National Mathematics Day, 2025

Samar Salam *

Ramanujan, the Maths Wizard :: Pix - S Balakrishnan

Introduction:

The National Mathematics Day is being celebrated every year since 2012. This year’s National Mathematics Day celebration is extra special because 2025 is a Harshad Year.

A Harshad number is an integer that’s divisible by the sum of its digits. For example, 2022 is a Harshad year because 2+0+2+2 = 6, and 2022 ÷ 6 is a whole number (337). The years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 were a very rare sequence of consecutive Harshad years. Likewise, 2025, the sum of its digits is 2+0+2+5 = 9, and 2025 is indeed divisible by 9 (2025 ÷ 9 = 225).

The term Harshad is derived from Sanskrit, meaning ‘joy-giver’ or ‘bringer of happiness’. This unique property makes 2025 stand out, symbolizing balance and harmony - a fitting theme for the National Mathematics Day, celebrating Srinivasa Ramanujan’s contributions.

Srinivasa Ramanujan and his contributions :

We are lucky that the Government of India declared the date to honour the birth anniversary of legendary mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, marking his immense contributions in the field of mathematics and the awareness of it. People know that Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in a poor Brahmin family on 22nd December, 1887 Erode district, Tamil Nadu.

Ramanujan was an extraordinary Indian mathematician who defied odds to leave an indelible mark on the world of mathematics. With minimal formal training, he independently compiled nearly 3,900 ma-thematical results, including innovative contributions to number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions.

Ramanujan’s journey was nothing short of inspiring. Self-taught and largely isolated, he sent his work to prominent mathematicians like GH Hardy, leading to a pivotal collaboration at Cambridge University. His work bridged gaps between intuition and rigorous proof, influencing fields like string theory and black hole physics.

Hardy once remarked about his young protégé Ramanujan: I remember going to see him once when he was lying ill in Putney, London. I had ridden the taxi-cab number 1729, remarked that the number seemed to me a dull one and that I hoped it was not an unfavourable omen.

‘No,’ Ramanujan reflected it is a very interesting number; it is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways. How interesting to know that 103 +93=123+13=1729. This fascinating number is famously known as the Hardy-Ramanujan number.

(a) Number Theory: Made significant contributions to prime numbers, modular forms, and partition functions.
(b) Infinite Series: Developed innovative methods for summing infinite series, including the Ramanujan summation.
(c) Continued Fractions: Worked extensively on continued fractions, leading to new insights and formulas.
(d) Mock Theta Functions: Introduced mock theta functions, which have applications in number theory and physics. His work has significant influence in the following two main topics.

Cryptography: His work on prime numbers and number theory has implications for cryptography and computer security.

Computer Science: Ramanujan’s algorithms and methods have influenced computer science and computational mathematics.

(3) Objective: The main objective of observing National Mathematics Day is to:

(i) Recognize and celebrate the contributions of Srinivasa Ramanujan, one of India’s greatest mathematicians
(ii) Promote awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its applications in everyday life
(iii) Encourage students and young minds to explore and develop an interest in mathematics and related fields
(iii) Highlight the importance of mathematics in science, technology, and innovation

By observing National Mathematics Day, we aim to inspire a new generation of mathematicians and scientists, and showcase India’s rich mathematical heritage.

Theme of the National Mathematics Day-2025

We celebrate the National Mathematics Day with different themes every year. Looking back for India’s National Mathematics Day (Dec 22), the theme for 2024 was ‘Mathematics – A Bridge to Innovation,’ highlighting math’s role in science and technology, while for 2023, it was ‘Mathematics for Everyone,’ emphasizing inclusion, with themes shifting annually to focus on innovation, history, or Ramanujan’s legacy.

So, the 2025 theme is to be celebrated under the theme – ‘Mathematics, Art, and Creati- vity’, celebrating the links between mathematics, artistic expression, discovery, and sustainable development, encouraging activities like creating mathematical sculptures from everyday objects. This theme highlights how mathematics underpins creativity in various fields, from science to digital art.

Celebrations :

National Mathematics Day in 2025 will be celebrated in India on Monday, December 22nd, honouring the birthday of legendary mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, with institutions and universities holding events to promote mathematics’ importance and inspire students in areas like number theory, analysis, and problem-solving, and big data.

In Manipur, the National Mathematics Day is celebrated with talks, presentations, modelling in mathematics.

Dhanamanjuri University, Manipur, celebrates National Mathematics Day annually, rotating venues across colleges. The event found a home at DM College of Science in 2023 and GP Women’s College in 2024.

This year, the spotlight shifts to DM College of Arts, Imphal, hosting National Mathematics Day-2025. The celebration will include motivational talks from the senior faculties, invited talk and presentation by the students and research scholars.

The National Mathematics Day-2025 celebration at DM College of Arts, Imphal, promises an engaging line-up:

- Inspirational talks by senior faculty members
- Invited lectures by experts
- Student and research scholar presentations showcasing their work.

Conclusion

Celebrating National Mathematics Day annually inspires students to dive into mathematics and related fields. Such events can:

- Ignite curiosity and interest in complex mathematical concepts
- Provide platforms for knowledge-sharing and learning
- Encourage young minds to explore mathematics’ real-world applications.

This year’s celebration has magical quirks:

It’s a square year, 45 X 45 = 2025. It’s the square of a triangular number. One of our prominent mathematicians said, ‘Every developed Nation excels in mathematics. We must inspire our students to cultivate curiosity and passion for the subject.’

Wishing everyone a fantastic National Mathematics Day! May the joy of mathematics and Ramanujan’s legacy inspire you and spark curiosity!