Indian science: Why you should care
The world snapped to attention two months ago when India announced the successful test of its long-range missile, Agni V.
The BBC declared India had joined the “elite nuclear club.” It was a major historic moment that was telling of India’s technological prowess. But for those aware of advancements made by Indian science, Agni V was not totally out of the blue. India has been making innovations in the fields of space research, nuclear power and neglected diseases.
Indian science has consistently had major political backing. This was apparent earlier this month when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became president of a professional science body. He announced plans to formulate a new science and technology policy at his inauguration ceremony at the 100th session of the Indian Science Congress Association.
“The journey of our development is marked by glittering scientific achievements whether in the field of atomic energy, space, agriculture or information technology,” he said at the ceremony. “The burden on science in the future will only increase. Our problems are overwhelming and need scientific solutions.”
This fervent belief in and respect for science and the push to reap its societal benefits has always been part and parcel of the Indian psyche. It is one of the topics explored in “Geek Nation: How Indian Science is Taking Over the World,” (out now in the United States) by British science journalist Angela Saini.
To understand the Indian people’s scientific devotion and ingenuity, Saini traveled across the country in 2009 to meet with inventors, engineers and young scientists. She focused not just on India’s scientific discoveries and research but also on how science is interacting socially.
“It really opened my mind about how science can be done,” Saini said. “I don’t mean at the lab level … kind of the social uses, how it’s applied to improve society, the way politicians back it up, the way religion tries to use it, the way traditionalists try to use it (and) how it seems to be the property of everybody. Everyone wants a piece of it, wants to be a part of it.”
The ancient respect for knowledge, and the perception that science leads to success, is evident everywhere in India, she said, from the coveted Indian Institutes of Technology to matrimonial advertisements, where having an engineering degree would make you a more appealing potential bride or groom. So it’s hard not to imagine the sheer number of scientists, engineers, physicists, etc. graduating every year. This huge pool is important, Saini said, because labs in India are short on resources and funding, and in turn it generates a massive melting pot of ideas.
“I couldn’t help but feel that India tolerates and has such a broad acceptance of everything. That is what allows not only nuttiness to exist, but also allows that genius to thrive at the other end,” she said.
This nuttiness also has major governmental support. In India’s 12th Five-Year Plan, a layout for the next five years of the country’s economy being developed for 2012-2017, some of the recently announced provisions include the setup of innovation universities and supercomputers. Singh hopes to double India’s budget for science and technology from 1% of the GDP to at least 2% to compete with China’s 1.4%.
Here are some of the ways that India is forging ahead in science.
Space program
When Saini attended the 97th Indian Science Congress Association session, she said it was clear that the biggest obsession among Indian science authorities is the space program.
Indeed, India’s love affair with space really took off (pun intended) in the 1960s when Vikram Sarabhai, a physicist, set about trying to build the country’s science program. Eventually, he was able to establish what is known today as the Indian Space Research Organization.
The space agency not only turned 40 this year, but also launched India's first microwave radar imaging satellite, or RISAT – I, in April.
The Indian Space Research Organization is also developing the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III, India’s own vehicle that will allow heavy satellites to be launched from India. The first flight test is expected to take place late in 2012. This goes in tandem with plans for India’s first manned mission, which the organization has scheduled for 2016.
Saini expresses concern in her book about the ambitious scale of the Indian space program and the technical issues that need to be overcome to independently send an Indian to space.
“The cost is very high,” she said. “It’s not like sending up a satellite, which is also a technical challenge. But the price of sending an astronaut up and have that fail is immense. Psychologically for a nation, it is immense.”
Nuclear power and energy security
In its nuclear energy efforts, India has not been deterred by environmental fears or the disasters at Chernobyl, Three Mile Island or Fukushima Daiichi. The country's energy needs are dire.
According to the World Nuclear Association, India’s electricity demand has increased so much that it will require 8,000 terawatt-hours/year by 2050. While coal is one of its sources, the country’s coal reserves are limited, unlike in the United States (which consumes around 4,000 terawatt-hours/year).
Geetha Bali, the previous president of the Indian Science Congress Association and the vice chancellor of Karnataka State Women’s University, said India has delved into renewable sources like solar energy, but it can only do so much.
“We badly require energy. … We have to have alternate energy resources,” she said. “India is investing in those, (but) that alone is not going to be sufficient. With technological developments, there is a need to exploit all renewable resources.”
Saini said that while uranium has been the dominant chemical element everywhere else, India has been focusing its research more on thorium, which is considered to be slightly safer and cleaner. While uranium is more expensive and getting more scarce, India has plenty of thorium ore on its monazite-rich beaches. It was announced in May that India would start constructing its first 300 megawatt thorium reactor at the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period.
Bali said the West should be aware that India’s priority of energy security far outweighs other possible intentions, such as weaponization of nuclear fuel.
“Developing technological abilities is a different thing,” she said. “Using nuclear power for ensuring energy security is a different thing. I don’t think all developments in nuclear research (are) intensely focused on using it for war.”
Open Source Drug Discovery
India has enough problems of its own to deal with, so it is not preoccupied with offensives against other countries, Bali said. One of those problems is curbing tuberculosis infections in the country.
A project that Saini profiles that is tackling tuberculosis is the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Open Source Drug Discovery. This collaborative research effort aims to bring together all existing and upcoming research on neglected diseases, like tuberculosis, from Indian scientists, students and researchers across the country to come up with new drugs to treat the diseases.
The project has come about because of the major pharmaceutical companies' lack of interest, Saini said. Such diseases don't affect the West nearly as much, and no profit can be made from the people affected the most: the poor.
She also added that since companies make money through patents, a lot of the research takes place behind closed doors, whereas in Open Source Drug Discovery there is no sense of ownership over the data.
“The exciting thing about Open Source Drug Discovery is that it takes advantage of what India has the most of, which is not money but people,” Saini said. “It has loads and loads of well-educated, well-trained, willing geeks who want to work on this problem because two Indians die of tuberculosis every three minutes.”
While external validation and peer review is important, Saini said that if it works, this could become a new scientific method for approaching problems.
