Some 1000 years back, when Europe was in the dark ages and America did not exist, India and China ("the Orient") were the global centers of knowledge, prosperity, and wealth. In fact, India was the richest country on earth until the early 17th Century. This wealth lured foreign invadors and sailors from Alexander the Great to Genghis Khan to Christopher Columbus (who set sail across the oceans searching for India and came to America). Here are some historical tidbits on India:
* The world's first university, Nalanda University, was located in Takshila, India in 700 BC. Over 10,000 students from all over the world studied here in more than 60 disciplines (ironic, huh!). * The Arabic number system was originally invented in India, and then translated by the Arabs for use by other civilizations (hence called "Arabic"). Much of algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and statistics originated in India. The value of pi was first calculated by Indian mathematician Budhayana in the 6th century. Quadratic equations were propounded by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. * The first school of medicine known to man, Ayurveda, was established in India some 1300 years ago. Ayurveda is the basis for many of today's modern medicines, including anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunology, and is still practiced worldwide as "alternative medicine." * Sushruta, an Indian health scientist, is the father of modern surgery. He demonstrated 2600 years ago how to perform complex surgerical procedures such as cesareans, artificial legs, fractures, urinary stones, and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Over 125 surgical equipments and anasthesia were used by Indian surgeons at that time. * In the 5th century, Indian astronomer Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit round the sun (365.258756484 days), which is the starting point of much of today's astronomy. * Today, more than 7,000 companies in the USA are run (as CEOs, Chairmen, etc.) by Indians, generating an estimated $60 billion in annual sales. These firms include McKinsey & Co., Citigroup, Merrill-Lynch, United Airlines, US Airways, Sun Microsystems, Alcatel, and Vodafone. Indians also have the highest per-capita income of any ethnic group in the U.S.
