India’s Scientific Contribution to Europe and other World
Civilizations Prior to Industrial Revolution

India and China are World’s most ancient surviving civilizations today. Human
desire to survive, communicate and progress is inseparable from its existence.
This has given rise to everything we can imagine about our civilization. As we
have achievements we have setbacks and failures. Every mistake teaches us
something new and helps us to progress. Introspective and creative society finds
out better answers and solutions and this process continues as if there is no final
answer to the needs of the mundane World. This experience gets codified in its
literature, architecture, life style, law, sports and past time, trade, fine and performing
arts and into every conceivable creation of that civilization. Creation of Nations is
relatively modern though society or people having same moorings in a particular
culture occupied some geographical location of the Earth. They traded not only in
material goods but in ideas also.
Triumph of modernity compels us to believe that period of the past is a period of
infancy lacking maturity of reasoning, objectivity and rationality required for
progress. Further all other branches of knowledge are put inferior to ‘Science and
technology’. Modernity and Modern science has become synonymous with
‘Western’ in all respects. Further when we think of Science we insist on universality
or unity of science and epistemology to reach a particular conclusion. These
assumptions are not only dangerous but they numb our inquiry apparatus toward
earlier non European Civilizations. Unless and until we divorce ourself from this
bias towards Modernity/ Western we hardly can give justice to the earlier
civilizations. Science and its applications cannot be separated from the Culture of
the civilization. No wonder for modern Science you are expected to westernize
your culture and life style.
So called Copernican revolution is considered as the corner stone of Modern
Science which lead further to Industrial revolution in the west. This is true for the
western Science but insistence of pinning the beginning or creativity of Astronomy/
mathematics to that period creates earlier period or scientific achievements of
earlier civilization opaque.
Copernicus is credited for heliocentric view of the Universe. However, what we do
not know is, was Copernicus original in his Heliocentric hypothesis? There is
enough evidence now, to suggest that Copernicus borrowed this concept from
earlier Arab astronomer Ibn-al-Shatir, whose book incorporated the theorem of
another Arab astronomer, Nasir-al-Din al Tusi, who lived three hundred years
before Copernicus. Prof. Otto Neugebauer, of Brown University; Edward Kennedy,
of the American University of Beirut; and George Saliba, of Columbia University;
all reputed historians of Science, have reexamined and agreed and endorse this
possibility. School or College text books or for that matter knowledge books on
mathematics are shy to rewrite this history of mathematics.
It may shock many but the same is the case of invention of Calculus attributed to
Newton and Leibniz. It is accepted by scholarship now that Madhava a 13th century
Kerala mathematician has used these principles at least three centuries prior toNewton, which are also reflected in the text and commentaries of Kerala
mathematicians of later centuries. Obviously there is resistance to accept the
truth and all possible logic is used to protect Newton .
Same is the story of Toxicology and Botany.
Many toxicological texts got translated into Arabic first from 07th to 10th century.
These texts acknowledge the Indian source. Subsequent translations into Latin,
in the 12th century onwards, however, did not acknowledge the Indian source.
Portuguese physician Garcia d’Orta (1501-1568) came to India in 1534 and remained
there till his death. He wrote a book in Portuguese in 1563 whose translated title
was: Colloquies on the Simples, Drugs and Materia Medica of India . d’Orta’s
Scholarly information influenced various writers in Europe who borrowed d’Orta’s
details on medicinal plants of India . In 1567 Finnish botanist L’Ecluse extracted
essential information on the characteristics and properties of Indian medicinal
plants and published an epitome in Latin
100 years after d’Orta’s publication, another scholarly work on Indian Medicinal
plants specially from Southern India was brought out by Dutch Scholar Van
Reede, titled Hortus Malabaricus in twelve volumes from Amsterdam, during
1686-1703. This work describes about 780 species of Indian Plants with 794
illustrations. Reede also took extensive efforts to verify every plant. He consulted
local vaidyas, traditional Ayurvedic practitioners and even Ezhava community of
toddy tappers. Van Reede rejected earlier Arabic classification and nomenclature
and even European knowledge and strictly adhered to the local system of
classification. Von Reede’s and other scholarly works on Indian medicinal plants
and their classification System influenced and helped the great botanist Karl von
Linne (Linnaeus) for his binominal system of taxonomy which was published in
1735.
There are many such examples which need further research. This seminar attempts
to address the same. The concept of science here should transcend beyond
conventional subjects, like physics, chemistry, biology or mathematics. They
should embrace science of grammar, lexicography, logic, architecture, philosophy,
law and justice, commerce, administration and management. Further, it should
also include any other branches of knowledge available in the extant manuscripts
or mentioned and elaborated in later available works. Many works are not available
in original Sanskrit text, but are available as translations either in Chinese or
Persian or Arabic. Such works should be included in this study.
Kindly note that this is not a seminar on History of Sciences in India, but it is a
seminar on migration of organized, explicit, knowledge which has originated in
India and migrated to other World civilizations. I am sure scholars would search
every possible and available resource and contribute their new findings in this
seminar.

Yours Sincerely,

(Dr. V.V. Bedekar)
President,
Institute for Oriental Study,Thane

Note : • Abstracts or Papers sent after the last date of submission will not be accepted. • Email correspondence will be appreciated for all interaction and submission of abstracts and papers. • Handwritten abstracts or papers will not be accepted. Email : vbedekar@yahoo.com

 

Seminar Details

Venue : Thorale Bajirao Peshwe Sabhagruha,
Thane College Campus, "Jnanadweepa',
Chendani, Bunder Road, Thane (W) 400 601. Maharashtra
Date : Saturday, the 26th December 2009
Time : 09.00 am onwards

Last Date of receiving Abstract : 31st August, 2009
Last Date of receiving Papers : 15th November, 2009

All Abstracts should be accompanied with Registration fee.
All drafts should be drawn in favour of Institute for Oriental Study, Thane.

(a) Papers for the Seminar should strictly adhere to the subject of the Seminar.
(b) Kindly specify the topic you have chosen for your presentation.
(c) Restrict yourself to the topic avoiding all generalisations.
(d) Refer to the primary sources from Sanskrit and Prakrit.
(e) Send your paper neatly typed on one side of paper. Handwritten papers won't be accepted.
(f) Use dialectical marks appropriately.
(g) Along with the Roman Script rendition supply the Devanagari Version.
(i) The abstract should be epitomised version of the whole paper comprising of 300 words atleast. Avoid generalities. The abstract should reach us not later than 31st August 2009
(j) Organising seminars has become a very expensive affair bound by limitation of time. To gain maximum dividend out of this exercise the scholar should examine critically the available Sanskrit literature and the paper should be an original contribution rather than a repetition of facts already known. The paper may be short or elaborate but it should reach us not later than 15th November 2009. Electronic versions and e-mail attachments would be preferred.

If you need any more information write to us without any hesitation.
Your co-operation is the only means of reaching towards the success of the forthcoming Seminar.