International Rationalist Conference in New Delhi

Only 43 more days for the Conference to begin

Red Fort at New Delhi

There are only 44 more days for the Conference to begin. Have you already sent your registration form? If not, we request you to send the registration form before 31 December 2001. Also we request you to confirm your participation by reply mail and book the flights. Please ask your travel agent / airline representative to provide all information about the reduced charges for February (after the peak holiday season!). For making flight reservations, you need not buy the ticket now. Once your participation is ensured, all other formalities can follow eventually.

The Conference Registration form is given at the end of this mail. Please take a print out, fill it up and send it to: The Conference Secretariat, International Rationalist Conference, 779, Pocket 5, Mayur Vihar Phase 1, New Delhi 110 091, India. The checks are to be drawn favoring "International Rationalist Conference".

Register by email immediately: Due to the heavy pressure of seasonal greeting cards on the postal system all over the world, we understand that there could be delays in postal materials to arrive. Therefore it is important to inform us by email about your participation.

Accommodation: Details regarding accommodation facilities available will be informed in the first week of January to all those who register. Accommodation is available near the venue ranging from US $ 20 to US $ 80 on the basis of facilities offered.

Rationalist International protests against the detention of Shahriar Kabir in Bangladesh

Rationalist International, in a letter to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, expressed strong protest against the harassment of writer, journalist and Human Rights campaigner Shahriar Kabir and demanded his immediate release from jail. Kabir had been arrested on 22 November under the "Special Powers Act", when he returned from a visit to India, where he collected documentary material about the thousands of Hindus, who fled Bangladesh in fear for their lives, after Muslim fundamentalist supporters of the new government unleashed violence and terror against them. During his visit to India, Kabir described the threatening situation of the Hindu minority in his country in an interview with BBC Radio.

"The international public is currently watching with grave concern the violence against the Hindu minority in Bangladesh, perpetrated by Muslim fundamentalist forces", wrote Sanal Edamaruku, president of Rational International in the letter to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. "The alarming situation further aggravates by the fact that your government tries to ignore the atrocities and even arrests those who document the crimes and courageously stand up for the victims. It is a shame for any democracy to misuse special power acts and raise wrong accusations to silence and harass a writer for defending Human Rights. Shahriar Kabir is a reputed journalist and defender of Human Rights, respected inside and outside Bangladesh. His voice is to be heard and taken seriously. His arrest and detention is unjustified and will put another black mark on the Human Rights record of your government. We call upon you to honor your high office by putting your weight behind the immediate release of Shahriar Kabir, the protection of the minorities from communal violence and the restoration and guarantee of freedom of speech in Bangladesh."

The government of Bangladesh officially denies that Hindus have fled the country. Shahriar Kabir is accused of anti-state activities and charged with "sedition and acting against the independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh", a crime, which carries jail terms up to life imprisonment. On 20 December, the chief metropolitan magistrate's court in Dhaka rejected his bail application.

Meantime a great protest demonstration in support of Shahriar Kabir has taken place in Dhaka. On 23 December, hundreds of university teachers, journalists, human rights and political activists have formed a human chain to protest against his detention. His ten-years old son Arpon Kabir took part in the demonstration demanding his father's release.

For an earlier report on the case of Shahriar Kabir in the Rationalist International Bulletin, please visit http://www.rationalistinternational.net/archive/rationalist_2001/83.htm

Sanal Edamaruku in Discovery channel

Sanal Edamaruku (in blue jacket) and K.M.Sunny (in saffron robes) during a miracle debunking campaign in a village in Uttar Pradesh.

Sanal Edamaruku, President of Rationalist International and Secretary General of Indian Rationalist Association has been featured in Discovery channel on 23 December in a three episode program on faith healing namely ‘Asian Enigma’. Apart from an interview with him, the village level education campaign of Indian Rationalist Association debunking miracles and exposing "godmen" covering remote rural villages in Uttar Pradesh were also shown in the program. The anti superstition campaign of Indian Rationalist Association has set forth a silent revolution in India.

About the village level miracle debunking campaign of Indian Rationalist Association, Sanal Edamaruku writes in the book "Skeptical Odysseys" (ed. Paul Kurtz, Prometheus, New York, 2001):

