Dear Jayamohan,
I watched your video on rationality. I used to repeat the same thing in my classes.
Rationality is actually a scientific view. It is based on objective evidence and the logic that presents it. If clear evidence and logic are absent, then it cannot be considered science. Whether those pieces of evidence support our side or favor the opposition, they have the same value.
Therefore, a person who becomes frustrated when hearing the opposition is not a rationalist. A person who criticizes and insults the opposition is not a rationalist. A person who speaks rationally should have no emotional attachment to his ideas. No matter what affiliation a person presents—be it religion, race, language, or country—if he has a faith or emotional attachment to it, he is not rational.
In Tamil Nadu it is the devotees of Periyar who excessively discuss rationality. However, they communicate in a manner similar to that of religious fanatics. They represent a force that directly opposes a scientific mentality. A rationalist will present his side more scientifically because a rationalist’s argument should be grounded in the truth. That is what provides the right to question the faith of another.
Here, if you inquire about Periyar’s actual contribution to Vaikom, our Periyarists tend to react defensively. They create myths. If a Tamil nationalist says that Tamil is the oldest language in the world, a rationalist should first ask for evidence. He should see for himself whether Keezhadi has been scientifically studied. If someone says that iron was first discovered in Tamil Nadu, a rationalist should ask for scientific evidence. But here the rationalists are crying more loudly than the linguistic and nationalistic fanatics. They criticize the northerners for their blind faith, yet they fail to seek evidence for their history.
There is one kind of knowledge that has disappeared in Tamil Nadu; it is rationality, or scientific attitude. You have said it deeply.
Thanga Gnanasekaram
