As we enter the festive season, the outlook for scientific temper in India looks bleak. The recent judgment of the Allahabad High Court in the title suit of the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute shows that even the judiciary is not above superstition. One can only wonder as to what made the judges decide that Rama was born at that particular spot. Though it is qualified by the statement that it is believed, it looks like belief has been accepted as evidence by the learned judges. Courts, at least in our country, are not supposed to go by popular sentiments or by religious beliefs—they are here to interpret the laws of the land. But the three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court has thrown all these to the winds and declared that they would go by extrajudicial considerations.

Here we have non-existent gods being represented by human beings, gods being declared as minors, and what have you. In such a scenario, there is also a compromise—in order to preserve peace, the litigants have been granted pieces of the disputed property! Though all three judges have agreed that the “miraculous” appearance of the idols was by human agency, the self-appointed guardians of this temple, which came into existence because of the appearance of these idols, have been granted a piece of the land. The judges have also come to the conclusion that Rama was a historical figure and that he was born in that very place! While volumes have been written about this, as the rationalist movement, we have to take cognizance of this and think of arresting this dangerous trend. For this purpose, we called a meeting of the executive committee of our federation, which was attended by the President, Patron, National Secretary, and some members of the executive committee. Some members had already sent their opinions. After due consideration of all points of view, it was strongly felt that we should get impleaded as a party. The legal advice has been that it is basically a property dispute and third parties have no locus standi. After deliberating over this matter, though all of us wanted to get impleaded, the consideration of our meager resources and more pressing problems needing urgent attention made us decide that we would leave the matter for the Supreme Court to decide upon, as all present felt that the Supreme Court would be more rational in its approach and would consider all the points which have now converted a civil dispute about a piece of land into a referendum about the existence of a mythological figure! The deliberations of this meeting and the various issues discussed will be duly circulated by the National Secretary.

We have another important judgment which brings us cheer. One of our colleagues in the movement, Hulikal Natraj, who had taken my training nearly two decades ago, had been asked a question in a public program at Kodagu about the Makara Vilakku at Sabarimala. For the uninformed, this is a “miraculous” light appearing on a hill called Ponnambalamedu at around 6:00 PM on the Makara Sankranti day, which is on the 14th of January. This hill is opposite the temple of Ayyappa at Sabarimala in Kerala. He replied that it was not true. The Hindutvawadis managed to register an FIR and tried to get him arrested for hurting religious sentiments! He had to move the High Court of Karnataka to have the FIR quashed. The judgment of the High Court has come as a shot in the arm for us. The judge came down heavily on the police for having registered an FIR against someone exercising his constitutional duty of creating scientific temper. He also castigated the higher-ups in the police hierarchy, and the Home Secretary had to apologize in court for the same.

In the last month, I too had been asked the same question during programs in the same places. I had replied that the Makara Vilakku is true! I had also mentioned that it is true because the Kerala State Electricity Board arranges for burning camphor when a prearranged signal is given! Last year, the trustee of the temple of Ayyappa went on record stating that the Makara Vilakku is a man-made phenomenon. The Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham had exposed that nearly twenty-five years ago, along with photographs in leading newspapers! Yet some people want to believe it to be a miracle.

I was also asked questions about another event that happens in October at a place called Talakaveri in Kodagu. At the prearranged time, the river Kaveri is supposed to spring out of a tank in that place. I replied that I do not know how it happens, but would be glad to investigate and submit a report if invited in writing. This got due publicity in the media, some of whom distorted what I had said. Some organizations, taking advantage of this, started a so-called “campaign” asking for a criminal case to be filed against me and demanding that I should be arrested, etc. A number of threats were also made, including that my programs would not be allowed there! But I went there on the 7th of this month and had a number of interactions in public and educational institutions. The members of the Kaveri Sene (army) were nowhere to be seen, and all these passed off uneventfully!

We have had excellent interactions with the students of a number of colleges in and around Mysore. One of the most memorable ones was at the Department of Humanities at Mysore University. On the 5th of October, the World Teachers’ Day celebration was held with the participation of the students and the faculty. The interaction went on for nearly two hours with a number of questions. The Vice-Chancellor of the University was also present, and he sat through the program making notes! The students were exposed to our point of view for the first time! The person who had organized the program, Dr. Panditardhya, a Professor of Kannada, also spoke at the meeting. He told me that he was besieged with questions from the students the next day in his class!

We are lining up a number of programs in this area this month. We propose to have interactions, demonstrations, and training programs. It has also been proposed to set up organizations to promote rational thinking. We do hope to build up a strong movement in this area, which is the heartland of Karnataka.