Renowned mathematician Dr George Geevarghese Joseph was awarded ‘Madhava Ganitha Puraskaram’ which was established to commemorate Sangamagrama Madhavan, a revered mathematical wizard who lived in Kerala during 1350-1425.
Dr J Latha, Vice Chancellor of Cochin University of Science & Technology said, our traditional wisdom should be linked with the modern technical knowledge. Vedas, Upanishads and Sanskrit literatures are treasures of Bharatheeya wisdom. They should be linked with the modern technical knowledge and included in the syllabus. Dr Latha was speaking on the occasion of presenting the ‘Madhava Ganitha Puraskaram’ to the world renowned mathematician Dr George Geevarghese Joseph in connection with the National Mathematics Day celebration on December 12, 2015 in Irinjalakkuda, Thrissur. The purskaram was established to commemorate Sangamagrama Madhavan, a revered mathematical wizard who lived in Kerala during 1350 to 1425. Except Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhiji, all prominent personalities who revealed the significance of Bharateeya wisdom to the whole world, are Europeans like Albert Einstein, Voltaire and Arnold J Toynbee. Dr George Geevarghese Joseph belongs to that galaxy of geniuses. Dr Latha added that knowledge is the real weapon. It is not the creation of any circumstance, but the fruit of dedication. Sreenivasa Ramanujam and Sangamagrama Madhavan showed this path to our countrymen.
Arrest for Insulting a Pathankot Martyr While the whole country was mourning the martyrdom of our soldiers in Pathankot attack, a person called Anwar in Kerala comes out with his Facebook posting with derogatory comments against the martyr Lt. Col. Niranjankumar. Niranjnkumar was one of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for finishing off the Pakistani terrorists who infiltrated into the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot. Anwar went to the extent of insulting Lt. Co. Kumar in Malayalam which can be translated into English as “One trouble less. Now, the government will give his wife and children financial aid and job; common man does not get anything! What a stinking democracy”. The hot news spread like a wind and Anwar was arrested on January 5 under IPC 124-A for sedition which is non-bailable. Now, the man is under custody. As soon as Anvar’s post was seen, several netizens had checked his profile. They had reported online that Anwar has been in friendship with ISIS activists. Now, reports suggest that Police, in their preliminary investigation, have unearthed Anwar’s endeavours to promote IS propaganda. He was using a slightly changed name ‘Anu Sadiq’ to give a Hindu touch. |
Even though Dr George could not come to Bharat and receive the award due to health reasons, he in a message sent from Manchester, stated that calculus and infinite series are the two major mathematical components which empowered modern mathematics. Bharateeya scientists who lived in Kerala had discovered them more than 200 years before Newton, Gregory and Leibniz.
Madhavan, a mathematician and astronomer was from Sangamagrama, a place in today’s Irinjalakkudal, Thrissur district. He is the father of the Kerala stream of astronomy and mathematics. He is the pioneer in using infinite series approximations for trigonometric functions which is called the “decisive step forward from the finite procedures of ancient mathematics to treat their limit passage to infinity”. He is considered as one of the greatest astronomer-mathematicians of the middle ages. Sangamagrama Madhavan’s contributions towards the study of infinite series, calculus, trigonometry, geometry and algebra were really unique and pioneering. Knowledgeable sources had suggested that Madhavan’s works may have been transmitted to Europe through Jesuit missionaries and merchants who used to visit ancient Muzris Port; that is how they might have influenced European endeavours in analysis and calculus.
—T Satisan
