Paper Title: Give Me a Database and I Will Raise the Nation-StateAuthors: Ranjit SinghJournal: South Asia: Journal of South Asian StudiesVolume: 42Issue: 3Pages: 501-518 Year: 2019 Abstract: This paper draws on an ethnographic study of Aadhaar, India’s biometrics-based national identification infrastructure, to investigate how members of its design team conceptualised and understood their techno-bureaucratic enterprise of assigning unique numbers to Indian […]
Seams that Matter
Paper Title: Seams that Matter in Approaches to Study Processes of Marginalization Author: Ranjit Singh Workshop: Solidarity Across Borders Venue: The 21st ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW), New York Date: 4 November 2018 Abstract: This paper outlines the trajectory of my ethnographic research on the design and use of India’s national biometrics-based identification project, […]
From Pipes to Platforms
Conference Presentation Title: From Pipes to Platforms: Designing a Country-Scale Project Author: Ranjit Singh Panel: Coded citizenship. Biometrics, identity and de-socializing technologies in South Asia Venue: The 25th European Conference on South Asian Studies (ECSAS), Paris Date: 25 July 2018 Abstract: This paper draws on ethnographic study of Aadhaar, India’s biometrics-based national identification project, to engage with the core design […]
Following Digital Directions
Chapter Title: Getting “There” from the Ever-changing “Here”: Following Digital Directions Authors: Ranjit Singh, Chris Hesselbein, Jessica Price, and Michael Lynch Edited Volume: digitalSTS: A Field Guide for Science & Technology Studies Publisher: Princeton University Press Pages: 280-299 Year: 2019 Abstract: Many familiar debates in STS, philosophy, and communication and information studies revolve around the relationship between formal […]
Authentication Trails of Body as Evidence
Conference Presentation Title: Authentication trails of Body as evidence: What counts as a confirmation of what? Author: Ranjit Singh Panel: Techno-Utopias of Identification: Comparing and Situating the Fantasy in Aadhaar Venue: 4th LASSnet International Conference in New Delhi, India Date: 10 December, 2016 Abstract: This paper traces body as evidence in the analysis of India’s biometrics-based identity project – Aadhaar. […]
Beyond Identification
Conference Panel Title: Beyond Identification: Biometrics, Everyday Life, and the State Panel Organizers: Michelle Spektor and Ranjit Singh Venue: 4S Conference in Boston, US Date: 2 September, 2016 Call for Papers: From unlocking personal smartphones and designing national IDs and passports, to conducting criminal investigations and verifying financial transactions, the use of fingerprints, facial recognition data, iris scans, and other […]
Travelling Numbers
Conference Presentation Title: Travelling Numbers: Tracing the transformations of Aadhaar Author: Ranjit Singh Panel: Infrastructures, subjects, politics Venue: 4S/EASST Conference in Barcelona, Spain Date: 3 September, 2016 Short Abstract: This paper traces the imbrication of India’s biometrics-based national identity number, Aadhaar, into various information infrastructures of social welfare delivery in India. Abstract: This paper traces the transformations of India’s biometrics-based national […]