JANUARY 6, 2025
Sushruta performed cataract surgery centuries before Western doctors
India’s brilliant contributions to science and culture often flew under the radar, thanks to a mix of colonial neglect and Western-centric history. When the British ruled, they downplayed India’s achievements, and over time, Western narratives took center stage. Many of India’s ideas were buried in ancient texts or passed on orally, making them hard to recognize or credit. So, while the world was busy catching up, India had already been there, done that—just without the applause.
1. Cataract Surgery
Ancient Indian surgeon Sushruta was already performing cataract surgeries around 600 BCE using sharp instruments to remove the lens. Fast forward to the 19th century, and Western doctors like Robert Willard get credit for the same procedure, despite the fact India was way ahead of the game. Classic case of being way too cool for recognition.
2. Plastic Surgery
Sushruta pioneered reconstructive surgery, including rhinoplasty.
Sushruta wasn’t just about cataracts; he also pioneered reconstructive surgeries like rhinoplasty in the 6th century BCE. Western surgeons like Harold Gillies took the spotlight in the 19th century, but India had the blueprint all along. Turns out, a nose job in ancient India wasn’t just a myth.
3. Iron and Steel Production (Wootz Steel)
India invented high-quality steel long before the West.
Indian metallurgists were crafting super-strong Wootz steel around 300 BCE, which was so good it spread across the ancient world. But when the West figured out steel-making methods in the 19th century, they were hailed as the innovators. Guess they forgot to check the ancient Indian playbook.
4. Chess (Chaturanga)
India created chess, later adapted by Europe.
The game of chess? It started as Chaturanga in India around 600 CE, and it had all the right pieces: infantry, cavalry, and elephants. By the time it got to Europe, it was reshaped and credited to Western minds, even though India had the first move. Europe might’ve been playing catch-up, but India made the rules.
5. Binary System
Ancient India used binary, predating Leibniz’s formal system.
The concept of binary numbers, crucial to modern computing, was floating around in ancient Indian texts long before Gottfried Leibniz formalized it in the 17th century. Indian scholar Pingala had the binary system figured out for poetic patterns around 200 BCE. No surprise there; India was already in the digital age.
6. Water Clock (Jalankan)
India invented the water clock, later refined by Greece.
The Jalankan, India’s ancient water clock, was keeping time around 500 BCE using the flow of water. The West eventually got in on the action, with Ctesibius in ancient Greece refining the concept. But India was the original inventor of the water clock, long before anyone in the West thought to set a timer.
7. Pushpaka Vimana
India’s flying machine idea long before modern aviation.
The Pushpaka Vimana was a flying machine from the Ramayana, capable of traveling at the speed of thought. Fast forward to the Wright brothers, and somehow, that Indian mythology didn’t make it into the history books. But hey, they weren’t the first to dream of flying—India had it covered.
8. Time Dilation
Mahabharata hints at time dilation, centuries before Einstein.
In Mahabharata, the story of King Raivata traveling to the gods and returning to find centuries passed on Earth was an early nod to time dilation. Einstein might’ve coined the term in the 20th century, but India had a pretty good head start on the whole “time is relative” thing.
9. The Concept of Atoms (Anu)
Indian philosophers proposed atomic theory centuries before Dalton.
Indian philosophers in the Vaisheshika school around 600 BCE were already talking about atoms as the building blocks of matter. Modern atomic theory is credited to John Dalton in the 19th century, but India had the idea first. It’s like they had the script for quantum theory before it was cool.
10. Parallel Universes and Quantum Theory
Upanishads described ideas resembling modern quantum physics.
Ancient Indian texts like the Upanishads described ideas that sound suspiciously like quantum theory—everything is interconnected, and multiple realities exist. Modern physicists like Schrödinger and Everett might’ve formalized these ideas, but India was dreaming of parallel universes long before it was a science class topic.
Courtesy/Source: TimesLife / PTI
