Irreligion in India

[10] Several śramaṇa movements are known to have existed in India before the 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre-Mahavira), and these influenced both the āstika and nāstika traditions of Indian philosophy.

[13] Reginald Ray concurs that Śramaṇa movements already existed and were established traditions in pre-6th century BCE India, but disagrees with Wiltshire that they were nonsectarian before the arrival of Buddha.

[15] There is no heaven, no final liberation, nor any soul in another world, Nor do the actions of the four classes, orders, etc., produce any real effect.The Cārvāka school originated in India around the 6th century BCE.

Gautama Buddha rejected the existence of a creator deity,[29][30] refused to endorse many views on creation,[31] and stated that questions on the origin of the world are not ultimately useful for ending suffering.

[32][33] Buddhism instead emphasises the system of causal relationships underlying the universe, pratītyasamutpāda, which constitutes the dhamma and source of enlightenment.

[35][36] In the Hindu epic Ramayana (Ayodhya Khanda), when Bharata goes to the forest to convince Rama to return home, he was accompanied by a sophist[37] called Jabali ("जाबालिः").

But Rama calls him a deviant from the path of dharma ("धरमपथात"), refuses to accept his "nastika" views and blame his own father for taking Jabali into service.

He had existed since the Satya Yuga by virtue of a boon from the god Brahma, that he could only be killed when he is showing contempt towards brahmins.

[45] In the 14th century, philosopher Madhavacarya wrote the Sarva-Darsana-Sangraha, which is a compilation of all Indian philosophies, including Carvaka, which is described in the first chapter.

[4] His views on irreligion are based on the eradication of the caste system, thinking religion must be denied to achieve its obliteration.

Bhagat Singh (1907–1931), an Indian revolutionary and socialist nationalist who was hanged for using violence against British government officials, was a staunch atheist.

[51] Goparaju Ramachandra Rao (1902–1975), better known by his nom de guerre "Gora", was a social reformer, anti-caste activist, atheist and disciple of Mahatma Gandhi.

[59][60][61] Sunday Sapiens, the successor of Maharashtra Rationalist Association,[62] is actively involved in developing scientific temper and eradicating superstition.

It examines how Hindu religiosity is gaining more popularity among the rising middle class, as India is liberalising the economy and adopting globalisation.

[67] On 10 March 2012, Sanal Edamaruku investigated a so-called miracle in Vile Parle, where a Jesus statue had started weeping and concluded that the problem was caused by faulty drainage.

On 10 April, Angelo Fernandes, President of the Maharashtra Christian Youth Forum, filed a police complaint against Edamaruku under the Indian Penal Code Section 295A.

[70][71] On 20 August 2013, Narendra Dabholkar, a rationalist and anti-superstition campaigner,[72] was shot dead by two unknown assailants, while he was out on a morning walk.

This organisation has translated and published the international bestseller, God Delusion and The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins in many Indian languages.

It is reported that the group involved practiced thefts and plundering at night and distributed a share of it to the nearby slums like what Mohammed had done in sixth century.

[78][79] On 10 January 2022, ex-Muslim rationalist Aneesh Jasy from Tamil Nadu was arrested without bail over his Facebook posts against Islam.

[83] Ravi Kumar, an atheist from Haryana is another person who is struggling and fighting to be officially and legally irreligious and caste-less in India.

Later, Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa of the Punjab and Haryana High Court said they had exceeded their authority and asked him to return the certificate; he refused to do so.

[91] On 23 September 2014, the Bombay High Court declared that the government cannot force a person to state a religion on any document or form.

The decision came in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Ranjit Mohite, Kishore Nazare and Subhash Ranware, representing an organisation called Full Gospel Church of God, after the Maharashtra state printing press refused to issue them a gazette notification stating that they belonged to no religion.

[55] Among the Indian Muslim communities, atheists worry of backlash, they and their families may face social boycott and ostracism including stopping them in participation of funerary rites of their dear ones.

[94] Megh Raj Mitter's house was surrounded by a mob after he debunked the Hindu milk miracle, forcing him to call the police.

[95] On 15 March 2007, a bounty of ₹700,000 (equivalent to ₹2.1 million or US$24,000 in 2023) was announced on atheist[96] Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin, while living in India, by a Muslim cleric named Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan for allegedly writing derogatory statements about Muhammad in her work.

[97] In December 2013, an FIR was filed against Nasrin in Bareilly by a cleric named Hasan Raza Khan, for hurting religious sentiments.

[108] According to the 2006 World Values Survey, conducted by the Dentsu Communication Institute Inc, Japan Research Center (2006), 6.6% of Indians stated that they had no religion.

[114] A 2022 Gallup International Association survey found that 18% of Indians did not believe in God, equating to around two hundred million of the population.