Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations
# Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations

The Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations (FIRA) is an umbrella body of 83 (as of 2012) rationalist, atheist, skeptic, secularist and scientist organisations in India.

As an apex body of rationalist organisations, it is committed to the development of scientific temper and humanism in India, involved in promoting tolerance, critical thinking, women's rights, secularization, and freedom of expression, and fighting against the caste system and violence (especially towards Dalit population), superstition, pseudoscience, and child marriage.

## History

The Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations was launched on 7 February 1997 following the 10th Kerala State Conference of Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham. The stated purpose of the organization is to coordinate the activities of the member organizations at the national level.

Basava Premanand is the founder of the FIRA who died on 4 October 2009. Shortly before his death, Premanand put out a statement declaring his commitment to rationalism to prevent false rumors that he had turned to god on his deathbed.

In 2004, Premanand put forth a proposal for Narendra Nayak to become president of FIRA at a general body meeting held at Bhatinda, Punjab. It was unanimously accepted. Premanand and Nayak met in 1980 or 1981 when Nayak was the secretary of Dakshina Kannada Rationalist Association. U. Kalanathan of Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham is the current General Secretary of the organization. FIRA has grown from about 50 organizations in 2005 to 83 organizations in 2012.

## Affiliation to IHEU

FIRA is affiliated to International Humanist and Ethical Union and supports minimum statement on Humanism (as required by IHEU bylaw 5.1) and the Amsterdam Declaration 2002.

### Minimum statement

   "Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality."

## FIRA member organisations

| Name | Based in | Founded | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Akhil Bhartiya Anddashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti | Nagpur, Maharashtra | 1982 | National organisation |
| AMOFOI (Anti-caste Marriage & One-child Family Organization of India) | Bhubaneswar, Odisha | 1980 | Founding unit since 1997 |
| Ananthapur Rationalist Association | Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh | | |
| Andhra Pradesh Rationalist Association | Khammam, Andhra Pradesh | | |
| ARIVU | Bellary, Karnataka | | |
| Arjak Sangh | Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh | | |
| Atheist Centre | Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh | 1940 | |
| Atheist Society of India | Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh | 13 February 1972 | |
| AT Kovoor Memorial Trust | Kozhikode, Kerala | | |
| Bihar Buddhiwadi Samaj | Patna, Bihar | 1985 | |
| Bombay-Gujarat Rationalist Association | Ankleshwar, Gujarat | | |
| Dakshina Kannada Rationalist Association | Mangalore, Karnataka | 1976 | |
| Democratic Action Forum of Dalits, Women and Minorities | Kolkata, West Bengal | | |
| Ekasila Activity and Education Society | Itarsi/Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh | | |
| Federation of Karnataka Rationalist Associations | Karnataka | | State umbrella |
| Freethinkers Forum | Bangalore, Karnataka | | |
| Goa Science Forum | Goa | | |
| Hyderabad Rationalist Forum | Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh | | |
| Indian Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Paranormal | Podanur, Tamil Nadu | 19?? | |
| Jana Vijnana Vedika | Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh | | |
| Karnataka Federation of Rationalist Associations | Karnataka | | State umbrella |
| Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham | Kerala | 1935 | |
| Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) | Pune, Maharashtra | 1989 | Maharashtra state branch |
| Manava Vikasa Vedika | Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh | | |
| Manavatavadi Vishwa Sansthan | Rajghat, Kurukshetra, Haryana | | |
| Mandya Science Forum | Mandya, Karnataka | | |
| Orissa Rationalist Association | Odisha | | |
| Periyar Rationalists Forum | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala | | |
| Rationalists' Forum | Tamil Nadu | | |
| Rationalist Society | Haryana | | |
| Sunday Sapiens | Mumbai | 2018 | Founding activities since 2012 |
| Satya Shodhak Sabha | Surat, Gujarat | | |
| Science and Rationalists' Association of India | Kolkata, West Bengal | 1985 | |
| Science for Society | Jharkhand | 2010 | |
| Science for Society | Bihar | 2010 | |
| Science Trust | Kozhikode, Kerala | | |
| Soshit Samaj | Jharkhand | | |
| Tarksheel Society | Punjab | 1984 | |
| TRUST | Bhubaneswar | | |
| Vicharavadi Sangham | Bangalore, Karnataka | | |

## National conferences

FIRA has so far convened twelve national conferences:

* Palakkad, Kerala: 7 February 1997
* Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh: 21 & 22 March 1998
* Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu: 7, 8 & 9 December 2001
* Mangalore, Karnataka: 10 & 11 May 2003
* Bhatinda, Punjab: 2, 3 & 4 April 2004
* Pune, Maharashtra: 28 & 29 April 2007
* Chennai, Tamil Nadu: 26 & 27 December 2009
* Nagpur, Maharashtra: 11 & 12 February 2012
* Brahmapur, Odisha: 24 & 25 December 2014
* Trivandrum, Kerala: 24 & 25 February 2017
* Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh: 5 & 6 January 2019
* Barnala, Punjab: 29 & 30 October 2022
* Delegates of 8th National Conference of FIRA held in Nagpur
* A delegate exposing a so-called 'miracle' of eating fire at the 8th FIRA conference in Nagpur
* Banner for 8th FIRA National Conference
* Dr Vilas Sapkal, vice chancellor, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, inaugurating the 8th National Conference of FIRA held in Nagpur by cutting a string of seven chilies and a lemon, a charm commonly used by Hindus to ward off evil

## Targeted attacks on rationalists

Although India is a secular democracy, blasphemy laws are still enforced under the Indian penal code and threats of violence are common for members of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations. Secular organizations such as FIRA have received pushback and protest from far-right groups.

In 2017, Gauri Lankesh was assassinated by an unknown terrorist in her home. She was a journalist and rationalist. She was outspoken against Hindutva, a right-wing Indian nationalist movement. The Columbia Journalism Review states that the Hindutva is "associated with activities ranging from lynchings, riots, and bomb blasts to threats of rape, dismemberment, incarceration, and hanging of people critical of them and their sectarian idea of India." Narendra Nayak of FIRA, along with many other international skeptical organizations, condemned the assassination of Gauri Lankesh in a CFI press release stating, "as a fellow member on the hit list of these organizations, I feel sad that I have lost a good friend and a supporter. She was one of those who was not afraid to speak her mind on any issue which she felt was important."

Narendra Dabholkar of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) was assassinated by gun shot on 20 August 2013 in Pune, Maharashtra. The assassination followed the introduction of the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Bill which was deemed "anti-Hindu" by far-right groups. In 2018, Dr. Shantanu Abhyankar, President, Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, presented at CSICon discussing the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Bill.