"Rationalist volunteers receive special training as ‘Guru Busters’, and they conduct anti-superstition campaigns all over the country. Great Britain’s Channel Four has produced a documentary featuring one of our journeys through the villages of Kerala. This met with considerable international interest and has been telecast in fourteen countries. Sometimes our activists dress up like gurus and seek to impress the villagers by performing some of the famous guru tricks. Like other ‘miracle men’ they bow their heads in respect and prepare to depart with their earnings. But instead, the rationalists remove their saffron robes and explain to the stunned audience the scientific principles and the sleights of hand, which had just been used to dupe them. Those who had fallen prey to these performances are encouraged to try to perform the ‘miracles’ themselves. First hesitantly, and soon with confidence and growing pleasure, the villagers walk on fire; take burning camphor pieces in their hands; crush the specially prepared little balls between their fingers which the rationalists distribute, in order to ‘create’ holy ash from thin air. All these tricks of the trade had been veiled in obscurity until we explained how they were performed and how it gave fake authority to the holy men. When the spell is broken, the villagers feel great relief and become curious and courageous. Imitating the feats they overcome the barriers which had confined their lives. The spirit of discovery spreads, mostly ‘infecting’ young people first and slowly conquering the entire community. For many people, the encounter with rationalism in action is a turning point in their lives. The truth about their earlier superstitious beliefs becomes a question of greatest importance for them—an existential question. Once initiated, this process often continues by itself and can transmit a spark of doubt to other villages and groups of people. Sometimes we hear stories of gurus and sadhus who visited a village and were chased out by the enlightened peasants."

About the value and meaning of this unique campaign, Sanal Edamaruku writes: "Over the years we have educated many young rationalists to undertake our village level campaigns. But I still find it fascinating to participate in such campaigns personally. During a recent miracle-debunking session in a remote village, when I explained to the village crowd the fundamentals of the scientific approach they have to develop, these rustic peasants showed their appreciation with warm hugs. Such moving experiences encourage me much more than the glittering TV shows and the widespread applause that we get in organized urban public lectures. Those are the moments when I realize the value of the struggle that we take forward." (Liberation from the Dark Dungeons of Blind Belief, Skeptical Odysseys, ed. Paul Kurtz, Prometheus, New York, 2001)

For an interesting report by Ritu Sehgal about a village level anti-superstition campaign led by Sanal Edamaruku, please visit www.rationalistinternational.net/archive/rationalist_2000/48.htm

During the forthcoming International Rationalist Conference, there will be a miracle exposure program as well a training work shop for those who are interested.

Roberto La Ferla (Italy) speaks on Complementary Medicine at the International Rationalist Conference

Roberto La Ferla

Roberto La Ferla, Italian rationalist, member of the Executive Board of the World Union of Freethinkers (Paris) and a physical chemist by training will speak on "Recovering from a Complementary Medicine" during the forthcoming International Rationalist Conference in New Delhi.

For different reasons complementary and "alternative" medicines are increasingly popular in the Western as well as the Developing countries , and their followers encompass a wide range of social, psychological, economic, and political positions or attitudes. The use of these practices includes primary self-care, alternative or complementary treatment joint with conventional medical assistance, or may be part of a philosophical view and style of life. Their potential harm and some of the reasons why these practices may actually appear to be efficacious or fascinating to many will be presented. In most cases, these practices and doctrines do not need to be effective in order to appeal to the public, and the fact that they are not scientifically sound is not the only argument that a rationalist debater should exploit.

La Ferla has been working for years in basic and applied research in fields related to macromolecular physics, biochemistry, and analytical techniques. His current activity is in the area of clinical and regulatory development of pharmaceutical products. His scientific publications span such diverse topics as mathematical modeling, chemical physics, analytical sciences, pharmacology, applied radiology, and nuclear magnetic resonance

La Ferla served for many years as Secretary General of the "Giordano Bruno" Italian National Freethought Association [Associazione Nazionale del Libero Pensiero "Giordano Bruno"], and as co-editor of its publications 'La Nuova Ragione' and 'Libero Pensiero'.

"Scams I know" -- Richard Lead (Australia) speaks at the International Rationalist Conference

Richard Lead

Why is ‘hiding the pyramid’ so important? Why do people fall for financial scams? "Greed" is the glib answer, but that explains nothing. What is the real reason? Why is exposing financial scams just as important for Rationalists and Skeptics as exposing faith healers and spoon benders? What is a ‘bad’ scam, a ‘good’ scam, and a ‘better’ scam, and why are the majority of scamsters completely unaware they are pulling a scam?

Richard Lead, Australian rationalist, international income tax expert and treasurer of Australian Skeptics Inc. spent 25 years of his professional life following and exposing financial scams. In his presentation during the International Rationalist Conference at New Delhi in February 2002, he will delve into the world of the bad guys and their victims, and in doing so, will answer the above questions, and much more. Lead's career brings him into regular contact with tax-driven scams, and he has seen hundreds of victims of these and other get-rich-quick schemes. For 25 years he has held a huge interest in all varieties of scams, and is responsible for a number of scamsters being convicted and jailed. Equally and importantly, he has helped a number of victims recover their lost money.

