Why is it that Indian subcontinent never invented anything that is universally useful to mankind?

Question

Indians take pride in saying that their civilazation is ancient.We had Nalanda,Takshashila,and of course Mahanjo Daro.But nothing that has helped mankind in general.Take the following cases.The white race invented Penicillin,locomotive,flying machines,telephone,electric bulbs,TV and even the sewing machine.Of course one can add so many hundreds of others to the list and the latest of course the internet.I am Indian(not an American native Indian)and I keep wondering why.Our neighbour china has succeeded in some fields but not us.I would like to know,if at all we have done so and if not ,why have we lagged so far behind in helping mankind in general.Prasad.ahmedabad.India.

Answer 1

Facts about India:

Who is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems?
Vinod Khosla

Who is the creator of Pentium chip (needs no introduction as 90% of the today's computers run on it)?
Vinod Dahm

Who is the founder and creator of Hotmail (Hotmail is world's No.1 web based email program)?
Sabeer Bhatia

Who is the president of AT & T-Bell Labs (AT & T-Bell Labs is the creator of program languages such as C, C++, Unix to name a few)?
Arun Netravalli

Who is the GM of Hewlett Packard?
Rajiv Gupta

Who is the new MTD (Microsoft Testing Director) of Windows 2000, responsible to iron out all initial problems?
Sanjay Tejwrika

Who are the Chief Executives of CitiBank, Mckensey & Stanchart?
Victor Menezes, Rajat Gupta and Rana Talwar.

We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America, even
faring better than the whites and the natives.

There are 3.22 millions of Indians in USA (1.5% of population). YET,
38% of doctors in USA are Indians.
12% scientists in USA are Indians.
36% of NASA scientists are Indians.
34% of Microsoft employees are Indians.
28% of IBM employees are Indians.
17% of INTEL scientists are Indians.
13% of XEROX employees are Indians.
99% of WIPRO employees are Indians.

You may know some of the following facts. These facts were recently published in a German magazine, which deals with WORLD HISTORY FACTS ABOUT INDIA.

01. India never invaded any country in her last 1000 years of history.
02. India invented the Number system. Aryabhatta invented 'zero.'
03. The world's first University was established in Takshila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 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.
04. According to the Forbes magazine, Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software.
05. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.
06. Although western media portray modern images of India as poverty striken and underdeveloped through political corruption, India was once the richest empire on earth.
07. The art of navigation was born in the river Sindh 5000 years ago. The very word "Navigation" is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH.
08. The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is now known as the Pythagorean Theorem. British scholars have last year (1999) officially published that Budhayan's works dates to the 6th Century, which is long before the European mathematicians.
09. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11th Century; the largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Indians used numbers as big as 1053.
10. According to the Gemmological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds to the world.
11. USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicion amongst academics that the pioneer of wireless communication was Professor Jagdeesh Bose and not Marconi.
12. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
13. Chess was invented in India.
14. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted surgeries like caesareans, cataract, fractures and urinary stones. Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient India.
5. When many cultures in the world were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilisation).
16. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.

Quotes about India:
We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made. - Albert Einstein.

India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grand mother of tradition. - Mark Twain.

If there is one place on the face of earth where all dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India. - French scholar Romain Rolland.

India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border. - Hu Shih. (Former Chinese ambassador to USA)

ALL OF THE ABOVE IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG, THE LIST COULD BE ENDLESS.

The only country culturally accept all the cultures around the world.

The only country along with whose culture is accepted by most of the countries (Yoga, Meditation, Buddhism, Ayurveda, etc. are gifts of India to the mankind).

Indian culture has since ages imparted a lot of knowledge to this world and is still maintaining the tradition...

I am proud to be an Indian and will forever strive to maintain the heritage of the country.......

:-)

Answer 2

Hello friend,

All that the inventions, the western countries are proud of today are just scientific facts which an average Indian considers a daily ritual.

Long before the modern science, it was the Indian astromers who calculated the size of the earth, distance from the sun and also the number of planets.

Our contribution in mathematics is very vast. The number zero, factorizaton, geometry, etc. (just have a copy of Vedic Maths and you will be satisfied)

Invention of Radio is by Bose or Marconi is still debatable.

Contribution in Medical field is also many. Surgical procedures existed in our country long before the modern day methods. Many of our Ayurvedic Medicines and procedures are now being adopted by Allopathic practitioners.

And with all these, why are we not credited for these spectacular inventions. My friend, our ancestors saw that all inventions are for the general public free of cost. They did not aspire to become rich by selling or patenting their inventions. They did not know MARKETING (can you explain, how the westerners are trying to patent Turmeric as an anti-septic when even an illiterate villager in India knows the value of turmeric as an anti_septic)

We were not good in Marketing our inventions...... and I pray that we should NOT be one.

Answer 3

Do you like sleeping in a bed? Beds are from india, the raised platform with sheets people take for granted. Also, peacocks are from there, to say nothing of such lovely sights and cultural touches unique to the area.
True, inventions may get all the press, but there is something to be said for polishing those base inventions into something useful. Embrace your history and build upon the basic blocks other provide. Don't see yourself as unimportant, just as one with a lot of potential built up. You must be doing something right to get all those american outsourcing jobs.

Answer 4

What the Hell???
u need 2 polish yr knowledge, my dear!
"0" is something MOST IMPORTANT 2 mankind, n invented by INDIA!!
many more examples 2 go!!
Asking "what has India invented tat is useful 2 mankind??" will fetch u some MUCH-NEEDED knowledge!!
n if u r still noe happy with the outcome, then y dnt YOU go ahead n invent something yourself??
wat say??

Answer 5

India invented the '' The Art of Vegetarianism '', which was ignored by all globally for centuries, have now realised the importance.
All Religious people in India follow '' Veg on selective days still now '' is the pride of India

Answer 6

Haven't you heard of 'Kama Sutra?' Yes the amazing "0" as well. Of course there is the herbal medicines...and certainly you remember the yummy Indian curry. Hey! What about the great Indian laughter challenge or the awesome Indian magic rope trick???

Answer 7

When Indian want to invent something they go out of the country to Invent that is why there is no invention from Indian Sub continent

Answer 8

We invented the number 0. Oh and Happy Holi!

Answer 9

the things you have listed are debatable in how useful they are. personally, the ancient medicine of india seems to be incredibly valuable to mankind. in fact, from what i have read recently, india's neem tree could potentially help mankind with a huge list of problems not only with personal health, but planetary health too. vandana shiva is something to be proud of too (as i am sure there are many others).

Answer 10

India was laways ruled by inveders. The slave and submissive mentality has gone in to their genes over 1000 years. We are good copy cats and followers. Our education system was introduced by Brits to create sincere clerks.