Shamanism is as varied as those who practise it. Its practitioners range from indigenous lineages who have passed down their craft over thousands of years to the modern ‘plastic shamans’,

‘If the fruits for life of the state of conversion are good, we ought to idealise and venerate it, even though it be a piece of natural psychology; if not,

This book, ‘I Could Not Be Hindu’, is unique in many ways. First, it is written by a former RSS member who has become a radical critique of the organisation

Over the past few days, India’s headlines have been dominated by cases of sexual violence, rape and violence against women. And with these cases has come the common refrain: ‘Hang

On January 3, Gujarat assembly speaker Rajendra Trivedi, speaking at a ‘Brahmin Business Summit’ in Ahmedabad, asserted that Brahmins are genetically superior to people of other castes and religions. If it’s a good

There are families in South Asian nations who would kill their child — usually a daughter — for the sake of ‘family honour.’ Here, the concept of ‘family’ is detached

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