'We need Mahakal Standard Time': Education Minister demands replacing Greenwich Mean Time

Ujjain: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said it was time to establish 'Mahakal Standard Time' in place of 'Greenwich Mean Time' as Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh was "the original centre of time calculation".

All major spiritual centres of India, be it Ujjain, Kashi, Kanchi or Puri Dham are living laboratories where a wonderful coordination of science, art, culture, literature and spirituality can be found, Pradhan asserted while inaugurating the three-day 'Mahakal The Master of Time International Conference'.

"Ujjain is the place where the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer meet and ancient world time calculations were made. Therefore, the time has come to logically establish 'Mahakal Standard Time' (MST) in place of 'Greenwich Mean Time' (GMT). Even modern AI tools recognise that the original centre of time calculation is the area around Ujjain," he said.

Therefore, the need is to re-establish the country's scientific pride globally, he said.

"Strengthening the Science Centre and Planetarium in Ujjain is a major step in this direction, enabling future generations to move forward with a scientific outlook. Ujjain is a place where the distance between spirituality and science disappears and a new vision is born," he said.

He asserted that science is incomplete without spirituality, and cited the example of Ujjain and its revered Mahakal Temple.

Referring to a scientific ritual at the Mahakal Temple, Pradhan said the practice of continuously pouring water from an earthen pot over Lord Shiva from the first day of the month of Vaishakh is not merely a religious tradition, but a scientific solution to the challenges of summer and environmental management.

"This demonstrates that our society has possessed scientific understanding of time calculation and adapting its lifestyle to the changes in nature for centuries. Environmental responsibility and a balanced life flow have always been central to the Indian knowledge tradition," Pradhan said.

He cited the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) and emphasized the need for a shift from learning by rote to one that embraces creativity, design thinking, and critical thinking.

"Today is the era of AI and computational thinking, and to ensure Indian students do not lag behind in this global race, new courses like AI are being introduced at the school level," he said.

Pradhan also clarified that no single language can have a monopoly on knowledge, and therefore, education is being integrated with Indian languages and folk cultures so that every student can easily understand complex scientific topics in their mother tongue.

On the occasion, Pradhan and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav released the Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan website, brochure, and booklet. A video film on this multi-level evaluation system, developed to cultivate scientific leadership, was also screened at the event.

"Ujjain has been a global centre for timekeeping and astronomy since ancient times. In Ujjain, timekeeping is not merely religious but also thoroughly scientific, as our ancestors established ages ago through texts like the Surya Siddhanta. Time and space are inextricably linked," Yadav said.

He also said the Indian time measurement system, based on sunrise and sunset that precisely synchronize with the movement of the planets and the Earth's rotation, is more accurate than Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

"Due to the intersection of the Tropic of Cancer and the zero longitude, Ujjain has been the global centre for time calculation. The MP government is committed to developing Ujjain as both a religious city and a science city. For this, a Science Centre, established at a cost of Rs 15 crore, has been inaugurated," Yadav said.

Yadav also said work has begun on organising the Simhastha-2028.

It is the world's largest cultural fair and approximately 35 to 40 crore devotees are expected to attend the event, the CM said.

"As part of the preparations for Simhastha, the ground breaking ceremony for a bypass costing Rs 700 crore has been completed. This investment will not only improve Ujjain's infrastructure but also establish it as a city with international-level facilities," Yadav added.