Conference by Usman Mehandi
February 24th, 2026
The CERIAS is pleased to welcome Usman Mehandi for a lecture entitled «Higher Education and Challenges of Muslim Youths: A Study of RoorkeeCity, Uttarakhand». The conference will take place on Tuesday, February 24 at 12:30 p.m, in a bimodal format, in person at the Department of Religious Studies at UQAM in room W-3235, and remotely via Zoom (connection link).
Usman Mehandi has completed his PhD at the School of Social Work in Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai, India. Currently, he is engaged in a research internship at the Department of Anthropology in Laval University in Quebec.
Abstract of the conference:
Since independence, India has made notable progress in higher education. However, access continues to be shaped by hierarchies of caste, class, and socio-cultural divides. As a result, many communities remain excluded from educational and employment opportunities. Without inclusive and equitable access to education, real socio-economic development remains incomplete. Among those most affected are Muslims, who constitute 14.2 percent of India’s population. It’s well documented now, Muslims remain socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged compared to other socio-religious groups. Their participation in higher education is particularly worrying, as attainment levels are lower than other socio-religious groups due to systematic and structural barriers.
This presentation examines the attainments of Muslims in higher education and the factors shaping the aspirations of Muslim youths in Roorkee. Situated in a Muslim minority-concentrated district and widely regarded as an “education city”, Roorkee is a particularly relevant site for examining the disjuncture between young Muslims’ educational aspiration and the constraints they encounter in assessing higher education. It also considers how experiences differ across gender, caste, class, and rural–urban contexts within Muslim communities. Hence, the presentation highlights how identity, marginalisation, and resilience shape their educational journeys and future aspirations.
