Ancient Indian Tech

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Technological discoveries and applications in India

 

"(It is remarkable that paintings in the Ajanta caves have survived

almost 1500 years, but what is even more noteworthy is how the paint

on some of the exterior sections of Ellora's temples has survived

1200 years. The richness of color in well-preserved Indian miniatures

continues to amaze and astonish. It may be noted that for many

centuries, color-fast dyes made up an important component of India's

exports, and export of these to ancient Rome has been documented in

Roman records)"

 

The earliest evidence of technological progress in the Indian

subcontinent is to be found in the remains of the Harappan

civilization (4000-3000 BC). Archaeological remains point to the

existence of well-planned urban centres that boasted of private and

public dwellings laid out in orderly fashion along with roads and

drainage systems complementing them. The drainage systems were

particularly remarkable for the times since they were built

underground and were constructed in a manner to allow for regular

cleaning. Smaller drains from private homes connected to the larger

public drains.

 

Larger private dwellings were invariably multi-storied and all homes

were constructed from standardized fired bricks and provided for

separate cooking areas and toilets. Storage facilities for grain and

goods for trade were built as were public baths and other buildings

intended for various public functions.

 

Urban centres were often planned near riverine or sea-ports. Accurate

weights and measures were in use and ports such as Lothal were

developed as export centres of early manufactured products from

smelted copper and bronze. Kilns for smelting copper ingots and

casting tools were in existence as were metal tools such as curved or

circular saws, pierced needles and most significantly, bronze drills

with twisted grooves. The drill enabled the production of items with

unparalleled precision for the times and could be regarded as an

ancient precursor of the modern machine tool.

 

There is also evidence of planned irrigation systems and it appears

that fire and flood control measures to protect farms and villages

were also in place. Artisans made use of the wheel and clay pottery

was decorated in a variety of colors and designs. Cotton was grown

and used to produce textiles.

 

Urban centres in the Harappan region traded with each other as well

as with counterparts in Babylon, the Persian Gulf, Egypt and possibly

the Mediteranean. The span of the Harappan civilization was quite

extensive, and included much of modern Sindh, Gujarat, Rajasthan,

Haryana, Punjab and Western UP.

 

But prior to it's disappearance, there is also evidence of

considerable social decay and disintegration. Excavations from the

later phases of the Harappan civilization suggest that population

pressures led to greater anarchy in building construction. Urban

dwellings became smaller and settlements became more haphazard

indicating a breakdown of social mores and structures that promoted

urban regulations and enforced construction codes.

 

Social Conditions and Technological Progress

 

It is quite possible that the decline in civil society extended to

other areas such as agricultural planning and maintenance of

irrigations systems making the civilization more vulnerable to

natural disasters such droughts, floods, fires or earthquakes - thus

contributing to the eventual extinction of that vibrant civilization.

This suggests that technological progress cannot be divorced from

social conditions that may either encourage the progress of

technology or conversely cause civilizations that may be (in relative

terms) quite advanced to stagnate and even decline.

 

For instance, 3000 years after Harappa, we find anecdotal evidence of

impressive urban settlements constructed during the Mauryan period.

Greek travellers have left behind admiring descriptions of

Patliputra - the Mauryan capital. But social strife brought a

precipitous end to the grand civilization. The growth of a parasitic,

exploitative and socially oppressive elite led to massive social

upheavals. In the course of the civil wars, fires and looting

destroyed virtually all of the wood-based dwellings including grand

palaces and public buildings.

 

Thus, an entire tradition of wood-based urban construction - (which

may have taken several centuries to develop) was destroyed. But it

also led to a greater emphasis on the use of more lasting

construction materials. The very social conditions that destroyed

technological progress in one direction gave birth to technological

progress in another. Sculptural finds from the Mauryan period

indicate that Mauryan sculptors of that time had achieved a high

degree of proficiency in working with stone. They must have had tools

and implements that enabled them to create smoothly modelled and

highly polished representations of human and animal figures. Later

civilizations in India employed these skills not only for the

purposes of sculpting but for creating entire monuments constructed

from a variety of hard building materials. For instance, various

methods for preparing cements were developed, and by the 7th century,

cement of highly durable quality came into use in the construction of

important monuments that survive to this day.

 

The Impetus for Metallurgy

 

Monumental architecture required considerable advances in the

technology of lifting, loading and transportation of construction

materials, building construction ramps, scaffolding, and related

tools and implements. As in ancient Egypt or Babylon, appropriate

techniques also had to be developed and implemented in India. But

more importantly, stone-based construction presupposes the existence

of hard metal based tools and implements for cutting and shaping

stone. The discovery of iron thus played an essential role in the

development of monumental architecture in India which may have in

turn given a further impetus to the development of metallurgical

skills.

 

As early as the 4th C. BC, Kautilya's Arthashastra had a section

outlining the processes for metal extraction and alloying. Later

Sanskrit texts talk about assessing metal purity and describe

techniques for achieving metal purity. Various alloying techniques

were in use and some may have had their origin in the Harappan or

Vedic periods. (For instance, there are references in the Vedic

literature that suggest that copper vessels were coated with tin so

as to prevent milk from going sour.)

