feeds from sacw.net
print versionRajya Sabha TV on 21st Nov. 2014 organized a very good discussion in its ‘DESH DESHANTAR’ programme on the subject “Business of Faith†in the context of latest episode regarding arrest of so called Baba Rampal in Haryana.
This programme ought to be helpful to all those who are engaged in the fight against evils of blind faith and superstitions which are one of the prime causes of political, social and economic exploitation of the poor and ignorant mass of India. I wish this discussion to be widely circulated and shown to the large number of people as possible. Link is given below.
Here I would like to supplement the discussion with a following excerpt from the writings of M.N.Roy who was passionate votary of rational and scientific thinking :
“……They (evils of Hindu society) can be eradicated only through a profound social and ideological revolution. Traditional notions must be discarded, venerable dogmas must be subjected to severe criticism, time-honored institutions must be mercilessly pulled down. The reactionary ideology of orthodox nationalism must be replaced by a revolutionary philosophy. All the advocates of democratic freedom, cultural progress,, general welfare, all true reformers, all sincere humanitarians, all opponents of violence and lovers of peace, all who want to transform the fiction of social harmony into reality, all who would conquer the future instead of living in the legendary past, should travel that way. Materialist philosophy – knowledge instead of faith, reason instead of authority, physical instead of metaphysical, the natural instead of the supernatural, facts instead of fiction- this can lead not only to political freedom, economic prosperity and social happiness; it indicates the only way to real spiritual freedom.â€
— M.N.Roy: INDIA’S MESSAGE – Marx or Manu : Fragments of a Prisoner’s Diary (1931-1936)
Desh Deshantar - Business of Faith: Constitutional responsibility of govt. & judiciary in curbing it
