CHARVAKA

Rationalism. Secularism. Freedom

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    Cārvāka Darśana kī Śāstrīya Samīkṣā (1965) – An Overview

    Although Dr. Sarvananda Pathak takes a critical stance against Cārvāka philosophy, his book’s fifth chapter compiles extensive primary Sanskrit sources with Hindi translations. Sourced from ancient texts like the Rāmāyaṇa, Viṣṇupurāṇa, and Sarvadarśanasaṃgraha, these selections preserve materialist writings attributed to thinkers including Kapila, Gautama, Jaimini, and Vātsyāyana.

  • Modi Sarkar: Politics through Culture

    Ram Puniyani The change in the ruling dispensation (May 2014) has more than one aspect which is likely to affect the very social-cultural-political map of India. Narendra Modi won the last elections with an electoral success, 282 seats for BJP, with 31% of votes polled, which is a landmark for a party. There was a…

  • The Mind-Reader’s Ash Revelation

    This article deconstructs the “mind-reading” ash revelation stunt used by street performers. By pre-writing numbers 1 through 9 with dry soap across indexed zones, a performer relies on fatty-acid adhesion to trap fine charcoal or ash particles. The dramatic revelation depends on optical contrast and surface chemistry, not telepathy.

  • Reading a Message in a Sealed Cover

    This article deconstructs the psychic trick of reading messages sealed inside envelopes. By wetting opaque paper with volatile diethyl ether, a performer matches cellulose’s refractive index to temporarily create a translucent window. The illusion relies on optical light scattering, rapid solvent evaporation, and theatrical misdirection rather than genuine clairvoyance.

  • The Belief in Rebirth and the Gospel of Gautama Buddha

    Normal 0 T.A.P Aryaratne When we speak of Buddhism we mean the doctrine set forth in a certain collection of compositions, chiefly discourses, orally transmitted over a period of some five centuries before the Christian era began, and committed to writing towards the close of that period. From this fact we cannot justly conclude that…

  • The Sacred Spit: Igniting Fire with Saliva

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    This article deconstructs the miracle claim of igniting sawdust with saliva. By secretly mixing sodium peroxide into wood dust, a performer uses a fine water spray to trigger rapid exothermic hydrolysis, oxygen evolution, and spontaneous cellulose ignition. The illusion relies on reactive inorganic chemistry rather than supernatural heat or divine wrath.

  • The Oracle’s Fiery Breath

    This article deconstructs the oracle trick of blowing sparks from the mouth during divine possession trance. By placing a smouldering, saltpetre-treated jute bundle inside the oral cavity, forced exhalation accelerates nitre decomposition and cellulose combustion. The illusion relies on internal chemical oxidisers and temporary salivary insulation rather than supernatural immunity.

  • Hegel, Heine, Marx: Hanuman and Sabala

    Ramkrishna Bhattacharya    In ‘The British Rule in India,’ one of his contributions to the New-York Daily Tribune, 25 June 1853, Marx waxed both passionate and indignant:   ‘We must not forget that these little [village] communities [in Hindostan] were contaminated by distinctions of caste and by slavery, that they subjugated man to external circumstances instead…

  • Is the Face of Hinduism Changing?

    Ram Puniyani Fali S Nariman recently made a very significant observation on the current political situation in India. The distinguished Constitutional jurist noted: “Hinduism has traditionally been the most tolerant of all Indian faiths. But, recurrent instances of religious tension, fanned by fanaticism and hate speech, have shown that the Hindu tradition of tolerance is showing signs…

  • ISIS, Oil Politics and Peaking of Islamophobia

    Ram Puniyani    Just a month ago (August 2014) a group of Muslim activists-scholars organized press meets in various cities. They issued a statement condemning the brutal violence being committed by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). There statement carried a visual saying Islam Means Peace. The statement said “Indian Muslims Condemn the Brutal…

  • Tools for Divisive Politics: Hate Speech and Patriarchy

    Love Jihad propaganda spurs hate, not dialogue Ram Puniyani After the last general elections where Narendra Modi and his party won a majority overwhelmingly, the BJP has not been doing so well in subsequent by-elections. The Lalu-Nitish experiment is one model, but whether it will be replicated in different parts of the country is a…

  • Does Love Know Religious Boundaries?

