Superstitions are those unreasonable blind beliefs that make a sensible human being forget his elementary knowledge regarding the world of myths and false beliefs, said Babu Gogineni while speaking at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on 21 July 2015. He was delivering a special lecture on Dip! Dip! Dip! Immersing India in Superstition and Unreason organized by the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion & Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP) at the University.
Babu Gogineni is a Hyderabad-based Indian secular humanist and rationalist who has worked in London and other places. Touching upon the many superstitions that the people of our country have, Babu stated that unless the narrow-minded people change their approach they cannot lead to the start of a new India. He further added that faith in anything is not wrong, but blind faiths that have no proof are miserable – to understand or to regret. We talk of India being a backward nation but don’t realize that we ourselves contribute to it.
India has lost its fire but we should all join hands to get back that fire not allowing people to dip us into the darkness of superstition, added Babu while concluding his lecture.
Babu Gogineni is a regular Television commentator on issues related to Science, Human Rights, Secularism and Democracy, and he has travelled to, and lectured in, 32 countries on these subjects as well as in Communications Skills and Foreign language learning. He was invited in 2001 by the UN as an Expert on Education at the UN’s Madrid Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in School Education. Babu is a popular international lecturer and speaker—and in 1999 he delivered the prestigious Spring Lecture of the National University of Mexico in Mexico City; he was also a member of the winning team at an important Cambridge Union Society’s Debate at the University of Cambridge.