In some ways this was the dream for Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of a free India in 1947. Nehru, a Cambridge University science graduate, was a big believer in the power of science and its ability to lift up Indian society. Saini said that this sentiment was shared by many of the Indian scientists she met.
“Indian scientists don’t work in a vacuum,” she said. “And because so many of them have a social commitment to their work and such social aims in their work, it was impossible to divorce everything that is happening in India, the poverty, the religion, the spirituality and politics from science.”
@CNNLightYears on Twitter
People in Orbit
Expedition 36 Commander
Expedition 36 Flight Engineer
Expedition 36 Flight Engineer
Contributors
-
Elizabeth Landau
Writer/Producer -
Sophia Dengo
Senior Designer
Pawor of india.
12% scientists and 38%doctors in the US are Indians, and in Nasa, 36% or almost 4 out of 10 scientists are Indians.
If that's not proof enough of Indian scientific and corporate prowess, digest this: 34% employees at Microsoft, 28% at IBM, 17% at Intel and 13% at Xerox are Indians.
http://m.facebook.com/groups/452986154733870?refid=17&_ft_=src.24%3Asty.308%3Aactrs.100002966561729%3Apub_time.1347391936%3Afbid.476465732385912%3As_obj.4%3As_edge.1%3As_prnt.11%3Aft_story_name.StreamStoryGroupMallPost%3Aobject_id.452986154733870%3Aobject_timeline_token_map.Array
all are US educated .....and they dont want to come back to India,,
At the moment that India created the nuclear bomb they actually showed the opposite of intelligence–to think they could now kill millions of their enemies and their own people should be sad and frightening and not a joyous occasion. So many Indians starving while those Indian academic with limited intelligence smile and pat themselves on the back. While these academic small minds laugh over something so stupid as making bombs there is a collective scream of hunger and pain.
Chinese and Indians are kicking our butt, because they pay more attention to the education of their kids, specifically, in the science and math area. I bet any Chinese or Indian kid who is in the 8th grade can beat the crap out of an American kid who is in high school when it comes to science and math. Fifty years ago American education was considered the best. People from all over the world came to good old USA to learn and do research. Now, almost at all levels we are behind. Our church leaders, politicians and we are at fault for this.
I congratulate Indians on their achievements, albeit one step at a time. May you learn to cure AIDS and cancer, may you learn to travel to other planets with the help of your Chinese brethren, and above all, may you learn to eradicate poverty in your country!
I foresee that 50 years from now, American students will travel to China and India to learn about technology and science, while our churches and politicians continue to fight tooth and nail about stem cell research and other cutting edge technology.
Albert Einstein, Werner Braun, Khorana, Tesla, were all foreigners who called this great nation their home by *choice*.
It is a lesson that we have to learn right now. USA is a failed experiment. Our best years are over! We are a nation of debtors who are constantly living for today, ignoring the future of our kids. No one is going to bail us out of this mess!
We have to do this ourselves. One step at a time!
All,
This is not about India vs. US (or anyother country) in scientific contributions. It is about one country's journey in the scientific discipline.
india's scientists needs to focus on agriculture and birth control start feeding your poor starving people. leave space exploration and semiconductors with computer science's for western nations to solve.
Too lazy to think at all, hmm? Neither of the problems you mentioned are scientific problems. They are political problems. Geez...
So you think the US should spend billions more on space while public schools and new class of poor people in the US are neglected. When do you think that only should concentrate on its poor while US does not have to worry about that. You are full of nonsense and your brain needs to be wired. Every country has problems and poverty does exist in every country but that has not stopped US from spending millions on stupid wars and non essential research. So why don't you think(if you can) before you write some thing stupid like this
This article is such a joke of Indian propoganda. The country is still 40 years behind industrialized nations.
How is this Indian propaganda? This isn't even an Indian website. Remember that the country only received independence in 1947 so it is fairly young. However, the point of this article is exactly that; a country that is so young is making huge leaps in science and technology. Might I add that even the US did not create its ICBM's by itself and not even its first nuclear missile. German scientists were used to create these.
Nice article for the present Generation Umika specially for India where science innovations must have slowed down when compared to its history . Reading through your article and comments/links by people on this article shows contribution by India is huge and the present new age science,technology will not have been possible without these science geeks from India. (Good that I read thru the comments before posting my own) Short browse on the same on CNN I came across http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/19/health/embryonic-stem-cell-therapy/index.html?iref=allsearch. There must be many more of points like these.( I just saw Earth is round was known to Indians long before, Pythogoras theorem is from India)
IIndian space craft Chandrayaan-1(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan-1) finding water on the moon and NASA confirming on the same http://www.nasa.gov/topics/moonmars/features/clark2.html
The truth is that Indian mindset is still very far from scientific. Indians eschew anything that is organized, methodical and requires objective thinking. This is clearly apparent from the movement of the traffic on their roads and the way the people behave. In artistic fields like music, painting, singing or even some athletic sports, Indians can hope to excel but definitely not hard sciences. Except a very tiny minority of Indians who can be outliers, most Indians cannot sustain the rigor and the degree of organized thinking that science demands. The reason is that the Indian society grooms and encourages them, right from childhood, to think politically but not critically. Dogma and sensationalism are appreciated much more than "boring" science. What is true of India is true of the entire South Asian subcontinent, tribal affiliations are much more important to people here than anything else and they don't have the time for science. The West can take comfort in the fact that very little hope exists for this to change in the foreseeable future.
You need more study about India & Indians. Indians have contributed a lot to science, maths, astrophysics etc., resulting in 'Nobel Prizes' for their contributions. Even to day Indians are pioneer in many fields of science & technology.
Indian traffic issues are completely irrelevant to Indian science. The reason India's traffic system is messed up is because its population is 1.2 billion not because it lags behind in science. Also the point you made that indians care nothing about science and are consumed by tribal affiliations is proved completely wrong with this article. If all Indians cared about was about their villages, then the Agni rocket would never have been created. Please stop bashing on a country that is making huge progress by itself and praise it.
Your description sounds more like the U.S. than India.
