Socio-religious affiliation and higher education participation of Muslim minorities in India: a probit analysis

Abstract

Against the backdrop of unequal access in higher education in India characterized by diverse social and religious groups, the present paper attempts to evaluate the dynamics of higher education participation of Muslims and other socio-religious minorities’ vis-a-vis Hindu upper castes. Particularly, the paper has explored how an individual’s participation in higher education is dependent on her socio-religious affiliation which would facilitate towards understanding the hierarchy of participation in higher education. Using binary probit regression model, the paper provides evidence that Muslims in general and other backward Muslims in particular have the lowest probability of participation in higher education in comparison to other social and religious communities. Hindu upper castes have the highest chances of participation among all categories. Therefore, the present paper emphasizes on unequal representation of marginalized groups in terms of caste and religion in higher education which would help the policy makers towards implementation of better targeted policies. The paper also informs policy interventions that could be needed to reduce these highly correlated gaps on socio-religious affiliation and participation in higher education