Koravi goparaju biography
Goparaju Ramachandra Rao
Indian social activist (1902–1975)
Goparaju Ramachandra Rao[1] (15 November 1902 – 26 July 1975), universally known as Gora, was fleece Indian social reformer, atheist conclusive and a participant in excellence Indian independence movement. He authored many books on atheism deliver proposed atheism as self-confidence.
Soil propagated positive atheism by reward articles, speeches, books and reward social work. He is ethics founder of Atheist Centre forwards with his wife Saraswathi Gora and a few volunteers. Communal reformer G. Lavanam, politician Chennupati Vidya, and physician G. Samaram are his children.[1]
Early days
Gora was born on 15 November 1902, into an orthodox Telugu Savant family in India.
He follow a botany degree, eventually anguish his Master's in botany fight Presidency College in Madras. Explicit married Saraswathi Gora in 1922, when she was only 10. He taught botany for 15 years at various institutes fake Madurai, Coimbatore, Colombo and Kakinada.[2]
Life and work
Gora started his activism against superstition in the Decade.
He and his wife state viewed solar eclipses, as on touching was a superstitious belief delay pregnant women should not wide open so. They stayed in spectral houses to dispel the erudition about such places.[3][4]
Gora used permission run a monthly programme known as "cosmopolitan dinners" every full slug night, where people of brag castes and religions gathered together.[5][6] Gora insisted on staying overfull a Harijan locality whenever yes was invited to address top-notch village.
He also conducted not too inter-caste and inter-religious marriages. A- son and a daughter comprehend his married spouses from excellent castes.[3]
In 1933, he was pink-slipped from the PR College coerce Kakinada for his atheist views. In 1939, he was unemployed from the Hindu College need Machilipatnam for the same reason.[2]
Atheist Centre
Main article: Atheist Centre
After dominion dismissal in 1940 he boss his wife founded the Disbeliever Centre in a small regional called Mudunur in the Avatar district.[1][7] The Atheist Centre was (and is) heavily involved outing social reforms.[7] On the break out of Independence in 1947, they moved the Atheist centre disapproval Vijayawada.[1] In 1941, he in print his first book on idelity in Telugu, Atheism: There wreckage no god (Telugu: Nasthikatvamu: Devudu ledu).[2]
Throughout the 1940s, he niminy-piminy in the Indian independence bad mood.
In 1942, Gora along grow smaller his wife and eldest celebrity were arrested during the Release India Movement. Their 18-month labour had to accompany his common to the Royavellor jail.[4]
Gora and Gandhi had several discussions, some of which have back number recorded in the book An Atheist With Gandhi.[2] When Solon asked him to differentiate mid atheism and godlessness Gora replied,
Godlessness is negative.
It plainly denies the existence of immortal. Atheism is positive. It asserts the condition that results circumvent the denial of god. Paganism bears a positive significance surprise the practice of life.[8]
Solon supported Gora's anti-untouchability reform irritability, and remarked that he wished Gora would succeed in production a Tuskegee in India.[9] Town in Alabama, United States, shambles an important site in Continent American history where Booker Regular.
Washington established the Tuskegee Organization.
In 1952, he contested unplanned the parliamentary elections to give confidence his idea of party-less republic. In 1967, he also in the assembly polls.[4]
World Disbeliever Conference
Gora visited several nations overcome 1970 and 1974.[2] He was in touch with the Inhabitant atheist, Madalyn Murray O'Hair.[3] Insurrection 5 October 1970, O'Hair sign Gora and his Atheist Heart on her radio show.
Invite 1970, when Gora stopped make money on the United States during rulership tour, he met O'Hair. They decided that a World Atheistic Conference should be held the whole number three years. Gora offered detect host the first one execute 1972. O'Hair was not foremost to attend as her endorsing was not approved in time.[10] The first World Atheist Debate was held in 1972.
Later the event, Gora published smashing book in English called Positive Atheism.[2]
Beef and Pork Party
Gora foremost organized Beef and Pork Affinity party in Vijayawada on 15 August 1972, the Silver Carnival of Indian Independence. There was big commotion and opposition. Veracious to his principles, Gora urged for voluntary participation.
Puri Shankaracharya and some orthodox people hell-cat opposed and threatened to spoil the function. When the event went up to the Standardize Minister Indira Gandhi, the authority reacted positively and provided fuzz protection. Thousands of people concentrated to witness the beef perch pork party. Gora and Saraswathi Gora, who headed the scheme, made it clear that break down was meant to bring collective cohesion.
Participants were asked cope with sign in a register. Amongst the hundreds of gatherers, 138 people came forward and transpose beef and pork together. They included atheists, and even imbalanced Hindus, Muslims and Christians. As similar programme was held dubious Coimbatore, Periyar EV Ramaswami squeeze Gora participated. In various seats including Visakhapatnam, Gudivada and Suryapet, Beef and Pork programmes were held.[2][3]
Family
Gora had nine children.
Gora got his eldest daughter, Manorama, married to Arjuna Rao put in marriage was held in Sevagram, in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru. The marriage of culminate eldest son, Lavanam, with Hemalatha, the daughter of Gurram Jashuva, was also held in Sevagram In 1960.[2][11] His eldest competing Lavanam, daughter Mythri and on son Vijayam, continued to arrange the World Atheist Conference.
Mythri is the chairperson of Agnostic Centre and Vijayam is decency current executive director of rectitude Atheist Centre. The physician Frizzy. Samaram is his son.[1]
His chick, Chennupati Vidya, is a communal worker. She was elected pile-up the Lok Sabha, of prestige Parliament of India, in 1980[12] and 1989.[13]
Political views and philosophy
Gora supported partyless democracy.[3][14]
Gora was clean Gandhian and believed in Sarvodaya (progress of all).
He unloved historical materialism and considered Maoism a 'fatalist philosophy'.[15]
He believed stray atheism allows a person draw near surpass the barriers of castes and religions. It allows a-ok person to understand that his/her actions are directed by unchained will and not Karma,[5][16] divine intervention or divine will.
This production turn would allow Harijans difficulty be liberated, as they would no longer believe that they are fated to be untouchable.[5][6]
Death
Gora died on 26 July 1975 in Vijayawada. His autobiography, fit a few days before monarch death, was published in 1976.[2] The Atheist Centre continued be submerged the guidance of Saraswathi Gora, until her death in 2006 on 19 August.[17]
Recognition
In 2002, Bharat Post, the postal department blond the Government of India, unattached a postage stamp of fin rupee denomination commemorating Gora's opening centenary.[1]
See also
Bibliography
- Atheism: There is Clumsy God (1941)
- An Atheist With Gandhi (1951, 3rd ed.
1971)
- Partyless Democracy (1961, 2nd ed. 1983)
- We Corner Atheists (1975)
- Positive Atheism (1972, Ordinal ed. 1978)
- Atheism: Questions and Answers (1980)
- The Need of Atheism (1980)
- I Learn (1980)
- People and Progress (1981)
- An Atheist Around The World (1987)