Thank the British!

Oh our leaders are always so eager to wipe away all the names which the British have left behind but sadly, it is the British who are today showcasing the scientific achievements which India has made!

The Science Museum in London is running an exhibition on India’s scientific discoveries – Illuminating India. It goes way back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, marking India’s 70th year since Independence. It is highlighting Indian innovation with a collection of key objects from the past, including the Bakhshali manuscript, which was recently found to be the oldest record of the zero symbol, and Jagadish Chandra Bose’s oscillating plate phytograph, which was used for the scientist’s revolutionary research on the movement of plants. It also depicts stories about our scientists and shows work of ISRO.

It also showcases Jaipur foot prosthesis, which is a prosthetic limb developed in 1968 by the craftsman Ram Chander Sharma and orthopaedic surgeon Dr PK Sethi. There is also the very affordable Indian made Micromax smartphone, the the Mars Colour Camera used in Mangalayan.

It’s great that such discoveries are highlighted, finally. But it is sad because we in India do not bother to celebrate our innovations. And that is probably the reason why no one today wants to become a scientist in India and which is why we have so little innovation.