Interview: Ms Priyanka Dhar, Assistant Professor, HNLU Raipur
Ms Priyanka Dhar works as an Assistant Professor at Hidayatullah National Law University.
Ms Priyanka Dhar works as an Assistant Professor at Hidayatullah National Law University. Before joining HNLU, she worked as an Assistant professor at Galgotias University, Greater Noida, U.P., Amity University, Noida, G.D. Goenka University and National Law University, Jodhpur. Priyanka cleared UGC-NET in 2013 and CG SET in 2019 and has done her PhD (Law) from National Law University, Jodhpur. She is the editor of UGC-recognized journals of national repute. She has publications in...
Ms Priyanka Dhar works as an Assistant Professor at Hidayatullah National Law University. Before joining HNLU, she worked as an Assistant professor at Galgotias University, Greater Noida, U.P., Amity University, Noida, G.D. Goenka University and National Law University, Jodhpur. Priyanka cleared UGC-NET in 2013 and CG SET in 2019 and has done her PhD (Law) from National Law University, Jodhpur.
She is the editor of UGC-recognized journals of national repute. She has publications in various journals and has contributed to chapters in many books. Her interests include Criminal Law, Family Law, Criminology, and Internet Laws.
Here’s the excerpt from the interview with Ms Priyanka Dhar
Legal Bites: Tell us about your journey as a law student and the challenges you faced.
Priyanka Dhar: From the beginning, I had decided that I wanted to pursue law. But I guess that’s not always enough, and this lack of proper direction and guidance did cause me certain difficulties to begin with. I completed BSL LLB from DES Law College, Pune and LLM from ILS Law College, Pune. Now the difficulty that I really faced was when I enrolled for my LLM. Five years of undergrad went by pretty much not doing any kind of academic research since there was no guidance that research papers are to be worked on, or there was probably something like attending conferences.
The only saving grace was that I did intern all throughout my five years, which did give me some amount of confidence. Still, while internships are important, they don’t help much when you go for your master's and suddenly, you are told to do projects that are obviously graded. So, the first semester of LLM was difficult because I had to write research papers, which I wasn’t used to.
Legal Bites: When most want to become a corporate lawyer or join the judiciary, what inspired you to become an academician?
Priyanka Dhar: Both in UG and PG, I had some of the best teachers whom I looked up to. While they were strict and yet when they taught, they were so patient, motivated, enthusiastic and determined that the most difficult subjects should come easy to all. Prof. Deshmukh was one such teacher who motivated me to join academics. I clearly remember how I messaged Sir that I wanted guidance on my dissertation and he on numerous occasions called me from the US to guide me through my work. I am indebted to teachers like him, who are the reason for where I am today.
Legal Bites: You are a professor at a National Law University. Is the education culture in an NLU any different from other Universities?
Priyanka Dhar: The educational pattern of NLU is very rigorous, which keeps students engaged around the clock. Many times, this helps in bringing the best out of students as they are literally managing so many different activities at the same time. This gives them an edge when entering the professional sphere as they are prepared in advance to take the pressure and manage the deadlines very well.
Legal Bites: According to you, what qualities or skills should a person aspire to become an academician focus on or work upon?
Priyanka Dhar: One must work hard and keep oneself updated as an academician, which I think is true for any profession. But something that is essential as an academician is to be patient and accessible, as not everyone in the class will have the same level of receptivity. Also, as an academician, we somehow have this conception that “we need to know it all”, but as I have learnt from some of the best teachers, it is ‘sometimes’ ok to not know something. It’s just that you just need to be honest about it and get back to the topic where you faltered. This is way better than academic deception.
Legal Bites: What are your suggestions for improving the quality of legal education in India?
Priyanka Dhar: The most important step that needs to be taken up is revamping the course curriculum of traditional universities in the country and I say this from my personal experience. My peers in the NLUs and private universities had a very rigorous course structure and were studying way more law subjects than I did. This definitely needs to be looked into. Also, we need to experiment with different teaching methodologies as academicians which can also positively impact legal education in the country.
Legal Bites: We are all aware of how the pandemic has affected the routine of students and how their college experience has been taken away from them. What is your message to motivate them?
Priyanka Dhar: In these testing times, I hope that the students keep themselves motivated to be productive and keep moving not just towards their studies but anything they feel passionate about. Just do not give up hope as this too shall pass.
Mayank Shekhar
Mayank is an alumnus of the prestigious Faculty of Law, Delhi University. Under his leadership, Legal Bites has been researching and developing resources through blogging, educational resources, competitions, and seminars.