So india uses the technology that the west had invented and then everyone thinks that India is the best and that the Indians are clever. Who gave them schools, colleges, western education, technology and many other things. It was the west. Now I am sorry to say that the west is going down the tubes. So we need to stop acting like apes and follow the euro culture. Then the west will be a great place to live in again.
Please try to get rid of medieval, unscientific mentality. KNOWLEDGE IS NO ONE'S MONOPOLY.
Jack, why don't you check up on who gave the west the 0 and a lot of current Mathematics. The Arabs carried it to Europe, but find out who they took it from.
Jack – Actually schools and universities existed in India, when US was not even in existence. Google for Nalanda and Taxila. Also till 17th century India contributed 25% of the world's GDP and was the most prosperous country in the world.
America was built by immigrants.End of story.
America is STILL BEING BUILT by immigrants, thank you very much.
Ever heard of Raman and Bose? No, then be quiet, your ignorance is epic.
Jack the oldest known university in the world is in India. Do not just spew words out of your mouth maybe check with your brain beforehand?
Follow the "Euro" culture? Aside from Germany and England Europeans are incredibly lazy, why do you think the "Euro Zone" is falling apart? The US's biggest issue is that the democrats seek to increase the number dependent on welfare every single year and by and large all the sheep unwilling to think for themselves think this is fair and we somehow owe lazy people a living. Democrats have turned our public education system into a joke that is more a publicly run day-care than an education system. We need to have reasonable entrance requirements for our public schools, kid's whose parents don't put any effort into their education should be put in day-care vs. an education system. For example a child that doesn't know the alphabet should not be allowed in kindergarten, a kid that cannot read should not be allowed in the first grade, and again their parents should be on the hook for putting them in daycare vs public schools.
@Johnny: some "whites" have great admiration for India as a country.
Poor me! The Indians (not the egotistic ones) gave us inventions. America has been in the forefront in invention since the last century including among its scientists just about any interested, supported, and capable minds (some egotistic, and some not so much) on the planet.
It it sounds to me that humanity understands the urgency, and it is working at it.
Poor me! When will the conversation turns to what we can accomplish together? Are we sheep or creative individuals capable to make a difference on this planet
Backward in time, I wonder if I could have been one of those men who gambled their properties and sacred honor to inspire freedom against a mighty tyrant of their time.
Are we together able to do less today? Congratulations India for your scientific and no less humanitarian effort to come to grip with large population needs in the near future. I pray that the free world stands with you.
To all capable men and women...
nor
@oreynold: Nope, we stand with the oppressed – Pakistan.....hmmm....Pakistan – oppressed by dictators and corrupt politicians who do not want the country to progress.....wonder in what are we supporting them by giving them our billions and telling Indians to hold their horses on terrorists trained and directed by ISI killing Indians in India.
The only reason the Indians and Chinese are kicking the West's collective asses right now is because we've lost our way and they've found theirs. Pretty simple really, and their sheer numbers contribute to their momentum.
With that said, I loooove me some Indian food boy mmmm mmmm.
Learning how to build a nuclear missile in my opinion is not anything worth celebrating. It has already been done by a lot of nations and is not good for humanity. If the Indians want to brag, let them find a cure for cancer or AIDS, solve the riddle of time travel, or create a spacecraft capable of intergalactic space travel (i.e. 'folding space').
The Germans are the ones to beat, not the Americans. The Indians who are so obsessed with the USA will never beat them.
@Herm: You seem to have lost your way too. Learn something about India (http://www.scribd.com/doc/34488453/India%E2%80%99s-contribution-to-the-rest-of-the-world)
Also keep in mind that the caste system is a small problem but does not affect the progress of that country. They are not coming to US for American lifestyle, but due to 2 factors: 1) companies want them & 2) Higher education in India has limited space for the bulging population and so those who seek higher education but cannot get into IIT or IIM will try for US, European or Australian universities.
Please try to be positive and polite in thinking & expression because it shows your culture..
Herm – We are not obsessed with the US or its culture. Come to India and you will find out. Cheers
India already solve time travel (control).....opps don't google that, in fact forget I said anything (teehee)
I think people here and all over the world are forgetting that India was a classical civilization producing inventions and ideas that are essential to life today. If India never existed or even any of the classical civilizations, we wouldn't be living life as we are. And those of you who have said that India has never invented anything, what kind of education did you have. In math,modern numerical system, trigonometry, pi had their origins in India. The numerical system was developed during the Indus River Vally civilization 2000 years before Jesus was born while the others in the 1st century. In medicine, India was performing plastic surgery as early as 800BC. If anyone wants the links where I got this information, I will be happy to provide.
@chris: can you provide links to the plastic surgery in BC? Wonder if they had also mastered implants ....i suspect it is so as nearly all ancient Indian statues show near perfect figures 🙂
Yes, it's actually quite amazing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_surgery. Here you can read about Sushruta and his surgery techniques in 800 BCE. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushruta
Why are people arguing on an article that focuses a positive thing that a nation is coming up as a pioneer in science and technology. We should learn to respect science which has no geographical boundaries and religion. In today's world who will you call an Indian or an American. It's a small world. Just embrace the gift of science and technoogy. Do we really fight over Ipad's inventor of which nation he belong to or so we know the person who discovered the wheel. If USA has some shortcoming they will learn from India and vice versa.Who cares when there are so many problems in our life. Every society has some good and bad things which is inevitable. Let us do our work and excel what we do. Why blame two great nations who have contributed so much to the world .
Indians have all the IT jobs with H1Bs so the US won't be missing much.
@hoapres: If those Indians leave US, companies will not have people who can do the job, so they will send all the jobs to India where the people are. In short money flowing to India from US. If those Indians are allowed to stay, they will continue to work and earn money and send money to India to their families. In short, money flowing to India from US. Only solution, train more Americans on IT so companies need not depend on H1B for IT professionals.
I worked with Indians in IT for years. An absolute pleasure and yet, they don't have "most" of the IT jobs, there are caps. They are overrepresented in metro areas but outside these places, their numbers trail off.
@Chris: They are good but we need more or our youth into these areas instead of Law/Dental/Medical fields. Unfortunately majority prefer not to move into IT leaving American companies wanting to hire foreigners.
