1. The Indian/Hindu Numeral System:
2. Carburised Steel:
3. Contributions to Western Philosophy:
4. Clothing the world:
5. Cotton Gin
Cotton Gin is a machine used to separate cotton from
the seeds. The evidence of this machine was found through the carvings on
Ajanta caves where the pictures of these machines were engraved. Dating back to
500 AD, this hand roller machine was locally called Charkha. This machine has
undergone changes through the course of time but the most primitive form of
cotton gin originated from India.
6. Buttons
Buttons are a major part of our clothing even today.
Buttons were invented in India and various historical evidences and excavations
prove that buttons were used by the people belonging to the Indus Valley
Civilization. Shells were given various shapes and were pierced into a hole.
Earlier they were used more as an embellishment but were gradually used to
fasten clothes.
7. Natural Fibers
Natural fibers like wool, cotton and plant
originated from India. Evidences show that people of the Indus Valley used
cotton and India pioneered the art of cotton spinning and used it in making fabric.
Jute, a plant fiber, was cultivated in India since ancient times and was later
exported to other countries. Cashmere wool, which is supposed to be the finest
wool was first made in Kashmir and was used to make hand- made shawls. These
shawls have maintained their richness and exclusivity even today.
8. Surgery
Cataract surgery and plastic surgery were also first
performed by the ancient physician Sushruta. These surgeries dated back to
2000BCE and his work were later translated to Arabic language and gradually
passed on to European countries. He used a curved needle and removed the
cataract by pushing the lens. The eyes were then immersed in warm butter and
were properly covered till they were completely healed. People from far off
countries came to India to seek treatment.
9. Medical Treatments
Leprosy was first noticed by Indians and various
ancient remedies are also mentioned in the Atharva Veda. Lithiasis treatment or
the treatment for eradicating stones was first introduced in India. Small Pox
vaccinations were first cured in India and symptoms and ways of immunization
against small pox were mentioned in 8th century by Madhav. Ayurveda and Siddha
are the two primitive methods of treatment that originated in India and are
still used as an alternate way of treatment. They were used for holistic
healing and ancient sages of India mastered this treatment method. Another
Indian medical practitioner named Upendra Nath Bramhachari invented methods to
treat Visceral Leishmaniasis or Kala Azar. This Nobel Laureate was responsible
for the eradication of this ailment.
10. Diamonds
Diamonds were first mined in India. Huge deposits of
diamonds were found in Central India and it gradually developed as a precious
stone. India till 18th century was the only country where diamonds were found
and were later on exported to other countries. Indians were well aware of the
physical properties of diamond like its durability, ability to cut other hard
surfaces, sparkling effect and the refractive property. Various ancient books
have mentioned the use of diamond as a tool and have also mentioned the
exquisiteness of this sparkling stone.
11. Dock
India was the first nation to have a dock that dated
back to 2400BCE. People belonging to the Harappa Civilization were the first to
build a dock in Lothal. This proves their immense understanding of oceanology
and marine engineering. The Lothal Dock proves their precision and vast
knowledge about tidal waves and hydrography. Without having a thorough
knowledge of these topics, it is impossible to build a dock.
12. Ink
Ink made from various materials was first invented
in India. This black pigment was used in writing manuscripts in ancient India.
India ink was made by burning tar, pitch, bones. Carbon was the primary pigment
of India ink.
13. Zero
Mathematics does not make sense without zero.
Although it has no value, it plays a vital role in Arithmetic. Aryabhatta was a
great mathematician and an ace astronomer. His contribution to mathematics is
unimaginable. Use of Place Value System was clearly mentioned in Aryabhatta’s
Bhakshali manuscript and thus zero came into existence. No particular symbol
was given to zero but the presence of zero was evident from his work.
14. Chess
Chess developed out of Chaturanga, which is an ancient strategy board
game developed during the Gupta Empire in India
around the 6th century AD
15. Ruler
Rulers were
first used by the Indus Valley Civilization prior to 1500 BCE. Made of ivory,
the rulers found during excavation, reveal the amazing accuracy of decimal
subdivisions on it.
16. Shampoo
The word
‘Shampoo’ is derived from chāmpo (चाँपो). It was initially used as a head massage oil for the Nawabs of Bengal
during the Mughal Empire around 1762. It evolved into shampoo over the years.
Prefabricated
home and movable structure
In 16th century Mughal India, during the reign
of Akbar, the first prefabricated & movable structures were invented.
17. Snakes and
Ladders
The game,
Snakes & Ladders, was invented in India as a game of morals. Later it
spread to England and eventually introduced in the USA by game pioneer Milton
Bradley in 1943.
18. Fibonacci
Numbers
19. Water on Moon
ISRO’s
Chandrayaan-1 made the startling discovery that our moon is not a dry ball of
rocks. The discovery of lunar water is attributed to the Chandrayaan mission.
20. Radio/Wireless
communication
We all know
that Marconi received a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909 for contribution to the
development of wireless telegraphy. But the first public demonstration of radio
waves for communication was made by Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose in 1895, two years
prior to Marconi’s similar demonstration in England.
21. Flush Toilets
Flush toilets
were first used in the Indus Valley Civilization. These existed in most homes
and were connected to a sophisticated sewage mechanism. The civilization was
prominent in hydraulic engineering.
22. Binary Code
Binary
numbers were first described by Pingala (c. 200 BC).
Pingala is the traditional name of the author of the Chandaḥśāstra, the
earliest known Sanskrit treatise on prosody.
