Rahul Gandhi Education – Early Life
Rahul Gandhi was born in Delhi on 19 June 1970, as the first of the two children of Rajiv Gandhi.
Gandhi attended St. Columba’s School, Delhi before entering The Doon School in Dehradun, Uttarakhand from 1981 to 1983.
Meanwhile, his father had joined politics and became the Prime Minister on 31 October 1984 when Indira Gandhi’s bodygaurd assassinated her.
Sikh extremists posed the security threats to Indira Gandhi’s family, so their parents home-schooled thereafter Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka.
Rahul Gandhi Education – College Life
Gandhi joined St. Stephen’s College, Delhi in 1989 for his undergraduate education but moved to Harvard University after he completed the first year examinations.
In 1991, the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) assassinated Rajiv Gandhi during an election rally. Soon he shifted to Rollins College in Florida, USA, due to security concerns and obtained his B.A. in 1994.
During his time at Rollins, he assumed the pseudonym Raul Vinci. His identity was known only to the university officials and security agencies. He further went on to obtain an M.Phil. from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1995.
After obtaining degrees in International Relations and Development Studies at the universities of Rollins and Cambridge, Gandhi worked at the Monitor Group, a management consulting firm in London.
In 2002, he was one of the directors of Mumbai-based technology outsourcing firm Backops Services Private Ltd.
Rahul Gandhi Education – Controversy
In 2009, amid a row over Gandhi’s foreign degrees, the University of Cambridge had said the Congress leader was a student of Trinity College and was awarded an M.Phil in Development Studies in 1995.
One could highlight that the Congress’ dynasty is not particularly qualified either in the educational sense. Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi went to England to study at Cambridge, but he failed his exams and did not get a degree.
His brother Sanjay failed to graduate even from high school, after which he dropped out to take up a course in automobile repairs. Maneka Gandhi, Sanjay’s wife, married him when she was 18, and therefore, she does not have a proper education either.
Her qualifications submitted to the Lok Sabha say she only went to school. Sonia Gandhi did not have a college education either. Her studies ended at the age of 18, and she also married early.
However, Rahul Gandhi’s political detractors may call him ‘Pappu’, but he seems academically bright.
He has a Masters in Philosophy in Development Economics from Trinity College, Cambridge — his great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru’s alma mater.
Nehru graduated with a third class and was not a good student. These facts makes Rahul the most educated individual in the Gandhi family.