This article is part of TNM's Faith and Flux series where we explore the rise of a new wave of atheism and resistance to dogmatic religion in Kerala featuring rationalist groups and voices of people who have left organised religion.
New Atheism entered Kerala in the late 2000s, around about the same time as it was making waves globally inspired by a new generation of freethinkers in the West. Much like the global movement, best explained in the context of growing schisms between the West and Islam over Muslim immigrants, Kerala’s movement too has often been accused of Islamophobia. There has been a steady degeneration towards reactionary ideas, with latent strains of misogyny, in the atheist movement which has grown at the expense of other Left or liberal atheist groups that vouch for secularism and social justice. There are now concerns that they may be edging closer to Hindutva after one of the icons of New Atheism in Kerala identified Islamist and Communist movements as greater enemies than the Sangh Parivar.
Thousands of ‘freethinkers’ flock to the annual conventions of the prime promoter of New Atheism in Kerala - esSENSE GLOBAL - which positions itself as an organisation upholding ‘scientific temperament’. The big draw at these conventions is the polemical speeches of C Ravichandran, the group’s controversial founder. An author and an Associate Professor in English, Ravichandran has over one lakh followers on Facebook. He loves to bait communism, Islam and every branch of pseudoscience including Vastu and Homoeopathy.
The esSENSE GLOBAL also runs multiple channels on YouTube with a massive subscriber base. They also get help from Kolambi, a YouTube channel with 1.19 lakh subscribers and more than 2.5 lakh followers on Facebook, run by their supporters to amplify their ideas. Their social media pages are full of popular crowdsourced memes that make fun of organised religion and critics say that a bulk of it is just rhetoric and tautology bordering on hate speech directed at Islam and its clergy.
The proponents of New Atheism draws heavily from ideas espoused in four best-sellers - The end of faith by Sam Harris, Breaking the spell by Daniel Dennet, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and God is Not Great by Cristopher Hitchens - all published between 2004 and 2007. The books came to be hailed as seminal texts of New Atheism and their authors came to be known as the Four Horsemen. The movement gained a foothold in Kerala after Ravichandran published a translation-cum-study of Dawkins’ The God Delusion titled Nasthikanaya Daivam (The Atheist God) in 2009.
“They [esSENSE GLOBAL) have the same ideology of Dawkins, Dennet and others who were flag bearers of New Atheism. Growth of social media and political influences too have played a role in their growth,” said Vysakhan Thampi, a science writer and rationalist. Proponents of New Atheism also loved conflict and flexing their rationalist muscles. “Countering the concept of God alone was no longer attractive. So they started engaging rhetorically with other social issues using the same set of tools,” said Thampy.
Being too radical and having little patience or compassion for the religious-minded was one of the major criticisms against New Atheism. They were also questioned over their intolerant, dogmatic and aggressively anti-religious arguments, which earned them the moniker apatheists or apathetic atheists.
History of rationalism in Kerala can be traced back to 1917 when Sahodaran Ayyappan, influenced by anti-caste ideals of Sree Narayana Guru, formed 'Sahodara Sangham,' which promoted inter-caste dining. Sahodaran Ayyappan, a journalist and social reformer, improvised the 'One caste, one religion, one God' slogan propagated by Narayana Guru and transformed it into an ideal that reflects true rationalists: 'Man needs no caste, no religion, no God.'
A magazine 'Yukthivadi' launched in 1929 and continued to be published for over five decades widened the rationalist discourse in the state. Though an organisation called Yukthivadi Sangham was formed in 1935, it was short-lived. It took more than three decades for the Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham (KYS) to be born.
“Yukthivadam or rationalism was never a mass movement here. The ideologies of Yukhthivadis like Sahodaran Ayyappan had influenced the communist leaders in Kerala and many of them were once part of Yukthivadi Sangham. But when it came to electoral politics, communist parties were not ready to follow the principles of rationalism,” said Dr C Viswanathan, a rationalist and critic of C Ravichandran. Many political movements, including the Left, had tried to co-opt KYS at a time it showed the potential to grow, according to him.
In the 1980s, EMS Namboodiripad, the first Chief Minister of Kerala and veteran communist leader, published a book ‘Yukthivadavum Communisavum’ (Rationalist and Communism), in which he criticised the ideology of rationalists by applying class theory. EMS had argued that in a scenario where one had to choose between a poor believer and a rich yukthivadi, the rationalist will always support the latter while the communist will stand by the poor believer. Historically, though Marxism was at odds with religion, keeping it separate from politics was not easy if they wanted to win elections. Many rationalists felt alienated from the Left because of this.
“KYS failed to create a wave in Kerala. They were kind of stagnant and couldn’t energise people. According to me they are an extinct force. EMS played a major role in it, spreading the idea that it had no relevance,” said Viswanathan.
The affinity a section of the members of KYS showed towards the Leftist ideology was unpalatable to rationalist Joseph Edamaruku who left the organisation to form another outfit called Indian Rationalist Association in 1995.
