If you have read my blog from the beginning, one of the things you might have noticed is my evolution from more of an agnostic (or deist rationalist?) to an atheist. I guess even then I made a case for an existence out of necessity of an imaginary deity. In any case, during my time in Buffalo made some good friends who happen to be atheists (closet or otherwise). Being heavily interested in science, especially astronomy, my interest in people like Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson led me to the more "in your face" Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss, Sam Harris & Christopher Hitchens.
Now my atheist friends here also happen to be Indian, so I grew curious about the situation back home & started observing social networking groups dedicated to Indian atheists. I found some peculiar differences between those groups and me & my friends. Now I don't presume that my friends & I will agree on every single idea I present. But there are some basic things that I found to be in stark contrast with these Indian groups.
I'll first broaden the topic from atheism to rational thinking in general. I have found that in pursuit of a rational dialogue, these people keep a very deep focus on completely rejecting anything associated to ancient Indian religion. I tend to feel they try to mimic Western atheists & their treatment of Abrahamic religions, and forget the differences between them & Indian religions. Hinduism has been borne out of the cultural traditions of ancient Vedic times. It is a result of different philosophies, that have changed over time, in good ways & bad, and it has no central doctrine. Another important difference, in Vedic times, schools of thoughts actually dabbled with the idea of atheism: a universe without the need of a conscious creator. Coming closer to modern times, Savarkar, the proponent of Hindutva, was most probably an atheist, who based his philosophy on combining ancient Hindu teachings with rationalism. Needless to say, Hinduism has become closely intertwined with Indian culture I find it rather hard & also unnecessary to focus on completely breaking those ties. For progress, it is important not to cling to the past, but also be aware of it. India has had a rich & long history, and our Hindu philosophy forms a very important part of this: the literature, scientific/educational achievements, architecture, socio-political philosophies. In an interview, Richard Dawkins voiced his absolute support to preserving Anglical traditions because they form an integral part of English society. And this is Christianity, a Middle-Eastern cult imported as an organized religion into Europe. And... this is Richard Dawkins!
By all means, they should continue to oppose all unscientific wasteful & dangerous practices carried out in the name of religion & tradition. But an Indian atheist shouldn't become a clone of a western atheist. A western atheist would most probably lack the context to get into a dialogue with Indian masses, and would be considered as trying to "impose their western ideals". This is where an Indian atheist has a better chance of forming a dialogue, going back to ancient Indian traditions of critical thinking, showing them that they are stuck in a convoluted, reactionary form of Hinduism. This isn't merely a rouse. Its only natural if you have a strong platform of critical thinking in your own culture, you use it to help the masses absorb new ideas from all over the world. Rather than trying to demolish everything you have & trying to mimic something else.
I suppose this extends to all ancient Eastern philosophies. Its an interesting pattern I noticed looking at other parts of the world with ancient civilizations that were lost. Watching Africa, the cradle of humanity itself, where Africans kill their fellow Africans in the name of Christianity & Islam, the religions responsible for destroying their old heritage. Or watching large populations of South Americans kneel before the Catholic Church, the very same one that authorized their slaughter less than five centuries ago. Or the heavily religious black community in the USA, with the same religions that aided their former enslavement.
Of course, this is atheism & rational thinking we are talking about, so comparisons with such extreme cases are out of place. The only point to take away is that a complete abandonment of your self-identity is never a good thing.
