India celebrates National Mathematics Day; Know about its History & Significance

India observes National Mathematics Day every year on December 2022 to recognise the work of Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. The mathematics genius, Ramanujan was born in the Erode city of Tamil Nadu on 22 December 1887.

In honour of Ramanujan, former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh made the declaration at Madras University in February 2012. This day is celebrated to promote awareness about the importance of mathematics and the contribution of Ramanujan in the world of mathematics. 

Significance of National Mathematics Day

The National Mathematics Day is significant because of Srinivasa Ramanujan's contribution to mathematics. Today, people all around the world are aware of his life and achievements. A film based on his life titled The Man Who Knew Infinity, starring Dev Patel as Ramanujan was released in 2015. It was based on Robert Kanigel's 1991 book of the same name. Numerous educational events are held at schools and universities throughout the country.

Interesting facts about Srinivas Ramanujan and his equations

• Ramanujan had a remarkable intuitive knowledge of mathematics from an early age and is also known as the ‘man who knew infinity’.
• Ramanujan accumulated around 3,900 results consisting of equations. One of his most prized discoveries was his infinite series for pi. This series serves as the foundation for many algorithms that are used in mathematics today.
• He discovered innovative concepts for solving numerous difficult mathematical problems, which fueled the development of game theory, which is based on intuition and is remains unrivalled.
• 1729 is considered Ramanujan's number. It's the sum of the cubes of two numbers, 10 and 9. If 1000, which is the cube of 10 is added to 729, the cube of 9, the answer comes 1729. It is the smallest number that can be stated in two ways.
• In 1976, George Andrews, who was American Mathematician found one of Ramanujan's notebooks in Trinity College's library, which was later turned into a book.
• In 1911, he released his first paper, in which he developed his mathematical theories and in 1918, he became the second Indian to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in London, after Ardaseer Cursetjee. The fellowship is granted to recognised scientists and other contributors in the field of Science.

Political Leaders remember Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari paid tribute to Srinivasa Ramanujan calling him "one of the most brilliant mathematicians".

Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar paid his tribute to Srinivasa Ramanujan and hailed his contributions to complex analysis and theories in mathematics that have changed the world forever.

Taking to Twitter Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik also paid his tribute to mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra tweeted, "Remembering the renowned mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan Ji on his birth anniversary. Being a natural genius, he certainly was “the man who knew infinity”. He will always be remembered for his valuable contribution to the field of Mathematics".