Express press service

Academic and co-founder of the atheist collective EssENSE Global, C Ravichandran is open to The new Indian Express.

Excerpts from an interview

What is the purpose of Litmus meetings?
Evidence-based policy is one. Politics is now entirely based on lies, claims and counterclaims. Nothing to do with the facts. A leader recently said in court: “We did not use violence in the assembly, sir. We’ve all seen the video, right? So, wasn’t that a white lie, an insult to the public? Similarly, if a government brings a positive project, the opposing parties make a mess. Say, for example, the K-Rail project or the Farm Bills. No one is looking at merit…just blind opposition, that’s what’s happening now. Another focal point is evidence-based medicine. The third point, of course, is the call for a society based on humanism.

You recently declared that communism had become a religion…

I call it the fourth religion. Voting Communism is negligent; in most countries, they come to power through violence. It is based on absolutism. From my point of view, no class should have power over the others. It then becomes fascism. Partisans, or communists, behave like devotees. “Religion” has a prophet and a book written by him. If someone questions something, he becomes a “varga vanchakan (traitor)”. They also cling to economic superstition. The difference is that economic superstition will affect the whole society, not just a community like other religions!

Why do you support CAA-NRC?
Yes. The Citizenship Amendment Act grants citizenship only to [to persecuted minorities of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh], and don’t remove it. However, in 1976 we added secularism to our Constitution. Thus, you cannot discriminate against any religion. But as a country, we need a citizenship registry. So we need a CAA-NRC, implemented without filtering based on religion.

You were against the reservation….
Caste is a collectivist idea. Reservation never benefits truly backward or marginalized people. It’s a myth. He helps the cream, the “lords” and “lords” castes.

You’ve been called ‘Sanghi’ lately…
I have been criticizing the Sangh and Hindutva for a long time. I am against all religions and belief systems. There was a time when they called me a communist. But as I started to criticize Islam and the reservations, I got a new title. Because in Kerala, you can’t criticize Islam. For some people, this is when the hand starts to shake.

Academic and co-founder of the atheist collective EssENSE Global, C Ravichandran opens up to The New Indian Express. Extracts from an interview What is the purpose of Litmus meetings? Evidence-based policy is one. Politics is now entirely based on lies, claims and counterclaims. Nothing to do with the facts. A leader recently said in court: “We did not use violence in the assembly, sir. We’ve all seen the video, right? So, wasn’t that a white lie, an insult to the public? Similarly, if a government brings a positive project, the opposing parties make a mess. Say, for example, the K-Rail project or the Farm Bills. No one is looking at merit…just blind opposition, that’s what’s happening now. Another focal point is evidence-based medicine. The third point, of course, is the call for a society based on humanism. You recently said that communism has become a religion… I call it the fourth religion. Voting Communism is negligent; in most countries, they come to power through violence. It is based on absolutism. From my point of view, no class should have power over the others. It then becomes fascism. Partisans, or communists, behave like devotees. “Religion” has a prophet and a book written by him. If someone questions something, he becomes a “varga vanchakan (traitor)”. They also cling to economic superstition. The difference is that economic superstition will affect the whole society, not just a community like other religions! Why do you support CAA-NRC? Yes. The Citizenship Amendment Act grants citizenship only to [to persecuted minorities of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh], and don’t remove it. However, in 1976 we added secularism to our Constitution. Thus, you cannot discriminate against any religion. But as a country, we need a citizenship registry. So we need a CAA-NRC, implemented without filtering based on religion. You were against the reserve… Caste is a collectivist idea. Reservation never benefits truly backward or marginalized people. It’s a myth. He helps the cream, the “lords” and “lords” castes. Lately, you have been called a “Sanghi”… I have been criticizing Sangh and Hindutva for a long time. I am against all religions and belief systems. There was a time when they called me a communist. But as I started to criticize Islam and the reservations, I got a new title. Because in Kerala, you can’t criticize Islam. For some people, this is when the hand starts to shake.