Airplanes Invented By Ancient Indians 7,000 Years Ago, Science Conference
Controversial claims made at the Indian Science Congress about ancient Sanskrit texts documenting the invention of airplanes 7,000 years ago has drawn intense criticism.
A session delivered by Captain Anand J Bodas at the 102nd Indian Science Congress made a presentation on Vimanika Shastra, a text that claims ancient Indians of the Vedic age possessed detailed knowledge of aeronautical and aerospace engineering. This knowledge is believed to have been obtained psychically obtained by Subbaraya Shastry in the early 20th century.
The presentation made at ISC as part of the session on 'Vedic Science through Sanskrit' was criticized as efforts to reconcile science with religion by India's ruling establishment.
The Indian Express reported that the Vimanika Shastra was debunked 40 years by scientists from the Indian Institute of Science. Five Indian scientists who studied the text had concluded that the text was based on figment of imagination and was not based on sound aerodynamic principles.
"The planes described are at the best poor concoctions rather than expressions of something real. None of the planes has properties or capabilities of being flown; the geometries are unimaginably horrendous from the point of view of flying; and the principles of propulsion make then resist rather than assist flying. The text and the drawings do not correlate with each other even thematically. The drawings definitely point to a knowledge of modern machinery," the scientists reportedly said according to First Post.
During the ISC session, it was also mentioned that massive planes flew in ancient India, while noting that India ignored its Vedic scientific knowledge only to fall behind the west in science and technology.
