Right-Wing Extremist Terrorists Target Humanists Who Teach Critical Thinking

Indian Activists Advocate the Use of Scientific, Analytical Thinking, Not Just Superstition

This week’s blog features an interview with my friend Narendra Nayak who is the President of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations (FIRA). His organization consists of eighty constituent groups who together seek to promote scientific thinking. For example, members have been a force to teach Indians about magic tricks used by cult gurus like Sai Baba to induce them to believe he had God-like powers. Decades ago, Premanand, the original founder of the Indian Skeptic organization, introduced me to Narendra Nayak. Premanand was an extraordinary man who wrote books about Sai Baba explaining his use of magic tricks to induce faith. More importantly, he organized and trained countless Indians to go out to remote villages to provide powerful lessons about trickery and mind manipulation. He and students would come into a village and pretend to be a God-man, do a series of “manifestations” (sleight of hand) and other seemingly supernatural feats. People would bow to them and try to give them money. The money would be refused, which would shock the givers. People would then be told that they are not divine and explain how the trick was done. A 1993 documentary entitled the Guru Busters was produced to explain the work of the Indian Skeptics. (My interview with Premanand was incredible but due to his thick accent, unfortunately, most non-Indians are unable to understand much of it.) Premanand’s legacy has now grown through the passion and activism of Narendra Nayak to over three hundred thousand members. FIRA is linked to an international movement of skeptics, much due to the pioneering work of magician James Randi and led by the scientist, author, and publisher of Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer.