Ancient India’s algebraic legacy takes centre stage in new NCERT class 7 textbook

NCERT’s newly released Class 7 Mathematics textbook places ancient Indian contributions at the heart of the subject, asserting that concepts such as algebra, rules for integers and methods in geometry were first developed by Indian mathematicians long before they travelled across continents.

The book — Ganita Prakash, Part 2 — builds on Part 1 released earlier this year, expanding on Sanskrit sources, historic treatises and problem-solving methods pioneered by scholars such as Brahmagupta and Bhaskaracharya.

It marks a notable shift in the Council’s ongoing textbook overhaul under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which calls for the integration of “Indian Knowledge Systems” into school education.

NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani said the effort seeks to teach students “correct history” and counter what he described as a “skewed” colonial interpretation of mathematics’ evolution. “The purpose is threefold: to present history accurately, to make learning more interdisciplinary, and to instil pride and inspiration in students,” he said.

Tracing algebra to its indian roots

A chapter on integers highlights Brahmagupta’s 7th-century CE work Brahmasphutasiddhanta, described as the first text to articulate rules for multiplying and dividing positive and negative numbers — a milestone the book says was “an important step in the development of arithmetic and algebra”. His rules are accompanied by examples and problems adapted for modern learners.

The algebra chapter draws a direct line from India’s bijaganita — “now known as algebra” — to global mathematical tradition. It notes Brahmagupta’s early use of letters to represent unknown quantities and perform operations on them.

The textbook explains how these ideas travelled: Indian mathematical principles were translated into Arabic in the 8th century, later influencing renowned scholar Al-Khwarizmi. His 825 CE work Hisab al-jabr wal-muqabala shaped the discipline in the Islamic world and Europe; the word al-jabr evolved into “algebra”.

Symbols used by Indian mathematicians to denote unknowns appear alongside an example adapted from Bhaskaracharya’s 12th-century Bijaganita, underscoring India’s long tradition of symbolic mathematics.

Dhruv Raina, historian of science and former JNU professor, noted that Arab scholars “were profoundly influenced” by Indian mathematics. “They improvised upon these methods to create what we consider algebra today,” he said, adding that Arab mathematicians drew from Greek, Indian and Chinese traditions to shape a global discipline.

Ancient geometry in the classroom

The geometry chapter, Constructions and Tilings, explains procedures from the Sulba-Sutras — early Indian geometric texts associated with constructing Vedic fire altars. The book demonstrates how ancient scholars used ropes to form perpendicular bisectors, highlighting parallels with techniques across other civilisations.

A shift from earlier textbooks

The previous Class 7 Mathematics textbook contained no references to ancient Indian mathematicians. The updated edition reflects NCERT’s broader curriculum redesign aligned with NEP 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework, foregrounding indigenous knowledge traditions in mainstream schooling.

By embedding India’s mathematical heritage into core lessons, NCERT aims not only to broaden classroom learning but also to reshape how young students understand the origins of ideas that underpin modern mathematics.