Inaugurating the event, litterateur Prof Baraguru Ramachandrappa said, "Debiprasad wrote his book keeping the labour class in mind. He was not sure whether his work will reach the class for whom he had dedicated his book."
Ramachandrappa said that Ramayana and Mahabharatha are only important old books and not religious books. There is a need for for us to break free from the traditional bonds that are connected with Rama, Krishna and Anjaneya.
The book, Lokayata, questioned the mainstream view that Indian philosophy's sole concern was the concept of Brahman. Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya reconstructed the philosophy of Lokayata, which consistently denied the existence of brahman and viewed pratyaksa (perception) as the sole means of knowledge.
(Published 29 November 2009, 19:21 IST)