Arkotong Longkumer

Professor Arkotong Longkumer holds a Personal Chair in Anthropology and Modern Asia at the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh. His primary research interests include indigenous religious movements, Hindu nationalism in Northeast India, migration, citizenship, and the challenges of conducting ethnography in militarized and sensitive border regions. He has authored a monograph on the Heraka Movement and a recent book, The Greater India Experiment: Hindutva and the Northeast (Stanford), funded by the British Academy, exploring the ideological experimentation of Hindu nationalism in the eastern Himalayas.

Qualifications: PhD.

External Affiliations: Advisory Board for South Asianist and Indigenous Religious Traditions (Equinox).

Research has been supported by grants from the British Academy, Norwegian Research Council, Leverhulme Trust, Economic and Social Research Council, and others. He has led over two dozen projects, including work on decolonizing museums, returning ancestral remains to Northeast India, and analyzing the role of religion in governance. Teaching and PhD supervision are central to his role at the University of Edinburgh.

His research often examines the intersection of state policies, ethnic identity, and religious practices, particularly in regions impacted by conflict and globalization. Current projects emphasize digital repatriation and the ecological dimensions of nationalism in border areas.