The interest in rationalism among youth waned as KYS weakened but the last decade witnessed many young recruits who were enthused by free thinking. A rationalist group called Kerala Freethinkers Forum, with presence of ex-KYS members, was also active in the state since 2005.
In 2008, Dinkoism, a mock religion, akin to Flying Spaghetti Monster, was established by a group of rationalists as a satire on organised religion. They worshipped Dinkan, a mouse with super powers, lifted from the pages of a comic published in the children’s magazine Balamangalam from 1983 to 2012.
The later half of 2010 also witnessed formation of groups like Ex-Muslims of Kerala, which countered Islam and its teachings. It was officially registered in 2021.
“Though the mushrooming and spread of multiple rationalist/atheist groups in Kerala is a positive phenomenon, it cannot be called a movement yet as their influence is limited to the social media and digital sphere. Real world impact is minimal and scattered at best in these cases, but they have indeed played a role in building up concrete arguments against superstitions such as astrology, vastu and other unscientific and illogical practices,” said historianand anti caste activist Malavika Binny, an Assistant Professor at Kannur University.
“We strive to liberate the society of Kerala from religious and secular superstitions, dogmas and intellectual bondage. Unbiased freethinking is the stand we espouse without flinch,” proclaims the website of esSENSE GLOBAL, an organisation formed in 2018 following the polarisation in Freethinkers' Forum over allegedly anti-women statements made by Ravichandran.
Ravichandran began to gain followers after he was invited for a talk following the publication of the book 'Nasthikanaya Daivam' in 2009, said a rationalist and freethinker actively involved in the activities of esSence GlOBAL, who did not want to be identified. ¨We were followers of Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris. We really wanted a Malayalam version of Dawkinś book. When we came to know that it was written by Ravichandran, a lecturer from Kollam district, we invited him over to attend an event in Kozhikode. He was hesitant and said he wasn't a good speaker. But he came, he spoke, and his speech was a hit," he said.
Ravichandran became a regular at Freethinkers Forum events. His debates and speeches were widely followed and many portrayed him as an icon of rationalism in Kerala. The rift happened after Ravichandran was called out by a group for making anti-women statements in a presentation titled 'Velichappadinte bharya' (The oracle’s wife) where he said the biggest impediment for rationalists were their wives. The statement caused a flutter. His opposition to concepts like organic farming and alternative systems of medicines like Ayurveda and Homoeopathy also left many antagonised.
Atheist and rationalist groups were not received well in Kerala when they were formed. But in the case of New Atheism, they could easily organise themselves as a digital movement, said Thampy.
“They market themselves well and are able to attract people. But its effectiveness in enhancing the people’s ability to think for themselves needs to be discussed. Sahodaran Ayyappan and many social reformers including Periyar travelled across Kerala to spread rationalist thinking. Compared to their visionary activism, this one can be considered a mockery.” said Dr Viswanathan.
C Ravichandran in his videos, mirroring the tirades of New Atheism horseman Sam Harris, has many times claimed that Islam is the most dangerous among all religions, a particularly virulent form that must be opposed. In one of the videos he can be heard speaking on why one should fear communism and Islam,and not the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
His open support to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) and the repeated assertions against reservation for marginalised communities are all red flags to secular atheists who believe in principles of social justice.
In the Kolambi channel, which amplifies New Atheism messaging, TNM found that out of 40 videos they uploaded in the past one year, 30 are targeting Islam and being severely critical of the religion and its preachers.
¨Islam is a religion that counters our ideology the most. When there is a challenge we must engage with it. Islamists live in a bubble and they bleed by playing victim card,” Ravichandran is seen explaining in a video on why they target Islam so much.
Viswanathan said esSENSE GLOBAL has the characteristics of a cult focused more on the ideologies of one person. ¨They call themselves as Nastiks (atheists) rather than a yukthivadi organisation,¨ he said.
According to him they propagate atheism but have retained the old stigmas and prejudices. “They keep their Islamophobia and anti-Dalit sentiments all within them while pretending to be progressive and thinking rationalists. Their support to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will help pave an easy path for BJP in Kerala,” he alleged. Ravichandran has openly stated that he is against reservation for Dalits and that the argument that such a system is beneficial is a myth.
Arif Hussein Thruvath, founder, Non-Religious Citizens (NRC), and a regular speaker at esSENSE GLOBAL events, is dismissive of the criticism that the movement is islamophobic. “Islamophobia is a wrong word according to us. It should be Islamofright, which is actually true, one should fear Islam. But phobia towards Muslims is wrong, and needs to be fought. Fear towards Islam is rational and fear towards Muslims is irrational. We are criticising Islam not Muslims,” he said. Arif also feels that the movement became problematic when esSENSE started opposing communism and socialism.
When asked why esSENSE GLOBAL considers the communist movement in Kerala as an enemy along with Islamists, a person associated with the movement said Ravichandran was answering a specific question when he made the comment. The BJP is not a prominent political party in Kerala, he said.