Mookencheril Cherian Joseph (6 January 1887 – 26 October 1981), popularly known as Yukthivadi M. C. Joseph, was an eminent rationalist from Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

M. C. Joseph was born on January 6, 1887 at Thripunithura in Kerala. His father was Mookencheril Kuncheria and mother Maria. After his education, he took up his career as a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

. He was one of the founders of Yukthivadi

Yukthivadi

Yukthivadi was the first rationalist/atheist journal published in Malayalam. The contribution made by Yukthivadi to the renaissance of Kerala, India is phenomenal....

, the first ever rationalist/atheist magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 in Malayalam along with Ramavarma Thampan, C. Krishnan, C. V. Kunjiraman, and Sahodaran Ayyappan

Sahodaran Ayyappan

Sahodaran Ayyappan was a social reformer, thinker, journalist, and politician of Kerala, India. He was one of the outspoken followers of Sree Narayana Guru.-Overview:...

. The first issue of the Yukthivadi was brought out on August, 1929.

Sahodaran Ayyappan was the first editor of the magazine. Two years later M. C. Joseph took over the editorship and successfully continued its publication without any interruption for the next 45 years. His famous column Kurippukal (Notes) carried scathing criticism of all organized religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

s, superstition

Superstition

Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....

s, and undemocratic and authoritarian

Authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...

 political system

Political system

A political system is a system of politics and government. It is usually compared to the legal system, economic system, cultural system, and other social systems...

s. During his tenure as its editor, the magazine got so identified with its editor that he came to be known as Yukthivadi M. C. Joseph. In July 1974, at the age of 87, he handed over the magazine to Unni Kakkanand.

M. C. Joseph died on October 26, 1981 at the age of 94. As per his wishes, the body was handed over to Calicut Medical College

Calicut Medical College

Calicut Medical College is a premier medical college located in the city of Kozhikode in Kerala, India. It was established in 1957 as the second medical college in the Kerala. Since then the institution has grown into a premier centre of medical education in the state...

.

Bharathiya yukthivadi Sangham is giving M. C. Joseph award for secular writers and activist in Malayalam. Kureepuzha Sreekumar

Kureepuzha Sreekumar

Kureepuzha Sreekumar is a noted Malayalam poet of the post modern era. His books of poetry include Habibinte Dinakkurippukal, his first, published in 1984, Sreekumarinte Dukkangal, Rahulan Urangunnilla, Amma Malayalam and Suicide Point.He won the Best Poet Award in 1975 from Kerala University, the...

, Pavanan

Pavanan

Puthan Veetil Narayanan Nair was a well known rationalist, literary critic and left wing political activist from Kerala, India.-Early Days and Education:...

, Thilakan

Thilakan

Surendranatha Thilakan , known mononymously as Thilakan, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema and theatre. He was awarded Padma Shri on 25 January 2009.- Theatre:...

and Vaisaghan are the award winners.

Books by M. C. Joseph

1. Purogathi (Progress) (1947)
2. Yukthiprakasham (Light of Reason) (1966)
3. Prabhodhanam (1966)
4. Ashayasamaram (1976)
5. Thiranjetutha Kurippukal (Selected Notes)(1976)
6. Chinthaviplavam (1976)
7. Nasthikya Chintha (Atheist Thoughts)(1977)
8. Swatanthra Chintha (Free Thought)(1978)
9. Kuttichathan (Goblins)(1983)
10. Emciyute Lekhanangal (Essays)(1991)
11. Emciyute Darshanangal (1995)
12. Jotsyam Oru Kapada Sasthram (2004) Indian Atheist Publishers
13. Punarjanma Smaranakal (2004) Indian Atheist Publishers
14. Kalathinu Mumpe Nadannavar (2005) Indian Atheist Publisher