    Ram Puniyani                                       Communal politics, communal violence all over used women’s bodies as the site of contestation and community honor. This is the worst expression of patriarchal values inherent in the communal politics. We recall that it was the presentation of a road accident between boys of two religious communities that was propagated as an…

  • Is ‘Hindu’ our National Identity?

    Ram Puniyani From the decade of 1980 the identity based politics has come to the fore in our Country. The Shah Bano issue, the Ram Temple imbroglio and the Rath yatras, brought to fore the issues related identity, the first major casualty of this politics was the demolition of Babri Masjid. Around that the notion…

  • The Modi Sarkar: Initial Symptoms

    Ram Puniyani It is already over two months that Narendra Modi has taken over as the prime minister of the country. While some may call it as a ‘honey moon period’ others will say that its actions during last few months are an indication enough of shape of things to come. It goes without saying…

  • Ideology as a Cover for Political Agenda: New ICHR Chief is a Communal Ideologue

    Ram Puniyani Electoral and political arena is only one of the grounds through which political agenda of vested interests is achieved. Capturing of people’s mind, the ideological propagation, is the foundation on which political agenda stands and perpetuates itself. That’s how the change in History text books or teaching a communal version of History is…

  • Gods on Earth: Shankaracharya says no to worship of Sai Baba

    Ram Puniyani The phenomenon of God is probably the most complex one in the World. For believers there is a range of belief system about the supernatural powers. For agnostics it is ‘I don’t know’ and for atheists there is no supernatural power. The systems of thought relevant to the topic range from Animists (nature…

  • Debating Secularism in a Communalized Society

    Ram Puniyani In the aftermath of the recent elections Congress, Communist parties, Samajvadi and Lalu’s RJD, which can be called secular in some sense; bit the dust.  In the review of defeat the major opposition party Congress, which has been in power for maximum number of years, one major opinion from its top leader A.K. Antony…

  • Striving for Gender Justice: Overcoming Obstacles

    Ram Puniyani While on one hand a PIL has been filed for UCC, there is another significant development in this direction. This relates to the personal laws of Muslim community. That ‘Muslim women are subject to more domination and gender injustice’ has been a widespread perception. While as such the Personal laws of different religious…

  • Love Thy Neighbor: Nawaz Sharif’s Visit to India

    Ram Puniyani India Pakistan relations have always been mired with in various controversies, which have been preventing the friendly relations with our neighbor, who in ‘popular perception’ is seen as anenemy. It is due to this that while all the members of SAARC countries have been invited, the one to draw maximum popular attention has…

  • Hate Crimes and Communal Polarization

    Ram Puniyani The Modi Sarkar has been installed in power from last three weeks or so (May 16, 2014). While there is lots of hope from this government by sections of society, there are other types of fears which have started getting actualized and the consequences of that are being felt with great amount of…

  • Can Modi be compared to Hitler?

    Ram Puniyani With Modi coming to power in the 2014 elections various analysts have been arguing about the shape of things to come in very diverse ways. Modi himself is being compared to the likes of Nixon, Margret Thatcher, Reagan on one side and Hitler on the other. His being compared to Hitler has met…

  • Assam: Ethnic Communal Divides to the Fore

    Ram Puniyani The recent (May 01, 2014) violence in Kokrajhar, Baska killing 32 Bengali speaking Muslims is one more reminder of the seeping Bodo-Muslim tension in the region. This violence is being attributed to Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), whose legislator Pramila Rani Brahma allegedly stated that her party candidate and Assam minister may not win…

  • Modi Wins 2014 Elections: Victory of Development or Divisiveness

    Ram Puniyani The results of Parliamentary Elections are very interesting. With 31% vote share BJP-Modi won 282 Parliament seats, Congress with 19% vote share got 44 seats, BSP polled 4.1 percent of votes and drew a total blank, the Trinamool Congress won 3.8 percent of vote share with 34 seats, Samajwadi Party won 3.4 percent…

  • Politicizing the Plight of Kashmiri Pundits

    Ram Puniyani Politics is a strange game where no holds are barred for electoral advantages. It also expresses, to some extent, the political ideology of those playing these games in addition to the distortion of events, which are done deliberately. Interpretation of the very same events is diametrically different for different political groups. The sad…