Good for them. In only another 30 years or so, they will reach the same technical lever the U.S. is at now.
Yippee.
Yeah thats exactly how the previous Empires collapsed.
They all thought noone could be better then them. Just look at America now. Its decaying fasted then Ice Cream can melt in Mohave Desert
India will take over everything, they will take the country faster then the Israellis took over the control of Finalcial, News, Justice departments, etc. You go to any IT building, 80% are now Indians – USA – Wake Up, they are taking our bread and butter...
@Well Wisher: We can't do anything about that as long as we do not have more technically qualified people in the IT & Healthcare industries.
They don't.
Those "Indians" are really Americans increasingly. They work, invest in, and build America (or Amercia q.v.) and share their wealth with upcoming scientific,etc. professionals in India. A decade ago they sent home about 17 billion but invested 17 billion in educating their young in the West! So What goes around actually comes back in better quality for all.That's a sobering thought for the whinging Westerners who won't push their kids in Academics for fear of hurting the little one's feelings. But they will push them into football, hockey, other entertainment ,or BB,etc. for the mega dollars. So someone has to work in the sciences and Asians are now doing that after centuries of neglect and exploitation.
Enjoy their work and join them.BTW, Do stem cell research and quit religious taboos; else you will lose the med science edge , too.
@EQ8Rhomes: Good point....has got me thinking more.
Indian don't care about Americans. They buy technology from china, Germany, finland, other countries to make space station.
@pop: That's same as what we Americans do. Chevy Aneo was 100% made in Korea and driven by Americans who claimed we need to support our companies like GM. Walmart and Target get most of their items from China and we Americans buy and live on those items and if all those imports are stopped we will not be able to continue with normal life.
Indians, doing the work that Americans aren't smart enough to do.
@Banton: Thats because we here are short of IT professionals and so companies get Indians and Chinese to do the work.
Got that wrong.
@hoapres: Got what wrong? I work in the IT industry and I know of big companies who are hiring IT professionals – hiring for 100 experienced professionals – its now 1 full year and we have not been able to get qualified (not well qualified) professionals. Same is the case with other companies around. We have to depend on contractors and most of the contracting companies send Indians or Chinese who are on H1B. You show me 1 company here in US who say it is easy to get experienced quality IT professionals who are American citizens.
what an excuse... just sad. When there's nothing to say, say nothing.
I am a naturalized citizen of Indian origin. Let me tell you why Indians immigrate.
1. Pollution
2. Traffic
3. Corruption
Now don't get me wrong. I love India, my native land a lot. For all the progress it has undoubtedly made, it still lags in some of the things US of A takes for granted. That we take these things for granted here, speaks for the greatness of USA. Smooth traffic ( mostly), much cleaner air and water, and much less corruption.
Having said that, imagine what would have happened to the USA, were it 3 times smaller, and thrice as populous. (not to mention, surrounded by Pakistan and China!
You have to appreciate whatever India has been able to achieve with those kinds of restrictions. It has a long way to go, to be in the same level as USA or even China to some extent, though.
A tight focus on Science and Techniology will always be very helpful in advancing India.
Nick – these are very shallow reasons to emigrate. I think Indians emigrate for better salaries and living conditions.
Wow, not too bright are you, Sid? Not having access to clean water and being surrounded my dirty air is a shallow reason to immigrate? I'm pretty sure those things fall under "living conditions."
As long as India has crushing poverty, it is obscene to spend money on anything else. Get the people fed and their standard of living up, and then maybe one could justify spending the billions of Rupees on space exploration. India needs someone with vision who will keep their money on the ground.
i'd like to second that for america.
ya, honestly, it's not much better in America. You should also know that Americas GDP per capita is $48,000 whereas Indias is $3500. When Indias GDP per Capita reaches $48,000 and the poverty is still as bad as it is now, thats when they need to really start looking at their poverty problem. They are moving fast, but still have a long way to go.
@Robert: You speak as if there is no poverty in US. Here in US we have our own share of poor dying due to lack of money for healthcare. We have our own poor who live in s*holes and compared to them, I would say majority of Indian poor live in better facilities.
Are you actually so foolish as to think money spent on a space program is wasted out in space? It is all kept down here on the ground.
The caste system is still in effect in India. That's why the distribution of wealth and opportunity is so uneven.
When I read comments here by ignorant people I feel sad for the hard working Indians. Keep in mind friends that the Pentium chips (in case you are not ignorant about computers) was invented by an Indian (Vinod Dham). Hotmail was created by an Indian (Sabeer Bhatia). Co-Founder of Sun Microsystems is an Indian (Vinod Khosla). Discovery of Bosons was by an Indian (Bose). Warming chairs here in US, though we have a wealth of information, I am sad to see fellow Americans so ignorant about Indian contribution to the world which has been continuing for more than 5000 years now.
Last week a Pew Research Center report highlighted the fact that "Asians" now exceed Hispanic immigrants into the United States. These "Asians" are largely the family members of well educated ethnic Chinese and Indians who form such a significant part of the high-tech workfoce in the US.
Nice history.
Only problem it is not accurate.
@hoapres: Whats not accurate?
The fact is, what makes America great is that the best and the brightest of the world come the the US because of the opportunity and environment for innovation. Of course the H1b program is in and of itself is proof that in the US, we are unable to produce enough scientists from our own population to fill job vacancies. Reading the comments on this thread makes it painfully obvious how the current trend of ignorance and isolationism will hurt us in the long run. Just being American doesn't automatically qualify you to be an engineer, a degree does. The reason the US is so far ahead of the science curve is that science used to be emphasized and aspired to as part of our culture; this, sadly, is becoming less and less the case.
If the US is going to embrace hocus pocus, the world isn't going to wait for the technologies that are needed this century. Cancer cures, green technologies, etc. The secrets to the universe were ours to discover, but we rejected that, so the Haydron super collider went to the European Union.
