I have a feeling that most academic courses suck. So, I can’t get my head around it every time someone successful says s/he shouldn’t have dropped out of college etc. While it has to be conceded that education is the way out of deprivation for many, especially in our country, the fact remains that academic education is far from all that you need for success. As exemplified by these men and women-famous Indians who dropped out of school/college.
1. Sachin Tendulkar
Profile: Cricket legend to some, God to the rest
He stopped his studies in Class 10. And frankly, I like him for using the bat and ball more than pen and books.
2. Mukesh Ambani
Profile: Chairman of Reliance Industries
Mukesh Ambani may have dropped out of his MBA program but that didn’t stop him from becoming the second richest Indian this year.
3. Gautam Adani
Profile: Chairperson of Adani Group
He bid his commerce degree program goodbye midway but his net worth of almost $6 billion makes it look like he knew other things that most grads miss.
His professional aura may seem like it was derived from academia but this guy studied only till 12th class.
5. Azim Premji
Chairman of Wipro Ltd. Azim Premji gestures during a press conference to announce the January-March 2007 quarter results at the company’s headquarters in Bangalore, India, Friday, April 20, 2007. India’s third-largest software company, Wipro Ltd., said Friday that its net profit in the January-March quarter jumped 44 percent from a year ago, helped by continued outsourcing orders from overseas. Bangalore-based Wipro reported a profit of 8.61 billion rupees (US$200 million, euro147 million) in the fiscal fourth quarter, taking profit in the year ended March to 29.17 billion rupees (US$677 million, euro498 million), up 44 percent from a year earlier, a company statement said. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Profile: Founder and Chairman of Wipro
The third richest Indian was a college drop out at age 21 who went on to write one of the most successful business stories in India.
6. Mary Kom
Profile: Boxer extraordinaire
Kom’s passion for boxing made her focus on it to the exclusion of her studies but after tasting success, she did finish her education.
7. Dr. Subhash Chandra
Profile: Media mogul, Chairman of Essel Group, Launched Zee TV-India’s first satellite TV channel
Chandra dropped out of school but I bet not many people back then would have believed he’d go ahead to manage the famous DNA newspaper among other things.
8. Aishwarya Rai
Profile: Actor, to say the least
She started doing an architecture course in college but then thought better of it and went on to become someone we all know of.
9. Salman Khan
Profile: Rugged actor with smooth victories
After school, this Khan didn’t go to college but pursued his passion for acting.
10. Akshay Kumar
Profile: Macho. Actor. National Award Winner.
This college dropout has a black belt in martial arts. I don’t know if that makes him educated but it certainly makes it exciting to watch him do action sequences.
11. Smriti Irani
Profile: HRD Minister of India
She has courted controversy regarding her educational status with many alleging she has studied only up to 12th class. However, some reports suggest that she finished her commerce degree in 2013.
12. Kapil Dev
Profile: Cricketer, legend
Kapil said that dropping out of college is one of his greatest regrets. But that doesn’t make him any less a legend.
Maybe simply dropping out for your own sake won’t take you anywhere. But then again, it is one of the greatest stimulants for lateral thinking and incredible adventures. So, who’s up for it!
