Bangalore, Aug 12 - When Josephine Ao, a resident of Dimapur in Nagaland, completed her graduation, she decided to migrate to Bangalore to pursue a course in fashion designing. That was almost three years ago.

Armed with a degree, Josephine is now hunting for a job in the city. 'Be it education or employment, back home in Nagaland or in other northeastern states, the opportunities are very few. So youths from the region are forced to migrate to different cities of the country,' Josephine, 24, told IANS.

She is among hundreds of youths from India's northeast who can be spotted in Bangalore, which seems to have become a preferred destination after Delhi and Kolkata.

Tikramjit Singha, a 19-year-old from Imphal, Manipur, pursuing his bachelors in business administration here, said the northeastern region lacks good educational institutions.

'Apart from a few degree course colleges, the region has a shortage of institutions providing specialised courses. Be it management, engineering or fashion designing courses, the northeastern region does not have good institutes to provide education to youths,' said Singha.

'Thus we come to cities like Bangalore and Delhi, where opportunities are plenty. Be it getting degrees in varied courses or getting jobs, metros across India provide us the opportunity, which is missing in our native place,' he added.

There is no estimate of the number of northeastern youths in Bangalore but they are increasingly visible in college campuses and at the city's popular youth hangouts such as M.G. Road, adjoining Brigade Road, Commercial Street, a kilometre away, and in multiplexes and shopping malls.

Whether it is policemen on the beat or shop-owners or the ubiquitous auto-rickshaw driver arguing with these boys and girls about the fare, all say their numbers are more now than two-three years ago.

With such a noticeable increase in their presence in the city, the Bangalore-based Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) is conducting a study to assess whether it is only educational and employment opportunities that are driving migration or socio-political changes in the region are also a factor.