George Gheverghese JosephGeorge Gheverghese Joseph, 59, is not a name known to many people. But silently and with rare determination, the author has been making waves in the West with his acclaimed book,The Crest of the Peacock (Penguin, 1987),which focuses on the anti-racial theory of mathematics."By non-racist maths, we mean that the curriculum must recognise that all cultures engage in mathematical activities and no single one has a monopoly," says Joseph, who was recently on a tour to his native Kerala. His book brings out in detail the magnificent heritage of non-western mathematics."The utterly baseless presumption that Europe was the source of all knowledge had provided the rationale for its dominance of the rest of the world," he says. The author lists a host of examples for instance, the theory of Pythagoras to illustrate the non-European origins of scientific and mathematic theories attributed to western scholars.After theCrest of the PeacockcameMulti-cultural Mathematics (OUP). "Things have changed in the British education system since the '60s," says Joseph. "And I would not call them racist now." The author speaks from experience, having been both a student and then a teacher in the University of Manchester.Strangely, according to him, the last bastions of Euro-centrist education today appear in former colonies like India. Nevertheless, Joseph also warns against the dangers posed by revivalist forces in these countries to replace the system with equally fallacious theories of Indo-centric or Islam-centric systems.The author, an orthodox Syrian Christian, has started work on a biography of his grandfather George Joseph, the longtime associate of the Mahatma, who had been editor of Motilal Nehru's Independent and of Young India while Gandhi was in prison. "He was probably the first Indian Christian to have actively joined the nationalist movement at a time when the community had been opposing the movement." The book, tentatively titled The Giant Without Footprints and to be published by the end of the year, will explore George Joseph's many facets including his differences with Gandhi and Nehru. With Gheverghese Joseph's deep understanding of history, he can be expected to make a smooth transition from writing on multi-cultural mathematics to holding forth on the complexities of the freedom movement.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Feb 2, 1998--- ENDS ---