I'm afraid that the USA has its collective head too far up its collective @$$ to compete effectively. We are lazy, irresponsible, ignorant and arrogant. Between political correctness on the left and religious and business leaders on the right, we have let our educational system to become a joke. We feed kids horsecrap like "intelligent design" and call it science. Or, we let them know that there is no "wrong" answer because we're afraid of bruising their delicate egos. We could have fixed these problems 20 years ago, but we were more interested in the sports scores or celebrity hookups and breakups than bolstering our country's greatness.
Very well said. I am a child of the 80's and 90's and I truly hate the way I grew up. I don't like the things that my peers find important. I wish my education would have been different growing up. I wish I would have been encouraged in math and science, but I wasn't. Things like cheerleading and creative writing were things I received encouragement in. It got me nowhere.
The "Greatest Generation" is all but gone and what's left are lefions of lazy, self absorber, fat poorly educated who would
rather dumb-down to ghetto culture than strive to excell in school or work. The American dream is dead and China and India are going to surpass us in everything from science, healthcare and sustainable culture to military, standard of living and
financial security. It's all over for us but the crying. Lady Ga Ga could get serious support for a presidential run, but we'd vote to cut taxes, borrow more and reduce funding for health, education and welfare. We ridicule our best and brightest and make our athletes and entertainers into mega wealthy royalty. What a "culture" we have!!!
India embraces science, Americans reject science and embrace hocus pocus
This is a "feel good" article. India has not invented a single thing the world doesn't already have.
Einstein said that the "We owe a lot to the Indians. They taught us how to count." Our mathematics, decimal system, algebra, "Arabic" numerals came from India. The Arabs got their mathematics from India and the Europeans got their mathematics from the Arabs. That's why they were initially called "Arabic" numerals. Modern science would have been impossible without the mathematics India contributed to the world. Roman numerals were bulky and inefficient. The concept of zero and zero having a place value in mathematics all came from India.
I completely agree with you.. however these points have been used by your father, grandfather, great grandfather to counter a discussion.. moral of the story.. indians have fallen behind in the race.. they are no longer inventors but replicators .. and for a nation with a great history like the one you described .. it is a sad state to be in...
As I understand, mathematics was developed by the indian females who sought to teach their children what was right and what was wrong. In time, the indian males began to see what mathematics could accomplish, took over the teaching of mathematics, and, of course, claimed that it were they (the males) who 'discovered' mathematics.
The author isn't saying India invented everything. All that the author is saying that India is really coming ahead in the world. Look, even if India's economy was as big as the U.S. it would still be a poor nation because of its huge population. Most of China is poor and starving, too, but people don't hear about that.
Don't be ignorant. Knowledge is power.
That's why your favorite politicians are keeping schools in the U S down. We used to be number one in the world. We are now somewhere below number ten now.
Ask any TRULY professional musician about the indian method of counting and feeling rhythms. it blows every other system out of the water. the rest of the world is "white" by comparison
@Skeptic: Seems like you are too ignorant event to do basic research on the net – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_inventions_and_discoveries
True. But Indians working in U.S. have invented many things. Ex: Laser. Invented by Dr.Kumar Patel
The Indians did NOT invent the laser.
Well. I agree that we were lagging behind now. But before Muslim invasion of India, India was advanced comparative to rest of the countries. There is confirmed plastic surgery operations well before 2500 years described by Sushruta, They are are good at astrology, Mathematics.
Apart from that atomic theory was described 2500 years back. And they are good at metallurgy. There were very big Nalanda Tkshasila universities which got burnt by muslim invaders. SO we could talk about many. After 100 AD there was never any peaceful time until 1950 or so. During this time we stayed back at 1000 AD while west started progressing where we left off.
Sad for you to say that, i was born in India and its people like you who under appreciate the contribution of Muslims to Indian science etc. Unfortunately, your knowledge of history of science specially as pertains to India is lacking.
I agree with Mohammad Anis. Emperor Akbar's regin contributed to science and technology positively affecting India.
All that the author is saying is that India is making a whole lot of progress in science and technology, not that India invented all science and technology!
Like their base 10 numerical system and many, many other intellectual, philosophical and material imports into what is now the Middle East and Europe.. Yes... They all turned out to be absolutely useless.
I read the long article but I still don't understand the topic of the article: "Indian Sciene: Why you should care" ??? for US readers???
No one has to care, India is not threatning any body and is making a progressive peaceful advancement in Science and Technology. There is a long way for India to go before it catches up with West in the real sense. Perhaps China and PAkistan should take note of India's progress not the rest of the world. The good thing is Indian Science is indegeneous and not a borrowed/stolen technology from other countries.
" two Indians die of tuberculosis every three minutes.”...and how many thousands are born every second?
I applaud India's innovation to modernize itself. Just be careful you don't set off a viral nuclear bomb that no one can stop except God.
tim: hahahahaha...what was the last time God ever stopped a nuclear accident...actually God enabled men to use it and kill millions of his miscreants!
When was the last time God did anything but get credit for things that went well and a pass for anything that didn't?
If India is so fantastic why do so many immigrate to the US? Isnt it India that they just discovered a unknown language in the North Eastern part of the country? Sounds really modern.
get your head out of your ass. Many Indians and non Indians have flocked back to India. US only knows aggression and lowering standards to pacify morons who want to be pampered and served. US is on its way down already- because of its own doing.
You sound very ignorant. India is a large country with more than a billion people, and it is a country of wide extremes. Consider spending more time educating yourself and less trying to belittle others to feel better about yourself.
They immigrate for the US because of the "Life Style" in america. America is a lot more laid back, and a lot less of a rat race than India. Socially they aren't modern, but they have modernised all other aspects of the country.
@STEVE: People from India come to US because there are companies here in US who say "please come here, we need your talent". Look at the IT job market, very few Americans with good IT skills exists here in US and so now where should recruiters get qualified IT people from for the increasing IT demand here in US? Answer: India.
CNN is a vehicle for every third-world cheerleader to shout "look at me America!". As an American, I wish they would concentrate on their affairs country and stop stealing American jobs.
They dont steal them...we give them to them..big difference. A indian will work for 5$ an hour. A US automotive worker is $70 an hour (including retirement, healthcare, vacation etc). If you were the boss of a company where would you put your plant? I could get 15 Indians for the price of 1 American..if not more.
