top indian inventions and discoveries taken from internet

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

The Fibonacci numbers were first described by Virahanka, Gopala  and Hemachandra as an outgrowth of earlier writings by Pingala.

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.