Madhya Pradesh CM’s Assertion on Ujjain and the Prime Meridian: A Brief History of Time Measurement

Madhya Pradesh CM’s Assertion on Ujjain and the Prime Meridian: A Brief History of Time Measurement

Subject :Geography

Section: Indian Physical geography

Context:

• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav recently claimed in the state Assembly that “Ujjain is the global Prime Meridian,” asserting that India, specifically Ujjain, determined the world’s time approximately 300 years ago, predating the shift of the Prime Meridian to Paris and later to Greenwich.

A Glimpse into the History of Time Measurement:

• Humans have always had a sense of time, recording dates using units such as the lunar day (tithi) in ancient India. 
• The Industrial Revolution in the 18th century marked a significant shift, necessitating more accurate timekeeping with the advent of better clocks and the rise of modern factories.

Nationalization of Time:

• In the early stages of the Industrial Age, time remained local, with each factory and town setting its own time.
• The need for standardization emerged in the 19th century as technological advancements interconnected the world through railways, steamships, and telegraphs.

Transition to Global Time:

• The move from local to global time began in the 1870s, driven by the need to standardize international schedules for transportation.
• The International Meridian Conference in 1884 established the Greenwich Mean Time as the global Prime Meridian, reflecting the geopolitical dominance of Britain at the time.

Ujjain’s Historical Connection:

• The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister’s claim about Ujjain as the Prime Meridian 300 years ago is rooted in ancient Indian astronomy. The Sanskrit treatise Surya Siddhanta from the 4th century CE described a Prime Meridian passing through Rohitaka (modern-day Rohtak) and Avanti (modern-day Ujjain). The city’s astronomical significance continued with the observatory built by Sawai Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur in 1719.