The ratio isn't that big. You'd also get lower quality of work too. Contrary to this article Indians CANNOT innovate and do not bring new innovations and inventions to mankind.
twotwotango – Do some serious search moron!! Indians have invented in practically every field. US has a fragile ego and that's why you don't see these things in the news. Go to BBC instead of CNN. Did you know that US TURNED to India to pull Detroit out of financial pit??
Steve, sorry to break it to you, but (if you're not a troll) your understanding of global economics and immigration laws in the US is pretty inaccurate. An Indian, living in India is happy to work for $5/hr, not because he's severely impoverished, but because the prevailing exchange rate coupled with the significantly lower cost of living in that country make the $5/hr, a small fortune. Most Indians working in the US are highly educated and earn salaries on par with their American counterparts. They immigrate to the US in search of a more comfortable life. But the reason behind their being able to do so, is the acute lack of similarly qualified professionals in the US. You see, they don't take our jobs, they do those jobs which we aren't sufficiently qualified to do our selves. The way I see it, they're the ones partly responsible for the US remaining technologically competent globally.
India is not a third world country, do not blame the world economic crisis on the outsourcing of jobs there, i agree your politician should do something, but from what i can see is unproductive government, i wonder what will happen after the election.
I remember when our country used to think that science was a great thing. Now this country thinks that scientists are political conspirators.
The right wing has gone off the edge with their religion. There is no room for science in America anymore.
This is the reason way we sould have kelped going to space instead closeing thing down.
Yes, India is poor but if India had borrowed like crazy at the national and at every individual level, then she would also have built excellent infrastructure and had most of it's people like US-like lifestyle. The facts are coming out now for those willing to understand and heed. This money America spent was never it's own. America borrowed and borrowed.
I can have a rich lifestyle if I borrow a million dollars and then not pay most of it.
I can't comprehend why America can't understand this point.
Why no crippling sanctions for them developing nuclear weapons, outside the international community's IAEA, yet Iran gets the boot for not developing nuclear weapons and which is in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty's oversight?
Because India is not a failed Islamic state.
If Iran was a "failed" State in that there is no central authority or government, why are we and Israel threatening them? Answer: Because they are not a failed State unless the United States and Israel and NATO make them that.
I am not entirely convinced as the author notes, that the development of India's first atomic bomb, was an entirely great moment in that nations scientific heighta. They violated treaty and contract and removed the nucular material from a Canadian built Candu reactor. At that time, the tecnology to build an atomic bomb was old technology. All you need is the right materials and a graduate student.
...where do you think we got the heavy water?
india did not sign the treaty, and the sanctions were imposed by US. So, no, i dont think ur very accurate here
It's "nuclear" not "nucular".
If you think all it took 'a graduate student' and presumably some blue prints, you are more ignorant than you have the capacity to comprehend.
One last thing: American nuclear tech also came initially from immigrants.
Madan,The youth's interest in the west has to do with their need for viltaity and colour in their lives. In my humble opinion; with the exception of a handful of people who purely pursue a spiritual ideal and are following purely their soul and nothing else, most people lead a mixed life leaning as much on external things for support as within themselves, they look for support in Mind and Soul. The current generation feels a total disconnect from the embellishments of spiritual life such as rituals and rites, religions and traditions etc; which by the way have long ceased to be embellishments but are now serious ill-habits. Repeating the Gayatri Mantra hundred times a day without sincerely listening to each syllable and striving to know its meaning is to me as insincere as religious' middle-class India's terrible habit of burping out the word OM' after every grand meal! But why in the first place would the youth feel this disconnect with religion, with spiritual life? Obviously because they can't see or haven't experienced the spirit. Their common sense tells them to go after what they can see. So they turn to the west where they find colour and life. True spiritual experiences come to the patient and perseverant individuals, and therefore might for a long while not be for the masses like the Harry Potter books which appeal to the vital and the imagination alone.
Unfortunately all *our* leaders care about is keeping Americans entertained and spending money. That's all it's about, our entire economy is based on rampant consumerism... and as soon as people stop buying, the government steps in with incentives by lowering rates, etc... "Come on, little people, you *know* you want to keep spending...". It's a sad joke.
I wish our "leaders" were... you know... leaders. Unfortunately, our political system is some crazy pageant, the candidates smiling with their perfect white teeth on national TV, waving with that bizarre little wave of the hand... and people buy into this like it's real. Like Democrats & Republicans aren't part of the same good cop vs. bad cop sham.
I do wish my fellow Americans would wake up from this media-induced coma.
I DON'T TRUST INDIAN MEDICINE OR DOCTORS. THEY SHOULD HAVE TO PUT MADE IN INDIA LABELS ON PILLS THAT FUND THEIR UNREGULATED PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY.
You probably would not trust them to to build your earth quake proof buildings, but there are lines all day long for their pills.
Joel, I worked for an American pharmaceutical company – let me tell you, Indian doctors, medicine and Hospitals are waay better than crap in the US. Not to mention the staggering cost US charges the patients to buy meds.
India has the potential to surpass China as an intellectual giant, as well as a manufacturing giant, a military giant and any other societal giant you wish to name. The Tata Motor Co. has developed a micro car that sells (in India) for around $2500(US). A useable urban 4-5 passenger auto, it could be enhanced to meet the US vehicle regulations and safety requirements and carry a $5000-$6000 price tag. No US car manufacturer has the ability (or the chutzpa) to match that kind of engineering and manufacturing target.
"Look out world, here we come" says India.
I second that, India.. look out for them.
While Indian science is respectable the Tata is a death trap.
The car is cheap because they pay their workers $5 a week. Think a low paid worker is going to build quality? I dont think so. Course we could compete if we allowed people to live in huts and bath in rivers...and throw daughters away like trash. Go India!
Steve why are you so upset with Indians, Did you lose your job or wife to an Indian??????
Laughable. That Tata Nano has been a failure of a program. Significantly fewer sales than expected and engine fires.
the structure sits on cart like leaf springs...with a motorbike like engine...you want it,,,its has been proven to be an inferno death trap!
