IGNCA to host discourse on ancient Indian traditions

The Centre is investing in the study of ancient Indian wisdoms, to amplify it to younger generations. And to do so, it has roped in the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), where a centre for traditional Indian knowledge is being set up.

A knowledge session on ancient Indian mathematics is the first in a series of such efforts, a senior official of the Culture Ministry told DH. To be held on February 25, the session will look at the development of mathematics in the Vedic, post-Vedic and Mediaeval Indian periods, and explore ways to make it relevant to future generations.

Canadian-American mathematician Professor Manjul Bhargava, recipient of the Field’s Medal, will deliver the keynote address in the session.

Ancient Indian practises in the field of measurements in geometry and binary numbers will be part of the discussion. Apart from Aryabhatta’s work, the discussion will also focus on lesser celebrated mathematicians. “For instance the work of 3rd Century mathematician Pingala, or the work in the Kerala school of mathematics in the field of trigonometry and calculus, which was discovered much later,” the ministry official said.

Another session to be held in March in Ahmedabad will look at the ancient practice of arthashastra, or economics. The Indian practice of interest on principles will be part of the discussion, the official said. “The Indian system of quantile easing was unknown to the West for centuries. Only during the 2009 global financial crisis, this concept gained currency,” the official said.

Similar sessions on economics, metallurgy, astronomy, astrophysics, veterinary sciences, and architecture are in the pipeline. The culture ministry is also exploring ways of working on mini series with OTT channels to spread awareness about these ancient concepts and those who studied and propagated them.

Officials, however, stressed that these efforts are to “separate fact from fiction”. “These sessions will carry out scientific analysis on evidence-based systems on what ancient Indians knew in these areas. The best in these fields will study these concepts in a logical scientific manner, and amplify them so that the present generations know about them,” the official said.

Fellowships and papers on these traditions of ancient India are also part of the culture ministry’s larger plan to involve young researchers into the effort.

The new development around the IGNCA, which was instituted by the Congress in 1985 in memory of former PM Indira Gandhi as a resource centre for the arts, is bound to elicit a reaction from the Opposition party. In 2016, a rejig at the board of the IGNCA led to criticism from Congress leaders. The IGNCA’s inclusion in the Central Vista plan, which led to the relocation of the institute to Hotel Janpath in July last year, also led to an outcry from Congress leaders.

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