Scientists From India

"In sharp contrast, all Indian systems of philosophy, without any exception, accept the empirical (pratyaksa) as the first means of proof (pramana) while the Lokayata reject inference/deduction as unreliable. So, Indian philosophy considered empirical proof as more reliable than logical inference.Thus, the contrary idea of metaphysical proof as “stronger” than empirical proof would lead at one stroke to the rejection of all Indian systems of philosophy. This illustrates how the metaphysics of formal math is not universal but is biased against other systems of philosophy."

"People have been indoctrinated to believe that any attempt to correct Western history is necessarily chauvinistic. This latter belief has been greatly helped along by the more extreme elements in the non-West who have often made wild claims."

"Students need to be taught that belief in Einstein or Stephen Hawking is not less superstitious than the belief in Sai Baba, just because those figures are endowed with high scientific authority in the West. They should be taught to use right means of validating knowledge, without relying on authority. (This applies also to decision makers who should not rely on the privately expressed opinions of “experts”, since this may involve a conflict of interests, but should use public discussions.)"

"We have no truthful account of what happened next, for the written accounts that have come down to us are all from the viewpoint of the Christian priests. This is rather like describing a rape and murder from the viewpoint of the rapist and the murderer on the grounds that there is no other reliable source of evidence."

"Witzel’s way of arguing, by concocting a false position for the opponent and attacking it, is unethical, whether it was done deliberately or because of lack of understanding."

"Unfortunately, there are double standards in the matter: one standard for Greek history, another for Indian."

"The linkage of time perceptions to ethics applies also to Buddhism. The relevant notion of time here is the notion of paticca samuppada , an understanding of which was equated by the Buddha with an understanding of the dhamma. This is a deep and tricky point about Buddhist ethics"

"... formal mathematics is no more than a culturally-dependent system of aesthetics, ... it may continue to be taught like Western music..."

"Briefly, Europe inherited not one but two mathematical traditions: (i) from Greece and Egypt a mathematics that was spiritual, anti-empirical, proof-oriented, and explicitly religious, and (ii) from India via Arabs a mathematics that was pro-empirical, and calculation-oriented, with practical objectives.' Much mathematics taught at the K-12 level is of Indo-Arabic origin: (1) arithmetic, (2) algebra, (3) trigonometry, and (4) calculus. Despite the obviously different philosophical orientations of these two streams of mathematics Europe recognized only a single possible philosophy of a "universal" European mathematics, into which it forcibly sought to fit both mathematical streams."

"The issue of transmission does not end with the receipt of the calculus in Europe. Because of the epistemological differences between Indian and European mathematics, actual assimilation of the calculus took a long time. It is worthwhile trying to understand this assimilation process, since this sheds light on the historical as well as the contemporary mathematical situation, and since such a task seems never before to have been attempted by historians of mathematics, who have not acknowledged or understood the historical existence of epistemological differences within mathematics."

"It seems part of human nature that if one desires something strongly one pretends that it is true. If the pretence is carried out long enough, it becomes difficult to distinguish between pretence and reality."

"In writing about physics, as distinct from mathematics or astronomy, in early Indian traditions, one is immediately struck by the apparent paucity of material—the available commentaries in English suggest that there is little beyond the Purusa Sukta, the pancabhutis and atomism."

"Moving to pragmatic and people-oriented standards rather than the Westerm-oriented standards of the elite will hopefully also restore the idea of science as relating to our immediate surroundings, both social and natural."

"It is a common error to confound quasi-cyclic time with eternal recurrence. It was not generally believed that these cosmic cycles were exact or eternal. The whole possibility of deliverance – moksa, nirvāna – was premised on the idea that these cycles were neither exact nor eternal. (However, the category of cyclic time encourages such an error by suggesting that various types of cyclic time are the same.) In India, this was the traditional view of time and life after death held from before the time of the Buddha. The Lokāyata denied the belief in life after death as a fraud. An interesting feature of this denial is how Pāyāsi sought to establish the non-existence of the soul by performing some 37 experiments with dying men, and condemned felons. It is unlikely that such experiments were ever performed anywhere else."