The USA is way too trusting of India. They are every bit as dangerous as China, and we think of them as angelic miracle workers.
The USA is vulnerable to these huge economies, and we should restrict trade in very real way.
India is my least favorite country, mainly because of some brilliant PR and propaganda resulting from their colonial rule woes. India's economy is a giant button of political ease.
If you like Independence you probably should take a look at the result of our soft heart toward this part time devil.
What a bunch of morons are respomding to this. Have any of you ever been to India?? Probably not. Indian workers make less than US workers because the cost of living is so low. You can live like a king there on the average Social Security check received in the US. In addition to that they are over achievers who instill the values of hard work and education in their children. That is why I choose Indian doctors here in the US. All our kids want to do is play video games which is why we don't excell in math and the sciences. In my experince they are some of the nicest people on the planet.
Good Answer Katie!!! I never had any bad experience with any indian people ...they r really generous and warm hearted people.
You think India is dangerous!? You people live in a bubble. You should travel to India before you make any assumptions about them.
Joel, with all due respect there is not a single line where u provide any sort of reasoning behind your comments. unless u do so, i dont think anyone would take you seriously.
not a fan of the unregulated pharmaceuticals coming out of that country, and the FDA getting paid under the table by their huge pile of cash.
Oprah and Dr. Phil are Indians, and Indians doctors have too much say over the medications going to US kids.
It is a problem.
Oprah...Phil Indians....you taking some Indian pills my friend 🙂
with the range of the Agni V, India could strike most, if not every, major city in Russia.
...its Russian technology!
Yeah.. Russians gave this secret information directly to you.. lol!!
india is crazy. they think in sanskrit, and speak in english.
Ha Ha Ha. Funny comment. India is definitely a land of contradictions.
It proves that any country can innovate in-spite of all short comings as long as you are willing to.
This is all hype , we have had enogh hype created earlier to support the H1B visas showing that Indians are innovative, name one invention that came out of India in the last ( I will give ) 100 years, none , Nada, Zilch.Developing a missile based on existing technology with the support from US and Russia does not make India a invention powerhouse, India is a land where "superior" cast Hindus are given the most opportunities to milk the Indian exchequer at the expense of "inferior" caste Hindus and religious minorities like Muslims Christians and Sikhs in India.
Don't be absurd, India was until very recently until colonial rule. European powers (British) bled the country dry and restriction development in every sphere. Now that we've shaken off the imperialist yoke, give us a few hundred years and we'll give you inventions...
You sound like one of those Pakistanis that show up in all India related threads. Wouldn't it be more productive for you to be throwing acid or terrorizing India/the West than posting on cnn threads ?
LOL I was expecting this kind of an absurd totally unrelated response from you guys, again name a few inventions please and dont stake your claim on things that other did as your inventions or discoveries , Indian is great at taking credit for the achievement of others , where is the BRICS now ? how much poverty do you have in India , your standard of defining poverty line is 50cents per day? what happened to your so called Nano car? what happened to your 10$ computer (assembled in India but made in China) ? LOL the list is too long for me to continue...
Indian psyche is so recognition hungry that few articles like these and a few general run of the mill statements from world leaders like " India is a economic powerhouse " or "India is a invention powerhouse " will make your day for years to come , LOL I pity your hallucinations.
Zero was introduced by Aryabhatta (Indian). Even before invention of telescope, Vedas gave the calculations for planetary positions, leave alone identifying planets. First web based email was first developed by Indian, Sabeer Bhatia. Foundation of early science was laid in India.. Thereafter, the British oppressed Indian people and looted their wealth hindering development...Get your facts straight first...
LOL as I said taking claim for others efforts zero was invented by Arabs , email was being used way before hotmail came about when internet was being used by DARPA , its like saying Apple invented smart phone or mobile phone , it just made it popular.Anyway be in you illusions.
Tom: Arabs brought the knowledge of 'zero' to the world through their trade with ancient India. They did not create it. This is a common mistake made by many. There were other mathematical concepts too that found their way from India to the world via the Arabs.
Tom – you are one of the dumb white people. Specially dumb Americans! American education is pitiful a the least and you are a prime example. Do some real research and not just what some stupid journalist posted about the concept of Zero
At this time India is more of an innovator than an inventor. I like how they handled the patent restrictions of American pharmaceuticals and found ways to make very low cost generics of expensive drugs such as for AIDS, etc. This type of innovation has saved lives all over the world as exorbitantly priced live-saving drugs become affordable. So far, I like what I see and expect the future to be much brighter.
Tom,
Take some time to educate your mind. Most of our inventions arose out of technology that was developed earlier in India and other parts of the East. We did not develop these technologies in a vacuum. Nor did we come up with algebra on our own. We did that with the help of Arab cultures. It amazes me that my fellow Americans can be so arrogant that we think we did it all. Got news for you: we didn't. In fact, we could have come up with rockets with help from the Indians. Why don't you look that one up before you make such a pathetically ignorant statement.
The statement, "In fact, we could have come up with rockets with help from the Indians" should be "In fact, we couldn't have come up with rockets without help from the Indians."
Agree the inventor of rockets was Tipu Sultan a Muslim ruler in India ,but by the current Indian Hindutva standards he is not even considered an Indian because their clandestine definition of an Indian is a Hindu , so you cannot apply Tipu Sultans achievements to Indians who come to the US shores after milking the Indian resources for being "Superior Caste" Hindus ... go figure.
@ Tom
Regardless of your intellectual reasoning, your comments don't change anything for India. I pity the frustration voiced as you painfully reply to every comment on here. India is headed ahead and it appears that you sulk in the past.
I dont think that answering your questions will change facts and I'd rather that you stay ignorant with your limited facts and continue to read your holy book. By the way, be proud of your name. you don't sound like Tom!!!!
@Abhishek,
LOL , I am painfully replying , looki how many your brethren including you have painfully replied to my messages with absurdities like staking claim to Zero, email whats next Internet ?
and btw Tom, which country are you from ? and how many generations of your family can u trace back to that country?.. Christopher Columbus discovered America in his quest to find the route to India and that is the reason why the original people of the land are called Red Indians..Significance of India goes a long way back in history..
