Here are some historical facts about India.
India was the richest country on earth till the British invasion in the 17th century.
India has never invaded any country in her last 10,000 year history.
India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
The world’s first university was established in Takshila in 700BC. More than 10,000 students from all over the world studied over 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda, built in the 4th century BC, was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Sanskrit is the mother of all European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software (report in Forbes magazine, July 1987).
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to man. Charaka, the father of medicine, consolidated Ayurveda 2,500 years ago.
The art of navigation was born in the River Sindh 6000 years ago. The very word, “navigation,” is derived from the Sanskrit word, “Navgatih”. The word, “navy,” is also derived from the Sanskrit word, “Nou.”
In the 5th century, Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. By Baskaracharya’s calculations, the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun is 365.258756484 days.
The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana. He also explained the concept of what is now known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians.
Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were developed by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 10 to the power of 6 whereas Indians used numbers as big as 10 to the power of 53 with specific names for these numbers as early as 5000 BC during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera, 10 to the power of 12.
According to the Gemological Institute of America, until 1896 India was the only source of diamonds in the world.
USA-based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicion in the world scientific community, that the pioneer of wireless communication was Professor Jagdeesh Bose and not Marconi.
The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra, Gujarat in Western India. According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150BC, a beautiful lake called “Sudarshana” was constructed on the hills of Raivataka during Chandragupta Maurya’s time.
Chess (Shataranj or Ashtapada) was invented in India.
Sushruta, an Indian, is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgical procedures. These included Caesareans, cataract surgery, development of artificial limbs, mending fractures, removing urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical implements were used. A deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, aetiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.
When many cultural groups were nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established the Harappan culture in the Sidhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilisation).
The place value system, the decimal system, was developed in India in 100 BC.
Deepak Kumar