Why are superstitions a part of public life in India? The modern mechanisms for risk-management or “disciplines” ranging from statistics to modern medicine exist side-by-side with superstitions in the country. The answer to why these disciplines have not penetrated into the pores of Indian society lies in the history of political power in Continue reading

‘Rationalism’  is not speculation – it is utterly practical.  It is not a philosophy – it is very      down-to-earth.  It wants to transform people, not just to stuff their minds with futile, impotent ideas.  All ideas of religions as such are impotent.  They pretend much, but when you go deep into them, you Continue reading

Rationalism

Rationalism is “any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification”. In more technical terms it is a method or a theory “in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive“. Different degrees of emphasis on this method or theory lead to a Continue reading

Kerala is perhaps the “most drunken State” in India, with its per capita consumption of liquor rising by the year. The government, of course, benefits from its monopolistic business arm, the Kerala State Beverages Corporation. The governmental pursuit seems to give the beverages some level of “respectability.” Of course the arrangement provides jobs to Continue reading

First of all we must appreciate the efforts put up by publishers – Rationalist Foundation – for bringing out the Anthology of articles on Rationalism, Humanism and Secularism written by an ardent rationalist Justice R A Jahagirdar (Retd). It is surprising to know that except for a few booklets, there were no books Continue reading