In Smaller Citizens, Krishna Kumar explores the theme of citizenship by focusing on a key paradox of modern education: to encourage the young to think freely and apply their minds to the problems of our times, or, to train them to become loyal citizens, complying with and obeying the relevant authority representing the state. It's an old paradox, but it has acquired a new, sharper significance in our times. The politics of neo-nationalism and the demands for a compliant workforce arising from corporate control on the job market have recently increased the pressure on education to promote a habituated acceptance of orders. This volume probes the resultant dilemmas faced by teachers, parents and children themselves. Through a micro-analysis of events in classrooms and schools, the author offers compelling evidence of systemic bias that makes institutions resistant to changes and reforms initiated with great effort, as in the case of the Right to Education Act. The book offers insights to help readers understand education within India and as a concept, and the interplay of education and citizenship. It is a collection of 18 articles that have been previously published in different journals/newspapers, brought together here in a single volume. Contents: Publisher’s Acknowledgements Prologue 1. Studying Childhood 2. Education and Girlhood 3. Rurality, Modernity and Education 4. The Logic of Children’s Right to Education 5. Regimentation and Nationalism 6. Equality under a Post-Welfare State 7. Education and Poverty 8. The Death of a Small Boy 9. Leela Dube’s Poser 10. Education and Caste 11. Peasants as Citizens 12. The Essentialised Village 13. Adolescent Voices 14. Remembering a Baiga Woman 15. The Temptation to Take a Picture 16. A Matter of Belief 17. Citizens and the Bureaucracy 18. A Pedagogy of Freedom and Peace