INDIA FACTS : 

The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat.

INDIA has been called Bharat even in Satya yuga (Golden Age).

The name `India is derived from the River Indus,
the valleys around which were the home of the early
settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the
river Indus as the Sindhu.

The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The
name `Hindustan combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus
refers to the land of the Hindus. 


The number system was invented by India.
Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.
 

Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher
languages. This is because it is the most precise,
and therefore suitable language for computer
software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987). 


Chess was invented in India.

Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies
which originated in India.

The' place value system' and the 'decimal system'
were developed in 100 BC in India.

The first six Mogul Emperor's of India ruled in an
unbroken succession from father to son for two
hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.

The World's First Granite Temple is the
Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is
made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite.
Also, this magnificient temple was built in just
five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD)  during
the reign of Rajaraja Chola

India is.......the Largest democracy in the world,
the 6th largest country in the world AND one of
the most ancient and living civilizations (at least
10,000 years old).  
The game of snakes & ladders was created by the
13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally
called  'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented
virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game
was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through
time,  the game underwent several modifications
but the meaning is the same i.e good deeds take us to
heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.

The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail,
Himachal Pradesh. 
Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this
cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
 

India has the most post offices in the world !

The largest employer in the world is the Indian
railway system, employing over a million people !.
  


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

Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known
to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka,
consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. 

Although modern images & descriptions of India
often show poverty, India was one of the richest
countries till the time of British in the early 17th
Century.
Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's
wealth and was looking for route to India when he
discovered America by mistake. 

The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the
river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word
'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word
NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the
Sanskrit word 'Nou'. 

Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken
by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years
before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time
taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century )
365.258756484 days. 

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

Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated
from India.  Quadratic equations were used by
Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest
numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106
whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 ( i.e
10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early
as 5000 B.C.  during the Vedic period.  Even today,
the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10 to the
power of 12 ). 

 Until 1896, India was the only source for
diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of
America )

The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the
world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the
Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was
built by the Indian Army in August 1982.

Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery.
Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team  conducted
complicated surgeries like  cataract, artificial
limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and
also plastic surgery and brain surgeries. 

 

Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient
India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy,
embryology,digestion, metabolism,  physiology, etiology,
genetics and immunity is also found in many
ancient Indian texts. 

 
Did you know ? 
India also celebrates the birthday of Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan, former President and Vice-President
and great statesman, as "Teachers' Day". 

Born on September 5, 1888, at Tiruttani, 40 miles
to the north-east of Madras, Radhakrishnan grew to
become the most famous Indian teacher and
philosopher of all times. In his honour, this day
is celebrated as Teacher's Day. 

He was also the Vice-President of India from
1952-1962. He held the office of the Chancellor,
University of Delhi, before taking over as the
President of India in May 1962. 

 

"What makes a nation, is the past, what justifies
one nation against others is the past", says the
noted historian Eric Hobsbawm.

Hence, when talking of a nation, it becomes very
imperative that the past should also be talked
about. And the past of India is as fascinating and
interesting as it is momentous.   
 

Proud to be Indian !

Jai Hind !