In pursuit of holistic, wholesome education

AS an experienced lawyer, I am often asked by budding lawyers and young students what are the most important skills that one needs in order to succeed in the legal profession. My first instinct is to mention my experience of playing rugby, which comes in handy in ‘navigation’, both physically and metaphorically. I believe these skills and traits are not limited to law. They have a universal appeal and acceptability.

At the core of education is the unequivocal and unwavering commitment to deep analysis and critical thinking. Some of the best lawyers never studied law until much later in their lives. Lord Denning, one of the greatest judges the world has seen, is a good example. He studied mathematics first. What is often described as multi-disciplinarity is a non-negotiable need. In any profession, you are thrown questions which are not congruent with your formal education. Thus, it is important that the subject matter and the ethos of other subjects are inculcated and appreciated to the fullest. If we look at English literature, the first person to have shaped stories as we know them today was probably Chaucer, who immortalised storytelling in Canterbury Tales. He was a barrister. Dickens is known to have spent considerable time with barristers, and this can be palpably felt in all his works.

In order to qualify as a barrister, we had to attend formal dinners with our colleagues. The learning curve in such settings far exceeds orthodox ways in which education is delivered. The Indian education system has perhaps the richest legacy. The examples that our scriptures give and the nuanced modalities that they present as ethical dilemmas go to the heart of the most important conflicts that we face today — of ethics, morality and empathy.

The compartmentalisation of education into watertight blocks — natural sciences, physical sciences, arts, etc. — does not seem to serve the purpose of a holistic training for the present day. In fact, it does injustice to our understanding and capabilities.

One of the first pieces of advice that I was given by a notoriously avant-garde professor during my time at Cambridge was to ‘get lost!’ We were visibly amused and perhaps non-visibly offended. Nonetheless, that has helped many of us in shaping our thoughts and heeding what is perhaps the most important piece of advice — to always be a student and never accept things at face value. To always question and remain committed to understanding and taking action.