G06: India Mini-Project: People

Partition by WH Auden
Unbiased at least he was when he arrived on his mission,
Having never set eyes on the land he was called to partition
Between two peoples fanatically at odds,
With their different diets and incompatible gods.
“Time,” they had briefed him in London, “is short. It’s too late
For mutual reconciliation or rational debate:
The only solution now lies in separation.
The Viceroy thinks, as you will see from his letter,
That the less you are seen in his company the better,
So we’ve arranged to provide you with other accommodation.
We can give you four judges, two Moslem and two Hindu,
To consult with, but the final decision must rest with you.”
 
Shut up in a lonely mansion, with police night and day
Patrolling the gardens to keep the assassins away,
He got down to work, to the task of settling the fate
Of millions. The maps at his disposal were out of date
And the Census Returns almost certainly incorrect,
But there was no time to check them, no time to inspect
Contested areas. The weather was frightfully hot,
And a bout of dysentery kept him constantly on the trot,
But in seven weeks it was done, the frontiers decided,
A continent for better or worse divided.
 
The next day he sailed for England, where he could quickly forget
The case, as a good lawyer must. Return he would not,
Afraid, as he told his Club, that he might get shot.

Famous Muslim Mathematicians who lived and worked in India:

• Mahaviracharya: Mahaviracharya was an Indian mathematician who lived in the 9th century. He is known for his work on algebra and for developing the concept of zero.
• Al-Biruni: Although he was Persian, Al-Biruni also lived and worked in India, and he made significant contributions to Indian mathematics. As mentioned earlier, he made contributions to many fields, including astronomy, mathematics, and geography.
• Ghiyath al-Din Jamshid Kashani: Ghiyath al-Din Jamshid Kashani was a Persian mathematician who lived in India in the 15th century. He is known for his work on algebra and for developing methods for solving cubic equations.
• Mohammed ibn al-Qasim al-Tamimi: Mohammed ibn al-Qasim al-Tamimi was an Indian mathematician who lived in the 9th century. He is known for his work on arithmetic and for developing algorithms for finding square roots.
• Abu al-Wafa' al-Buzjani: Abu al-Wafa' al-Buzjani was a Persian mathematician who lived and worked in India in the 10th century. He is known for his work on trigonometry and for introducing the sine and cosine functions.