Social Inclusion and Diversity in India's Educational Institutions: Implication for Students from North East India

India is a land of diversity where the people belong to various different cultural, ethnic, religious, caste, region and economic sections. The disparities and inequalities on these and other parameters are stark and evident. Even within the same cultural or ethnic groups of people, one can witness the inequities and discrimination. Various government policies and schemes have tried to promote inclusivity for such marginalized sections of people. The effort of the government is immense in trying to integrate the society and reduce any social, psychological, economic, political or historical discrimination. The most effective medium for alleviation from any kind of discrimination is through education, besides being a media for opening opportunities and breaking social barriers. That is the reason why students from the North East of India pursue their higher education in India’s metropolitan cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai in the hope of attaining the key to a successful life. However, the fact that most of the youths come from indigenous communities where their region lacks infrastructure development and communications becomes a factor for them to be ‘othered’, besides the fact that most of the students from North East India exhibit certain identifying features of being different through their social, cultural and racial characteristics. The paper seeks to study how students from NE India are integrated through affirmative action in India’s educational institutions through primary data collections and what are the implications it has for the student communities.