What the actual fuck? (Pardon my French mods, but actually don't - however still publish the comment.) Why on earth are 650 law graduates applying for PhD in India? Is this just a postponing-getting-out-into-the-real-world scheme, or are genuinely that many people interested in academia? I would be very surprised indeed if the latter.

Those without sources are the ones who don't reveal them. Simple as that. In today's India, you absolutely cannot get through on merit. Either you need some sort of reservation or connection. Nobody has time to read 600+ proposals (DU PhD interview had 650 applications). So it boils down to "do I know you?", "do I know someone who knows you?" Or "do you know someone who knows me?". When even JRF are not getting selected, it definitely means the university is biased towards its own. Especially with NLUs.

No. The point is sometimes it's very subjective as to what gets selected. You may be a good candidate but your proposal may be lacking. Your proposla may be good but you may not have a guide for your subject.

I also agree that there should be more transparency, but I have known people without any jugaad or sources who have got it.

It's true. You better of connecting with your local MLA, MP or even judges. They'd help you secure a seat better than all the mumbo jumbo of written and interview. I know plenty who didn't clear the net yet got in a "part time" PhD through connections. This includes so called top NLUs and central universities.

No connections means No selection. Simple as that. People prefer their own people. An average student who has done his bachelors and masters in the same university is preferred over an above average student from different university simply because they know them better. It's like betting on a known fool than an unknown genius. Moreover, an average student would listen more to the advisors, a smarter student would want to work more and majority professors are lazy as fk. They don't want to be bothered with mentoring. Moreover if you don't have a reservation then high chances that you'd only get in by being a 1%, like getting 99.9 in NET to balance out the abysmal low scores of interview. Best bet is to move abroad for higher studies since there they would at least respect your hustle to bring something new. Go to shodharthi and look at the recent research phd in law, majority are the same tried and trodden topics that we researched a decade ago, or two if we compare to international standards. In short, academia is only for getting a steady income job with less hassle than litigation. If you genuinely want to do good research, go abroad.

Is it true that NLUs only allow their own cohert or known students to clear the PhD admission process? I saw that most NLUs do not publish the final marks. They just come out with a list of names of selected individuals. I have even seen JRF candidates not being selected. Few NLUs even have final semester students being selected, how's that possible? Can anyone help me crack this interview without connections ???? I desperately need to start a PhD this year to get a promotion in academia.