"Of course, it is well known from the philosophy of science that any evidence whatsoever can be made consistent with any theory whatsoever by introducing enough auxiliary hypotheses."

"From the historiographic angle, the confounding of Euclid of Megara with Euclid the supposed author of the Elements is interesting. While the occurrence of such a mistake is understandable, its persistence for five centuries is not. The persistence of this error for centuries shows that that stories about "Euclid" were propagated, by historians in Europe, exactly in the uncritical manner of myth."

"Only when it started emerging from the Dark Age did Europe first come to know of the Elements—through 12th c. translations from Arabic into Latin by Adelard of Bath and Gerard of Cremona—after the capture of the Toledo library, and the setting up there of a translation factory. However, at this time of the Crusades, there was a strong sense of shame in learning from the Islamic enemy. Also at the time of the Inquisition, the fears that Toledo was a Trojan horse that would spread heresy could not be lightly discounted. The shame was contained by the strategy of "Hellenization"—all the world knowledge, up to the 11th c. CE found in the Arabic books (including, for example, Indian knowledge) was indiscriminately assigned an early Greek origin, with the Arabs assigned the role of mere transmitters (and the Indians nowhere in the picture). The fear of heresy was contained by the strategy of Christianization of this incoming knowledge, by reinterpreting it to bring it in line with the requirements of Christian theology."

"This book, since it presents a new account of Indian history, inevitably involves a critique of Western history. However, some Western scholars, recognizing the intrinsic weakness of that history, tend to respond to any critique of Western history not by examining the evidence (which would expose it) but by launching personal attacks on the critic with labels—in this case, the label "Hindu nationalist" seems to commonly arise to the tongues of shallow scholars. Now I completely fail to see why the only choice one has is between different kinds of hate politics— why the rejection of Western racist history necessarily implies the acceptance of some other kind of hate politics. ... It is easy to find many people who oppose one kind of hate politics while being "soft" on another set: however, as stated above, I fail to see why one's choice should be restricted to different brands of hate politics. I am not in any such camp, my stated system of ethics does not admit hate politics of any kind, and I oppose all attempts to mix religion with politics... Suppose “Hindu nationalists” were to seize power, strangle dissent by passing laws to kill dissenters, in painful ways, and then continuously expand their power through multiple genocide for the next 1700 years. What sort of history would emerge? We do not need to imagine very hard, for we have a concrete model before us, in the sort of Western history that has been written since Eusebius! Because of the long history of brutal suppression of dissent in the West, various fantasies, contrary to the barest common sense, have been allowed to pile up, and these continue today to masquerade as the scholarly truth."

"The second consequence follows from the first: for if the Indian infinite series were established using a method of calculation and demonstration that does not constitute a formal mathematical proof, valid according to the present-day belief in the potency of formalism, then the Indian infinite series may forever have to be consigned to the status of "proto- calculus", or at best "pre-calculus", for that is how Western historians of science would surely like to classify them, if at all they are compelled to link these Indian infinite series to the infinitesimal calculus in Europe. After all, Indian infinite series were very similar to, if not identical with, the series used by Cavalieri, Fermat, Pascal, Barrow, Gregory, and Wallis, and these efforts are already classified as “pre-calculus” by Western historians of science. While such a strategy of classification and labelling may suit the political interests and the morbid narcissism of the West, it works against the grain of history regarded as an attempt to reconstruct the past."

"If one excludes the philosophy of science from the ambit of a study of its history, then one is obliged to do history with the default philosophy of science. In our case this means that one must then accept the present-day Western philosophy of mathematics, not only as a privileged philosophy, but as the only possible philosophy of mathematics."

"To recapitulate, in mathematics, the East-West civilizational clash may be represented by the question of pramâna vs proof: is pramâna (validation), which involves pratyaksa (the empirically manifest), not valid proof? The pratyaksa or the empirically manifest is the one pramâna that is accepted by all major Indian schools of thought, and this is incorporated into the Indian way of doing mathematics, while the same pratyaksa, since it concerns the empirical, is regarded as contingent, and is entirely rejected in Western mathematics. Does mathematics relate to calculation, or is it primarily concerned with proving theorems? Does the Western idea of mathematical proof capture the notions of ‘certainty’ or ‘necessity’ in some sense? Should mathematics-as-calculation be taught primarily for its practical value, or should mathematics-as-proof be taught as a spiritual exercise?"

