TheDaak review

Pranoy Saha is pursuing a PhD in Performance Studies, focusing on the intersection of culture, religion, and politics in everyday life. His research explores the Ambedkarite and anti-caste movements, particularly examining the role of religious conversions in shaping these movements. Having completed an MA in Performance Studies, his dissertation
analysed the Buddhist mass conversion of 1956, a defining event in India’s history with enduring relevance. He employs diverse methods to explore these themes, combining textual analysis to examine how narratives—both written and oral—construct identities and discourse analysis to investigate power dynamics in language, particularly concerning caste and conversion. His work also incorporates ethnography, engaging directly with communities to understand their lived experiences, as well as archival research to trace the historical evolution of socio-political contexts. Additionally, he has published an article titled “The Nexus of Anthropology, Religion, and Politics: Verrier Elwin, Hindu Nationalism, and the Anti-Christian Sentiment in Central India,” which analyses the complex interactions between anthropology, religion, and nationalism in post-colonial India.

He can be contacted at pranoy1904@gmail.com