Hyderabad, August 21
Centuries ago, India was a global leader in mathematics, with wizards like the Aryabhatta, who gave world the concept of zero, his disciple Bhaskara followed by Ramanujan. But now, it seems, the magic of maths is fast losing its charm.

There is a clear lack of interest among younger generation to take up research in basic maths, with the subject is becoming a victim of more materialistic career pursuits. This was aptly highlighted at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) which is being hosted by India for the first time in the 113-year history of the body.

As mathematicians from across the globe converged at Hyderabad for the nine-day event, the blurring boundary between pure and applied mathematics due to rapidly changing technological demands and the need to spread awareness about mathematical education emerged as key areas of focus.

“In Indian context, the main problem lies with school education. Maths teachers do not have enough study material to make the subject interesting for students,” said R Ramanujam of the Chennai-based Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc).

“An entire generation of mathematicians has been lost to information technology. We need to motivate more students to take up basic research in maths,” says G Rangarajan of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

WT Gowers of the University of Cambridge, UK, said the teaching methods should be simplified to make the subject fascinating.

Several Indian delegates attending the Congress felt that the dwindling interest in maths was largely because many students were opting for engineering and management courses for better career positions.

“The brightest students of maths at school level generally opt for engineering courses. This has affected the quality of student research in the subject,” said TKV Iyengar, author of several books on popularising mathematics.

The head of the mathematics department at the University of Hyderabad, Rajat Tandon, pointed out that a professional graduate could fetch better salary in the market than a maths graduate and this had resulted in bright students turning away from maths research.

At global level, the experts feel that the line separating pure and applied maths is blurring in the face of emerging technologies. “The relevance of mathematics is growing in diverse fields. The challenge is to blend the mathematical concepts into everyday applications in a wide variety of areas,” said a delegate.

The ICM, convened by the International Mathematical Union, is held once in four years. It was first held in 1897 in Zurich. This is the first time that the Congress is being hosted in India. Nearly 3,000 delegates from 70 countries are attending the meeting.

For the first time in the history of ICM, two sessions will be thrown open to public. On August 23, students from 60 schools will listen to a lecture by Bill Barton of University of Auckland and Gunter Ziegler of Berlin Maths School. On August 24, Grand Master Vishwanathan Anand will play chess simultaneously with 40 mathematicians.