Article 51A(h) of the Constitution states: “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.”
The aim of esSENSE GLOBAL is much the same.
Ever since its inception in Kerala a decade ago, the forum has remained rooted in the internet while spreading its branches to Australia, the UK, Europe and the US.
The brainchild of C Ravichandran, an educator, writer and freethinker from Kerala, the group holds regular online meets, where socially relevant topics and the questions or values dogmatically connected to them are discussed.
“The idea is to inspire people to look for evidence in the things that come to them as practices and beliefs,” says Ravichandran.
esSENSE GLOBAL has been organising its annual Litmus meets since 2018, creating an offline platform where speakers, thinkers, young people and experts congregate to ponder questions that affect society.
“Litmus is held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Ernakulam in turns. The first session was held at Nishagandhi, which had only moderate attendance. But in the subsequent sessions, the number of attendees started increasing, and now around 5,000 people attend the day-long sessions annually,” says Ravichandran.
“This year, Litmus is coming back to Thiruvananthapuram for the third time and will be held at Nishagandhi again on October 20. The theme this year is ‘Cure for Blindness’, though ‘Let Evidence Speak’ is the overarching motto of Litmus.”
This year’s Litmus highlights include four sessions: ‘Are Ex-Muslims Overreacting?’, in which noted speaker and freethinker Arif Hussain Theruvath will interact with CM Ashraf Ansari Ponnani; a debate on ‘Savarkar: Hero or Villain?’ between Adv Vasanth Cyriac and Adv Sanku T Das; another debate between C Ravichandran and Swami Adhyatmananda on ‘Is God a Delusion?’; and an ‘open court’ session in which two advocates will present a POCSO case before a Gen Z panel of jurors.
“The topics have been chosen from issues that have attracted considerable social attention in recent years,” says Ravichandran.
The other events on the programme include talks on whether organic food is a scam and an exploration of Kerala’s development through governance, public debt and migration. Another session will look at the possibilities of building a more equitable society.
“There will also be an open clinic on the credibility of different streams of medicine. A discussion on ‘Intellectual Jihad’ will examine how the media can shape perceptions and narratives and influence our understanding of conflict,” Ravichandran highlights.
Another discussion will feature Prof. TJ Joseph and Shajitha Anees, who have attracted public attention with their strong questioning of religious practices. The session will explore whether ‘blasphemy’ — or questioning religious beliefs — is a right of every person.
“The idea is to inspire scientific questioning of values and practices. Rationality and proof should be the litmus test before accepting any thought or idea,” observes Ravichandran, hoping the meet will once again be a venue where free thinking takes centre stage.
For more details and registrations: www.essenseglobal.com