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The Indian national calendar, also called the Shaka calendar or Śaka calendar, is a solar calendar that is used alongside the Gregorian calendar by The Gazette of India, in news broadcasts by All India Radio, and in calendars and official communications issued by the Government of India.^[1] It was adopted in 1957 following the recommendation of the Calendar Reform Committee.

Śaka Samvat is generally 78 years behind the Gregorian calendar, except from January–March, when it is behind by 79 years.

Calendar structure

The calendar months follow the signs of the tropical zodiac rather than the sidereal zodiac normally used with the Hindu and Buddhist calendars.^[2]

#	Name^[2]	Length	Start date (Gregorian)	Tropical zodiac (Western)	Tropical zodiac (Sanskrit)
1	Chaitra	30 (31)	22 (21) March	Aries	Meṣa
2	Vaisakha	31	21 April	Taurus	Vṛśabha
3	Jyaishtha	31	22 May	Gemini	Mithuna
4	Ashadha	31	22 June	Cancer	Karkaṭa/Karka
5	Sravana	31	23 July	Leo	Siṃha
6	Bhadra	31	23 August	Virgo	Kanyā
7	Asvina	30	23 September	Libra	Tulā
8	Kartika	30	23 October	Scorpio	Vṛiścik‌‌‌a
9	Agrahayana or Margasirsha	30	22 November	Sagittarius	Dhanur
10	Pausha	30	22 December	Capricorn	Makara
11	Magha	30	21 January	Aquarius	Kumbha
12	Phalguna	30	20 February	Pisces	Mīna

Chaitra is the first month of the calendar and begins on or near the March equinox. Chaitra has 30 days and starts on 22 March, except in leap years, when it has 31 days and starts on 21 March.^[1] All months other than Chaitra start on fixed dates in the Gregorian calendar. The months in the first half of the year all average out to having 31 days, to take into account the slower movement of the sun across the ecliptic at this time. This is similar to the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar.

The names of the months are derived from the older Hindu lunisolar calendar, so variations in spellings exist, and there is a possible source of confusion as to what calendar a date belongs to.^[2]

The names of the weekdays are derived from the seven classical planets (see Navagraha). The first day of the week is Ravivāra (Sunday).^[3] The official calendar reckoned by the government of India has Sunday as the first and Saturday as the last day of the week.^[4]

Weekdays of the Shaka calendar^[3]
Ordinal number	Sanskrit weekday name	Sanskrit planet	English planet	English weekday
1	Ravivāra^[a]	Ravi	Sun	Sunday
2	Somavāra	Soma	Moon	Monday
3	Maṅgalavāra	Maṅgala	Mars	Tuesday
4	Budhavāra	Budha	Mercury	Wednesday
5	Bṛhaspativāra^[b]	Bṛhaspati	Jupiter	Thursday
6	Śukravāra	Śukra	Venus	Friday
7	Śanivāra	Śani	Saturn	Saturday

Years are counted in the Shaka era, which starts its year 0 in the year 78 CE of the Common Era. To determine leap years, add 78 to the Shaka year – if the result is a leap year in the Gregorian calendar, then the Shaka year is a leap year as well.^[5]

History

Śaka Period

According to the Indian government sources, the Satavahana king Shalivahana is believed to have created the calendar that came to be known as the Śaka Calendar after he defeated Śaka rulers.^{[citation needed]} But the origin date of the Shaka era is highly controversial: According to scholars, the beginning of the Shaka era is widely equated to the ascension of Indo-Scythian king Chashtana in 78 CE.^[6]

Adoption

Senior Indian Astrophysicist Meghnad Saha was the head of the Calendar Reform Committee under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.^[c] It was Saha's effort which led to the formation of the committee in 1952. The task before the committee was to prepare an accurate calendar based on scientific study, which could be adopted uniformly throughout India. The committee had to undertake a detailed study of thirty different calendars prevalent in different parts of the country. The task was further complicated by the integration of those calendars with religion and local sentiments.

In 1954 the committee recommended a fixed tropical solar calendar for use as a unified national civil calendar, which was adopted as the Indian national calendar. A tropical lunisolar calendar was also proposed for religious purposes but this recommendation was not accepted.

India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in his preface to the Report of the committee, published in 1955, wrote:

"They (different calendars) represent past political divisions in the country ... . Now that we have attained Independence, it is obviously desirable that there should be a certain uniformity in the calendar for our civic, social, and other purposes, and this should be done on a scientific approach to this problem."^[7]

Usage started officially on 1 Chaitra 1879 Saka Era, or 22 March 1957. However, despite the government's attempts to propagate the calendar through official Rashtriya Panchangs, the Indian national calendar did not find acceptance with panchang makers or the general public, and current usage is largely limited to governmental offices. Existing calendars based on the Saka era remain in use, which can lead to confusion.^[2]

Explanatory notes

^ Ravivāra is also called Adivara.
^ Bṛhaspativāra is also called Guruvara.
^ Other members of the Calendar Reform Committee were:

A.C. Banerjee

K.L. Daftari

J.S. Karandikar

Gorakh Prasad

R.V. Vaidya

N.C. Lahiri

References

^ ^a ^b "National calendar". National identity elements. Know India: National portal of India. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Chatterjee, S. K. (1998). Indian Calendric System. New Delhi: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
^ ^a ^b "Happy 'Saka' New Year 1941: Story Behind India's National Calendar". The Quint (thequint.com). 22 March 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Holiday calendar". india.gov.in (official website). Government of India.
^ "Chronology – reckonings dated from a historical event". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 21 February 2023 – via britannica.com.
^ Bhandare, Shailendra (2006). "Numismatics and history: The Maurya-Gupta interlude in the Gangetic plains". In Olivelle, Patrick (ed.). Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE. Oxford University Press. p. 69. ISBN 9780199775071.
^ "Meghnad Saha, a pioneer in astrophysics". Vigyan Prasar science portal (vigyanprasar.gov.in). Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. See also Meghnad Saha.

Sources

Saha, M.N. (chairman); Banerjee, A.C.; Daftari, K.L.; Karandikar, J.S.; Prasad, Gorakh; Vaidya, R.V.; Lahiri, N.C. (1955). Report of the Calendar Reform Committee (PDF) (Report). New Delhi: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – via dspace.gipe.ac.in.
Richards, Edward Graham (1998). Mapping Time: The calendar and its history (illstd., reprint, rev. ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 184–185. ISBN 978-0-19-286205-1 – via Google books.