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Basava Premanand is an eminent skeptic and rationalist from Tamil Nadu, India.
Around 1975
Premanand started publicly denounced the Indian godman,
Sathya Sai Baba, and now devotes his life to expose the godmen and
paranormal
phenomena.
Originally an amateur
magician and uses these skills in an attempt to give a natural explanation
of the alleged
miracles of gurus and godmen. Since 1976 his most famous target is
Sathya Sai Baba.
Premanand was arrested in 1986 by the police for marching, together with 500
volunteers towards
Puttaparthi, the town where the main
ashram of the
guru is located. In the same year he sued Sathya Sai Baba for violation of the
Gold Control Act for Sathya Sai Baba's
materializations of gold objects. The case was dismissed, but Premanand
appealed on the ground that spiritual power is not a defence recognised in law.
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He later founded the
Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, which tours the villages
of India to
educate people by debunking gurus and
fakirs whom he
considers frauds
or
self deceived.
He also is the convener of
Indian CSICOP, a
Tamil Nadu
based skeptic group which is an affiliate of
CSICOP. He is
the owner-publisher-editor of the monthly magazine, The Indian Skeptic,
which publishes articles on the scientific investigation of apparently
paranormal occurrences with a special emphasis on cases from India.
Described by BBC
as India's
leading guru buster,
Basava Premanand has been honoured by the government with its highest award
for the promotion of scientific values among the public.
The Challenge of Basava Premanand
In 1963,
Abraham Kovoor offered
an award of INR 100,000 for anyone who could demonstrate supernatural or
miraculous powers under fool-proof and fraud-proof conditions. After the death
of Abraham Kovoor in 1978, Basava Premanand continued his challenge by offering
INR 100,000 to any person who would demonstrate any psychic, supernatural of
paranormal ability of any kind under satisfactory observing conditions. The
challenge remains uncontested.
Books by Premanand
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