Science and technology in ancient India
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The Hindu-Arabic numeral system.
The Hindu-Arabic numeral system.

The History of Science and Technology in India dates to pre-modern times.[1] Among the basic fields of science pursued in India were Ayurveda, Astronomy and Mathematics.[1] Indian technology begins at Mehrgarh (7000–3300 BCE), where graineries, and mud brick houses were constructed, and farming, metal working, and dentistry was practiced.[2][3] The Indus Valley civilization yields evidence of hydrography, metrology and sewage collection and disposal being practiced by its inhabitants.[4][5][6]

Great attention to mathematics is visible during the Vedic Period (1500 BCE - 400 BCE), which also witnesses the first inquiry being made into the field of linguistics is the 5th century BCE scholar Panini.[7] Construction of Stepwells and stupas, use of diamond as a gemstone, and plastic surgery operations are visible during the later periods.[8][9][10] In the classical period of Indian mathematics (400 CE to 1200 CE), important contributions were made by scholars like Aryabhatta, Brahmagupta, and Bhaskara II.[11] Indian mathematicians made early contributions to the study of the decimal number system,[11] zero,[12] negative numbers,[13] arithmetic, and algebra.[14]

Of note is the advent of Islam, which helped diffuse of Indian and Persian irrigation technologies, leading to advanced irrigation systems aiding the growth of medieval material culture.[15] Weavers from Central Asia are also bought in by the 15th century ruler of Kashmir, Zayn-ul-Abidin.[16] The final historical period of Indian science and technology is during the British Raj, which, facilitated a number of Indian scholars to enter prestigious foreign institutions in its ultimate aim of producing worthy civil and administrative service candidates.[1]

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Mehrgarh and early Indus Valley civilization (7000–3300 BCE)

A modern replica of the Dentistry drills uncovered at Mehrgarh.
A modern replica of the Dentistry drills uncovered at Mehrgarh.

Inhabitants of Mehrgarh (7000–3300 BCE) lived in mud brick houses, stored their grain in granaries, fashioned tools with local copper ore, and lined their large basket containers with bitumen.[2] Cotton was cultivated by the inhabitants of the Indus Valley Civilization by the 5th millennium BCE - 4th millennium BCE.[17] They also cultivated six-row barley, einkorn and emmer wheat, jujubes and dates, and herded sheep, goats and cattle.[2] Residents of the later period (5500 BC to 2600 BC) put much effort into crafts, including flint knapping, tanning, bead production, and metal working.[2] The site was occupied continuously until about 2600 BC.[2]

Mehrgarh has yielded evidence of dentistry being practiced as far back as 7000 BCE.[3] This earliest form of dentistry involved curing tooth related disorders with drills operated, perhaps, by skilled bead craftsmen.[18] The reconstruction of this ancient form of dentistry showed that the methods used were reliable and effective.[19] John F. Robyt (1998) locates the two most probable origins of sugarcane cultivation as the South Pacific or North East India, as early as 10,000 BC and 6,000 BC respectively.[20] Further archaeological evidence associates sugar with the Indus valley.[20] Alcoholic beverages were in use between 3000 BCE - 2000 BCE.[21]

Mature Indus Valley Civilization (3300–1500 BCE)

To the northwest of Lothal lies the Kutch peninsula. Due to the proximity of the Gulf of Khambhat, Lothal's river provided direct access to sea routes. Although now sealed off from the sea, Lothal's topography and geology reflects its maritime past.
To the northwest of Lothal lies the Kutch peninsula. Due to the proximity of the Gulf of Khambhat, Lothal's river provided direct access to sea routes. Although now sealed off from the sea, Lothal's topography and geology reflects its maritime past.

Irrigation was developed in the Indus Valley Civilization by around 4500 BCE.[6] The size and prosperity of the Indus civilization grew as a result of this innovation, which eventually lead to more planned settlements which further made use of drainage and sewers.[6] Sophisticated irrigation and storage systems were developed by the Indus Valley Civilization, including the artificial reservoirs at Girnar in 3000 BCE and an early canal irrigation system from circa 2600 BCE.[22]

