The India higher education (HE) sector has much to celebrate – 903 Universities, 39050 Colleges and 10011 Stand Alone Institutions; 36.6 million students and 12,84,755 teachers. However behind these successes are the campus experiences of minorities that, despite some evidence of social mobility bought about by higher education, is also characterised by marginalisation and discrimination. Latest statistics from the All India Survey of Higher Education Report (AISHE) 2017-18 show all minority-religious groups are underrepresented in HE. HE can enhance the social and economic mobility of minority students and their communities, yet these very students are often marginalised within the university system. Over the last five years there has been an increase in violent activism on university campuses in India. While this violence is reported as being underpinned by changing politics of nationalism in India and right-wing activism, it also has strong undertones of the marginalization (and indeed victimization) of minority faith groups. Despite the significance of such violence in undermining both academic freedoms on campuses and democratic political processes, this area remains under-researched. For this network ‘minority students’ broadly encompasses religious minorities (Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists) and ethnic minorities (Dalits and Tribes). The network will also explore how male and female students experience campus differently. Through its emphasis on equality and inclusion on campus and gendered identity, this research network directly addresses UN Sustainable Development Goals 4, 5 and 10 around Quality Education, Gender Equality and Reduced Inequalities.

Against a backdrop of fast-changing, violent student activism and nationalist politics on campus, a multidisciplinary team of Indian and British academics will collaboratively investigate minority students’ lived experiences of discrimination and equality on campus. It will examine what forms this discrimination might take and how different campus stakeholders (students, staff, managers) negotiate diversity on campus. The discussions that this network facilitates will focus on both structural (as related to the institutions and curricula of HE) and the social (linked to lived experiences) of discrimination. To enhance the welfare of minority students and the developmental potential of Higher Education (HE) as a tool for their social and economic mobility, we propose to critically engage with institutional culture, procedures, customs, practices, and social spaces – as these institutional expressions could be viewed as agencies of discrimination. Women, trans and sexual minorities will be part of our analysis as our exploration will be gendered. The network will use a post-colonial approach to create safe, knowledgeable and ‘authentic’ (virtual and real) spaces where difficult questions around political dissent, freedoms and constitutional rights on campus can be investigated. It will contribute to improving HE access, experiences and outcomes for minority students and the social and economic mobility of the communities these students come from.

The main beneficiary of this research network is the HE sector in India. Two workshops and a symposium will facilitate discussions. The network outputs will include: an edited book, a journal article and two digital virtual outputs – (1) a visual timeline that illustrates minority contributions to the Indian HE sector, which will be informed by an in-depth literature review conducted as part of the network activities and (2) a mapping of student activism that will be underpinned by a survey of print and digital reporting around student activities.