The 'Indian National Calendar,' which was officially established by India’s Parliament in 1957, is a scientific statement of India's identity. This was an act of reclaiming our identity after independence. In the recent past, there has been a renewed emphasis on propagating and increasing awareness about the Indian National Calendar.
Vijnana Bharati, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture; Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences; Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology, and other scientific and social scientific organizations such as IUCAA, IIA, Vikram University Ujjain, IIT Indore have come together to celebrate the Indian National Calendar.
In this regard, a two-day conference and exhibition on India's National Calendar have been arranged on Vaisakh 2 and 3 1944 (April 22-23, 2022) at Ujjain and Dongla (a place on the tropic of Cancer). The exhibition is scheduled to take place at Vikram University, Ujjain, and Dongla, Madhya Pradesh.
On the first day, the inauguration of the exhibition shall be attended by representatives from the calendrical system of Tamil Panchangam, Gujarati Calendar, Nepali Panchangam, Vikram Samvatsar, Shalivahana Saka Samvatsar, and Bangabda and Tripuravada, etc.
Post this, a keynote address will be delivered by Shri Jayant Sahasrabudhe, National Organizing Secretary, Vijnana Bharati at Vikram University in Ujjain. Post lunch, the proceedings of the conference are scheduled to take place at Varahamhir Astronomical Observatory situated in Dongla, Ujjain. These proceedings shall include three sessions: first on ‘Time and its Measurement – An Indian Perspective’ by Prof. Somak Raychaudhary, Director, IUCAA, Pune; second a virtual one on the topic ‘Techniques of Time measurement for Astronomical Observations in the Medi Period’ led by Dr. B.S. Shylaja, Former Director, Jawahar Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru, and third on ‘Evolution of India National Calendar’ led by Dr. Arvind C. Ranade, Scientist ‘F’, DST, Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi.
Post these sessions, a Nukkad Natak shall be organized by the students of Vikram University, Ujjain. Followed by this, a Night Sky Observation program shall be organized by Shri Tushar Purohit, Shri Mukesh Satankar, Shri Vipin Singh Rawat, and the Team of Aryabhat Foundation, Bhopal.
The second day of the conference will start with a session on the topic ‘Existing Calendar/Panchanga in India’ by Prof. Ranjana Agarwal, Director, NIScPR, New Delhi. Post this, a panel discussion has been organized on the ‘Challenges and Opportunities for the National Calendar’. This discussion shall include the following esteemed panel: Prof. Somak Raychaudhary, Director, IUCAA, Pune; Dr. Y. Ravi Kiron, Head, Anand Bhawan & Director, Jawahar Planetarium, Prayagraj; Dr. Bharat Adur, Director, AGCA, Mumbai; Shri Abhay Marathe, Founder, RDPM, Aurangabad; Ms. Leena Mehandale, RDPM, Aurangabad. It will be moderated by Dr. Arvind C. Ranade, DST, Vigyan Prasar.
The conference will conclude with a session on feedback and a future roadmap, led by Shri Jayant Sahasrabudhe, VIBHA, and Akhilesh Kumar Pande, Vice-Chancellor, Vikram university.