Top 20 Indian Inventions

Image sourced from Hair Dance

Top 20 Indian Inventions

*Originally published by Lillian on August 2020 and Updated by Vanessa R in October 2022 and Updated by Vanessa R in September 2023

India has great inventions and discoveries that have been influential in shaping the modern world. This country has been part of the oldest civilization in the world making great contributions in the science and technology fields.

Some great innovations have come from this country that you may have not known. They have influenced how we eat, medicine, religion and how we live. Therefore, in this blog, I will highlight 20 of these inventions.

1. Zero

Yes, zero was first used in India. It was a great mathematical invention that was and is used in philosophy too. In ancient philosophy, it was used to mean nothingness. Philosophy, mathematics and spirituality intermeshed in ancient India.

This invention is considered to be one of the most revolutionary ones from India.

Other important mathematical formulas such as Calculus, by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz, were developed in a similar formula by Indian mathematicians long before Isaac Newton.

An interesting fact is that the Pythagorean theorem was developed in India a century before a similar revelation in Greece.

The invention of zero has given meaning to the binary system or even computers.

2. Cotton

Photo by Trisha Downing on Unsplash

Before the world embraced cotton, most civilizations wore animal skins to keep warm.

Indians discovered cotton in the 5^th and 4^th millennium BCE. They started cultivating this precious crop during the Indus Valley Civilization.

Soon enough, the word spread to the Mediterranean and beyond and they started placing orders for Flipkart.

Other natural fibres that originated from India include jute, cotton and wool. Cashmere wool originated from the Kashmir region of India and was used to make woollen shawls.

The ancient Greek who wore skin discovered the Indian garments and started wearing them. This was during the wars of Alexander the Great.

3. Carburised Steel

Ancient Indians are well known as the pioneers in metallurgy. They mastered the production of high-quality steel for more than two thousand years. Later on, the production spread to Britain and the rest of Europe.

This great invention is credited to the Indian Wootz steel that inspired other great civilizations from Ancient Greece to Persia, Arabia and Ancient Rome.

Steel became more valuable than gold and silver. King Porus was gifted this precious metal by Alexander the Great.

This background has made India one of the leaders in modern-day steel production. The steel is used in manufacturing vehicles, cutlery, needles and many daily items.

4. Buttons

by Wikimedia

Buttons were first used by Indians. They were used in Mohenjo-Daro in making ornaments and not the purpose we know it for, fastening. This invention was first used in the Indus Valley Civilization by 2000 BCE.

These buttons were made out of seashells and cut into different geometrical shapes with tiny holes in them. Soon enough people discovered that they could use the buttons to fasten their clothes.

5. Plastic and Cataract surgery

When it comes to surgery and the use of specialized tools of surgery, the Indians had mastered its use 2000 years before the rest of the world. This was during the Vedic period and is still practised and improved in the 21^st century.

They also had a highly developed midwifery through similar techniques. They used anaesthesia in all their surgeries and these skills have greatly contributed to modern-day surgery.

The other great medical-related invention is cataract surgery. This was invented by Sushruta a physician in the 6^th century BCE. They shared this skill with Greek scientists who visited their country.

How this was done was, warm butter was placed on the eye then they wrap a bandage on the eye until it healed.

6. Shampoo

Image sourced from Hair Dance

Shampoo was first used in India as its names suggest. Well, you may not have known it but the word shampoo was coined from the Indian word champo.

The first shampoo was made of oil that would be massaged on the head. It was fondly used by the Nawabs of Bengal during the Mughal Empire in 1762.

7. Complex Hydraulic Engineering

Sewers of Paris, image sourced from Wikimedia Commons

During the Indus Valley civilisation over 5,000 years ago, India created and maintained a highly advanced network of canals. They used them in complex irrigation schemes, water management and sewerage.

Their sewerage was well advanced for its time. It was designed in a way that it automatically cleared any blockages and prevented any foul smell.

This led to the birth of the first flush toilet more than 3,000 years ago. It was used in so many homes and was one of the best innovations in ancient times.

8. Wireless Communication

The first public use of radio waves for communication was made by an Indian scientist, Jagadish Chandra Bose. He did this in Calcutta in 1895 while showing how one can communicate wirelessly.

Two years later a similar invention was demonstrated by Guglielmo Marconi in England. Bose was at first not credited with the invention but earned it more than a century later.

Marconi was awarded the Nobel Prize for the development of wireless telegraphy. Both their inventions have revolutionized how we communicate today.

9. Water on the Moon

Photo by Neven Krcmarek on Unsplash

This discovery was done by Chandrayaan, he was the first man to know that the moon is not as dry and dusty as some may think. It is one of India’s greatest contribution to modern space exploration.

This exploration was done between 2008 and 2009 under the Indian Space Research Organisation’s first dedicated lunar mission. India launched its polar satellite launch vehicle that carried both NASA and its instruments.

