Education is a catalyst for economic growth, poverty reduction and social change that fulfills the physical, intellectual, social, economic, and emotional needs and conditions. Moreover, higher education is a medium through which social barriers and marginality can be overcome. In this context, the book critically analyses the challenges and possibilities of the marginalized communities―Dalits, minorities, persons with disabilities and women―in gaining greater access to the Indian higher education system. It also examines the importance of affordability, equity, quality and accountability as the main pillars of higher education. In addition, the experiences of marginalization are also addressed, given its sociological and psychological implications. Understanding inaccessibility to education as another form of marginalization that impacts an individual’s well-being, Empowering Marginalized Communities in India seeks to examine the potential of higher education to overcome inequality and the urgent need to create a more inclusive and equitable pedagogy.
M. J. Vinod is a Professor in the Department of International Studies, Politics and History, Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru and former Dean (Faculty of Arts) and syndicate member in Bangalore University, India. He received his MA, MPhil and PhD degrees from Bangalore University. He was awarded the Fulbright Fellowship, where he taught as a scholar in residence at Morgan State University, Baltimore, from August 2015 to May 2016. He is recipient of Salzburg Fellowship; Ford Foundation Fellowship at the University of Maryland, College Park; Swiss Foreign Ministry Fellow at the Graduate School of International Studies, Geneva; visiting fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington, D. C. He has been a visiting professor at the Department of Geopolitics, Manipal University; Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, and regularly visits the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. His areas of specialization include higher education, Indian foreign policy and political theory.
Dr S. Y. Surendra Kumar is an Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Bangalore University, Bengaluru, India. He holds MPhil and PhD degrees in South Asian studies from School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi. He is a recipient of Mahbub ul Haq Research Award and Short Duration fellowship. His recent book is titled
‘Ballots, Bullets and Bhikkhus: The Role of Buddhist Sangha in Sri Lankan Politics and Ethnic Conflict’. He has contributed more than 20 chapters in various edited books and published more than 30 research articles in leading national and international journals. His areas of interests are public policy studies and South Asian security.
