Hartosh Singh Bal turned from the difficulty of doing mathematics to the ease of writing on politics. Unlike mathematics all this requires is being less wrong than most others who dwell on the subject.
The mythical mathematician is a troubled but brilliant mind focused on truths that lie beyond the horizon. This may not be the entire truth, but it’s time to ask what is—as India hosts its first ever Fields Medal ceremony, and that too, without any fanfare.
Earlier this year, an eccentric Russian mathematician turned down $1,000,000 for solving one of seven Millennium Prize Problems. Now, an Indian has laid claim to another.
Those who seriously still think ancient India had devised a parallel mathematical system need to acquaint themselves with an inventive Shankaracharya called Bharti Krishna Tirthaji.
TCA Raghavan is a former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and Singapore. His first book, Attendant Lords: Abdur Rahim and Bairam Khan: Courtiers and Poets in Mughal India, was awarded the Mohammad Habib Prize by the Indian History Congress. He is also the author of The People Next Door: The Curious History of India’s Relations with Pakistan and History Men: Jadunath Sarkar, G S Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh and Their Quest for India’s Past. His latest book is Circles of Freedom: Love, Friendship and Loyalty in the Indian National Struggle