Sreeni Pattathanam is a South Indian rationalist leader and writer of some ten books and many investigative reports.

Pattathanam was born in Kollam, Kerala in India. He began his career with the police department then joined a government school as a teacher.

Pattathanam has been the Editor of Ranarekha, rationalist monthly, published in malayalam. He was also the State General Secretary of the Indian Rationalist Association (IRA) of which Sanal Edamaruku as its National General Secretary. Currently, he is the Chief Editor of Yukthirajyam, a malayalam rationalist monthly and the General Secretary of Bharatiya Rationalist Association .

Sreeni Pattathanam has written a book, Matha Amritanandamayi: Divya Kathakalum Yatharthyavum (Matha Amritanandamayi: Sacred Stories and Realities), first published in 1985, that later became controversial and brought government action against the author.

The book, which contains references to court records, newspaper reports and quotations from well-known literary figures, including statements from the Math’s close relatives, as well as an interview with Mata Amritanandamayi herself, refutes the Math’s claims to miracles and contends that there have been many suspicious deaths in and around her ashram, which need police investigation.

Some of these suspicious deaths reported are:

1. Subhagan alias Sunilkumar, brother of Amrithananda Mayi, was allegedly beaten to death for opposing the activities of his sister.
2. Vellappillil Narayanan Kutty of Kodungallur , an inmate of the Amrithanandamayi Ashram, died on April 4, 1990, due to internal hemorrhage as per postmortem report. He was an employee of Government Bureau of Economics and Statistics, Trichur, Kerala. (The New Indian Express, April 19, 1990, Kochi, Kerala, India and Janayugam a Malayalam daily April 22, 1990)
3. Pradeep Kumar, a relative of Amrithananda Mayi, died on August 16, 1994 under mysterious circumstances.
4. Rumdhur, a historian and inmate of the ashram, died on July 15, 2000 within the precincts of the ashram. The ashram authorities did not intimate his death to his friends or his relatives.
5. Ramanatha Iyer of Mumbai allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the 12th floor of Amrithanandamayi Math at Vallikkavu on September 5, 2001. (The New Indian Express, September 6, 2001, Kochi, Kerala)

*Government actions and threats against the writer has prompted appeals and petitions on his behalf. 
[1] - pucl.org (People's Union for Civil Liberties )
[2]
[3] - iheu.org (International Humanist and Ethical Union )
[4] - emalayalee.com
[5] - petitiononline.com