GANITA AND HUMAN-CENTRIC LEARNING: THE ROLE OF UPAPATTI

Abstract

Modern mathematics education often presents mathematical knowledge as abstract and impersonal. More importance is given to proofs and equations, than to the underlying real-world ideas. Such context-free abstraction, however, obscures the reasoning processes through which mathematics can become relevant to a learner. Ganita, or Indian arithmetic, premised on the idea of upapatti, or systematic rational justification and demonstration, offers an important alternative to the Euclidean model of formal deductive proof. Our paper uses a qualitative conceptual methodology based on desk review to examine how upapatti may be applied in contemporary educational frameworks. Drawing on scholarship on Indian arithmetic and literature on human-centric pedagogy, we argue that upapatti has significant value for teaching and learning. We contend that in contemporary Indian society, especially the so-called informal demographic, practice-oriented ganita may be more useful than formal abstract mathematics.