Lead writes a regular column for the journal of Australian Skeptics, the Skeptic. He is interviewed on Australian radio frequently, on issues ranging from financial scams to the abuse by organized religions of their taxation exemptions. At Easter 2001 the Australian Skeptics were challenged to a public debate by the Anglican and Baptist Churches, with their chosen topic being "That the evidence that Jesus is alive is stronger than that he is still dead." Richard accepted this challenge and debated Bishop Forsyth of the Anglican Church, with a resounding win for the sceptical viewpoint.

Joseph Edamaruku (India) speaks on Art, Aesthetics and Rationalism

Joseph Edamaruku

Is Rationalism "cold" and too clinical as its critics try to accuse? Whether art and science remain separated in two different poles of human mind? How art and aesthetics can play important roles in the process of liberation from the stoic and closed corridors of religions?

Joseph Edamaruku, veteran rationalist and President of Indian Rationalist Association will speak on Art, Aesthetics and Rationalism during the forthcoming International Rationalist Conference at New Delhi. Joseph Edamaruku is author of more than 150 scholarly books and more than two thousand articles in Malayalam language. He edited daily newspapers and mass circulated magazines, published rationalist journals, addressed numerous meetings and influenced the way of thinking of a whole generation in Kerala.

Hailing from a traditional Syrian Christian family that contributed bishops and priests to the church, close experience with the church and Bible education made him a rationalist while still in his teens. He became an activist, married Soley from a Hindu family and challenged caste marriages. (Sanal Edamaruku, president of Rationalist International is the son of Joseph and Soley Edamaruku). Joseph Edamaruku was instrumental in building up the strong rationalist movement in Kerala. He spent two spells in prison, in 1970 and in 1975 during the National Emergency. In 1979 he received International Atheist Award from American Atheists. His autobiography, 'The Times that Raised the Tempest' won award from the Kerala Literary Academy as the best autobiography in Malayalam. Important books (all in Malayalam language -- English translations expected soon!): Cultural History of Kerala (1977), Christ and Krishna never lived (1981), Koran - a Critical Study (1982), Bhagavad Gita - a Critical Study (1982), Rationalist State (1983) and a series of books critically evaluating world religions (1984-1987). His latest book "Upanishads: a Critical Study" is perhaps the best book on Upanishads ever published.

Prof. Ajoy Roy speaks about Rationalism and Human Rights in Bangladesh

Prof. Ajoy Roy

Professor Ajoy Roy, Bangladeshi rationalist, scientist and Human Rights activist will be speaking on Rationalism and Human Rights in Bangladesh --with special reference to rationalist Philosopher Aroj Ali Matabbur.

Prof.Roy, a reputed scientist of high esteem, studied in Bangladesh and in UK and took his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Leeds University. With his initiative an advanced center of Solid State Physics and crystallography was established in 1969 under the sponsorship of UNESCO. His work led to the discovery of some fundamental process in radiation chemistry of aliphatic and amino acids and their salts. The process of dissociative electron capture and the subsequent fate of electron is considered to be his major contribution as a scientist. He has been invited twice by the Nobel committee to nominate candidates for Nobel prize in 1998 and in 2001.

Socially conscious Prof. Roy, since his student life, participated in all progressive movements including Language movement of 1952, Mass Movement in 1969, and Non Co-operation movement of 1970 --all these finally culminated in his participation in the 1971 War of Liberation of Bangladesh as a freedom fighter.

Prof. Roy, as a secular democrat believes in rationalism and secularism. As an ardent activist of Human Rights he has participated in most movements against Human Rights violation in Bangladesh.

Book on Joseph McCabe by Bill Cooke published

Dr. Bill Cooke

An impressive biography of Joseph McCabe (1867-1955), the veteran British rationalist who influenced the way of thinking of a whole generation in the UK, is just released. A Rebel to His Last Breath: Joseph McCabe and Rationalism is a unique book which goes into the life and times and the intellectual depth of McCabe, a former priest who turned into the most vociferous rationalist and courageous critique of religion of his times. McCabe was one of the founding directors of Rationalist Press Association of Britain. Publishers: Prometheus Books, New York.

Dr Cooke, the author, is an Honorary Associate of Rationalist International and the editor of The New Zealand Rationalist and Humanist. He was born and raised in Kenya, educated there, in the United Kingdom, and in New Zealand, where he now lives. He is currently Senior Lecturer at the School of Visual Arts, Manukau Institute of Technology, in Auckland. Cooke has earlier written 'Heathen in Godzone: Seventy Years of Rationalism in New Zealand', a history of the rationalist movement in New Zealand.

Dr Bill Cooke is a speaker of the forthcoming International Rationalist Conference in India. For the original announcement, please visit http://www.rationalistinternational.net/archive/rationalist_2001/83.htm