Happy Republic Day! 26 Jan 2012

Post date: 27-Jan-2012 11:04:56

Republic Day of India commemorates the date on which the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly sovereign state.

To mark the importance of this occasion let’s contemplate some of the remarkable facts about India which make us proud to be Indians:

• India invented the Number System. The number Zero was invented by an Indian Aryabhatta. Moreover, the most important studies of Mathematics like calculus, trigonometry and algebra were originated in India.

• The World's first university was established in India (Taxila) in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects.

• Ayurveda, the Indian traditional medicine system is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.

• According to the Gemological Institute of America, up until 1896 India was the only place in the world where Diamonds could be found

• The famous board game chess was invented in India.

• The second largest employer in the world is Indian Railways which employs over a million people. Indian Railways is the largest railway network in the world under single management

• India has the third-largest army in the world, nearly 1.5 million strong.

• India is the largest democracy in the world, with nearly 400m voting in the last national elections

• India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World. 38% of US doctors and 36% of NASA scientists are Indians

• 40% Silicon Valley start ups are run by Indians

• Of the Fortune 500 companies, 220 outsource their software-related work to India.

• With over 20 million shareholders India has the third-largest investor base in the world.

• There are 3.22 million Indians in the US. Indians are the richest immigrant class in the US, with nearly 200,000 millionaires.

We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made - Albert Einstein.

India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition - Mark Twain.