Atheism in India

Atheism exists in various forms within Indian philosophy and culture.

Negation of a god in Indian history

Nastika

Nastika , the ancient Indian schools that reject the Vedas , are Charvaka , Buddhism and Jainism . All three reject a creator god, but only Charvaka reject any form of metaphysics.

The non-Vedic school of Ajivika also rejected a creator god.

Astika

Among the Astika , the ancient Indian schools that recognized the Vedas , some rejected the existence of a supreme god ( Ishvara ): the Samkhya from AD 500 and the early Mimansa .

Atheism in India today

Yukthivadi , atheist-agnostic newspaper in Malayalam (in the southern Indian state of Kerala )

In the 2011 census in India , 33,304 people said they were atheists (0.003% of the 1,211 million population). Most atheists were in the large central Indian state of Maharashtra (9,650), followed by the small northeast Indian Meghalaya with 9,089 (compare religions of the Indian states ).

In the southern Indian state of Kerala (4,896 atheists) there is an atheist movement organized in the Indian Rationalist Association and Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham . With Yukthivadi the first atheistic-agnostic newspaper is published in Malayalam . The civil rights activist Sanal Edamaruku , founder and president of the Indian Rationalist Association and Rationalist International , also comes from Kerala .

Personalities

The Indian economist (Nobel Prize 1998) and philosopher Amartya Sen (* 1933), who is considered an atheist, said in an interview in 2006:

“Somehow, a lot of people got used to the idea that India was spiritual and religious. This has boosted the religious interpretation of India, even though Sanskrit had a greater atheistic literature than any other classical language. Even within the Hindu tradition, there were many people who were atheists. Madhava Acharya , the remarkable 14th century philosopher, wrote his great book called Sarvadarshansamgraha , which discussed all the Hindu religious schools of thought. The first chapter is called "Atheism" - a strong presentation of the argument for atheism and materialism . "

Other well-known representatives of atheism in India:

Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya
Shreela Flather, Baroness Flather of Windsor and Maidenhead, first Hindu woman in British politics, sees herself as a "Hindu atheist"
Prabir Ghosh , Secretary General of the Science and Rationalists' Association of India
K. Shivaram Karanth , author of the book Mookajjiya Kanasugalu
Gurunath Abaji Kulkarni (1923-1987), writer
Shreeram Lagoo
Amol Palekar
EV Ramasami (1879–1973), politician and activist from Tamil Nadu, one of the masterminds of the Dravidian movement (see Dravida Nadu )
TO Murthy Rao
Goparaju Ramachandra Rao and Saraswathi Gora , founders of the Atheist Center
Manabendra Nath Roy , founder of the Communist Parties in Mexico and India
Vir Savarkar , founder of the Hindutva
Vijay Tendulkar

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Table on members of “other religions” in India and all states (2011): C-01 Appendix: Details of Religious Community Shown Under “Other Religions And Persuasions” In Main Table C-1- 2011 (India & States / UTs ). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner India, New Delhi undated (English; XLSX-Excel: 126 kB on censusindia.gov.in).
↑ Dawood Mamoon: Is Secular India really Secular and Islamic Pakistan really Islamic? ( Memento of October 26, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) In: Chowk.com. August 5, 2005, accessed January 27, 2019; Quote: "Though Sen is a self proclaimed atheist, he claimed he is / can be associated with Hinduism as a political entity."
^ Arup Chanda: Market economy not the panacea, says Sen. In: Rediff on the Net. India, December 28, 1998, accessed January 27, 2019; Quote: "Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is an atheist."
↑ Interview with Amartya Sen by Pranab Bardhan: The arguing Indian. In: California Magazine. Volume 117, No. 4, July / August 2006 (English; online ( memento from December 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) at alumni.berkeley.edu); Quote: “In some ways people had got used to the idea that India was spiritual and religion-oriented. That gave a leg up to the religious interpretation of India, despite the fact that Sanskrit had a larger atheistic literature than exists in any other classical language. Even within the Hindu tradition, there are many people who were atheist. Madhava Acharya, the remarkable 14th century philosopher, wrote this rather great book called Sarvadarshansamgraha, which discussed all the religious schools of thought within the Hindu structure. The first chapter is 'Atheism' - a very strong presentation of the argument in favor of atheism and materialism. "
↑ Nigel Morris: UK Politics: Baroness Flather accused of 'bigotry' over her views on marriages in Pakistani community. In: The Indipendent. London, July 7, 2015, accessed January 27, 2019; Quote: "She says she is a 'Hindu atheist'".

[Census2011-India-OtherReligions-1] Table on members of “other religions” in India and all states (2011): C-01 Appendix: Details of Religious Community Shown Under “Other Religions And Persuasions” In Main Table C-1- 2011 (India & States / UTs ). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner India, New Delhi undated (English; XLSX-Excel: 126 kB on censusindia.gov.in).

[Mamoon-2005-2] Dawood Mamoon: Is Secular India really Secular and Islamic Pakistan really Islamic? ( Memento of October 26, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) In: Chowk.com. August 5, 2005, accessed January 27, 2019; Quote: "Though Sen is a self proclaimed atheist, he claimed he is / can be associated with Hinduism as a political entity."

[Chanda-1998-3] Arup Chanda: Market economy not the panacea, says Sen. In: Rediff on the Net. India, December 28, 1998, accessed January 27, 2019; Quote: "Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is an atheist."

[Bardhan-2006-4] Interview with Amartya Sen by Pranab Bardhan: The arguing Indian. In: California Magazine. Volume 117, No. 4, July / August 2006 (English; online ( memento from December 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) at alumni.berkeley.edu); Quote: “In some ways people had got used to the idea that India was spiritual and religion-oriented. That gave a leg up to the religious interpretation of India, despite the fact that Sanskrit had a larger atheistic literature than exists in any other classical language. Even within the Hindu tradition, there are many people who were atheist. Madhava Acharya, the remarkable 14th century philosopher, wrote this rather great book called Sarvadarshansamgraha, which discussed all the religious schools of thought within the Hindu structure. The first chapter is 'Atheism' - a very strong presentation of the argument in favor of atheism and materialism. "

[Morris-2015-5] Nigel Morris: UK Politics: Baroness Flather accused of 'bigotry' over her views on marriages in Pakistani community. In: The Indipendent. London, July 7, 2015, accessed January 27, 2019; Quote: "She says she is a 'Hindu atheist'".