Scientific Temper
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Killing a Rationalist: Silencing Reason
Examining the tragic assassination of M.M. Kalburgi alongside Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, Ram Puniyani critiques the violent suppression of rational thought in India. Linking historical resistance—from Cārvāka to the Bhakti movement—to modern anti-superstition campaigns, this essay exposes the rising tide of religious intolerance while affirming hope through collective democratic resistance.
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“I Would Be Happy To See a Real Miracle Before I Die”:
In this concluding afterword to Volume 1, B. Premanand highlights how unscrupulous godmen exploit superstitions and evade legal action despite robust Indian laws. He emphasizes the necessity of cultivating a scientific temper, details his lifetime search for authentic paranormal phenomena, and outlines Abraham T. Kovoor’s famous One-Lakh Rupee Paranormal Challenge.
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Port Blair Training Camp on Developing Scientific Temper Concludes
Teaching kids the real science behind “miracles”! Our 5-day training program empowering young minds with scientific temper wrapped up on May 30, 2013. Venue: Science Centre, Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands Event Banner & Workshop Theme Prof. Narendra Nayak Delivering the Keynote Address Workshop Participants Engaged During the Session Demonstrating the Physics and Physiology…
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Unmasking the Miracle-Merchants:
An Interview with B. PremanandIn this candid interview, renowned rationalist Premanand discusses his lifelong campaign exposing fraudulent godmen across India. As the successor to Abraham Kovoor, he explains how scientific temper debunks widespread superstitions like holy ash, palmistry, and astrology, advocating for reason over religious exploitation while educating millions through nationwide scientific outreach workshops.
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The Weeping Madonna
Weeping statues draw crowds and inspire belief, but salty tears need not be miraculous. A simple experiment with a hollow plaster statue and brine shows how capillary action, pressure and evaporation can create tear-like moisture through ordinary physics, while reminding us that a demonstration cannot prove what caused any particular reported case.
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India’s Blasphemy Law: Section 295A of IPC
Laws like Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code have no place in a civilized society and need to be consigned, along with many such laws, to the trash bins of history. This is to be contrasted with Article 51A(h) of the Constitution of India which states “It shall be the duty of every citizen…
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Made Snana:
Extraordinary Claims Need Extraordinary EvidenceExpose the harsh reality of Made Snana, a degrading ritual rooted in deep-seated caste discrimination and superstition. This critical analysis challenges pseudo-scientific defenses, unmasks political hypocrisy, and calls for rationalism, human dignity, and evidence-based science to eradicate primitive practices that exploit vulnerable communities in the name of tradition.
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Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations (FIRA) – 8th National Conference
The 8th National Conference of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations (FIRA) will be held at Nagpur, Maharashtra, on 11th and 12th February 2012. FIRA, an apex body of more than 75 rationalist, atheist, skeptic, secularist, and science organizations in India, is committed to the development of scientific temper and humanism in India. The Federation…
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Institution of Engineers Peddles Astrology to Improve Productivity!
When the Bangalore Chapter of the Institution of Engineers hosted a lecture on astrology to boost productivity, P. L. Rao, an engineer and member of Bangalore Vicharavadi Sangham, protested against promoting pseudoscience. Highlighting the constitutional duty to foster a scientific temper, this article exposes the compromise of scientific principles within a premier engineering body.
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Railways and Health
This Satirical Essay Lambasts Indian Railways For Permitting Quackery On Public Premises, Highlighting Claims That “Sin Causes Disease” And Pseudoscience Promoted By A Five-Rupee Health Gadget. The Author Demands Legal Accountability Under Consumer Protection Laws To Stop Misleading Vulnerable Passengers With Exploitative Magic Remedies.
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Rising Intolerance and the Rule of the Mob
Reason & Rights: Rising Intolerance and the Rule of the Mob — Charvaka.net Reason & Rights Examining Khap Panchayats, Religious Extremism, Political Hypocrisy, and the Threats to Constitutional Democracy Check the following: Khap Panchayats in North India sentence young married couples to death and execute that. In Kerala, a lecturer’s hand is chopped off for…
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Alternative Medicine
This essay dismantles the claims of unproven alternative therapies, contrasting their reliance on pseudoscientific assumptions and commercial quackery with the self-correcting, evidence-based nature of scientific medicine. The author exposes regulatory loopholes in India, warns against dangerous diagnostic delays, and stresses that there is no true alternative to genuine health.
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Consolidating Rationalism Across India
This message from Narendra Nayak, President of FIRA, reviews extensive rationalist training tours across India, assessing how sensation-seeking media coverage was strategically leveraged to promote scientific temper. The author outlines ongoing efforts to consolidate regional rationalist networks in Odisha, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh, while emphasizing the vital need to engage urban youth through platforms like…
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Building the Rationalist Movement in Bihar
This report chronicles the expansion of the rationalist movement in Bihar, stemming from efforts to counter politicians honoring tantriks. Following nationwide miracle-exposure workshops and district tours with Science for Society, activists convened at Patna University to form the Bihar Rationalist Forum, establishing specialized investigative panels and electing ad hoc leadership under FIRA affiliation.
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An Atheist in Periyar’s Land
This personal narrative recounts extensive rationalist lecture-demonstrations and miracle-exposure workshops across Tamil Nadu. Operating in the intellectual shadow of Periyar, the author describes countering religious fraudsters, enduring fundamentalist intimidation, exposing Nadi Jyothisham, and successfully engaging college students and public audiences to foster scientific temper despite media misrepresentation and threats.
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Expanding Rationalism Across Bihar, UP, and Beyond
This article highlights the rapid expansion of rationalist training networks in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and across North and East India. Collaborating with Science for Society, the movement conducts workshops to debunk superstitions, train youth, and cultivate scientific temper to counter pervasive fatalism, calling for introspection to sustain a larger national campaign.
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Rationalism at the Grassroots: Working with Madhya Pradesh Tribals
This field report details rationalist outreach among Adivasi and Dalit communities in Madhya Pradesh. The author describes conducting workshops in Itarsi, Betul, and Indore to debunk local healers like Bhagats and Padeyars, train indigenous youth in scientific temper, counter religious proselytization, and challenge social prejudices against Denotified Tribes.
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Basava Premanand – A Great Skeptic & Human Being
Honouring B. Premanand (1930–2009), the legendary leader of the Indian rationalist movement, this tribute and 2008 interview document his relentless crusade against spiritual fraud. From offering monetary challenges to expose pseudo-miracles to filing court petitions against prominent godmen, Premanand dedicated his life to scientific temper, critical thinking, and unyielding atheism.