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. Contents: Acknowledgements M. J. Vinod and S. Y. Surendra Kumar Introduction PART I Contextualizing Indian Higher Education Prakash Desai State of Higher Education in India Chetan Singai Equity and Higher Education Policies in India: Perspectives on National Education Policy 2020 PART II Dalits and Higher Education Krishnaswamy Dara Social Advantage and Hermeneutical Injustice in the Realm of Education T. Brahmanandam Higher Education Status among Scheduled Castes in India Areesh Kumar Karamala Caste Discrimination and Exclusion in Higher Education PART III Minorities and Higher Education K. M. Ziyauddin Muslim’s Inclusion in Indian Higher Education: An Analysis Maxim Dias and Alphonse Pius Fernandes Reaching the Unreachable: Jesuit Worldwide Learning—Higher Education at the Margins PART IV Persons with Disabilities and Higher Education S. Y. Surendra Kumar Indian Higher Education and PwD: Issue of Access and Opportunities Sanjay Jain Right to Higher Education of PwD: Critical Reflections Udaya Kiran. K. T Assistive Technology in Higher Education PART V Women and Higher Education Vagishwari. S. P. Locating Women in India’s Higher Education Priyanca Mathur and Roshni Sharma Addressing Gender Parity in Higher Education: Challenges and Concerns PART VI Prospects of Indian Higher Education D. Jeevan Kumar Marginalized Communities and Higher Education: The Way forward Index