Dr. Ranjana Mukhopadhyaya is Professor of Japanese Studies in the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi. She has also taught at the Nagoya State University in Japan. She has Bachelor and Master Degrees in Sociology from the University of Delhi and Doctoral degree in Religious studies from the University of Tokyo, Japan. Her areas of specialization are Japanese Religions, Buddhism and Sociology. She is interested in understanding the role of religion in contemporary society and this led her to study Engaged Buddhist movements in East Asia and South-east Asia. Her book, Engaged Buddhism in Japan (Toshindo, Tokyo, 2005 in Japanese) is recipient of two prestigious academic awards in Japan. She has extensively published and presented in
international conferences on Engaged Buddhism, Buddhist ethics, relationship between religion and
state in Japan and other Asian countries, religion and globalization and the new religious
movements.

She is the Founder-Chairperson of Samutthan Foundation, a Public Charitable Trust dedicated to community development focusing on promotion of communal harmony, interfaith dialogue,
preservation of cultural and linguistic heritage of India, educational and social upliftment of women
and the underprivileged sections of society, environment protection and disaster risk management.
She is also the Chairperson of the Women’s Wing of Gandhi Global Family, an international NGO
affiliated to UN and involved in promoting peace, social harmony and conflict resolution based on Gandhian principles in India as well as abroad.