Freethought, Atheism and Social Radicalism in Colonial Madras – V. Geetha and S. V. Rajadurai
A secular, freethinkers’ union was active in Madras in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. It affiliated itself with and was perhaps known to Freethought circles in England. The union called itself ‘the Chennai Suyaakina Sangam’, calling attention to its will to think through rather than accept truth as given and handed down. The sangam ran two journals, Tattuva Vivesini in Tamil and The Thinker in English. We do not know enough about the circumstances that halted their publication, but the forthright and freewheeling critique of scripture and priesthood which Tattuva Vivesini put forth did leave its mark in...