India’s Moon Impact probe became the first to detect the presence of water on the moon. This was three months before NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper.

10. Ayurvedic and Siddha medicine

You have probably heard of ayurvedic medicine and how it’s used. The ancient Indians used this system of medicine for a long time and still do.

Its use has evolved over the years and in the modern-day world, it is seen as complementary or alternative medicine.

The term ayurvedic was coined from the Sanskrit word āyur-vedah meaning medicine. The Siddha type of medicine is commonly practised in South India.

They use herbs and minerals as raw materials.

11. Chess

chess by MichaelMaggs from Wikimedia Commons

It is not an Arabic-originated game, unlike what many people believe. The pieces that would later become the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook were developed under the Gupta Empire in the sixth century under the name Chaturaga, which translates as “the four divisions,” indicating infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry.

The Arabs modified and introduced this game into Europe under the name Ashtapada, which means “eight steps.” The Indian monarch Balhait commissioned an Indian brahmin to create a game to encourage people’s intelligence and teach them the virtues of valour, discretion, endurance, and bravery.

12. Ruler

The oldest ruler, which was made of ivory and dates to 1500 BC, was found in the Indus Valley civilization. Surprisingly exact decimal subdivisions can be found. One of these specimens even had a calibration of 1/16 of an inch or less than 2 millimetres. Even the bricks of the houses in the valley were discovered to adhere to the same measures, indicating the prominence of these types of rulers.

13. Wireless Communication

J.C.Bose by Acharya Jagadis Chandra Bose from Wikimedia Commons

Scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose, who performed a public demonstration of microwave transmission in Calcutta in 1895, was the forerunner of Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi in relation to the creation of wireless telegraphy.

Bose’s ground-breaking presentation served as the inspiration for the technology that underpins modern mobile communications, radars, satellite communications, radio and television transmissions, WiFi, remote controls, and a variety of other applications.

Sir Bose’s accomplishment, which enables individuals to converse swiftly and send information across a distance without the need for electrical conductors, wires, or cables, was posthumously recognized more than a century after his death. The reality is that this finding had a real impact on how wireless communication has evolved today.

14. Cataract surgery and cosmetic surgery

The first cataract surgery was performed in the sixth century by an Indian physician named Sushruta. The fame was so widespread that Greeks as well as Chinese experts visited India for medical procedures and to study about the practices. Based on regional techniques dating back to 2000 BC, the same surgeon was a pioneer in cosmetic surgery.

15. Ink

Ancient civilizations and cultures separately developed various ink-writing methods. However, it was the Indians who used carbon pigments first, in what is known as musi ink. In southern India, this method was already commonly utilized in the fourth century BC.

16. Board games

Øyvind Holmstad, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

That’s correct, board games like the traditional “Chess” and “Snakes and Ladders” can be traced to India. Chess is the intellectuals’ game, and it dates back to the Gupta era, roughly to the sixth century AD, when it was first known as “Ashtapada.” Originally called “Mokshapat,” “Snakes and Ladders” was created by the 13th-century poet Gyandev. Ladders signify virtues, whereas snakes stand for vices. This traditional Indian game was brought to England and later the USA during the British occupation of India.

17. Yoga

Vuemobi Media, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

India made a great contribution to healthy living by popularising yoga, which has its roots in Lord Shiva (also known as Adi Yoga), the original yoga guru, and has been practised there since ancient times. Today, individuals practise this spiritual, physical, and mental activity daily for a healthy lifestyle all around the world. Also, on June 21st of each year, the globe observes “International Yoga Day,” which was created by none other than Indian Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi. Modi is credited with coming up with the idea for practising yoga and observing June 21 as Yoga Day.

18. Cure for leprosy and lithiasis

For many years, India has made significant contributions to the medical industry. Using antiquated treatments described in the Atharva Veda (1500–1200 BCE), Indians were the first to diagnose and treat leprosy. Nevertheless, the Atharva Veda’s inventor is still unidentified. Stone development in the body is referred to as lithiasis, and India was the first to address this condition. A therapy for this condition is documented in the Sushruta Samhita (6th century BCE), an ancient surgical manual.

19. Plastic Surgery

Yes, you read that correctly. India has been linked with developing plastic surgery as early as 2000 BCE. It is a significant Indian invention that has changed the global medical landscape.

It is among the most traditional Indian inventions to have influenced contemporary technology. You should know about 7 Notable Indian Scientists who contributed significantly to the globe.

20. Diamonds

Gryffindor, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Among the various inventions made by Indians, Diamond has the brightest name. Between 4 and 6 B.C., people in India discovered natural diamonds in caverns. India is where diamonds were discovered and initially mined.

These were the famous Indian inventions that we once mistakenly believed to be foreign but actually had their roots in India. Many Indian inventions that India has contributed to the world have improved society.