Kumar studied Anthropology alongside History and has been productive in research and publishing in both fields.
From 1990, Kumar has been associated with NIRMAN, a non-profit NGO that works for education and the arts in Varanasi, India.
[1] Kumar's scholarship has included a questioning of the pursuit of agency and ‘justice’ in history, and the responsibilities of the scholar towards her subject(s) of study.
At NIRMAN, Kumar has taught, written curricula, trained teachers, and worked on children's books and arts.
Kumar has presented her research on education, democracy, modernity, and children in India at numerous places, and continues to do so.