Newark per say does not have a large Indian population. I assume you are either attending Rutgers or NJIT; if you are and you are staying in the dorms, the neighborhood where you will be living is primary occupied by students. As a whole that area is safe.

You will see some comments on here about Newark being “unsafe”. Relatively speaking, that is true. Statistically, the crime rate in Newark is higher vs surrounding suburbs. However, Newark is a large city and most of the crime is concentrated is a handful of neighborhoods. The campus and dorm areas don’t fall into that category neither are the areas surrounding the campus. Not sure which part of south India you are from; if you have experience living in large Indian cities ( Chennai, Bangalore etc.) same rules apply, be self aware and keep your wits about you. Don’t go looking for trouble / drugs and you will be perfectly fine.

As for Indian communities. Harrison has a good number of younger Indian immigrants. Mostly IT and other tech related professionals. Proximity to the path station is a big attraction.

Journal square ( 2 path stations away) has a designated little India. You can get pretty much any ethnic item you want there. Also a huge Indian immigrant population.

More established south Asian immigrants and those with families typically move out to Edison and the townships surrounding that city but you should be able to find everything you need in Journal Square.

If you are an observant Hindu, there is a temple in Kearny, close to Harrison. Few more temples in journal square as well.

Welcome to Newark!!