Investing in justice: a scholarship for future human rights lawyers

The story behind the Beena Sondhi LLM Scholarship at SOAS and its impact in opening doors for Indian lawyers committed to human rights.

The Beena Sondhi LLM Scholarship at SOAS is a full tuition award for the LLM in Human Rights, Conflict and Justice. Launched in 2025, it’s aimed at Indian graduates who’ve shown a real commitment to human rights and criminal justice.

We spoke to Amala Dasarathi, the very first recipient of this scholarship and to Aditya Sondhi, the donor behind it. 

How the scholarship has helped Amala Dasarathi fulfil her dream

Amala is the first person to receive the scholarship. She’s a lawyer, researcher, and writer from India who has worked on litigation, research, and community‑based legal projects, especially around gender, labour, and LGBTQIA+ rights. “I am deeply shaped by questions of law and society, and I am always trying to understand how ordinary people experience the law in their daily lives,” she said.

SOAS was always on her radar. “An intellectually vibrant, globally engaged space I had dreamed of since I heard about it as an 18‑year‑old undergraduate law student. Ten years later, it is true!”

For Amala, SOAS’s focus on South Asia and the Global South means she can dive straight into conversations about caste and other issues without having to explain the basics. She describes her classmates as “generous and diverse” and her teachers as “funny, kind, and perceptive.”

This scholarship did not just fund my degree - it signalled a belief in my work that I carry with me every day.

Her first few months in London have been eye‑opening. “I did expect to enjoy being back in an academic space, but I am still struck by how lovely it is to be reading without an immediate end goal,” she said. The chance to learn from brilliant teachers and peers has been “a reminder of how transformative good teaching and good company can be.”

Looking ahead, Amala hopes to pursue a PhD, teach, and continue working at the intersection of research, law, and activism in India. The scholarship has been life‑changing: “Quite simply, I would not be here without it. Pursuing higher education abroad would have been financially impossible for me. This scholarship did not just fund my degree - it signalled a belief in my work that I carry with me every day.”

Why Aditya Sondhi set up the scholarship

Aditya Sondhi is a Senior Advocate (akin to a KC in the UK) practising before the Supreme Court of India in New Delhi. He set up the scholarship in memory of his mother, Beena, who passed away at just 44. “It will help young lawyers to feel confident that there are concrete avenues to pursue the study and practice of human rights,” he told us.

There are several invisible, brilliant individuals waiting for a little nudge to help them explore their full potential.

Aditya’s connection with SOAS is both personal and academic. He first visited SOAS in 2019 to give a lecture on Judicial Independence and Indian Constitutionalism, and he’s kept close ties ever since. He is also a friend of Dr Rahul Rao, who is a reader in Political Theory as part of the Department of Politics and International Studies.

Aditya is clear about who he hopes will apply: Indian lawyers from minority and marginalised groups who want to use higher studies in human rights and conflict to strengthen their advocacy. “There are several invisible, brilliant individuals waiting for a little nudge to help them explore their full potential. And for some of us at our stations in life, it is a good time to pay it forward.”

Why scholarships matter

For Amala, “access to quality education should not be determined by wealth, geographic location, or anything, really,” she said. Higher education in justice‑oriented fields decides “who gets to produce knowledge, who gets heard, and whose realities count.”

She believes scholarships bring in voices that might otherwise stay at the margins. “Scholarships materially change who enters spaces like SOAS. When you fund a scholarship, you are not just supporting one student; you are investing in the communities and struggles they remain accountable to.”

Supporting a scholarship can change the direction of someone’s life and allow them to bring their experiences and insights to places that need them.

Amala's words echo Aditya’s vision, which is that scholarships are about opening doors, shifting structures, and building a more inclusive academic community. As Amala put it, “Supporting a scholarship can change the direction of someone’s life and allow them to bring their experiences and insights to places that need them.”

SOAS's Professor Eddie Bruce-Jones shares his thanks: "We are so grateful to Aditya for his visionary support of this scholarship. Amala and many more excellent students can come to SOAS thanks to the generosity of donors like Aditya. The strength and diversity of our student body wouldn't be what it is without philanthropic support."

You can still be part of our Giving November campaign. Every contribution helps us raise funds for scholarships at SOAS. Scholarships open doors, break barriers, and change lives. Make your gift today.