By 2800 BCE, private bathrooms, located on the ground floor, were found in nearly all the houses of the Indus Valley Civilization.[23] The pottery pipes in walls allowed drainage of water and there was, in some case, provision of a crib for sitting.[23] "Western-style" toilets were made from bricks using toilet seats made of wood on top.[23] The waste was then transmitted to drainage systems.[23] Large scale sanitary sewer systems were in place by 2700 BCE.[23] The drains were 7-10 feet wide and 2 feet below ground level.[23] The sewage was then led into cesspools, built at the intersection of two drains, which had stairs leading to them for periodic cleaning.[23] Plumbing using earthenware plumbing pipes with broad flanges for easy joining with asphalt to stop leaks was in place by 2700 BCE.[23]

The world's first dock at Lothal (2400 BCE) was located away from the main current to avoid deposition of silt.[4] Modern oceanographers have observed that the Harappans must have possessed knowledge relating to tides in order to build such a dock on the ever-shifting course of the Sabarmati, as well as exemplary hydrography and maritime engineering.[4] This was the earliest known dock found in the world, equipped to berth and service ships.[4]

The inhabitants of the Indus valley developed a sophisticated system of standardization, using weights and measures, evident by the excavations made at the Indus valley sites.[5] This technical standardization enabled gauging devices to be effectively used in angular measurement and measurement for construction.[5] Calibration was also found in measuring devices alongwith multiple subdivisions in case of some devices.[5]

The earliest available swords of copper discovered from the Harappan sites date back to 2300 BCE.[24] Swords have been recovered in archaeological findings throughout the Ganges-Jamuna Doab region of India, consisting of bronze but more commonly copper.[24]

Vedic Period (1500 BCE - 400 BCE)

The design of the domestic fire altar in the Śulba Sūtra.
The design of the domestic fire altar in the Śulba Sūtra.

The religious texts of the Vedic Period provide evidence for the use of large numbers.[25] By the time of the last Veda, the Yajurvedasaṃhitā (1200-900 BCE), numbers as high as 1012 were being included in the texts.[25] For example, the mantra (sacrificial formula) at the end of the annahoma ("food-oblation rite") performed during the aśvamedha ("horse sacrifice"), and uttered just before-, during-, and just after sunrise, invokes powers of ten from a hundred to a trillion.[25] The Satapatha Brahmana (9th century BCE) contains rules for ritual geometric constructions that are similar to the Sulba Sutras.[26]

Baudhayana (c. 8th century BCE) composed the Baudhayana Sulba Sutra, the best-known Sulba Sutra, which contains examples of simple Pythagorean triples, such as: (3,4,5), (5,12,13), (8,15,17), (7,24,25), and (12,35,37)[27] as well as a statement of the Pythagorean theorem for the sides of a square: "The rope which is stretched across the diagonal of a square produces an area double the size of the original square."[27] It also contains the general statement of the Pythagorean theorem (for the sides of a rectangle): "The rope stretched along the length of the diagonal of a rectangle makes an area which the vertical and horizontal sides make together."[27] Baudhayana gives a formula for the square root of two.[28]

Zinc mines of Zawar, near Udaipur, Rajasthan, were active during 1300–1000 BC.[29] Diverse specimens of swords have been discovered in Fatehgarh, where there are several varieties of hilt.[30] These swords have been variously dated to periods between 1700-1400 BCE, but were probably used more extensively during the opening centuries of the 1st millennium BCE.[31] Archaeological sites in India, such as Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila and Lahuradewa in present day Uttar Pradesh show iron implements in the period between 1800 BC - 1200 BC.[32] Early iron objects found in India can be dated to 1400 BC by employing the method of radio carbon dating.[33] Spikes, knives, daggers, arrow-heads, bowls, spoons, saucepans, axes, chisels, tongs, door fittings etc. ranging from 600 BC to 200 BC have been discovered from several archaeological sites of India.[33] Some scholars believe that by the early 13th century BC, iron smelting was practiced on a bigger scale in India, suggesting that the date the technology's inception may be placed earlier.[32] In Southern India (present day Mysore) iron appeared as early as 11th to 12th centuries BC; these developments were too early for any significant close contact with the northwest of the country.[34]

The study of linguistics in India dates back at least two and one-half millennia.[7] During the 5th century BCE, Indian scholar Panini had made several discoveries in the fields of phonetics, phonology, and morphology.[7]

Post Maha Janapadas Period (400 BCE - 200 CE)

Glass replica of the Koh-i-Noor as it appeared in its original form, turned upside down.
Glass replica of the Koh-i-Noor as it appeared in its original form, turned upside down.
Chand Baori, in the village of Abhaneri near Bandikui, Rajasthan.
Chand Baori, in the village of Abhaneri near Bandikui, Rajasthan.

