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News India Live, Digital Desk: Till now our children have been reading the great theories of Pythagoras and other foreign mathematicians in mathematics books. But now times are changing. NCERT has made such a revolutionary change in the 7th class mathematics book that children will not only understand the mathematical formulas but will also feel proud of the glorious history of their country.
After this major change made under the New Education Policy (NEP 2020), now children will be taught that the Algebra and Geometry which we have considered to be the gift of the West, actually had their roots in ancient India.
Why was this change necessary?
Dinesh Prasad Saklani, director of NCERT, says that till now our education system was dominated by a “colonial mentality”. We were always taught that every major discovery of knowledge and science happened in the West, whereas the reality is that India has been a great center of knowledge. The purpose of this change is to connect children with their roots and instill in them respect and confidence in their heritage.
What will be new in the mathematics book?
In the new mathematics book of class 7, children will now get to read:
- Aryabhata and Brahmagupta: The real heroes of algebra
The new book will tell children that algebra was born in India. The great Indian mathematicians Aryabhata and Brahmagupta had already started using letters as unknown variables to solve equations centuries ago. - Baudhayana’s theorem 300 years before Pythagoras
We all have definitely read the Pythagorean theorem in school. But now children will know that about 300 years before Pythagoras, India’s great sage and mathematician Baudhayana had written in detail about this theorem in his treatise ‘Baudhayana Sulbasutra’.
According to Professor V. Ravindran, who was a member of this panel, this change is not just about correcting the facts. Its real objective is to create a feeling in the minds of children that their country was no less than anyone in knowledge and science. When a child learns that many of the major principles of the mathematics he is afraid of were invented by his own ancestors, his fear of the subject will disappear and his interest will increase.
This is not just adding a few pages to the books, but it is a big initiative to change the mentality which has taught us for years that we have always been dependent on the West for knowledge.
