New Delhi: Bhimraj M., a scholar from Chennai who was expelled by South Asian University for participating in protests to increase the stipend for students, will now be heading to the University of Oxford for an MPhil in law.While Bhimraj, who is from a Dalit community, was awarded the Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholarship to pursue the MPhil in Law, this covered only the tuition fee. To cover his living and other expenses, he started a crowdfunding initiative which was completed successfully. According to The News Minute, Bhimraj was able to raise around Rs 15 lakh from more than 600 contributors. Tamil Nadu Olympic Association’s general secretary Aadhav Arjuna contributed Rs 5 lakh to his cause, along with a statue of Ambedkar and a book.His MPhil research proposal will look into the adequacy of “Indian legal mechanisms in addressing discriminatory waste facility siting”.The Chennai native says that he has “an unwavering commitment to fight against discrimination” and that his dream is to “use academia to be a rights-based educator, engage with young minds on stifling socio-political challenges that we face today and create a more egalitarian society”.He received his undergraduate law degree from the Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University and subsequently received an LLM in Public International Law from the South Asian University. When he was doing his PhD at the South Asian University, he participated in protests against alleged discriminatory practices of the university and its “dictatorial policies” of reducing stipends and refusing to include student members in the university’s anti-harassment committees.Also Read: South Asian University Suspends Four Faculty Members for ‘Supporting’ Students’ AgitationBhimraj was one of the five students against whom the university took ‘disciplinary’ action, initially rusticating him for one year without an enquiry in November 2022. Bhimraj and another student were later expelled. They have approached the Delhi high court against the “arbitrary” proctorial orders.