The Arthashastra of Kautilya mentions the construction of dams and bridges.[35] The use of suspension bridges using plaited bamboo and iron chain was visible in India by about the 4th century.[36] The stupa (3rd century BCE), the precursor of the pagoda and torii, is constructed.[9][37] Rock-cut step wells in India date from 200-400 CE.[10] Subsequently, the wells at Dhank (550-625 CE) and construction of stepped ponds at Bhinmal (850-950 CE) takes place.[10]

Indigo is used as a dye in India, which was also the earliest major center for its production and processing.[38] The Indigofera tinctoria variety of Indigo was domesticated in India.[38] Indigo, used as a dye, made its way to the Greeks and the Romans via various trade routes, and was valued as a luxury product.[38] The cashmere wool fiber is also known as pashm or pashmina for its use in the handmade shawls of Kashmir, India.[39] The woolen shawls made from wool in Kashmir region of India find written mention between 3rd century BC and the 11th century CE.[16] Jute is cultivated in India.[40] Crystallized sugar was discovered by the time of the Imperial Guptas[41], and the earliest reference of candied sugar come from India.[42]

By the beginning of the Common Era, glass was being used for ornaments and casing in South Asia.[43] Contact with the Greco-Roman world added newer techniques, and Indians artisans mastered several techniques of glass molding, decorating and coloring by the early centuries of the Common Era.[43] Satavahana period of India further reveals short cylinders of composite glass, including those displaying a lemon yellow matrix covered with green glass.[44] Wootz originated in India before the beginning of the common era.[45] Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe, China, the Arab world, and became particularly famous in the Middle East, where it became known as Damascus steel. Archaeological evidence suggests that this manufacturing process was already in existence in South India even before the Christian era.[46][47]

During the Imperial Guptas, the Indian court physician Sushruta was performs plastic surgery operations.[8] The earliest evidence for using bow-instruments for carding comes from India (2nd century CE).[48] Early diamonds used as gemstones originated in India.[49] Golconda served as an important center for diamonds in central India.[49] Diamonds then were exported to other parts of the world, including Europe.[49] Early references to diamonds in India come from Sanskrit texts.[50] The Arthashastra mentions diamond trade in India.[51]

Among other scholars of this period who contributed to mathematics, the most notable is Pingala (fl. 300-200 BCE), a musical theorist who authored a Sanskrit treatise on prosody. There is evidence that in his work on the enumeration of syllabic combinations, Pingala stumbled upon both the Pascal triangle and Binomial coefficients, although he did not have knowledge of the Binomial theorem itself.[52][53] The first description of binary numbers is also found in the works of Pingala.[54] The use of negative numbers was known in early India, and their role in situations like mathematical problems of debt was understood.[13] Consistent and correct rules for working with these numbers were formulated.[14] The diffusion of this concept led the Arab intermediaries to pass it to Europe.[13]

Early Common Era - Middle Ages (300 CE - 1200 CE)

Brahmagupta's theorem states that AF = FD.
Brahmagupta's theorem states that AF = FD.

The decimal number system originated in India.[11] Other cultures discovered a few features of this number system but the system, in its entirely, was compiled in India, where it attained coherence and completion.[11] By the 9th century CE, this complete number system had existed in India but several of its ideas were transmitted to to China and the Islamic world before that time.[14] The concept of 0 as a number, and not merely a symbol for separation is attributed to India.[12] In India, practical calculations were carried out using zero, which was treated like any other number by the 9th century CE, even in case of division.[12][14] Indian scholar Brahmagupta (598–668) was able to find (integral) solutions of Pell's equation.[55] The earliest conceptual design of a perpetual motion machine dates back to 1150, by an Indian mathematician-astronomer, Bhaskara II. He described a wheel that he claimed would run forever.[56]

The origins of the spinning wheel are unclear but the device was probably invented in India.[57][58] The device certainly reached Europe from India by the 14 century CE, and is still popular today.[59] Ajanta caves of India yield evidence of a single roller cotton gin in use by the 5th century CE.[60] This cotton gin was used in India until innovations were made, in form foot powered gins.[60] The cotton gin was invented in India as a mechanical device known as charkhi, more technically the "wooden-worm-worked roller".[61] This mechanical device was, in some parts of india, driven by water power.[61] Chinese documents confirm at least two missions to India, initiated in 647 CE, for obtaining technology for sugar-refining.[62] Each mission returned with different results on refining sugar.[62]

