‘Litmus 22’, the annual meet of freethinkers dedicated to developing scientific temper and a sense of enquiry, organised by esSENSE Global, in Kochi on Sunday turned out to be the “spring festival of rationality and freethinking”, according to organisers. Around 10,000 people had registered for the event, organised at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Kadavanthara in the city.
The organisers said the annual event was considered the largest such gathering across the world and was attended by writers, scientists and critics of religion from around the world, who attended or spoke at sessions lasting about an hour-and-a-half each, dedicated to topics as varied as herbal medicine and rocket science, Hindutva and political Islam, Communism and organic evolution.
Participants, including a large number of students, from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were among those who took part in the event. esSENSE Global is a voluntary body engaged in popularising freethinking and spreading the spirit of science.
Former Chief Secretary Tom Jose presented awards to workers who contributed towards the cause. The Freethinker of the Year Award went to P. Sushil Kumar. The Young Freethinker Award went to Sinto Thomas and Jithesh Kunissery, who were presented with ₹25,000 each and medals, the communication added.
Askar Ali, who left Islam allegedly defying death threats, spoke on ‘Insha Allah’. Beena Rani, Baiju Raj, Jose Kureekkal, Krishna Prasad, Abi Phil, Jhanvi Sanal, Rehna M., Manuja Maithri, Abhilash Krishnan, Augustus Morris, Praveen Ravi, Tomy Sebastian and C.S. Sooraj were among those who spoke.
One of the most well-received debates during the meet was titled ‘Gene On’ and attended by Anand T., Chandrashekhar Ramesh, Praveen Gopinath, Nishad Kaippally and Praveen Radhakrishnan. The debate panelists said the process of evolution did not leave any work for god to be done, according to the communication from the organisers.
Arif Hussain Theruvath, Anoop Isaac, Prasad Vengara, Musthaffa Moulavi, Rahul Easwar and Anil Kodithottam were among those who participated in a talk-show. C. Ravichandran's presentation on 'God - Harry Potter' brought the meet to a conclusion, the communication added.
