Prabir Ghosh, crusader against superstition, dies at 78

Prabir Ghosh, who waged a lifelong battle against all forms of superstition, died at his apartment in Kolkata's Dumdum-Motijheel area today.

Ghosh breathed his last at around 11:00am following protracted age-related health issues, Anandabazar Online and Kolkata 24X7 channel reported, quoting his family sources.

He was the founder of Bharatiya Bigyan O Yuktibadi Samiti (Science and Rationalists' Association of India).

Born on March 1, 1945, in Faridpur now in Bangladesh, Ghosh moved to West Bengal in childhood and spent a major part of his life in Kharagpur and Dumdum.

An uncompromising crusader against hypnosis and superstitions till his final breath, he wrote a five-volume book called "Aloukik Noi Loukik" which had caused a stir in the past.

A non-believer, Ghosh often used to say that he would give Rs fifty lakh to anyone who could prove the existence of supernatural powers. Whenever he heard about any occultist and superstitious activities, Ghosh used to rush there along with his Samiti members to debunk them.

Ghosh had also joined protests against attacks on free-thinking bloggers by fundamentalists in Dhaka.

A graduate of Dumdum's Moijheel College, he had launched a magazine against superstitions and involved himself fully with Juktibaadi Samiti after quitting his Bank job.

Ghosh had at times courted controversies by questioning revered personalities like Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa and godman Balak Brahmachari.

Condoling his death, Juktibaadi Samiti General Secretary Manish Roy Choudhury said, "A man dies but rationalist ideology lives forever."