Deficits in participation of marginalized groups in Higher Education (HE) have attracted significant policy and research attention. Recent studies have explored the role of socio-religious affiliation and other factors in determining participation in HE. It is also shown that appropriate measures of 'deficits' in participation should inform the nature and scope of affirmative action for marginalized groups. Using appropriate measures of participation, this paper explores if the role of socio-religious background and other factors has changed over a period of time. This dynamics of participation in HE is analyzed by using three rounds of NSS data for the period 1999-2010.