The 8th century scholar Bhavabhuti conceived paintings which indicated geographical regions.[63] European scholar Francesco I reproduced a number of ancient Indian maps in his magnum opus La Cartografia Antica dell India.[63] Out these maps, two have been reproduced using a manuscript of Lokaprakasa, originally compiled by the polymath Ksemendra (Kashmir, 11th century CE), as a source.[63] The other manuscript, used as a source by Fransesco I, is titled Samgrahani.[63] The early volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica also described cartographic charts made by the Dravidian people of India.[64]

Advent and consolidation of Islamic rule (1200 CE - 1700 CE)

A 17th century forge-welded iron cannon, at Thanjavur's eastern entrance (India).
A 17th century forge-welded iron cannon, at Thanjavur's eastern entrance (India).
The Jaivana cannon, a supergun and the largest cannon contstructed.
The Jaivana cannon, a supergun and the largest cannon contstructed.

One of the main achievements of Indian mathematics was the development of the series expansions for trigonometric functions (sine, cosine, and arc tangent) by mathematicians of the Kerala School in the fifteenth century CE.[65] Their work, completed two centuries before the invention of calculus in Europe, provided what is now considered the first example of a power series (apart from geometric series).[65]

It was written in the Tarikh-i Firishta (1606-1607) that the envoy of the Mongol ruler Hulegu Khan was presented with a dazzling pyrotechnics display upon his arrival in Delhi in 1258 AD.[66] As a part of an embassy to India by Timurid leader Shah Rukh (1405-1447), 'Abd al-Razzaq mentioned naphtha-throwers mounted on elephants and a variety of pyrotechnics put on display.[67] Firearms known as top-o-tufak also existed in the Vijayanagara Empire of India by as early as 1366 AD.[66] From then on the employment of gunpowder warfare in India was prevalent, with events such as the siege of Belgaum in 1473 AD by the Sultan Muhammad Shah Bahmani.[68]

Fathullah Shirazi (c. 1582), a Persian-Indian polymath and mechanical engineer who worked for Akbar the Great in the Mughal Empire, invented the autocannon, the earliest multi-shot gun.[69] In A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, James Riddick Partington describes Indian rockets, mines and other means of gunpowder warfare:[70]

The Indian war rockets were formidable weapons before such rockets were used in Europe. They had bam-boo rods, a rocket-body lashed to the rod, and iron points. They were directed at the target and fired by lighting the fuse, but the trajectory was rather erratic. The use of mines and counter-mines with explosive charges of gunpowder is mentioned for the times of Akbar and Jahāngir.

By the 16th century, Indians were manufacturing a diverse variety of firearms; large guns in particular, became visible in Tanjore, Dacca, Bijapur and Murshidabad.[71] Guns made of bronze were recovered from Calicut (1504) and Diu (1533).[72] Gujarāt supplied Europe saltpeter for use in gunpowder warfare during the 17th century.[73] Bengal and Mālwa participated in saltpeter production.[73] The Dutch, French, Portuguese, and English used Chāpra as a center of saltpeter refining.[74]

Ships of the world in 1460 (Fra Mauro map).
Ships of the world in 1460 (Fra Mauro map).

In Encyclopedia Britannica (2008), Stephen Oliver Fought & John F. Guilmartin, Jr. describe the gunpowder technology in 18th century India:[75]

Hyder Ali, prince of Mysore, developed war rockets with an important change: the use of metal cylinders to contain the combustion powder. Although the hammered soft iron he used was crude, the bursting strength of the container of black powder was much higher than the earlier paper construction. Thus a greater internal pressure was possible, with a resultant greater thrust of the propulsive jet. The rocket body was lashed with leather thongs to a long bamboo stick. Range was perhaps up to three-quarters of a mile (more than a kilometre). Although individually these rockets were not accurate, dispersion error became less important when large numbers were fired rapidly in mass attacks. They were particularly effective against cavalry and were hurled into the air, after lighting, or skimmed along the hard dry ground. Hyder Ali's son, Tippu Sultan, continued to develop and expand the use of rocket weapons, reportedly increasing the number of rocket troops from 1,200 to a corps of 5,000. In battles at Seringapatam in 1792 and 1799 these rockets were used with considerable effect against the British.

