Bhaskaracharya knew gravity before Newton gave theory: Guv Bagde
Jaipur: Governor Haribhau Bagde, speaking at the convocation ceremony of a private university in Jaipur Monday, made a striking remark that challenged conventional scientific history.
He said that while Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727 CE) is credited with the discovery of gravity, Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya (1114-1185 CE) already wrote about the concept in 1150 AD in his famous treatise 'Lilavati'.
Narrating an anecdote, the governor said, "Bhaskaracharya's daughter Lilavati once asked him why the Earth and planets don't fall despite being in motion. He explained that celestial bodies attract each other — this mutual attraction keeps them in place.
That attraction is what we today call gravity. He wrote about this concept centuries before Newton did his research."
Criticising the colonial disruption of Indian education, Bagde remarked, "We used to learn 'G (in Hindi) for Ganpati', but some objected to it being a religious reference. It was replaced with 'G for Gadha (donkey in Hindi)'. This is the result of a mindset that dismissed our cultural identity."
He blamed British policies for systematically dismantling India's traditional knowledge systems.
"British administrator Macaulay (1800–1859 CE) said that to rule India, its education system must be changed. And that's exactly what they did — replacing our ancient, holistic system with a Western model," Bagde said.
He emphasised India's contribution to global knowledge by stating, "It was India that gave the world the decimal system. This is the foundation of numerical understanding across the world." Bagde emphasised that real education is about critical thinking and understanding, not rote memorisation. "Passing exams by copying or cramming is not education. The purpose of education is to develop intellectual capacity and articulate thoughts clearly," he noted.
He hailed the New Education Policy (NEP) as a transformative step, saying it promotes independent thinking and Indian values.
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