Indian CSICOP is a well-known rationalist group based at

Podanur Podanur or Pothanoor or Pothanur (''Pōttaṉūr'') 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 hu ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. 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

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

s. 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 U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "p ...

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 Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and organizations aimed at popularization of

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

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. Fou ...

based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

Sathya Sai Baba Sathya Sai Baba (born Ratnakaram Sathyanarayana Raju; 23 November 192624 April 2011) was an Indian godman, guru and philanthropist. At the age of 14, he claimed to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba and left his home saying "my devote ...

.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 Scientific skepticism organizations