ve got maids coming to your hostels, doing all your work and you just have to study. But here it was like – no! You have to study and learn how to manage your life. That is really good but it does shock you.
Adapting to the UK education system
What I feel in London is the fact that, there is a lot of emphasis on critical thinking and analytical skills. In India you have a lot of quantity – you’ve got to know a lot – you become google! So you might have a lot of information but to convert that information to knowledge and wisdom might be difficult. In London I feel that the education system gives you an opportunity – especially in the way you have to write essays – its more about how you process the information, what standpoint you take. It gives you a chance to find your own point of view which is very important and that’s what I really like.
When I came here initially we were told about plagiarism - ‘don’t copy’. They said that if you find some information – you read something in an article - you’re not supposed to just copy and paste it but rather think about it and process it in your own words. I talked to some of the students who were already at university and they explained to me that you’re not supposed to simply take someone else’s point of view and just say that it’s yours or just copy something from somewhere and say that it’s yours. There are so many people saying so many things but you learn the tricks, you learn how to process it slowly and gradually. The first essay took me about one month but now I write my essays in five days..and I get better grades now. It takes time. I think you learn better when you do it. It’s not something someone can tell you. But just remember don’t copy anything anywhere.
On being an Indian girl
I am a person who always wants to take up challenges. In my society there is this whole idea that if you are a girl… well it’s a very patriarchal society. These days they are giving you the opportunity to do Higher Education but no-one imagines a girl will actually go in the political field . In my society they don’t think that’s possible. They have these perceptions – if you’re a girl be a teacher! It’s good – you can manage your household work and teach. If you’re a doctor that’s fine you can have your personal clinic and manage your house. They have made set guidelines - as in what is best for a woman. People think that a woman cannot do something like foreign policy, cannot come back and work in the field of politics because it’s too much work and it’s too much dealing with the male society. So I have this thing that I just need to set an example - like you are all thinking wrong! I’m telling you that is the thing that I want to do. I just want to tell the world that it’s not something alien if an Indian girl from a very small society does something like diplomacy or even ends up in Indian politics. It’s not something alien: they can do it – you just need to let them do it if they want to do it.
When I was very small – just three years old my neighbour used to ask me ‘do you want a brother or a sister?’ and I used to say ‘I want four more sisters!’ And she used to be like ‘don’t, no this is a curse, you are saying these things, you should pray to God that you have a baby brother’. And these things used to strike my mind. Like how can you say that? She was almost the age of my grandmother and I used to oppose her like why are you saying that? And then I had a sister finally!
I have seen many women in my community and elsewhere who sacrifice their dreams and ambitions just because the society and family want them to live in a certain way. However, I want to fight the battle to live the way that I would like to and work towards making my dreams true.
Going home
Neighbours want to talk to me about my experience because for them I’ve got the best life! Yes I have! But it’s not so easy. My parents are very happy. My grandparents are very happy.
I feel I’m just learning something in a different way but when I go home I feel numb. I just feel that my point of view and the way I am looking at things is different from anyone else. I think I just need to explain or justify to my parents and more than that I’m not supposed to explain and justify my opinions or my vision to anyone in this world. Apart from my parents if somebody doesn’t want to understand, I just smile and let it go.
The future
I am going to do a Masters in International Affairs at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. After that I would like to work for the UN. It’s a very big step to get into the UN straight away so if I can’t do that immediately I would like to gain some experience in human rights or in the development related field. It’s a way of building the stepping stones from where I can land into an international organisation and get work experience of how things work in an international organization. It’s what I am looking forward to. I have an interest in security issues … development in a post war zone, how they are developing these nations, what the complications in development in these regions of the world are like etc.
My long term plan is to actually come back to India but I don’t want to come straight away. I’ll build my foundation, I’ll have the experience and the perspective, that I am someone. If I work for ten years in different parts of the world I’ll have more knowledge and then I will be able to execute things better. Health care and education are two sections in India which are suffering most and I don’t think we can aim to be a developed country or an economic power without focussing on education and health care. So I think there is a real problem in India and I need to learn things before I go back to make a change.
