"A Day for Scientific Temper — August 20" Every year on August 20th, our country observes "National Scientific Temper Day." We observe it in memory of the rationalist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, who was unjustly murdered by orthodox traditionalists on August 20, 2013. Dr. Narendra Achyut Dabholkar was not merely a physician — he was also a writer and a social activist! A towering figure firmly committed to spreading a scientific outlook in society, he founded the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (Committee for the Eradication of Blind Faith) in 1989 and worked tirelessly ever since. Those who disliked his efforts to eliminate blind beliefs from society and to move among the people awakening their consciousness had him eliminated, according to a plan, during his morning walk. He had, for a long time, been insisting that a law be brought in against blind superstition, and had been building pressure on the government to that effect. This did not sit well with...
National Scientific Awareness Day: August 20 — Prof. Devaraja Maharaju Amid the countless millions of living creatures around him, early man could not, for the longest time, figure out where his own life had come from. At first he thought it a deep mystery. Later, he came to believe that some extraordinary power beyond his imagination must have created this entire universe all at once, instantaneously, and that this was how it had turned out to be so wondrous. That is why every religion contains some account of "creation." The names of gods and religions differ, but across the world nearly everyone came to believe the same thing: "God is the creator of this vast universe!" That belief flourished for thousands of years. On the question of creation, whatever religion said became "truth" in those societies. Religious texts became the standard of authority. As a result, there was simply no one left to think against that belief. If anyone dared raise their ...