Tarksheel Society (Rationalist Society) is a rationalist group based in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

The beginning

Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Megh Raj Mitter & Sarjit Talwar. Tarksheel Society aims to disseminate rationalist ideas and scientific temper among the Indian people in order to eradicate

religious fanaticism Religious fanaticism, or religious extremism, is a pejorative designation used to indicate uncritical zeal or obsessive enthusiasm which is related to one's own, or one's group's, devotion to a religion – a form of human fanaticism which cou ...

communalism Communalism may refer to: * Communalism (Bookchin), a theory of government in which autonomous communities form confederations * , a historical method that follows the development of communities * Communalism (South Asia), violence across ethnic ...

caste system Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

and

superstitions A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

. Affiliated to

Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations The Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations (FIRA) is an umbrella body of 83 (as of 2012) rationalist, atheist, skeptic, secularist and scientist organisations in India. As an apex body of rationalist organisations, it is committed to ...

, Tarksheel Society advocates the separation of religion and education. The society has units in almost all the villages and towns of Punjab. Though mainly confined to the state of Punjab, the Society now operates in the neighboring states of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

and

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

also. Due to its high South-Asian population, the Society is also active in three major cities in Canada: Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.

Campaigns

To accomplish its mission, the society organizes public meetings, conferences, study camps, seminars and publishes rationalist literature. The society undertakes campaigns to expose the so-called

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

s and charlatanry of godmen who claim

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

powers. Towards this the Society has announced a cash award of rupees five lakh (US$8,000) for anybody who demonstrates supernatural powers or miracles under fraud-proof conditions. The Society has so far published about 50 books in Punjabi and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

on rationalism and science to inculcate scientific temper among people. In 2004 Tarksheel organized the three-day national conference for Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations.

Periodicals

First book of the society was 'Te Dev Pursh Har Gaye' original author Dr. T. Kapoor was translated in Punjabi by Sarjit Talwar & Meghraj Mitter. The society publishes its own journals in Punjabi and Hindi. ''Tarak Bodh'' (Logical Cognition) and ''Taraksheel'' (Rationalist) are brought out in Punjabi and ''Tarak Jyoti'' (Logical Enlightenment) in Hindi.

References

External links

Website of Tarksheel Society

Student Awareness Exam Portal of Tarksheel Society Punjab
{{Skeptic Organizations Organisations based in Punjab, India Rationalist groups based in India 1984 establishments in Punjab, India Organizations established in 1984