Central University of Punjab successfully organized three-day National Workshop on “Ancient Indian Mathematics”
Bathinda : In extension to its academic activities, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (CUPB), under the patronage of the honourable Vice Chancellor Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari, successfully organized three-day national workshop on “Ancient Indian Mathematics” from 14 –16 March. The objective of this workshop, supported by The Mathematics Consortium, was to make young mathematicians familiar with the outstanding contributions of ancient Indian mathematicians. Around 275 participants, including students, research scholars, and faculty members from educational institutions across India, registered for this workshop.
The guest of honour of the inaugural session, Prof. S. K. Khanduja (Senior Scientist, INSA, IISER, Mohali), shed light on the major contributions of ancient Indian mathematicians and shared the oldest extant mathematical document, the Bakhshali Manuscript. She mentioned that “Mathematics is the gateway to the world of innovation and is the language of science and technology.”
The chief guest of the inaugural session, Prof. V. P. Saxena (Former Vice Chancellor, Jiwaji University, Gwalior and Adviser, SIRTS, Bhopal), discussed the important principles of various branches of mathematics developed in ancient times, such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, etc. and shared their applications in the modern era.
In this three-day workshop, eminent academicians from reputed educational institutions like Prof. Smita Bedekar (S. P. Pune University, Pune); Prof. S. G. Dani (Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences, Mumbai); Prof. S. A. Katre (S. P. Pune University, Pune); Dr. Shailaja S. Katre (Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune); Dr. Venketeswara Pai (IISER, Pune) and Prof. Sriram (K V Sarma Research Foundation, Chennai) delivered lectures on various sub-themes of this workshop.
Prof. Ramakrishna Wusirika, Dean, In-charge Academics, mentioned that this workshop was unique as it featured important topics of Ancient Indian Mathematics such as Astronomy, Geometry in Ancient India, Lilawati of Bhaskaracharya, Kutakka method, Pell’s equation and surds, etc. which are foundational for learning many modern aspects of mathematics.
During the valedictory session, Prof. Gauree Shankar, Workshop Convener and Head of the Department, expressed his gratitude towards the distinguished speakers of this workshop. He asserted that the deliberations made in this workshop have enhanced the participants’ understanding of fundamental concepts of ancient Indian mathematics and the knowledge gained from this programme would help them to conduct quality research in the field of mathematics. He appreciated the members of the organizing team (Dr. Deep Singh, Dr. Sachin, Kumar, Dr. Anoop Kumar, Dr. Ashok Kumar Pathak, Dr. Harmanpreet Singh Kapoor and Dr. Sandeep Kaur) for the smooth execution of this programme.