Rockets...Indian...if there was a rocket, that was chinese invention...US and Russia got all rocket technology from captured German Dr. Wernher von Braun... in apollo 1
Don't worry Guys...dont claim Americans ,,TOM must be a pakistani reading Quran Somewhere in Mosque of Karachi in Pak...he can't do anything else other than blaming America or India..some1's ass is getting burnt over there. lol
We Americans have short memory and big arrogance. Do you know how many Indian Scientist that live and work in US? A substantial part of our innovative ground-breaking research will collapse if Indian scientists in US will quit today. Let us give India credit for its achievements. Once I saw "H1B visa" in your write up, I know that you are anti-immigrant ignoramus and racist, and you have special bias against foreign scientists in the US. The last time I check, America is made great through its diverse immigrant innovators.
the co- inventor of the USB port on your computer is ajay bhatt, who is of indian origin, as is the founding father of google adsense – which is google's biggest cash cow.
India's economy is growing day by day and as a result living standards are getting better, give them a couple decades and they will be a nation that will make you and other ignorant individuals like yourself sit up and take notice.
you have stated that ' India is a land where "superior" cast Hindus are given the most opportunities to milk the Indian exchequer at the expense of "inferior" caste Hindus and religious minorities like Muslims Christians and Sikhs in India.' This statement shows exactly what you want to propagate about India. I am a christian and I am from India. What you have stated here is news to me , not sure from where you get all this information.. First you give us an example of what you have stated .. In case if you dont know India is a country where religious minorities and lower castes are given protection as well as priority/quota in various sectors.... Then we dont need any one to do us any favor, the history of human civilization goes back thousands of years.. We are an ancient civilization and has a very long history which only few other can match up to.. European rule in the last we decade has brought us down but we will pick up for sure..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_inventions_and_discoveries
Fact: India's current prime minster is a Sikh, a minority in India... The previous president was a Muslim...a minority in India...the current president is a woman... A foreigner (italian woman) could have become a prime minister had it not been her own denial to become one...I could go on and on with these facts...
@tom...go get your facts first before posting
Radio was invented by Jagadish Chandra Bose. Marcony stole it from him and published it.
Every American citizen under the age of 55 years of average means is about to get screwed by the military-industrial-political complex, which is directly responsible for our impending demise. We are about to become a second rate country. I hope the rich are happy with what they have done. Beware the upcoming youth revolt, the soon to be announced protein wars, and the wars over access to fresh water. I hope the Indian scientists can help solve our myriad problems. Good luck.
More reason for us to:
A. END the H1-B visa scam that takes jobs away from American engineers and scientists and waters down engineering pay lowering our best and brightest from wanting to go into the profession. The argument of lazy Americans is BS. It's because science has been unfortunately made subordinate to overpaid business and finance professions.
B. REDUCE the number of foreign students who are allowed to study here; then take our technological edge along with them back to China and India.
If you end H1-B program the jobs will leave the shore. It's economics. If the jobs are here atleast people pay taxes and spend here. Each new job created is available for an American to grab. Any American working a low end job can learn the skills required and do the job, no one is stopping. If Americans learn the skills the H1-B program stops itself.
twotwotango: you need to understand the laws of your own country. As per the law, a Job cannot be given to a foreign national if a qualified American can be found. For companies to sponsor a foreign national, they need to retain immigration lawyers, who in turn give jobs to other businesses. You should go read an interview from Bill Gates where he said not enough americans graduate with degrees in fields that need the work force. Do you really expect to graduate with BA in English literature and get a job in IT industry?
Labor Certification that US law requires for all foreign nationals in H1B is needed to show that the compensation received and work conditions provided are same as those that will be provided to an American worker. Why on earth will a money minded corporation hire a foreigner which costs more than hiring a qualified American.
India's space program is one of success story. No doubt . Other things mentioned are not worthy. Reactor based on Thorium is ongoing project for many decades with no results. Nuclear power generation in west is based on Uranium , So India has to Invent new technologies to use Thorium. That's where India lacks. Innovation won't happen in India. Graduates from Top Engineering Sciences / Medical schools leave India in a big numbers to West mainly to USA. Then who will Invent :). There are many such projects which are going for decades with no results at all . One of them Kaveri engine for fighter jets. After 3 decades Gas Turbine Research Establishment could not produce test worthy Jet Engine and HAL has decided to use GE Engines in Tejas fighter jets. List goes on. I see complaints about H1-Bs . Whats wrong in giving H1-B visas . Indians come to this country legally. Indians compete for jobs and get recruited , earn money, pay taxes , live peacefully . Just because Indian having H1-b ...does not qualify to get job in Microsoft or Google. They go through same technical interviews as any american candidate . In fact If an Indian H-1B Visa Holder aim for 6 figure salary, the scrutiny for Indian Candidate is more than of US Citizen.
This statement is completely false.
“I couldn’t help but feel that India tolerates and has such a broad acceptance of everything. That is what allows not only nuttiness to exist, but also allows that genius to thrive at the other end,” she said.
A strong India is a good thing since they are constantly being victimized by muslims.
And all the while, half a billion people in their country are starving to death.
most of the black community and low income white community rely on food stamps here. but we still build billion dollar super computer or nuke program 🙂
..and trillion dollars wars to help rid other nations of autocrats and dictators.
,,,make it like 750 million
yeah right, everybody is dying on the street in India while everybody in the US is rich and basking in economic glory. Wake up and stop stereotyping whatever good things are happening in India is better for the country and the world. I live in the US and I know how many people beg on the street and how many of them forgo one meal so that they can make ends meet. Realty hurts but live with it.
Why we should care? Because once our greedy politicians are done flushing this country down the drain, the next empire will be either India or China. And if you think democracy ain't a bad ideeyer, you want to see Indian drones up above, not Chinese drones. (and not only because those would fall on our houses)
We american don't care. we are so self obsessed that we are feeding ourselves GM Corp, rbST fed Cattle and all types of slow poison. We still think, we are the world's most advanced society even though only 400 years old !!
Actually the US is only 236 years old, but good point.