A Remarkable Family Does India Proud

Lord Bhikhu Parekh done the remarkable hat trick of sending his three sons to Oxford University

Getting into Oxford University is an extremely difficult hurdle to cross. Lord Bhikhu Parekh has done the remarkable hat trick of sending all his three sons to Oxford University, an achievement with few precedents. As if this is not enough, all three got scholarship, which the University only gives to its best applicants. The story does not end here. Two of his sons, Raj and Anant, graduated with a first class degree, and the third, Nitin, only narrowly missed it.

Anant Parekh is now Professor of Physiology in the University of Oxford. Last month he received the rare honour of being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society one of the highest achievements in the natural sciences. Several years ago his father Lord Parekh had received the similar honour of being elected a Fellow of the British Academy one of the highest achievements in the social sciences and humanities.

One wonders how many Indian or British families have sent three sons or daughters to Oxford, and can claim an FBA father having an FRS son. When asked how he had achieved all this, Prof. Lord Parekh said that it was all due to the talents and hard work of his sons. He himself claimed no credit and was pleased to have helped raise India’s esteem.