Please Think
Dr Narendra Dabholkar
Length – 152 Pages
Language – EN English
Publication date – 2019 May 31
Dimensions – 20.0 x 14.0 x 4.0cm
ISBN – 109388754026
Dr Narendra Dabholkar was a giant of the rationalist and anti-superstition movement in India. Besides his groundbreaking work with the Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, Dabholkar composed a number of vital treatises on the subject of fighting blind faith. Written in accessible Marathi, the books break down complex intellectual and scientific arguments to argue for the destruction of superstition and the divisions of caste and religion.
The second of his books to be translated into English, Please Think makes a vigorous case for questioning everything. Describing religious superstition as a thousand-armed octopus, it uses stories from the movement’s own work on the ground to explain how violence, hatred and fanaticism are spreading, and what can be done to stop it. Be restless, be introspective, Dabholkar urges Indians. Make a noise, respond to crises, stand with the oppressed. People create society, he says—and only people can change it.
More relevant today than ever, this is an urgent call for rational thought and moral action by a man who died for his beliefs.
The Case for Reason: Volume One: Understanding the Anti-superstition Movement
Dr Narendra Dabholkar
Publisher : Context (17 October 2018)
Language : English
Hardcover : 326 pages
ISBN-10 : 9387894142
ISBN-13 : 978-9387894143
Item Weight : 320 g
Dimensions : 14 x 2.5 x 21 cm
Originally published in Marathi as Timiratuni Tejakade, rationalist and activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s magnum opus, The Case for Reason is both a vision document for, and a chronicle of, the battle that he and his co-activists waged against obscurantism, superstition, pseudo-sciences and blind faith in the scriptures. In Dabholkar’s view, it is the constitutional duty of every Indian citizen to develop a scientific temper, and the Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti’s (ANiS) campaigns have made this the central argument of their work. A few days after Dabholkar was shot dead by religious extremists in 2013, the Maharashtra government issued an anti-superstition ordinance that was in essence a tribute to Dabholkar’s life-long struggle. The Case for Reason is available in two volumes, the first of which—Understanding the Anti-superstition Movement—lays out the theoretical framework of the rationalist movement and also highlights the many practical battles that ANiS fought in a bid to insert rationalism in the public discourse. In this volume, Dabholkar discusses the concept of god and the role of religion, the importance of the scientific method and scientific outlook, and points in the direction of independent thinking and resolute action. Argumentative and illuminating, this book is a guide to the thinking of one of India’s most independent, important voices—available for the first time in an English translation.
The Case for Reason: Volume Two: A Scientific Enquiry into Belief
Dr Narendra Dabholkar
Publisher : Context (7 March 2019)
Language : English
Hardcover : 180 pages
ISBN-10 : 9387894118
ISBN-13 : 978-9387894112
Item Weight : 260 g
Dimensions : 14 x 2.5 x 21.6 cm
Originally published in Marathi as Timiratuni Tejakade, rationalist and activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s magnum opus, The Case for Reason is both a vision document for, and a chronicle of, the battle that he and his co-activists waged against obscurantism, superstition, pseudo-sciences and blind faith in the scriptures.In Dabholkar’s view, it is the constitutional duty of every Indian citizen to develop a scientific temper, and the Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti’s (ANiS) campaigns have made this the central argument of their work. A few days after Dabholkar was shot dead by religious extremists in 2013, the Maharashtra government issued an anti-superstition ordinance that was in essence a tribute to Dabholkar’s life-long struggle.The Case for Reason is available in two volumes, the second of which—A Scientific Enquiry into Belief—delves into the anatomy of faith. In this volume, Dabholkar discusses god, religion, secularism and rationalism, and attempts to understand what it will take for society to transcend the infirmities that misguided religious faith imposes on society.Argumentative and illuminating, this book is a guide to the thinking of one of India’s most independent, important voices—available for the first time in an English translation.