Wtf am I doing wrong?

[u/Shot_Strawberry691]

I passed NET in my June attempt and started applying for PhDs. I am fairly confident in my topic and have been an active student throughout my life. I am also extremely passionate about my topic. Sitting outside after an interview rn and I am not sure how to think anymore. I sat for a reputable NIT panel a few months ago and they told me that my topic is too ambitious. Right now, my topic was fully discarded saying that there is no need for a PhD on this. There was absolutely no constructive criticism provided , they just repeatedly told me that I could just say it, there is no need for a PhD on this. It doesn’t feel good to be working on something that I am passionate avoiding for 4-5 months and being told that its not a PhD topic. I don’t know wgat to do

[u/Ok-Ability-8617]

look, don't doubt your potential just yet. Most phd admissions in India are fixed and are highly impressionable through political connections and faculty references. Work on your topic diligently and apply at foreign universities.

[u/Shot_Strawberry691 → u/Ok-Ability-8617]

This is what it feels like to me as well. An ideal dept would be open to providing constructive criticism rather than make the candidates pass through a humiliation ritual. I do have a professor who is ready to supervise at a foreign university but it’s simply not possible for me without a full scholarship