Month: January 2020

At the ripe age of 90 years Suman Oak, a staunch rationalist, radical humanist, and a very humane, liberal and dependable person for all rationalists and humanists breathed her last

Indian television channels delivered a rude reminder of the arrival of a ‘new India’ when they blared news of defence minister Rajnath Singh emblazoning a Rafale fighter jet with an

Even as public policy on science and technology is being contaminated by pseudoscience, such myths also instil notions of “scientific” superiority and greatness of the Hindutva worldview in gullible minds.

(An excerpt from the second volume of ‘The Case for Reason’, a translation of the rationalist and anti-superstition activist’s ‘Timiratuni Tejakade’.) I was once asked to speak on the topic

Media attention over the last few years has gravitated towards right-wing groups that target ‘rationalists’ for what the groups consider to be ‘outrageous remarks’ against their professed faith. The back-and-forth

Most likely the first human who invented the first god, was some smart tribal guy who saw that it was a very effective way to protect himself from bodily harm

Another edition of the Indian Science Congress, another gift to the news cycle. The Congress, which is meant to be a premier forum for scientists to present and discuss their

Much has been written about the nonsense that finds its way into the Indian Science Congress. There is a reason why pseudo-scientific beliefs are uttered at such prestigious events. They are

As a psychiatrist working with people facing many kinds of adversity, sometimes people ask about my own religious beliefs. In those cases where it is appropriate for me to provide

Kosambi’s classic definition of “science” is by itself sufficient to secure him a place in the history of thought. It is as profound as it is brief : ‘Science is

A study published in the journal Neuropsychologia has shown that religious fundamentalism is, in part, the result of a functional impairment in a brain region known as the prefrontal cortex. The findings suggest

The topic is Indian culture and philosophical therapy. Now when we talk about philosophical therapy, we may mean a number of things. For instance when you think of professional British

On either side of the Atlantic, groups of public intellectuals have issued a call to arms. The besieged citadel in need of defending, they say, is the one that safeguards

Worldwide scientific consensus warns of climate disaster and has made an urgent call for action. Yet, the Trump administration has doubled down on its effort to suppress the science around climate change, burying