This book introduces the concept of ‘purposed-leadership’ to explore the emotional lifeworlds and professional interventions of India’s start-up NGO educationalists. It contributes to anthropological and philosophical debates on subjectivity by engaging the theoretical frameworks of new materialist (relational) ontology and affect. It explores how the inherent tension of purposed-leadership produces a ‘cruel optimism’: educationalists’ desire for sovereignty and autonomy (a consistent, investable self) pulls against their desire for community and solidarity (an authentic, relational self) in ways that hinder their ethical and professional mission. The book also contributes to debates in the sociology of education by showing how a focus on self-reflection and self-management leaves educators blind to the historical and social structures, which continue to reproduce inequality in India. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of ethnography, sociology, education, and South Asian studies.
