page_title: Sanal Edamaruku
section_title: Views
hierarchical_section_title: Sanal Edamaruku / Views
caption_attribution_description: English: Sanal Edamaruku speaking at TAM2013 Indian Gurus: From Flying Fakirs and Starving Saints
context_page_description: Sanal Edamaruku is an Indian author and rationalist. He is the founder-president and editor of Rationalist International, the president of the Indian Rationalist Association and the author of 25 books and other articles. In 2012, he was charged by a group of Catholics with blasphemy when he insulted the Catholic faithful while examining a claimed "miracle" at a local church in Mumbai. He moved to Finland to evade arrest.
context_section_description: Edamaruku has been critical of India's blasphemy laws, describing them as "relics of colonial legislation" which have been abused to "hound and silence" intellectuals and artists who question religious beliefs. He considers it dangerous that any person may register a complaint of blasphemy against another, leading to an arrest and prolonged imprisonment until the suspect is acquitted by a court of law. Edamaruku argues that the real danger here is less the verdict and more the pre-trial "punishment".
  Edamaruku has been a critic of Mother Teresa, publicly criticising her legacy in Kolkata. He has spoken out against the Catholic Church's sainthood of Mother Teresa and the 'miracle' cure of Monica Besra. The church's evidence is based on a written testimony in English by Besra, an illiterate woman who isn't able to speak the language, claiming a cure by a medallion placed on her by nuns. Edamaruku said that her cure could be reasonably ascribed to the treatment she received in a government hospital in Balurghat and the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. After investigating her care record the former health minister of West Bengal, Partho De, has agreed her recovery was attributable to her months of medical care. Edamaruku describes the 'miracle' as an "obvious fraud."
  Edamaruku frequently speaks of the potentially dangerous practice of superstitions, such as Hindu astrology, which is prevalent in Indian society. He is a regular commentator on Indian TV channels explaining superstitions and blind belief, and is a major voice in defense of reason and scientific temper in India. He has delivered lectures abroad including the US and many European countries.
  Godmen in India have often been accused of indulging in criminal activities under the guise of religion in order to procure followers, fame and funds. According to Edamaruku, most are charlatans, and quite a few have amassed great wealth and property from "miracles" that are nothing more than sleight of hand.
  Edamaruku considers the Indian rationalist movement an "inspiring example for many western rationalists to awaken, activate and rejuvenate their own organisations", with India's rationalists being "on the frontline of the battle between science and superstition".
caption: Sanal Edamaruku speaking at The Amaz!ng Meeting (TAM) 2013 on the topic "Indian Gurus: From Flying Fakirs and Starving Saints"
exif: {"Image Make": "Panasonic", "Image Model": "DMC-GF3", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "SILKYPIX(R) Developer Studio 3.1.7.3 SE", "Image DateTime": "2014:04:04 17:42:22", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "230", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "13268", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3588", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Shutter Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1600", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:07:13 17:16:57", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:07:13 17:16:57", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "33/100", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "1273/256", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "200", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3000", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "13144", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Custom"}