This is a video of Basava Premanand, founder of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations and Indian CSICOP which published Indian Skeptic magazine. Premanand has been featured in many documentaries, notably ones by the BBC.

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A few days ago we published a report on Basava Premanand’s deathbed statement, in anticipation of the lies that usually follow the passing of great men of reason. Not to be undone, the liars are at it again. A blog dedicated to the conman, fraud and alleged rapist Sai Baba has begun the work of misrepresenting Premanand’s legacy. The first thing to remember before analyzing the events here is that such declarations as made by Premanand are a precautionary measure against exactly the type of attacks that we are seeing from these folks. The second thing to remember is that Premanand was one of the most influential critics of Saibaba. Keeping these two things in perspective, let us take a look at the facts. Read the full story

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This article originally appeared in Mangalore Today.

It would be difficult to call some one your ideological father- but not if that person were Premanand , you a budding young rationalist and that is what I was when I first met him. While the last meeting with him is already documented in the write-up Premanand in Abirami Hospital, I would like to recount the first one. Read the full story

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Basava Premanand, one of the greatest rationalists and skeptics of our time, passed away earlier today at Podanur in India. Here are two brief obituaries, one by Narendra Nayak, Premanand’s successor and president of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, and another from Bangalore Skeptic, published by T.V. Manoj. Read the full story

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Premanand’s health has been failing for quite some time. The metastases from his carcinoma of the stomach had been growing for quite some time and it was only a matter time before his health was seriously affected. Last week this happened and he had to be hospitalized. All his vital organs have been affected, particularly the liver and kidneys. However, his brain and his ideology are still intact and we wanted the world to know about it and make a declaration on his behalf that it remains so. Read the full story

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In January, 2009 I went to meet Premanand at Podanur and exchange many ideas with him, or rather gather his ideas on some of the issues before us.

On the 21^st January, 2009 I found him in a relaxed expansive mood. Though the secondaries of his cancer might have been causing pain, he did not appear to be affected. He was very happy that his pet dream project of building the museum of method of science was nearing completion. Excerpts from our conversation:

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