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Nirmukta Videos

Differences to diversity. Growing up in the visual world. A talk by Arvind Iyer. Welcome speech by Cibi Poongundran. Introduction by Soorya Sriram. Filmed on 22nd December 2013 by Chennai Freethinkers, a regional group of Nirmukta.

Science & Philosophy

  • It’s not about The HindusFebruary 26, 201423

    It’s not about The Hindus

    It’s not about ‘The Hindus’ -A recall of alternatives- Disclaimer : Views expressed below are personal, based on the personal conviction that no single person embodies all Indian aspirations and no single text captures every idea of India. It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story. – Native American Proverb, Tribe unknown (as read on Twitter) This article is not about The Hindus : An Alternative History by Wendy Doniger. In fact, this article will not include a […]

  • Of a Selective MovingFebruary 23, 20141

    Of a Selective Moving

    Guest post by Naren Pai. “We have gone through the Review Petitions and the connected papers. We see no reason to interfere with the order impugned.” Through this crisp statement, the Apex Court on 28th January 2013 dismissed the review petitions filed on its 11th December 2013 ruling on Constitutional Validity of IPC 377 (Koushal V Naz) which set aside the 2009 judgement of Delhi HC reading down IPC 377. One of the common commentaries to the court’s dismissal of […]

  • Into the World of Mantis ShrimpsJanuary 27, 20141

    Into the World of Mantis Shrimps

    I am writing this intending to introduce you to the world of Mantis shrimps. First check out this cool Oatmeal comic on Mantis shrimps. The fact is that they are neither Mantises nor shrimps, and the colloquial name is a misnomer, but they belong to Order Stomatopoda of the Crustaceans. Now these animals are spectacularly aggressive hunters with some incredible cool tricks up their sleeve.They tend to stay hidden in narrow passages and burrows et cetera from which they operate […]

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Pseudoscience & Religion

  • Schools are not Battlegrounds for Religions!March 8, 20145

    Schools are not Battlegrounds for Religions!

    I received today a communication on Facebook, shrieking that it was unjust for the authorities to consider suspension of a teacher who made students shout ‘Jai Shri Ram’ or Hail Lord Rama! in school. Was it Shri Ram or Jesus Christ that was born in India, it demands angrily. Can I not praise my Lord Rama in my own country, it wails. Does Bharat i.e. India belong to Hindus or to the westerners, it asks mindlessly. How dare they make […]

  • “Made snana”and Karnataka anti-superstition bill: the unreasonableness of traditionJanuary 2, 20143

    “Made snana”and Karnataka anti-superstition bill: the unreasonableness of tradition

    The controversial “Made Snana” at Kukke Subrahmanya Mutt, Karnataka, begins amidst protests from different groups. Made Snana is a demeaning and degrading ritual practiced and followed in this mutt where devotees (generally of the lower caste) roll over the leftovers of food partaken by the brahmins on the dining leaves.

  • A Report on Mumbai Freethinkers’ MeetDecember 3, 20139

    A Report on Mumbai Freethinkers’ Meet

    Nita, Pritesh, Ankit, Hraday, Javed and I met at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Bandra. We introduced ourselves and started talking about what started us on the path towards atheism. We found there was a comfort level in sharing our personal stories with each other, rather unlike it would be with other people we meet for the first time and interact with. Pritesh said both he and his wife, as atheists and to-be parents had been pondering over whether […]

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Freethought Activism

  • Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s HomophobiaJanuary 16, 20148

    Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s Homophobia

    I was walking past Azad Maidan on my way to CST when I saw something that caught my eye. It was, as most things at Azad Maidan are, a protest. But the nature of the protest is what intrigued me: it was a “protest against homosexuality”, organised by Jammat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), which appraised the Supreme Court verdict of December 11th, 2013, which effectively criminalized consensual same-sex between adults under the archaic Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. This wasn’t […]

  • On a Prayer and a PetitionJanuary 11, 20143

    On a Prayer and a Petition

    An article by Babu Gogineni on Sanjay Salve, an Atheist teacher in Maharashtra who recently ‘won’ the right not to pray in school – a right that he always had, but now asserted and ‘clarified’ by the High Court in Mumbai.

  • Survey Results: How Much Do YOU Pay Your Domestic Worker?January 2, 20142

    Survey Results: How Much Do YOU Pay Your Domestic Worker?

    Here are the results of the Nirmukta survey How Much Do YOU Pay Your Domestic Worker?. We received 484 responses to the survey. 3 responses which had some suspect/confusing data were not considered. Thank you to all who participated! Before we get to the results, please note that this survey was not designed or analysed by social scientists, so the findings should strictly be considered to be of the “suggests” variety, rather than definitive. At the end of this post […]

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Humor & Creative Arts

  • Thoughts From A Secular HumanistApril 20, 201228

    Thoughts From A Secular Humanist

    I have no invisible authority I am not mentally enslaved, I am not an unworthy sinner Who is waiting to be saved. My actions are my own Responsibility for which I will take, Credit for the good and penalty for the bad The payment for my deeds only I can make. I’m not the innocent, confused child; ‘Humble’ messengers try to find, I’m a skeptic with adult reasoning Who has left Faith behind. The answers gifted by logic and reason […]

  • A Debate between GenerationsMarch 5, 201227

    A Debate between Generations

    The year is 2032 CE and I have perhaps kicked the bucket much earlier. Ananya, my eight year old grand-daughter currently, has since become a Rocket scientist and she likes to discuss philosophical issues with her grandmother, my wife, whom she calls as “Avva” meaning Grandma in our mother tongue Telugu.

  • We’re free to share cards and flowers if we wishFebruary 14, 20125

    We’re free to share cards and flowers if we wish

    Our love’s more alive than any dead saint, But some Valentine’s cheer why not relish? These jolly rose hues won’t our culture taint! We’re free to share cards and flowers if we wish! Grown women and men don’t need to be taught, Their close relationships how to cherish! Why is this simple freedom so hard-fought? We’re free to share cards and flowers if we wish! Some faithful in whose eyes such fun is sin, Should first from their midst hatred banish! Sweet nothings sound better than hate-filled din. We’re free […]

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