About this book:

*Children of Empire: Education, Missionaries, and Youth in Colonial South Asia* examines how colonial power structured childhood and education in South Asia from the mid-19th century through independence. The book argues that education served as both a tool of governance and a source of hope, producing a complex tapestry of state-run, missionary, and indigenous learning institutions. It delves into the bureaucratic mechanisms of government schools, characterized by inspection, examinations, and an emphasis on efficiency and loyalty to the British Empire. Simultaneously, it explores missionary classrooms, which blended care with overt conversion efforts, often reaching marginalized communities and pioneering female education, albeit with cultural assimilationist agendas.

The book also highlights the resilience and adaptation of vernacular learning spaces like *pathshalas*, *madrasas*, and *gurukuls*, which continued to transmit indigenous knowledge and cultural values despite colonial influence. It reveals how the colonial "invention of childhood"—a prolonged, protected period for learning—was imposed upon a society where children were traditionally integrated into work from an early age, creating tensions around fees, child labor, and family economies. Furthermore, it addresses how caste, community, and language deeply impacted access to education, often reinforcing existing social hierarchies while simultaneously providing pathways for some marginalized groups.

Beyond formal schooling, the book investigates the role of youth movements like the Scouts and Guides, which initially aimed to instill imperial loyalty but were later co-opted and "Indianized" by nationalist sentiments. It traces how students, once passive recipients of colonial knowledge, transformed into active political participants through associations, strikes, and engagement with the burgeoning nationalist movement. The book also covers the unique challenges and opportunities presented by crises like war and famine, which led to relief schooling, and examines the distinctive educational approaches adopted by Princely States, showcasing "alternative modernities" distinct from British Indian policy.

Ultimately, *Children of Empire* concludes by analyzing the enduring legacies of colonial education that persisted into post-colonial nation-building. The institutional structures, examination systems, language debates, and struggles over access and curriculum continued to shape independent India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The book argues that the classrooms and campuses, initially designed to produce loyal colonial subjects, inadvertently equipped generations with the critical tools and nationalist fervor that contributed to the end of empire, demonstrating how the past continues to resonate in contemporary South Asian societies.