India is considered as one of the scientific powerhouses in the world, since the ancient period. India has been scientifically advanced for several centuries now and the Indian scientists have pioneered many important scientific discoveries so far. The Indian scientists have excelled in various fields of science like mathematics, astronomy, warfare, geometry, medicine, botany, space science, physics, chemistry, etc. The extraordinary inventions of the Indian scientists have played an all important role in the overall development of India. They have also made India proud with their scientific achievements and many Indian scientists have received international awards as well. Their discoveries have also been appreciated all over the world.
The ancient Indian people possessed great scientific knowledge which they applied for the benefit of community. The Vedic sciences are considered the richest and most comprehensive science of ancient India. The Vedic sciences include several branches like astronomy, medicine, space science, mathematics and there were numerous Indian scientists who studied and enhanced Vedic sciences. Aryabhatta, Charaka, Sushruta, Panini, etc. were some of the eminent scientists in the ancient era. While Aryabhatta defined the shape of Earth to be round in 499 A.D., Charaka and Sushruta largely contributed in the development of Ayurveda. On the other hand, Panini discovered the systematic linguistic analysis during the fourth-century B.C. These ancient Indian scientists have also given many mathematical and scientific explanations that can be proved using the current methods.
The ancient Indian scientists and scholars developed the geometric theorems many years before Pythagoras did in the sixth century B.C. They also used advanced methods for determining the number of mathematical combinations by the second century B.C. The Indian scientists started to use ten numerals by the fifth century A.D. and by the seventh century; they started treating zero as a number. The other mathematical inventions like the conceptualisation of squares, rectangles, circles, triangles, fractions; the ability to express the number ten to the twelfth power, algebraic formulas and astronomy had also been described in Vedic sciences. The concepts of astronomy, metaphysics and perennial movement were described in the Rig Veda. There are also several other technological discoveries made by the ancient Indian scientists. The discoveries were made relating to physical science, pharmacology, medicine, artificial colours and glazes, metallurgy, recrystallisation, chemistry, the decimal system, geometry, astronomy and language and linguistics, etc.
The Indian scientists continued discovering newer scientific and mathematical concepts in the Harappan and medieval period as well. The discoveries of the Indian scientists were practically applied for brick and pottery making, metal casting, distillation, surveying, town planning, hydraulics, the development of a lunar calendar, etc. during the Harappan period. In the medieval period, the Muslim rulers of India including the Mughals also patronised the Indian scientists to make new discoveries. The Mughals also spread their inventions all over the world.
The scope of scientific research increased with the arrival of British in India. The Indian scientists contributed to several new scientific developments during the British period and the developments added to the indigenous achievements of the previous millennia. During the British rule, the Indian scientists took up a new role of assisting the Europeans in their scientific explorations and research. However, there were many Indian scientists who worked independently and made important scientific discoveries. The Indian scientists made many pioneering discoveries during the first half of twentieth century that include the discovery of life in plants, Raman Effect, the Raman-Nath Theory, the application of electromagnetic waves to wireless telegraphy, the ionisation theory, the Bose-Einstein Statistics, the Boson particles, etc. Chandrasekhara Venkata (C.V.) Raman, Sir Jagadish Chandra (J.C.) Bose, Meghnad Saha, Satyendranath (S.N.) Bose, Prafulla Chandra Ray, S. Ramanujan, M. Visvesvaraya, Dr. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, etc. were some of the most notable Indian scientists during that period.
After independence, the Indian scientists gained patronage from the Indian government. The Indian scientists also started to explore newer fields of science like positron theory, cosmic rays, muon physics, nuclear science, biotechnology, environment, mining, astrophysics, liquid crystals, condensed matter physics, molecular biology, virology, crystallography, etc. The Indian Government has also provided necessary financial support to the Indian scientists to continue their research works. Some of the prominent Indian scientists in the contemporary period include the Father of Indian Space Programme, Vikram Sarabhai; the joint founder of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay, Homi Jehangir Bhaba; the Nobel laureate, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Dr. H. Khorana, APJ Abdul Kalam, etc.
Science and technology initiatives have always been encouraged in India. The Indian scientists have so far introduced numerous unique ideas in the field of science since the ancient period. They have studied many inventions and discoveries that are believed to be originated in the Western world were studied in India, several centuries earlier. The Indian scientists have been honoured and praised in the international arena in many occasions and they are also being honoured at present. The Indian scientists can easily be called as some of the brightest talents India has ever produced.
