Anand Ranjan is a fourth-year doctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh. He is currently a Visiting Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the National University of Singapore. Anand’s doctoral research project is a profound exploration reflecting his experiences as an AHRC-SGSAH Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. His concise synopsis captures the essence of his work while revealing valuable lessons learned throughout his PhD journey. Through insights into collaboration and resilience, he shares the successes and challenges he has faced, illustrating how each experience has shaped him as both a scholar and an individual, making his research journey meaningful both personally and academically. Anand works on the intersection of digital technology and Hinduism in India.
The title of his thesis is: Â
Digital Hinduism: The Appification and Outsourcing of Devotion in India.
Supervisors:
Prof. Arkotong Longkumer (Principal) (UOE)
Prof Karen Gregory (Secondary: 2024-Present) (UOE)
Dr Christopher Barrie (Secondary: 2022-2024) (Now moved to NYU)
Below, Anand gives a synopsis of his thesis and reflects on his research, his experiences as a doctoral researcher, and the lessons he has learned during this time.
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While reading this, if I ask you to think about your state of being, are you online or offline? Are you sure you are entirely online, or do you think you are offline too at the same time? Do you also feel that your state of being is fluid, shifting between online and offline spaces? I think it is challenging to demarcate a clear boundary between online and offline, or between digital and analogue. The idea of ‘onlife’, coined by Prof Luciano Floridi, came to my rescue, who defines onlife as an embodied experience of hypermediated reality at the intersectional space of online and offline. There is so much happening at this intersectional space, which blurs the boundary between online and offline. My project explores how Hinduism is mediated through this intersectional and porous space, specifically examining how digital technologies inform practitioners’ religious beliefs, practices, and narratives. This focus aims to answer key questions about the role of digital media in shaping contemporary Hinduism.
Can digital technologies themselves be sacred, or can they serve as the medium for creating sacred experiences? We either forget their function as mediating technologies or start valorising them as sacred technologies. My PhD explores the changing Hindu devotional landscape in India, where, post-COVID-19 pandemic, the growth of Hindu devotional apps attracted multi-million-dollar investments from investors, not only in India but also abroad. This study employs theories of mediation and mediation of sacred forms to analyse how digital platforms are integrated into religious life and how they influence notions of sacredness within Hindu devotional practices.
To understand the confluence of Hindu religious engagements (ritual practices, satsang, markets, narrative construction, among others) with contemporary digital technologies, I conducted 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Gaya, Bihar, India. During this period, I learnt in detail about Hindu devotional apps which outsource religious services through platformising ritual labour at local religious sites. This detailed engagement was to build confidence in the thoroughness of my research approach. I interviewed local pilgrims, temple administration, local priests who work at the temple site at Gaya, and those who work for these devotional apps to understand the dynamics and interplay between offline and online religious practices. I then interviewed the co-founders of 4 different apps and their users to understand how they perceived these apps and how they mediated Hindu religious beliefs, practices, and narratives. I am exploring how mobile apps mediated religious practices not only mirror physical altars, shrines, or temples but also alter our modes of engagement and our devotional experiences, which I prefer to call ‘onlife’ devotional experiences. The digital manifestation of deities and religious practices, such as the ‘appification’ of Hindu deities and practices, reinforces the concepts of divine immediacy and omnipresence. This project addresses some of the pressing questions emerging in the field of digital religion, including those concerning accessibility, authenticity, and authority in Digital Hinduism.Â
Here is the news coverage about my research in English and Hindu newspapers.
Fieldwork pictures shared by the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA)
https://easaonline.org/photos/photos-by-anand-ranjan/
BASAS recognised Graduate Early Career Researcher-
https://www.basas.org.uk/gec-researchers-corner/gec-researcher-of-the-month-anand-ranjan/
To know more about my research: https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/anand-ranjan/
What sparked your interest in this subject?
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered traditional Hindu death rituals, which were typically very prescriptive. These rituals began to be conducted online, leading to a gradual shift of many other ritual services into the digital space. This transition is now becoming the new normal. This change served as a catalyst for my research on digital Hinduism.
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What’s the most surprising thing your research has taught you about your subject?
 The most surprising thing my research taught me was never to take anything for granted or assume that, as a researcher, one can always be right or an expert in one’s study. Many times, I was surprised by my interlocutors’ perspectives and observations.
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What’s the most surprising thing your research has taught you about yourself?
The curiosity to know and ask, like a child, should always be the core of any researcher. This attitude helps us to learn and grow. The essence of research lies in the inherent curiosity that drives inquiry and exploration. Like a child who asks endless questions about the world around them, researchers should maintain that same sense of wonder and eagerness to learn. This mindset not only fosters a deeper understanding of their subject but also encourages innovative thinking and problem-solving. Embracing this attitude allows researchers to adapt and grow by remaining open to new ideas and perspectives, ultimately leading to more impactful and meaningful discoveries.
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If you were your own supervisor, what advice would you give yourself?
Be kind, keep working, and never ever hesitate to ask any silly questions to your supervisors. I am fortunate to have a kind, understanding and supportive supervisor.
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CONNECT WITH ANAND
Email: Anand Ranjan
University of Edinburgh Profile: Anand Ranjan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anand-ranjan-547a7244/
              Instagram: @that_edinburgh_boy
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