The blogsphere seems to be alive with the story of Sanal Edamaruku, the 'Indian Skeptic' who debunked a 'miracle' at a Catholic church in Mumbai (Bombay) and was arrested for blasphemy.
It is of course a shocking reflection on both the Catholic church and Indian society that this could happen - especially, as Edamaruku's defence committee has pointed out, in a country whose Constitution, written just 65 years ago, states that:
It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper, humanism and spirit of inquiry and reform.
It is certainly to be hoped that any sensible court will exonerate him
There is another point I would like to make, however. Edamaruku has come up with an explanation of how this could be occurring without a miracle; that does not mean that he has found the only such explanation. I am reminded of CSICOP confidently declaring that computer analysis of the Cottingley Fairy photos had revealed the strings holding them up, thus showing them to be fakes - before the perpetrator admitted that they were fakes, but pinned into position, not hung.
We should be wary of declaring a case 'solved' when a potential solution has been found. And if Edamaruku has found the wrong explanation of this 'miracle', his legal troubles may get far worse.
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