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Journalism of Courage
— Hercules Singh Munda
I am a 30-year-old currently enrolled in the MSc Linguistics programme at The University of Edinburgh. I hail from Jharkhand’s Munda tribe, an indigenous community in India. I am a second-generation learner in my family. I hold a BE in Information Technology from BIT Mesra.
After working for three years in the IT service industry, I decided to pursue linguistics to help preserve the native language from endangerment.
My primary education was in Jharkhand up until class 10. I graduated as a top 3 student in the school from my batch. Following that, I decided to move to Ranchi, where I enrolled in Class 12 at Oxford Public School as I wanted to prepare for engineering entrance exams alongside regular classrooms. I was able to secure a seat at Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) Mesra, for a Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology.
Throughout this journey, I was also moving from smaller towns to bigger cities. For example, Khunti, where I studied till class 10, is a small town with the majority of tribal population. Ranchi on the other hand, was bigger where students from all across the state came. I also stayed in private accommodation, which gave me the freedom to interact with students from different schools. At BIT Mesra, my classmates comprised students from across the country, widening my perspective and understanding of different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds.
Deciding to study in Scotland was purely driven by my personal analysis of the universities in the UK. Edinburgh in that case is among the top 4 for Linguistics. While I was in India, I audited two courses from the Computational Linguistic Department of IIIT Hyderabad. During that time, I was exposed to the latest research in computational linguistics, most of which was from The University of Edinburgh. When I started my preparation in Covid days, there weren’t many (in fact it’s just 1) language proficiency test centres in my small town. So I decided to go for the Duolingo English Test.
Scotland is more green compared to other major cities in the UK, which was a secondary reason for me to come here. Having spent most of my lifetime in the rural part of Jharkhand, I find myself naturally drawn towards places that are surrounded by mountains and trees. Edinburgh in that sense is a perfect blend of modernity and tradition. It is renowned as one the best cities to live in, with sea and mountains forming a natural border while the city itself has all the elements of a cosmopolitan city such as infrastructure, transport, and amenities.
I hope for future generations that our Indian education system adopts a perspective that looks beyond numbers and strives to address students’ minds full of curiosity.
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Being a native member of the Munda tribe, I see myself carrying a rich cultural heritage of India which is slowly vanishing. Growing up within the community, I experienced and learned the unique nature of my culture which I don’t see among the newer generation including my cousins. This fuelled my enthusiasm for the subject. Therefore, in 2018, after working for three years in the IT service industry, I wanted to direct the next phase of my career as a combination of creativity, business and social impact especially towards language education.
Consequently, during the pandemic, I started ‘TriLingo’ — a digital classroom programme to enable the younger generation from tribal communities to reclaim their mother tongue. Under the initiative, I managed classes for four major languages of Jharkhand — Mundari, Santhali, Ho and Kurukh. However, after a successful pilot batch, I realised the need to formally study linguistics to be able to work on the issue long-term.
My transition from office to classroom came with breaking pre-existing habits and getting accustomed to a new life pattern. Back in the working days, I could easily go out for a movie or dinner after office hours, while as a student your real work starts after you are back from the university. You sit down to revise the classroom discussion and do self-study. For all those who will be in my shoes, my advice would be to keep some buffer time to get accustomed to student life.
I applied for the Marang Gomke Overseas Scholarship offered by the government of Jharkhand. The scholarship is for the domicile students of the state belonging to Schedule Tribe, Schedule Caste, Other Backward Class and Minority. Each year, a total of 25 students are selected for the full scholarship which covers accommodation, tuition fees, local travel expenses, equipment, and a return airfare.
To the best of my knowledge, more than 600 students applied in my batch out of which, approximately 100 were called for the interview. The final section is based on the interview score, the university rank and the subject of your study. I feel grateful that I was among the selected 25 for the scholarship.
Coming to a new country is overwhelming – you are the farthest you have ever been from home. My first day in Scotland was very dreamy, I was caught between the states of self-actualisation and self-realisation.
The first week in university was departmental socials where I met my classmates and professors. We had icebreakers, fun games and light snacks that kept the talks going. My department, being very niche, only has 12 students from seven different countries. In terms of accommodation, I knew about the online platforms to find rooms and flats to rent in the UK. Therefore, I booked a hostel for the first week before I went to see the house.
Before coming to Edinburgh, I reached out to as many potential landlords for a viewing. Although many landlords prefer to do a virtual viewing of the house, I requested to see the rooms in person. This move was a bit risky – as many students finalise their accommodations with virtual viewing only. My final choice was a room rented by a Scottish landlady who works in the health and well-being industry. As a student of language and culture, it’s my personal preference to live with the locals to learn more about them.
My landlady was very kind and cooked me a traditional Scottish dinner for the first night, followed by an English breakfast the next morning. She also helped me settle my room and showed me local markets for groceries etc.
Compared to India, the study at the UK universities is more flexible. In Indian colleges, the number of courses offered is limited and also the range is narrow. By that I mean, that while studying linguistics I can take elective courses in the Philosophy or even Psychology department. Apart from learning the core concepts, I’m also able to find their application across different disciplines.
The teaching method is different too. Here classrooms are for discussion; you are given a reading material that covers the core concept and later discuss it with your classmates and professor. Looking back, this is a unique learning experience that was lacking in my undergraduate college. Again, in aspect, the evaluation for most of the course is done through academic articles or group projects. In my personal opinion, this gives me ample time to organise my thoughts and put them into writing – compare that to the pressure to write everything you know in three hours.
Studying abroad has massively changed my perspective towards life. I have become more grounded and confident. Coming from a tribal community in India, I understand that I’m among the few lucky ones who had this opportunity to learn from the best — and I wish the same for everyone.
To anyone who is planning to study abroad, my advice to you would be to be positive and patient. That being said, I also will emphasize the importance of getting over quickly with admission prerequisites like the English language test, and LOR. Needless to say, the earlier you apply, the less worried you will be and will have ample time to celebrate, enjoy with friends and family and prepare yourself for a new adventure.
(This letter is part of a series by The Indian Express where we bring to you the experiences of students at different foreign universities. From scholarships and loans to food and cultural experiences — students tell us how life is different in those countries and things they are learning other than academics)
