Decolonisation of math and science. C. K. Raju (easy reading list)

(* indicates a higher level of difficulty. Laypersons should start with newspaper and magazine articles and videos).

Books


C. K. Raju. Is Science Western in Origin?, Multiversity Penang, 2009. Reprint other India book store, 2014. http://ckraju.net/books-full/Is-Science-Western-in-Origin-final.pdf.

How the existing history of science was concocted by church, racist and colonial historians.


———. क्या विज्ञान पश्चिम में शुरू हुआ? Delhi: Daanish books, 2009.


———. Ending academic imperialism, Citizens international, Penang, 2011. http://ckraju.net/books-full/ending_academic_imperialism_with_cover.pdf.

How a false history of science was used by Macaulay to impose colonial education, and what can be done about it.


———. *Cultural Foundations of Mathematics: The Nature of Mathematical Proof and the Transmission of the Calculus from India to Europe in the 16th c. CE. Pearson Longman, 2007.


———. Euclid and Jesus: How and Why the Church Changed Mathematics and Christianity across Two Religious Wars. Penang: Multiversity and Citizens International, 2012.


Abstracts of talks


———. “Decolonising Math and Science.” University of Cape Town, September 2017. http://ckraju.net/papers/uct-panel-decolonising-science-ckr-summary.pdf. (See, also, video.)


———. Decolonising mathematics: how and why it makes science better (and enables students to solve harder problems) http://ckraju.net/papers/palestine-extended-summary.pdf. [Abstracts for two invited talk for Palestine Technical University, 2019, CENSORED by Israel, see blog post “Israel denies visa for talk on decolonisation exposing Einstein”, http://ckraju.net/blog/?p=157. ]

———. “Indian Ganita vs Formal Mathematics.” Abstract for Institute Lecture, IIT (BHU), January 18, 2019. http://ckraju.net/blog/?p=163. (Also related workshop on teaching alternative math.)


———.“Ganita vs mathematics. Abstract of presentation at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, Nov. 2019. http://ckraju.net/papers/presentations/abstract-2-iias.pdf.


———. “Precolonial Appropriations of Indian Ganita: Epistemic Issues.” http://ckraju.net/papers/ckr-indology-abstract.pdf. Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, Indology Round Table, March, 2020.

How the West stole Indian mathematics before colonialism, but misunderstood it.


Scholarly articles


———. Decolonising mathematics, AlterNation 25(2) (2018) pp. 12-43b, https://doi.org/10.29086/2519-5476/2018/v25n2a2.

Why deduction is weaker than induction and empirical proof, and how math teaching can and has been changed.


———. “Eternity and Infinity: The Western Misunderstanding of Indian Mathematics and Its Consequences for Science Today.” American Philosophical Association Newsletter on Asian and Asian American Philosophers and Philosophies 14, no. 2 (2015): 27–33. http://ckraju.net/papers/Eternity-and-infinity-Pages-from-APA.pdf.


———. “Probability in Ancient India.” In Handbook of Philosophy of Statistics, edited by Paul Thagard Dov M. Gabbay and John Woods, 7:1175–96. Handbook of Philosophy of Science. Elsevier, 2011. http://ckraju.net/papers/Probability-in-Ancient-India.pdf.

———. “Teaching Mathematics with a Different Philosophy. 1: Formal Mathematics as Biased Metaphysics.” Science and Culture 77, no. 7–8 (2011): 274–279. arXiv:1312.2099.

———. “Teaching Mathematics with a Different Philosophy. 2: Calculus without Limits.” Science and Culture 7, no. 7–8 (2011): 280–285. arXiv:1312,2100.

———. “Towards Equity in Math Education. 1: Goodbye Euclid!” Bharatiya Samajik Chintan (New Series) 7, no. 4 (2009): 235–264. http://ckraju.net/papers/MathEducation1Euclid.pdf.

———. “Towards Equity in Math Education 2. The Indian Rope Trick.” Bharatiya Samajik Chintan (New Series) 7, no. 4 (2009): 265–269. http://ckraju.net/papers/MathEducation2RopeTrick.pdf.



Articles in newspapers and magazines

———. “गणित कठिन क्यों लगता है?” Dainik Bhaskar, June 9, 2012. http://ckraju.net/press/2012/ganita-kathin-kyon-lagata-hai.gif.

———.मैथेमैटिक्स और गणित में फर्क है.” Nadunia, Indore, May 25, 2013. http://ckraju.net/press/2013/Naidunia-article.gif,

———. औपनिवेशिक शिक्षा की वाहक एनसीईआरटी.” http://ckraju.net/papers/NCERT-geometry-Hindi.pdf. Published as झूठा इतिहास और अव्यवहारिक गणित सिखाती एन.सी..आर.टी.” भारतीय धरोहर, January 5, 2020. https://www.bhartiyadharohar.com/jhuta-ithas/.

———. “प्रसंग: दलित उप्लम्धियों का जश्न.” Jansatta. September 30, 2018. https://www.jansatta.com/sunday-column/celebration-of-dalit-achievements-jansatta-column/777664/.

———. “अधिक उपयोगी है गणित की भारतीय विधा.” भारतीय धरोहर, October 2018. https://www.bhartiyadharohar.com/%e0%a4%85%e0%a4%a7%e0%a4%bf%e0%a4%95-%e0%a4%89%e0%a4%aa%e0%a4%af%e0%a5%8b%e0%a4%97%e0%a5%80-%e0%a4%b9%e0%a5%88-%e0%a4%97%e0%a4%a3%e0%a4%bf%e0%a4%a4-%e0%a4%95%e0%a5%80-%e0%a4%ad%e0%a4%be%e0%a4%b0/.


———. “To Decolonise Maths, Stand up to Its False History and Bad Philosophy.” (censored article, put back in The Wire, 2016. https://thewire.in/history/to-decolonise-maths-stand-up-to-its-false-history.

(Also, see

———. “To Decolonise Math Stand up to Its False History and Bad Philosophy.” In Rhodes Must Fall: The Struggle to Decolonise the Racist Heart of Empire, 265–70. London: Zed Books, 2018.

———. “Black Thoughts Matter: Decolonized Math, Academic Censorship, and the ‘Pythagorean’ Proposition.” Journal of Black Studies 48, no. 3 (2017): 256–78. https://doi.org/10.1177%https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0021934716688311. And http://ckraju.net/papers/Manuscript-Black-thoughts-matter-accepted-version.pdf.)


———. “Mathematics, Decolonization and Censorship: C. K. Raju.” KAFILA, June 25, 2017. https://kafila.online/2017/06/25/mathematics-and-censorship-c-k-raju/.


———. “Did Indians Have Scientific Temper?” ThePrint, India, March 31, 2019. https://theprint.in/opinion/do-indians-have-a-scientific-temper-ancient-texts-reveal-we-did-way-before-the-west/214767/.

———.“Science, Reason, Superstition. 3: The Church Connection of Reason.” Frontier Articles on Society & Politics, June 9, 2020. https://www.frontierweekly.com/views/jun-20/9-6-20-Science%20reason%20and%20superstition-3.html.

———. “Science, Reason, Superstition. 4: Eliminating Metaphysics, Decolonising Mathematics.” Frontier Articles on Society & Politics, June 10, 2020. https://www.frontierweekly.com/views/jun-20/10-6-20-Science%20reason%20and%20superstition-4.html.


List of videos

Media reports

Collected media reports (national)

All reports