Roots & Fruits of India’s mathematics

‘Time’ measures the amount, quality and extent of evolution, but time itself cannot get measured without Mathematics. Unlike ‘Time’, which is a man-made concept to believe that nature indeed changes, ‘Mathematics’ is far natural and older. “Mathematics is the alphabet with which God has written the universe” Galileo Galilei had once said, perhaps because of just how subtly it fits in with human existence. So much so that in the 21st century, where technological way of life is reshaping the world faster than ever before, DATA becomes paramount, a cardinal asset, which is fundamentally, a super-advanced version of Mathematics. Current developments in the domains of Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Automation, super-computing, etc. are a proof of how Mathematics has evolved over ‘time’. It is only Mathematics that gives hope to mankind that even the hitherto science fiction concepts like teleportation and time travel may actually be possible someday.

In the 88th edition of his monthly radio program ‘Mann ki Baat’, PM Modi spoke in lengths on how significant Mathematics is and has always been for the country and how much has the Indian subcontinent been able to give to the World as far as logical research and conceptual inventions and fundamentals are concerned. “During ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’, some students said that they are afraid of maths in the exam… Friends, Mathematics is such a subject about which we Indians should be most comfortable. After all, the people of India have given the most research and contribution to the whole world regarding mathematics,” shared PM Modi. He then went on to mention bits about India’s pioneership in introducing the number zero (recorded use recently discovered to be made as early as the 3rd or 4th century), the concept of infinity, binary number system, Vedic Maths, contribution of great mathematicians like Acharya Pingala, Aryabhatta, Ramanujan and ancient Indian sages.

The decimal system being employed worldwide was also first seen in India. Indian scriptures, largely ‘Vedas’ and other ancient manuscripts have acted as recorded proof of many such concepts and logical fundamentals. The ancient Indian subcontinent was leaping with mathematically enlightened culture that was flourishing at a time when Europe was still stuck in the dark ages. Apart from the perhaps greatest ever discovery of ‘Zero’, Indian mathematicians have made exceptional contributions to the study of trigonometry, algebra, arithmetic and negative numbers, etc. The key concept of Vedantic teachings, ‘Brahmn’, the one which pervades and manifests entire creation, is translated loosely in Arabic as Al-Zabr (The most powerful). The method of assuming its (Brahmn’s) existence to reaching a stage where it can be realised experientially, is developed as the fundamental method of working of algebra as we know it today. The world awaits to learn these and many more such fundamental developments from India of past and future.

Inheritance from Constituent Assembly

Inheritance is the thread of human civilisation. After World War II, Indians inherited an independent country and a dream to tryst with destiny on the policies and principles of democracy, justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. Proof that these values worked was demonstrated by this young nation in combating the Emergency in late 70s. As digital-natives are getting ready to take succession of New India, fundamental duties need to be put at the center of debates and discussions.

On the eve of 73rd Republic Day, Honourable President in his address to the nation said, “….We are immensely fortunate that the Constituent Assembly which prepared the document included some of the best minds of their generation. They were the leading lights of our great Freedom Struggle…While the text of the Constitution, dealing with the details of the workings of the State, is quite long, the Preamble sums up its guiding principles – Democracy, Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. They form the bedrock on which our Republic stands. These are the values that form our collective inheritance. These values have been accorded primacy in our Constitution in the form of Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties of the citizens. Rights and duties are two sides of the same coin. The observance of the Fundamental Duties mentioned in the Constitution by the citizens creates the proper environment for enjoyment of Fundamental Rights…”

As the records of Constituent Assembly deliberations show, the present Constitution was supposed to be overhauled within a couple of decades of its enactment. Perhaps among the responsibilities for younger generations to fulfill, getting to know the constitution first hand is the most urgent one. Occasions like Republic Day need to be utilised by schools, colleges, Government bodies, enterprises, NGOs alike to encourage youngsters to engage in understanding democracy. Indian democracy is a beacon of hope for a divided, scared and suspicious world. This complex society has transcended caste, religion, region, gender and race in adopting democracy. Gen Z and Gen Alpha Indians need to know the proud inheritance they have. Further, genuine understanding needs to be developed regarding points made by the critics, that Indian Constitution has fundamentally ignored the cultural robustness as well as village level structures in its formulation of policies of governance.

 

Freedom of History

“Every Indian, no matter where he may be living at the present time, has a duty towards this country…” These words of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose inspired the diaspora to raise 50,000+ strong Azad Hind Fauz. More than half sacrificed their life for the country, many say that history has not done enough to aptly remember their contribution to the country’s freedom. Netaji’s birth anniversary is celebrated as Parakram Divas and Prime Minister Narendra Modi rightly said that, “Every Indian is proud of his monumental contribution to our nation”. 

Post colonial history has been rewritten across the world, India’s position has been peculiar though. Rewriting has been both process and product, and is often associated with the theoretical approach toward the study of postcolonial literatures suggested by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin in their seminal work “The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures” (1989). World over the post colonial rewriting has mainly been about canonical literature where the writer is seen as belonging to a culture on the margins of the imperial center, and the content is viewed as a western cultural production. The writers having completely adopted the colonial education system, pay homage to their western masters as well as attempt to refute their assumptions. India, though having very rich heritage of original texts of all kinds, seems to have followed the similar methodology so far as other parts of the world. Perhaps, the rewriting needs to happen again by completely abandoning the colonial overhang. A caution many countries have started to take.

The book “Promises to Keep” talks about extraordinary feat of Indian slaves on the Island nation of Mauritius where “The Bissoondoyal movement was breathtaking in what is encompassed in relation to the very limited resources that it had: it embraced social reform, political, economic and social emancipation, cultural revival and education both of the individual and of the people.” Yet, the author says it is not to be seen as a work of history.

