From the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night, almost everything we touch or use can in some part trace its roots back to India. Did you sleep on cotton sheets or pull on a cotton tee shirt? Did you make a cup of coffee? Did you use a computer or make a phone call? Do you wear a diamond wedding ring? Have you or a family member had surgery? Have you ever played chess? If so, you have India to thank. Read on for just a few of the well-known inventions made in India or by natives of India.

Zero

The number zero as we know it was invented in 500 AD by Aryabhata. However, the concept for zero had been around much longer. Between 2000 and 1500 BC, the Hindu numeral system was developed in India. The use of a blank space and then later by a dot were its first representations before finally settling on the “0” that we still use today. The use of mathematics, currency, telephones, and even modern day computing would be virtually impossible without the zero.

Additional Indian mathematic inventions include: Algebraic abbreviations, the Law of Signs in multiplication, the decimal system, and Pi among many others.

Cataract Surgery

In 6th century BCE, Indian physician Sushruta performed the first cataract surgery by loosening the lens with a curved needle and pushing the cataract out of the visual field. Cataract surgery is still widely performed today, though with modern surgical equipment and techniques.

Sushruta was the “Father of Surgery” and contributed much to the field, including surgical techniques, classification of eye diseases and the recommendation of the use of inspection, palpation and auscultation for diagnosis of disease. Sushruta takes credit for advances in plastic surgery, as well.

Additional Indian contributions to the field of medicine include: Inoculation and variolation of smallpox as well as treatments for lithiasis and visceral leishmaniasis.

Cotton Cultivation

Somewhere between the 5th and 4th millennium BCE the inhabitants of the Indus Valley Civilization cultivated cotton. Some of the methods of cotton spinning and fabrication were popular until the modern industrialization of India. The single-roller cotton gin comes from India with evidence in the Ajanta caves dating use back to the 5th century.

Today, cotton is used for an extremely large variety of textile products including a wide range of different types of fabric and clothing including denim for jeans, terrycloth for robes and towels, and seersucker, corduroy, and cotton twill. Cotton’s most common use is for making tee shirts, underwear, and socks. Bedding made with cotton is popular and many other products utilize cotton, such as coffee filters, book binding, and fishing nets.

Cotton fabric has been decorated with a related Indian invention called palampore, the style of painted fabric used to make a bed cover or quilt. To this day, the style, though genuine palampore from that time is extremely rare and quite valuable, is still used.

Additional Indian contributions to agriculture include: Cashmere wool, Indigo dye, jute cultivation, and sugar refinement.

Diamonds

It is estimated that diamonds were first mined in India about 5000 years ago, found along the Penner, Krishna, and Godavari rivers. India was the world’s only source of diamonds until the 18th century when diamonds were found in Brazil. References to diamonds are present in Buddhist texts as far back as 4th century BCE. Diamonds were exported to China where they were used as tools.

Today, diamonds are highly prized as gemstones for jewelry, but industry uses include cutting and grinding tools.

Additionally, Indians used zinc for medical purposes as far back as 300 BCE. Today zinc is as a dietary supplement and found in sunscreen, as well as in batteries and many other industrial uses.

Chess

Known as chaturanga in Old Persian and shatranj in Arabic, the game that would become today’s version of chess came to be in India circa 280-550 CE during the Gupta dynasty. The ancient word for chess literally translates as, “army of four divisions.” The game spread around the globe before finally taking on its modern form when Muslims brought chess to Spain in the 10th century.

Both recreationally and competitively, chess is still extremely popular on a global scale.

Additionally, playing cards and the game now known as “Chutes and Ladders” originally derived in India. At the time, the game was “snakes and ladders” and intended as a morality based game.

From ancient times to the modern day, India has been the birthplace of many inventions and innovations that have greatly affected life as we know it the world over. India has contributed to an incredibly diverse range of areas from mathematics and medicine to agriculture and science, and much more.

This guest post article was written and provided by Erica Gustafson who is an avid Australia traveler, freelance writer and digital media consultant for Expedia.  She helps people book cheap hotel reservations at many locations around the world.

Thanks to Ruth L for the photo from Flickr!