‘Hindu Numerals...’: Ace Mathematician Manjul Bhargava On Origin Of Numbers

Professor Manjul Bhargava, an American mathematician and a winner of the prestigious Fields Medal, has urged a re-acknowledgment of the origins of the numeral system. He calls for recognising the Indian origin of the numeral system.

In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, the ace mathematician claimed the digits 1 to 9 and zero, commonly known as Arabic numerals, were actually invented in India and should be called ‘Hindu numerals’.

Prof. Bhargava has called for global recognition of India's contributions to mathematics. He also outlined that India invented zero and contributed other important ideas in math, like methods to calculate pi, which laid the foundation for modern arithmetic. 

He said these numbers travelled to the Arab world around the 8th century, and then the Arabs passed them on to Europe. Because Europeans learned the numbers from Arab scholars, they started calling them Arabic numerals. However, the Arabs themselves still referred to them as Hindu numerals, as they originated from India.

Arab scholars, like Al-Khwarizmi, even called them "Hindasa," which means "from India," he stated.

Over time, the European story became the dominant one, and even in India, people started calling them Arabic numerals, Bhargava added. Today, in schools, we learn algebra, trigonometry, and these numerals, often called Arabic numerals, but most of the time, students aren't taught that many of these ideas actually originated in India, he added.

The Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University further mentioned that during colonial times, textbooks were rewritten, which promoted a European-centered version of history. Because of this, India's contributions to mathematics were underplayed or forgotten in education.

According to American mathematicians, zero, pi and algebra also come from India. Evidence from the Bakshali Manuscript shows that people in India were already using these numerals as early as 300 AD, he outlined.

India has made important contributions to mathematics. Indian mathematicians also developed the decimal system, which is the foundation of the numbers we use every day. The concept of zero was invented in India by Aryabhata.

Ancient scholars like Aryabhatta made major contributions to algebra, while Brahmagupta worked on geometry, including formulas for calculating the area of certain shapes. Indian mathematicians also advanced trigonometry, including the calculation of the values of sine and cosine. Later, the Kerala school of mathematics introduced ideas that influenced calculus, such as infinite series and fluxions.

Aryabhatta also calculated the circumference of the Earth and explained the concept of the Earth's rotation. Brahmagupta defined rules for working with zero and provided solutions for quadratic equations.