"The history of astronomy and physics in texts should be fundamentally revised. It should be pointed out, for example, that a scientific evaluation of the evidence indicates that Claudius Ptolemy did not exist (this would also teach students a lesson on how and why to do physics practicals in a more genuine way). It should also point out that Copernicus was no revolutionary, that Newton was a deeply religious person, and that Einstein might have played legalistic tricks which a patent clerk is expected to know. There are many other aspects of history and physics nomenclature which need to be revised (in texts)."

"No Western historian, to my knowledge, has commented on the curious fact that the theory of planetary motion in the West developed without the availability of appropriate planetary data. To begin with, every purported observation in “Ptolemy’s” Almagest is fabricated, and obtained by back-calculation. There is not a single known exception to this."

"We have seen a number of difficulties raised by sceptics about the belief in life after death; these difficulties evaporate in the context of cosmic recurrence."

"The Elements not only acquired a theologically-correct origin, it also acquired a theologically-correct interpretation. Plato and Neoplatonists had linked geometry and mathematics to the soul. The revised interpretation rejected this linkage as heretical. Mathematics was reinterpreted as “a universal means of compelling argument”."

"The rope (or string) is flexible in more ways than one and can be used to do everything that can be done with a compass-box. It can further be used to measure the length of a curved line, impossible with the instruments in a compass- box. This is helpful for the measurement of angles, and the subsequent transition to trigonometry and calculus."

"the term “sine” derives from sinus meaning fold, from the Arabic jaib, meaning fold for a pocket. This was written as “jb” omitting the vowels, but was intended to be read as jı̄bā, from the Indian term jı̄vā corresponding to the earlier Sanskrit jyā used for the chord. Possibly, the name “Euclid” was inspired by a similar translation error made at Toledo regarding the term uclides which has been rendered by some Arabic authors as ucli (key) + des (direction, space). So, uclides, meaning “the key to geometry”, was possibly misinterpreted as a Greek name Euclides."

"The trigonometric values published by Clavius ... provide further circumstantial evidence that the Jesuits had obtained the latest Indian texts on mathematics and astronomy.’"

"A part of a circle is of the form of a bow, so it is called the ‘bow’ (dhanu). The straight line joining its two extremities is the ‘bow-string’ (jiva). It is really the ‘full-chord’ (samasta-jya). Half of it is here (called) the ‘half-chord’ (ardha-jya), and half that arc is called the ‘bow’ of that half-chord. In fact the Rsine (jya) and Rcosine (kotijya) of that bow are always half chords. [24]"

"The ancient bed of the Ghaggar has a constant width of about 6 to 8 km from Shatrana in Punjab to Marot in Pakistan. The bed stands out very clearly having a dark tone in the black-and-white imagery and reddish one in false colour composites. There is a clear palaeo-channel south-east of the river Markanda which joins the bed of the Ghaggar near Shatrana. The present Sarasvati mostly flows through this channel. (1984: 495) Our studies show that the Satluj was the main tributary of the Ghaggar and that subsequently the tectonic movements may have forced the Satluj westward and the Ghaggar dried. (Ibid.: 494) As discussed above, during the period 4–5 millennia BP northwestern Rajasthan was a much greener place with the Sarasvati flowing through it. Some of the present rivers joined to make the Sarasvati a mighty river which probably discharged into the sea (Rann of Kutch) through the Nara, without joining the Indus."

"The Hindu intellect has thus, independently appreciated the dignity of objective facts, devised the methods of observation and experiment, elaborated the machinery of logical analysis and true investigation, attacked the external universe as a system of secrets to be unraveled, and has wrung out of nature the knowledge which constitutes the foundations of Science."

