The Indian Rationalist Association is a voluntary organisation in India whose 100,000 members[1] promote scientific skepticism and critique supernatural claims.
It publishes books and magazines, organises seminars and lectures and its representatives regularly appear in television and print media exposing superstitions.
Dr G.N Jyothi Sankar organised All-India Miracle Exposure campaigns four times with legendary Sri Lankan Rationalist Abraham Kovoor, starting in 1975.
The present Indian Rationalist Association was founded in 1949 by S. Ramanathan, M. N. Roy and C. N. Annadurai; the president was R. P. Paranjpye.
Jyothi Sankar; and Modern Freethinker, edited by Sanal Edamaruku were the prominent journals published by Indian Rationalist Association.
It has led media and educational campaigns debunking the Monkey-man of Delhi monster hysteria,[3] godmen,[1][4][5] claims of miraculous milk-drinking statues,[6] superstitions related to solar eclipses,[7] and even the beliefs behind ritual human sacrifices.
Performing magic demonstrations that replicate the purportedly miraculous feats of the godmen, such as walking on coals,[10] producing sacred ash from thin air, exploding stones with "mental power", levitating, or turning water into blood.
[1] Similarly, the Indian Rationalist Association demonstrates on television how ordinary statues can appear to drink milk and other fluids.
[13] The Australian writer Greg Egan has featured the Indian Rationalist Association and Sanal Edamaruku in his novel Teranesia.