Indian students offered human rights scholarships at Sheffield Hallam

University, UK, in honour of Kapila Hingorani

Two new scholarships are being offered by a leading modern university in
England in memory of one of India's most prominent human rights
lawyers.
The legacy of Kapila Hingorani known as the 'mother of public interest
litigation' has been recognised by Sheffield Hallam University with two
scholarships for a masters course in applied human rights being offered in
her name.
Mrs Hingorani, who died in December 2013, was the first Indian lawyer to
issue a public interest litigation on behalf of prisoners awaiting trial for a
period longer than the sentence they would serve if found guilty.
In her 50 years of practice, Mrs Hingorani and her husband Nirmal fought
more than 100 cases in the Supreme Court and provided a voice, through
public interest law, for underprivileged and marginalised sectors of Indian
society.
Sital Dhillon, head of the Department of Law and Criminology at Sheffield
Hallam, said: "We are honoured to be able to recognise the tremendous
contribution of Kapila Hingorani to public interest litigation in India.
"We hope that the winners of these scholarships will be able to follow in
her footsteps by continuing the global fight for human rights justice and
education."
Kapila Hingorani's three children, Aman, Priya and Shweta, are all
practising lawyers. Both Priya and Aman recently attended the launch of
the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam, a
home for its human rights and social justice programmes.
Priya, vice president of the Supreme Court Bar Association in India, said: "I
think my mother would be very happy to have her name attached to these
scholarships. She always wanted to encourage everyone to have access to
justice and education so I am sure she would be very proud.
"We hope this will be the start of a partnership with Sheffield Hallam, in
which professionals from the UK and from India, can gain and exchange
international experience."
Kapilas family has set up the Kapila Hingorani Foundation with a view to
continue her work for disadvantaged sections of society and on socio-legal
issues. It was following discussions with the Foundation that the

Department of Law and Criminology decided to launch the Kapila

Hingorani Postgraduate Scholarships in memory of Kapila.
Winners of the Kapila Hingorani Postgraduate Scholarships will receive a
50% scholarship on tuition fees for MA Applied Human Rights. The course
draws upon relevant disciplines in law, politics and social science and
provides opportunities to gain the experience and skills needed to work
with key human rights organisations.
Applications for scholarships to begin the MA Applied Human Rights
course in September 2015 are welcomed from self-funding students
domiciled in India. It is necessary to hold an offer for the course to be
eligible to apply for the scholarship.
Sheffield Hallam University is the best modern university in the north of
England (Times and Sunday Times, 2015) with award-winning expertise in
professional legal skills and social and criminal justice, including the
British Society of Criminology National Award for Excellence in Teaching in
2014.

More about the Kapila Hingorani Postgraduate Scholarships The

deadline for applications is 30 June, 2015. For more information and an
application
form,
visit
www.shu.ac.uk/international/scholarshipsbursaries/kapila-hingorani-pg.html

More about the MA Applied Human Rights For more information

about the course, visit www.shu.ac.uk/prospectus/course/1292/

The Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice is part of the

award-winning law and criminology department at Sheffield Hallam
University. Its central values are those of widening access to justice and
education, the promotion of human rights, ethics in practice, equality, and
a respect for human dignity in overcoming social injustice. The mission of
the Centre is to involve staff and students in national and international
projects, innovative teaching programmes and research, focusing on criminal
law, international human rights and the promotion of social justice through all
components of the social and criminal justice systems. For more information, go
to www.shu.ac.uk/dlc .