"Some of their (Hindu) investigations were solid achievements in positive knowledge as in Material Medica, Therapeutics, Anatomy, Embroyology, Metallurgy, Chemistry, Physics and descriptive Zoology. And in these also, generally speaking, Hindu enquiries were not less, if not more, definite, exact and fruitful than the Greeks and Medieval Europeans."

"The Western nations have four arms-defensive and offensive-the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Church."

"The vast majority of India’s poor rely on daily for sustenance. With the current lockdown and its likely extension, millions of daily labourers and their families can no longer earn the money they need to survive. In this unprecedented situation, the Indian state must respond swiftly to prevent widespread acute hunger. [...] The health and economic threats posed by the pandemic are unprecedented: India must capitalise upon its preparedness to address food insecurity and prioritise food distribution to protect the health and welfare of its most vulnerable citizens."

"I was not an admirer of Modi. But after meeting him, I have developed an admiration for him because I felt, 'Here's a person who is concerned about a matter of national importance.'"

"I came out of the room full of admiration for Modi. Somebody from the media asked me later, 'Why did you meet a chief minister from Gujarat?' I asked him, 'Why not? Kerala has had five chief ministers—K. Karunakaran, A. K. Antony, E. K. Nayanar, V. Achuthanadan[,] and Oommen Chandy—since the case broke out, but not even one chief minister had the courtesy to talk to me.' But somebody from Gujarat showed an interest in meeting me and hearing my story. I felt great about it. If he had any political motive in meeting me, he would have done so in the public glare. But instead, he met me quietly at 9:30 pm, and he issued no press statement about the meeting."

"I was not able to fight my way through, as they were both involved in it. I told Modi what the CBI had found [that the charges were false], and what the Supreme Court's ruling was [not guilty on all counts]. The CBI had asked the state government to take action against the police officers [responsible for malicious allegations], but they sat on it without divulging what they were doing about it. When the Kerala government wanted to go ahead with the case even after that, the court quashed it with heavy strictures. I also told him about the compensation that I have demanded from the state and Union governments."

"Surprisingly, when I met Modi, he did not utter a single word about [R. B.] Sreekumar. He asked me why my case is getting prolonged for so long. He said, "I understand that it has been more than 19 years." I told him that it was because of the games played by various political parties that it was still going on. I told him that it was a false case foisted by both the coalition fronts (the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front) in Kerala, as was established by the CBI. Neither coalition wanted to admit the error in their judgment, as it was a matter of prestige for both."

"I am also working on materials never worked on in the world, completely new type of materials on the planet. I am worried not so much for myself, I will go on working. But I am worried for others."

"Those days, poor teachers and poor policemen alone would have maximum children. But my father believed in a sort of family planning. He was known as family planning teacher then."

"We couldn’t afford many things, but we had education. My father was a headmaster and later became an education officer. My mother was fantastic: she always told me, ‘Do what you want.’ She gave me total freedom, in fact both my parents did. But I really owe it to my mother. When I said I will go to Banaras (Varanasi) to study, she said, ‘You want to go to Banaras? Ok, go.’ She would say, ‘Don’t worry about money, reading is most important, read and then everything will come.’ My family was very open. Thanks to them I’m what I am today. I am the only child of my parents, so is my wife."

"Keep a balance between professional and personal life. Find time for your family and the things which interest you."

"Build a strong base. The journey to peaks of excellence requires a strong base camp."

"Observe leaders closely, learn as much as you can from their leadership styles."

"Always gain fresh insights, don't hesitate to ask the right questions."

"Never stop learning. The thirst to gain more knowledge should never come to an end."

"Pursue your dreams with passion, hard work and dedication."

"Dr Rao's work is not only limited to the field of material science and nanotechnology, but he has contributed towards the growth of overall science in this country."

"He is one of the best scientists the country has produced in independent India, and he richly deserves it."

"You give attention to army, police and things like that. Who pays attention to science? When I got the Dan David prize, which is similar to Nobel and given once in a few years by Israel, nobody talked about it. Nobody asked me anything about it. Nobody even knows and nobody understands it. It is so prestigious in the world of science but why didn’t anyone write about it?"