Indian CSICOP is a well-known rationalist group based at

Podanur Podanur or Pothanoor or Pothanur is a neighbourhood in the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. Its history goes back to the creation of a major railway station and colony during British rule. The station was a major hub and is functional ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Founded by

Basava Premanand Basava Premanand (17 February 1930 – 4 October 2009) was an Indian skeptic and rationalist from Kerala, India. He organised many tours around rural India for the promotion of scientific thinking, exposing alleged miracles and scams carried o ...

(1930–2009). Indian CSICOP is in the forefront of the rationalist campaigns in India which attempt to expose perceived miracles and to eradicate superstitions. Indian CSICOP is an affiliate of the US-based skeptical group

CSICOP The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the US non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "prom ...

and it publishes ''Indian Skeptic'', a rationalist periodical. It is also affiliated to the

Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations The Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations (FIRA) is an umbrella body of 83 (as of 2012) rationalist, atheist, skeptic, secularist and scientist organisations in India. As an apex body of rationalist organisations, it is committed to ...

, which is an apex body of about 65 rationalist, atheist and organizations aimed at popularization of

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

among laypersons. It is an associate member of

International Humanist and Ethical Union Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Foun ...

based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. One of the main targets of criticism by the ''Indian Skeptic'' are the miracles and magic of the

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

Sathya Sai Baba.Alexandra Kent, ''Divinity and Diversity: a Hindu revitalization movement in Malaysia'', page 53: "The Indian Skeptic publishes letters and articles and distributes films designed to debunk particularly Sathya Sai Baba. .these criticisms are aimed not at the teachings as such, which are quite innocuous, but at the claims of miraculous powers." Copenhagen Nias Press, first published in 2005,

References

External links

''Indian Skeptic'' official websiteInformation on Indian CSICOP at IHEU websiteFormer ''Indian Skeptic'' official website (some material not jet transferred to new site)
{{Authority control Rationalist groups based in India