The construction of water works and aspects of water technology in India is described in Arabic and Persian works.[15] During medieval times, the diffusion of Indian and Persian irrigation technologies gave rise to an advanced irrigation system which bought about economic growth and also helped in the growth of material culture.[15]The founder of the cashmere wool industry is traditionally held to be the 15th century ruler of Kashmir, Zayn-ul-Abidin, who introduced weavers from Central Asia.[16]

Colonial European Influence (1700 CE - 1947 CE)

Har Gobind Khorana, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Har Gobind Khorana, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Bombay Thane Train, 1853 -- One of the earliest pictures of railways in India
Bombay Thane Train, 1853 -- One of the earliest pictures of railways in India

The British education system, aimed at producing able civil and administrative services candidates, exposed a number of Indians to foreign institutions.[1] Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose (1858–1937), Satyendra Nath Bose (1894–1974), Meghnad Saha (1893–1956), P. C. Mahalanobis (1893–1972), Sir C. V. Raman (1888–1970), Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910–1995), Homi Bhabha (1909–1966), Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920), Vikram Sarabhai (1919–1971), Hargobind Khorana (1922–), and Harish Chandra (1923–1983) are a few of the notable scholars of this period.[1]

Physicist Sir C. V. Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for his discovery that 'when light traverses a transparent material, some of the light that is deflected changes in wavelength'.[76] This phenomenon of Raman scattering and Raman effect are attributed to him.[76] The Saha ionization equation equation, derived by Meghnad Saha in 1920, conceptualizes ionizations in context of stellar atmospheres.[77] Introduced in 1936 by statistician P.C. Mahalanobis, the Mahalanobis distance is based upon the correlation between variables, is used to identify and analyze differing pattern with respect to one base.[78] Astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983, for his calculations, which eventually contributed to the understanding of supernovas, neutron stars, and black holes.'[79]

On the works of Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose, The Encyclopedia Britannica (2008) reports that:[80]

Indian plant physiologist and physicist whose invention of highly sensitive instruments for the detection of minute responses by living organisms to external stimuli enabled him to anticipate the parallelism between animal and plant tissues noted by later biophysicists. Bose's experiments on the quasi-optical properties of very short radio waves (1895) led him to make improvements on the coherer, an early form of radio detector, which have contributed to the development of solid-state physics.

By the end of the 18th century the postal system in India had reached impressive levels of efficiency.[81] According to British national Thomas Broughton, the Maharaja of Jodhpur sent daily offerings of fresh flowers from his capital to Nathadvara (320 km) and they arrived in time for the first religious Darshan at sunrise.[81] Later this system underwent complete modernization when the British Raj established it's full control over India.[82] The Post Office Act XVII of 1837 provided that the Governor-General of India in Council had the exclusive right of conveying letters by post for hire within the territories of the East India Company.[82] The mails were available to certain officials without charge, which became a controversial privilege as the years passed.[82] On this basis the Indian Post Office was established on October 1, 1837.[82] The British constructed a vast railway network in India, but it was considered to serve a strategic purpose in addition to the commercial purpose.[83]

