:: REMINDER ::

It is time to let the world know what we stand for.
There are 3.22 million Indians in the United States. Thirty-eight per cent of doctors in America are Indians. Twelve per cent of scientists in America are Indians. Thirty-six per cent of NASA employees are Indians. Thirty-four per cent of Microsoft employees are Indians. Twenty-eight per cent of IBM employees are Indians. Seventeen per cent of Intel employees are Indians. Thirteen per cent of Xerox employees are Indians.
Some of these facts may be known to you. But the following interesting facts about India were recently published in a German magazine:

a) India has never invaded any other country in the last 10,000 years of her history.

b) India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta, an Indian astronomer and mathematician.

c) The world’s first university was established in Takshila in 700 B.C. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda, built in the 4th century B.C., was one of ancient India’s greatest achievements in the field of education.

d) Sanskrit is the mother of all European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software, according to Forbes magazine (July 1987).

e) Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. Charaka, the Father of Medicine, consolidated Ayurveda 2,500 years ago. Today, Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.

f) Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of the British takeover in the early 17th century.

g) The word navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word navgatih. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit, nou.

h) Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. The time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.

i) The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before European mathematicians.

j) Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were formulated by Sridharacharya in the 11th century.

k) USA-based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdeesh Bose and not Marconi.

l) According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150 C.E., a beautiful lake called Sudarshana was constructed on the hills of Raivataka during Chandragupta Maurya’s time.

m) Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.

n) Sushruta is the Father of Surgery. Nearly 2,600 years ago he and other scientists of his time conducted complicated surgical procedures like Caesareans and cataract removals; made artificial limbs; treated fractures and urinary stones; and even performed plastic surgery and brain surgery. Anaesthesia was often used in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipments were used.

o) When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5,000 years ago, Indians established the Harappan culture in the Sindh Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).

p) The decimal system was developed in India in 100 B.C.

Quotes About India

a) Albert Einstein said: “We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count,without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.”

b) Mark Twain said: “India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.”

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

d) Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to the United States, said: “India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.”

All of the above is just the tip of the iceberg, the list could be endless. But, if we don’t see even a glimpse of that great India in the India that we see today, it clearly means that we are not working up to our potential and that if we do, we could once again be an ever shining and inspiring country setting a bright path for the rest of the world to follow.

A Proud Indian, Via e-mail