The Smart and the Dumb

Vishal Vasanthakumar was born in Chennai and studied mechanical engineering before switching paths to teaching which he did for six years. He is currently enrolled for a PhD in Sociology at the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. He also has a Masters in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has previously worked with the Department of School Education Government of Tamil Nadu and as a political consultant for a political party. Between 2020 and 2023 Vishal ran a thriving pesto business from his home kitchen. He currently lives and works in Cambridge UK. <p>‘<i>When racial and sexual injustice have been reduced we shall still be left with the grave injustice of the smart and the dumb</i>’—Thomas Nagel</p><p>Education achieves many things—it pulls people out of poverty enables socio-economic mobility and promises a route to dignity. But what does education mean to different people what does it do and whose needs are being met by education?</p><p>Even as globalization and formal education have established themselves as unquestionable truths only a privileged few have cornered its benefits. In this process education is being reconceived and its promises are being rewritten. Today there clearly is more to education than going to school getting credentials and getting a job.</p><p>This book is an attempt to capture what this ‘more’ is by exploring education’s connections to caste class and gender and understanding how they affect the promise of education. In documenting the fractured realities of the many children who want guns for Christmas and the psychological trauma of conflict in Manipur how a ban on toddy-tapping affects educational choices in Tamil Nadu or why a grandmother chose to get her fifteen-year-old granddaughter married to a seventeen-year-old truck driver in rural Rajasthan and many such stories this book attempts to paint a portrait of the political and cultural processes that affect education.</p><p></p> ‘The Smart and The Dumb is a powerful critique of contemporary Indian education that exposes a stark paradox: while more people than ever seek education's empowering potential opportunities for marginalized groups are shrinking. Through vivid stories from his journey across India Vishal guides us through this complex landscape revealing the disconnect between promise and reality shedding light on hidden mechanisms that perpetuate disadvantage and questioning the fairness and effectiveness of existing systems. This powerful and thought-provoking read will spark critical conversations about education for real empowerment. A must-read for policymakers educators and anyone concerned about building a more equitable society.’ ‘By seamlessly blending storytelling and analysis Vishal V. gently compels the reader to review received opinions about the formal education system and challenge our assumptions about such things as success and merit. Quietly persuasive in its approach and remarkably humane in the telling The Smart and The Dumb confronts the most fundamental questions about education—the purpose it serves and what needs it meets. Above everything else this book on education is just that—an education.’ ‘The Smart and the Dumb is a probing book on Indian education—on both its promise and its unevenness. Indian schools are as diverse as India itself and Vishal Vasanthakumar writes with compassion and care about the challenges that both students and educators face across the country. His book will be an essential primer for anyone looking to rethink the basics of how children learn in India.’