Amit from India to Master in Human Rights and Multiculturalism at campus Drammen

Amit USN
Amit in front of USN, campus Drammen

Amit Kumar Singh was born in Varanasi, India. Inspired by his mother, Amit aspired to bring change to the lives of people through human rights and yoga.

He has studied history, human rights and yoga in India, China, Thailand, and recently completed a two year Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Multiculturalism at USN. 

“The program focuses on human rights and multiculturalism at local, national, regional and international level, which makes the program unique in a European perspective”, says Amit.

Amit has been actively involved in human rights issues and advocacy his whole life, and during his time in Norway was actively involved in the student community as well as running his own human rights consultancy. As the president of the International Students’ Union at the University College of Southeast Norway, Drammen, he organized a signature campaign in 2014 to support Right to Free Education in Norway and to protest the Norwegian government’s attempt to charge education fees from non-EU students. As a yoga instructor, he has propagated messages about health and spirituality. In 2016, Amit was also granted a thesis research award by Freedom of Expression Foundation Grant (Fritt ord) to conduct research on the conflict between Freedom of expression and religious intolerance.

Amit Oslo

Respect for human rights

Before coming to Norway, Amit did thorough research on typical Norwegian stereotypes like the cold weather and that everything is so expensive. “Don’t believe everything you read online, Norway is neither expensive nor are Norwegian’s cold- you just need to learn how to manage your finances, find work, and learn how to ‘break the ice’ with new people”, he says. “USN is a technologically and intellectually advanced university with a good library, and there are many options for student recreational activities. Overall, the environment is perfect for studying. Norway challenges you to do your best.  Explore by yourself!”

My future dreams

Amit is back in India, working for two NGOs in India and Thailand. He is an editor for a human rights magazine and human rights columnist in The Oslo Times and The Citizen. In addition, he is a visiting lecturer at the Malaviya Peace research Institute in India. “My biggest desire is to become a world class expert in the field of human rights and want to be known as a “Think tank” in the field of human rights.  Human rights is not a profession for me, but a lifelong mission.“

Amit Nobel

At the age of 41, Amit has already achieved many of his goals including working for the United Nations Office for Human Rights and National Human Rights Commission of India and UNDP. But Amit has big aspirations for the future: “I am a dreamer, leader and a human rights crusader. I feel offended by human rights atrocities, poverty, inequality and cannot tolerate injustices. My two years in Norway has taken me to a very different level and helped me to bring out my very best in my journey to make the world a better place”.

Find out more

If you are interested in learning more about the program, check out MSc in Human Rights and Multiculturalism at USN. The program will be offered again autumn 2018.

You can follow Amit on twitter @amitkingnorway