Another important factor in rewriting biases is induced by the colonial mindset of normative and source-oriented mindset. The official versions of history that exist in the colonial archives often do not account for the versions of the victims of history, including women and natives. This has been the main issue in South Africa, where a Britisher by the name of Guy Butler played a key role in establishing the National English Literary Museum (NELM) and a reports says, “Given this indication of the inherent ideological power of the archive, and given that in previously colonized countries colonial rule was often asserted through assiduous record keeping, it becomes necessary to investigate critically the action of founding, adding to, or engaging with ‘archive’ in the way that Butler was consciously doing in the 1970s.”

On the 125th birth anniversary, questions regarding Netaji’s end days, whether they were in Taiwan or Siberia, are being asked again, and archives of India, Taiwan, Japan, UK, America and Russia need to be cautiously explored to find out the truth.

 

Reviving the might of Meerut

The earliest mentions about Meerut can be traced in Ramayana, where the land used to be known as “Maya Rashtra”, or the capital of May danav, the King of the demons. His daughter Mandodari became the queen consort of Ravana of Lanka. Close to Meerut’s Northeast, is a place where the remains were found of the ancient city of Hastinapur, the capital of Pandavas of Mahabharata, which was washed away by Ganges floods. The city also contained a Harappan settlement known as Alamgirpur, which was believed to be the easternmost settlement of the Indus valley civilisation. The land had been a centre of Buddhism too, during the reign of the Mauryan Dynasty. Having been at the center point location of northern India, it has also witnessed muslim conquests between 11th-17th century AD incessantly. Finally, during the British Raj, it is from here that the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British East India Company, was started. This first war for Independence gifted an immortal fame for the city. But the damage this land witnessed for decades because of the frequent riots later on, left the city dry and dreaded.

This disturbed perspective about the city started to change after 2014, when the present government saw the potential of Meerut to become the super-district of UP. The city is on the wheels of unprecedented development since then, with mega projects like Rapid Rail, expressways, IT HUBs, sports facilities being inaugurated and planned. The construction of the ambitious Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail Transit System is being done with a power-pace across the district.

The Ganga Expressway (594 km in length) project is also in the pipeline, which will directly connect Meerut (Western UP) to Prayagraj (Eastern UP). Work is also underway for the establishment of an IT Park in the city, land (~2.5 Acre) for which has already been provided by the Meerut Development Authority. All these projects are not only going to give a boost to employment, but will also strengthen connectivity.

The foundation-laying ceremony of the ‘Major Dhyan Chand Sports University’ in Meerut, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, is an example of this. After almost three decades, the city had the privilege of welcoming India’s Prime Minister (fourth time) on its soil. The first PM to visit the city was Jawahar Lal Nehru, followed by Indira Gandhi and later, Chandrashekar Singh in 1990-91.

Meerut, already popular as the world’s manufacturing hub for top quality cricket goods, had provided the shot puts and javelins that Swapna Barman (heptathlon), Tajinderpal Singh Toor (shot put) and Neeraj Chopra (javelin throw) used to win their gold medals in 2018 Asian Games. With the opening of this sports university, Meerut will have all the tools to not just cater to sports industry and businesses, but also provide a strong, accessible platform to many sports enthusiasts in the region. The sports goods export share of the city already closes to one-third of the total figure. In addition to this, a combination of world-class sports equipments and intense all-sports training environment at the new university, holds a potential to change the sports landscape of not just the city, not just the region, but of the entire country.

Another outcome of such a developmental expansion is the employement and encouragement among the youth, belonging not just to Meerut but to nearby villages, sister-towns and neighbouring districts.

It is rather interesting to see how the land of Meerut, that has held significance in the ‘Treta’ Yug, the ‘Dwapar Yug’, the Harappan era, and the colonial era, is shaping up in the New Modern India.

 

Omnipresent Omnipotent Ram

What an unprecedented piece of world history it was – the Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan! Never before in the history of modern civilisation an aboriginal society has been able to come back to reinstate its lost cultural symbolism in a constitutional resolve by a democratic government, while projecting a peaceful and prosperous future for the nation.

PM Narendra Modi has given a clarion call to all Indians from the dias of Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan “Lord Rama has taught us how to fulfil our duties. He also taught us how to face challenges and how to seek and attain knowledge. The Ram Mandir should be built with bricks of love, respect & brotherhood. We need to keep in mind that the humanity could progress whenever it kept its faith in Lord Rama, and that it moved towards destruction, whenever it swept away from Lord Rama. We need to respect the sentiments of all. We need to be together, progress together & trust one another. We need to develop a confident and self reliant India with the help of our efforts and resolution.”

As the temple building is taking shape physically in Ayodhya, each Indian is ought to construct a temple in heart which fills one’s personality with strength of character and love for all. History of Mauritius vividly shows us the strength of shaping up one’s life in Ram’s love and devotion. The only hope for the Girmitiya community, group of starving bonded labour brought from Avadhi and Bhojpur speaking India to this African Island nation, was Ramayana i.e. Tulsidas’ RamCharitManas.

Even when subjected to harsh and horrible living conditions, even worse than bonded labours brought from Africa, Girmitiya kept the faith in Ram. Heart wrenching working conditions could not break their spirit to do Bhajans and Satsang ( prayers and story telling) in the evening and somehow get their children literate. The resulting change of power equations is a marvellous piece of history of this Island Nation which allowed landless, penniless bonded labour class brought throughout 1834 to 1920 to rule the state today. This should inspire everyone to have faith in Ram and keep working to build a prosperous and large-hearted future for oneself and generations to come. A life based on HIS Name, HIS Work – a life inspired by Ram!