Babu Gogineni


Babu Gogineni is an Indian Humanist, rationalist, and human rights activist, who served as Executive Director of the International Humanist and Ethical Union.
Gogineni is the founder of South Asian Humanist Association and Indian Humanists. He is also the founder and owner of Skillguru, a training organization and private business.
In his activism, Gogineni campaigns against established privilege and abuse of rights done in the name of religion. During his time with the IHEU, he led IHEU's worldwide campaigns for the protection of Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, bringing Pakistani freethinker Younus Shaikh to safety in Europe. In India, he successfully led the campaign for rehabilitation and protecting the rights of Sambhavi, a child who was claimed as a reincarnation of a Buddhist goddess.
In 2003, Gogineni was one of the signatories to the Humanist Manifesto. He also identifies himself as a Bright. Gogineni writes in English, French and Telugu. He was a columnist for Hyderabad-based daily newspaper Postnoon and wrote a column called "The Human Angle". He has also hosted a multi-language TV series called The Big Question with Babu Gogineni offering a Humanist perspective on science and civilization.
Gogineni travels domestically and internationally to spread humanism and awareness of social issues. He speaks on television on superstition, science, Humanism and human rights.
He appeared on the reality TV show Bigg Boss Telugu season 2. He was eliminated from the show after 63 days on Aug 12, 2018.

Early life and activism

Gogineni, the son of Aruna Kumari of Eluru, West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh and Gurubabu of Tenali, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh was born in Hyderabad. At the age of 18, he became the youngest certified French language teacher in Hyderabad. He later graduated from Nizam College.
He served as Joint secretary of Indian Radical Humanist Association, Bombay between 1988-1996; Vice-President of the Indian Rationalist Association, Hyderabad between 1993-1996; Secretary General of Rationalist Association India, Hyderabad between 1995-1996, and was part of South Asian Humanist Network, Bombay between 1995-1996, before moving to the United Kingdom in 1997, where he continued his activism work with the International Humanist and Ethical Union.

IHEU career

Gogineni was appointed as Executive Director of the International Humanist and Ethical Union in 1997. He was associated with IHEU till 2015.
During his long association with IHEU, Gogineni implemented the IHEU's move to the United Kingdom, turned IHEU into a multi-lingual proactive campaigning organization, arranged IHEU's lobbying efforts at an international level by securing Special Consultative status at the United Nations, organized IHEU's first General Assembly in Africa, and conceptualized and founded the IHEU Centre for Bioethics at the UN in New York. He also helped organize IHEU's Congresses in Mumbai, Amsterdam and Paris, and its first GA in Africa.

Positions held