On June 7, a group of young people gathered in a Delhi mall with banners and embraced random strangers. These people weren't simply spreading the love, they were celebrating ‘Hug an Atheist Day’, that saw atheists emerge to make a statement about their beliefs or the lack of them.

Lalit Chawla, 22, administrator at Nirmukta, a community of atheists, organised the casual hug-fest in Delhi. In Bangalore, members converged at a hall while Chennai fellows headed to Marina beach to celebrate. “People were curious and open but atheism becomes a problem when you start challenging the traditional belief system,” says Chawla, a software developer who joined the group while in college.

“Atheism has not reached a position in India where it threatens organised religion, so it's still early. But when that happens, people will hit back like in countries abroad,” he says.

Nirmukta's Delhi chapter meets once a month at local hangouts in Khan Market or Connaught Place. “We rarely talk about atheism. It's just good to have like-minded people who don't annoy you by telling you bad happenings are all part of god's infinite plan or simply make you feel like a freak. It's a safe space where you don't need to pretend,” he says. The meetings are open to all but are announced on a closed Facebook group. You become a member by simply liking the page. The youngest member in Delhi is 16-years-old.

Along with advanced courses for veterans, Narendra Nayak, founder of Nirmukta and president of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, also organises workshops for those new to atheism. While there isn’t a formal structure in Nirmukta, there is an administrative team to monitor forums and an editorial one for the blog.

Part of his campaign includes miracle busting. "I try to speak to the man on the street who isn't interested in the big bang theory but is more likely to fall prey to bogus godmen and their tricks," he says.

Geetha TJ, one of the 35 active members of the Chennai chapter of Nirmukta, says most people are not open about their atheism, because 'society' will look at them with disapproval. This is perhaps why many atheists function solely online and do not attend meetings.

But while the atheist following is mostly underground, they aren't a minority says political scientist and director of the Atheist Centre in Andhra Pradesh, Dr Gora Vijayam. Explaining his philosophy, Vijayam, 77, says “God is human imagination.”

“Religion is an instrument of oppression,” he adds. “Whatever you lack on earth, religion promises to give it to you in heaven. Not only that, religion justifies it with karma so subordination goes unopposed.”HOW TO PRACTISE IRRELIGIONBut while atheists have escaped the strict commandments of religious ideology, atheist communities are not without strong beliefs of their own. In fact, different groups are often not in agreement with each other.

For example, Nirmukta’s Geetha believes that “Atheism is a common-sense conclusion which most of us have arrived at individually — that is not the end. The philosophy to live by is free thought.” But she is quick to add, “That doesn't mean anything goes. Swearing and gender slurs will get you banned. We welcome the LGBT community and are pro-reservation and affirmative action.”

But Atheist Centre’s Vijayam disagrees. Since science and popular belief binds the centre’s beliefs, he believes that homosexuality can be perceived as “unhealthy”.

The Atheist Centre’s website helps newly-turned atheists with a set of guidelines about choosing secular names and conducting weddings, funerals without religious rituals. The Facebook page — Indian Atheist has 20,313 likes already.

But Geetha says one must not overthink atheism. While she made a conscious decision to raise her daughter without any religious instruction, she gives in when her child wants to celebrate popular festivals. “It's a cultural celebration and she likes to decorate a tree and burst crackers. I was brought up by an agnostic father so I won't tell her what to believe.”

Vijayam is convinced the atheism movement is gaining traction. “The number of atheists in the world is equal to the number of Hindus. They may use different terms across the world like sceptics, rationalists, free thinkers but the agenda is the same,” he says.