The Freethought Party of India (FPI) and “AMOFOI” celebrated the 330th Birthday of the noted French philosopher and freethinker Voltaire on November 21.

A seminar entitled, “My trade is to say what I think” was held under chairmanship of AMOFOI president Manas Jena. AMOFOI-FPI Book No. 6 on Humanism and Freethought was released on the occasion.

While welcoming the guests and presenting a paper on the greatness of Voltaire of the 18th Century Europe, FPI general secretary B.Ramchandra CST Voltaire outlined the features of the philosopher’s outstanding personality. He said: Voltaire was fearless. He was of defying nature. He defied his father and did not study law to earn more money. He told his father, “...his trade is to say what he thinks”. He wrote plays, poems, novels, numerous pamphlets and therein  he attacked the hypocrisies of the aristocrats and the religious leaders of the Catholic Church. His book: Candide  (1759) was a Socio-political satire on the optimistic philosophy of the German Theologian leader Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. He supported love marriage. Voltaire stood for freedom of speech and and expression and toleration of opposite views.

Jena was very much candid that because of Voltaire’s fearless campaign for liberty, equality, human dignity and good governance most of the Europeans stopped going to offer prayers in the Church. Now 72% of the Britishers are atheists; in Sweden atheists number about 78%. In case of India the figure is a hopeless one, he said.

Among others,  Humanist Rationalist Organisation (HRO) president Prof Dhaneswar Sahoo, MS Yadav of the BSP, Sundhansu Dhada of the ORS, HRO secretary Basanti Archary, , co-founder of AMOFOIMadam Swapna Bijayini, Bidisha Panda, 1st Class First Gold Medalist of Utkal University (Political Science Department) in the year 2023 and Ramesh Jena of Kujanga, Jagatsighpur spoke.