See also

Notes



History of South Asia

(Indian Subcontinent)
Stone Age 70,000–3300 BCE
• Mehrgarh Culture • 7000–3300 BCE
Indus Valley Civilization 3300–1700 BCE
Late Harappan Culture 1700–1300 BCE
Vedic period 1500–500 BCE
Iron Age 1200–300 BCE
• Maha Janapadas • 700–300 BCE
• Magadha Empire • 545 BCE - 550
• Maurya Empire • 321–184 BCE
Middle Kingdoms 250 BCE–1279 CE
• Chola Empire • 250 BCE–1070 CE
• Satavahana • 230 BCE–220 CE
• Kushan Empire • 60–240 CE
• Gupta Empire • 280–550 CE
• Pala Empire • 750–1174 CE
• Chalukya Dynasty • 543–753 CE
• Rashtrakuta • 753–982 CE
• Western Chalukya Empire • 973–1189 CE
• Hoysala Empire 1040–1346
• Kakatiya Empire 1083–1323
Islamic Sultanates 1206–1596
• Delhi Sultanate • 1206–1526
• Deccan Sultanates • 1490–1596
Ahom Kingdom 1228–1826
Vijayanagara Empire 1336–1646
Mughal Empire 1526–1858
Maratha Empire 1674–1818
Sikh Confederacy 1716–1799
Sikh Empire 1801–1849
British East India Company 1757–1858
British Raj 1858–1947
Modern States 1947–present
Nation histories
Bangladesh • Bhutan • Republic of India
Maldives • Nepal • Pakistan • Sri Lanka • Tibet
Regional histories
Assam • Balochistan • Bengal
Himachal Pradesh • Orissa • Pakistani Regions
North India • South India • Tibet
Specialised histories
Coinage • Dynasties • Economy
Indology • Language • Literature • Maritime
Military • Science and Technology • Timeline
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  1. ^ a b c d e Raja (2006)
  2. ^ a b c d e Possehl, Gregory L. (1996)
  3. ^ a b Coppa, A. et al.
  4. ^ a b c d Rao, pages 27–28
  5. ^ a b c d Baber, page 23
  6. ^ a b c Rodda & Ubertini, page 279
  7. ^ a b c Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Linguistics.
  8. ^ a b Wolpert, page 193.
  9. ^ a b Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Pagoda.
  10. ^ a b c Livingstone & Beach, page xxiii
  11. ^ a b c d Ifrah, page 346
  12. ^ a b c Bourbaki, page 46
  13. ^ a b c Bourbaki, page 49
  14. ^ a b c d Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (2007). algebra
  15. ^ a b c Siddiqui 1986
  16. ^ a b c Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Kashmir shawl.
  17. ^ Stein, page 47
  18. ^ BBC (2006). Stone age man used dentist drill.
  19. ^ MSNBC (2008). Dig uncovers ancient roots of dentistry.
  20. ^ a b Robyt, pages 19-21
  21. ^ Peele & Grant, page 102
  22. ^ Rodda & Ubertini, page 161
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h Teresi, pages 351-352
  24. ^ a b Allchin, pages 111-112
  25. ^ a b c Hayashi, page 360-361
  26. ^ Seidenberg (1978)
  27. ^ a b c Joseph, page 229
  28. ^ Cooke, page 200
  29. ^ Craddock, page 13
  30. ^ F.R. Allchin, 111-112
  31. ^ Allchin, page 114
  32. ^ a b Rakesh Tewari
  33. ^ a b Ceccarelli, page 218
  34. ^ Drakonoff, page 372
  35. ^ Dikshitar, pg. 332
  36. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). suspension bridge.
  37. ^ Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System (2001). torii.
  38. ^ a b c Kriger & Connah, page 120
  39. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). cashmere.
  40. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). jute.
  41. ^ Adas, page 311
  42. ^ Kieschnick (2003)
  43. ^ a b Ghosh, page 219
  44. ^ "Ornaments, Gems etc." (Ch. 10) in Ghosh 1990
  45. ^ Srinivasan & Ranganathan
  46. ^ Srinivasan 1994
  47. ^ Srinivasan & Griffiths
  48. ^ Baber, page 57
  49. ^ a b c Wenk, pages 535-539
  50. ^ MSN Encarta (2007). Diamond.
  51. ^ Lee, page 685
  52. ^ Fowler, page 11
  53. ^ Singh, page 623-624
  54. ^ Sanchez & Canton, page 37
  55. ^ Stillwell, pages 72-73
  56. ^ Lynn Townsend White, Jr..
  57. ^ "spinning wheel" in Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (2007). 1994-2008 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
  58. ^ Encyclopeedia Britnnica (2008). spinning
  59. ^ MSN Encarta (2008). Spinning
  60. ^ a b Baber, page 56
  61. ^ a b Baber, page 57
  62. ^ a b Kieschnick, page 258
  63. ^ a b c d Sircar 328
  64. ^ Sircar 330
  65. ^ a b Stillwell, page 173
  66. ^ a b Khan, pages 9-10
  67. ^ Partington, page 217
  68. ^ khan, page 10
  69. ^ Bag (2005)
  70. ^ Partington, page 226
  71. ^ Partington, page 225
  72. ^ Partington, page 226
  73. ^ a b Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). India.
  74. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Chāpra.
  75. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). rocket and missile system.
  76. ^ a b Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Raman, Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata
  77. ^ Narlikar, page 188
  78. ^ Taguchi & Jugulum, pages 6-7
  79. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Chandrasekhar, Subrahmanyan
  80. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Bose, Sir Jagadis Chandra
  81. ^ a b Peabody, page 71
  82. ^ a b c d Lowe, page 134
  83. ^ Seaman, page 348

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Science and technology in Asia