Paper short abstract:

A great number of African students came to India recently to study in state and private universities. The paper will critically question the experience of the African students in India who are living in a changing but complex society marked by religious, racial, cultural and linguistic diversity.

Paper long abstract:

Nowadays India is the top non-African country of the Global South destination among African students according to the Indian Higher Education Survey. The data from the Ministry of Human Resource Development indicate Sudan and Nigeria as fourth and fifth on the list of top 10 countries from where students came to study in India, the maximum number of students enrolled in Ph.D. studies are from Ethiopia. Most of African students are enrolled in new, privately run universities that conduct aggressive recruitment drives in various African countries.

Historically, India-Africa relations were built on opposition of colonialism and racial discrimination. The fact that India was dedicated to Africa's struggle against colonial rule, apartheid, and injustice is not well know among Indians, but Africans know it.

Image of India among African nationals is mainly positive thanks to Indian films which are very popular in Africa. When African nationals come to India they collide with an unexpected realities full of 'coloring' prejudices and race stereotypes in Indian host society.

The paper will critically question the experience of the African students in India who are living in a changing but complex society marked by religious, racial, cultural and linguistic diversity. The research in progress is based on conversations and interviews with members of African Association of Students in India (AASI), as well as analyses of social media and media coverage of such cases. Additionally the representatives of the Indian host community were interviewed.