Indian Rationalist Association - Activities

Activities

The Indian Rationalist Association attempts to oppose superstition and pseudoscience in India. It has led media and educational campaigns debunking the Monkey-man of Delhi monster hysteria, godmen, claims of miraculous milk-drinking statues, superstitions related to solar eclipses, and even the beliefs behind ritual human sacrifices.

Sometimes referred to as "guru busters," the group critiques India's culturally influential godmen. Performing magic demonstrations that replicate the purportedly miraculous feats of the godmen, such as walking on coals, producing sacred ash from thin air, exploding stones with "mental power," levitating, or turning water into blood. Thousands of volunteers assist with these demonstrations throughout India.

Similarly, the Indian Rationalist Association demonstrate on television how ordinary statues can appear to drink milk and other fluids.

Working with the Dakshina Kannada Rationalist Association, the Indian Rationalist Association opposed a 2009 proposal to make yoga a compulsory subject for high school and primary school students in Mangalore.


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