 

A combination of scholarly investigation and broad dissemination of

practical techniques propelled the development of metallurgical

skills. The fifth century Iron Pillar of Delhi is a remarkable

example of those skills. Standing over 23 feet high it consists of a

single piece of iron and has weathered over 1500 monsoons without

showing any signs of rust. The pillar is made of wrought iron with an

iron content of 99.72 % and appears to have been protected from rust

by the application of a thin coating of manganese dioxide.

 

By the 12th century, construction engineers were using iron girders

and beams on a scale unknown in any other part of the world. The most

significant use of iron beams was in the temples of Puri and Konarak.

The Puri temple contains 239 iron beams and one of the beams in

Konarak is 35 feet long. All are 99.64 percent iron and were produced

in a similiar manner to the Delhi iron pillar.

 

During the middle ages, India acquired a reputation for producing

very high quality steel and was also able to extract zinc from it's

ore by the 14th century. Bidari (an alloy of copper, lead and tin

developed in the Deccan) was also extensively used.

 

Unsurprisingly, developments in metallurgy also had their impact on

artillery production. According to A. Rahman (Science in Medieval

India), by the 16th century, the heaviest guns in the world were

being cast in India and a variety of weapons were being manufactured

in the subcontinent. The Jaigarh cannon factory was one of India's

best and before the crucial battle of 1857, the Jaipur Rajputs laid

claim to owning Asia's largest cannon. Yet, none of the Rajput

cannons were ever used to confront the British who succeeded in

conquering the sub-continent without ever having to fight against the

country's best equipped armies, thus demonstrating that technological

progress is not an end in itself.

 

Social Needs and Technological Applications

 

More often than not, social needs (as arising from geographic,

climactic or living conditions) have been the primary impetus for

technological progress in society. The long dry months that most

regions of India had to deal with led to numerous innovations in

water-management techniques. Irrigation canals, wells of different

types, storage tanks and a variety of water-harvesting techniques

were developed throughout the sub-continent. The Harappans were not

alone in creating water-management solutions. Irrigation works of

enormous size were undertaken time and time again. The reservoirs at

Girnar in Kathiawar (built in the 3rd C. BC) had an embankment over

100 ft thick at the base. The artificial lake at Bhojpur (near

Bhopal) commisioned by Raja Bhoj in the 11th C covered 250 sq. miles.

In the South, also in the 11th C., an artificial lake fed by the

Kaveri river had a 16-mile long embankment with stone sluices and

irrigation channels. Rajput kings built artificial lakes throughout

the desert state of Rajasthan, but irrigation schemes were essential

to agricultural prosperity even in Kashmir, Bengal and the delta

regions of the South.

 

The need for accurate prediction of the monsoons spurred developments

in astronomy while the intense heat of the summer led to innovations

in architecture. In Rajasthan and Gujarat step-wells were built deep

into the ground - sometimes descending as much as a hundred feet and

large scale observatories were built in Benaras, Mathura and Ujjain

to facilitate advances in the astronomical sciences. Bengal became

known for it's fine muslins that were light and airy to wear in the

warm and humid climate of the state. Techniques for pickling and

preserving fruits, vegetables, fish and meats were developed

throughout the country to prevent or delay spoilage. Manually

operated cooling devices were also invented. The Arthashatra mentions

the variyantra (probably a revolving water spray for cooling the

air). Technology thus arose in response to compelling material needs.

 

Scientific Rationalism and Technological Efficacy

 

But technological progress also requires a favorable social milieu. A

foundation of scientific knowledge, rational thinking and practical

experimentation can be essential to the process of making

technological discoveries (although the application of already known

technologies can occur more easily). As mentioned in the essay:

Development of Philosophical Thought and Scientific Method in Ancient

India numerous technological inventions occurred in parallel with

developments in rational philosophy and advances in mathematics and

natural sciences.

 

This is not to say that Indian society was entirely rational. In all

ancient societies (and even modern ones), superstitions, religious

beliefs, reliance on astrology, numerology or the advice of 'seers',

palmists and fortune-tellers have impinged on the scientific process

and consequently hindered the progress of technology. In the

civilizations of ancient Egypt, Babylon and India - we see numerous

instances of scientifically accurate statements and practical truths

mixed up with religious myths and popular superstitions. This was

especially true in the science of medicine. Genuine cures were listed

with unscientific practices without clear distinction. But during the

rational period in India the emphasis on the scientific method led to

a much greater level of veracity with respect to the efficacy of

different medicines and medical procedures.

 

The more accurately the Indian medical practitioner was able to

observe reality, understand bodily functions and test the efficacy of

popular medical techniques, the more successful were the prescribed

cures. Dissection of corpses and careful monitoring of different

diseases was an important component in the study and practice of

medicine. With greater success in treatment came greater confidence

and allowed medical practitioners to conduct surgical procedures

using a variety of surgical tools - albeit primitive in comparison to

modern surgical equipment.

 

Procedures for inducing unconsciousness or numbing body parts that

were to be operated on were required and developed. Tools for

excision, incision, puncturing, probing, organ or part extraction,

fluid drainage, bloodletting, suturing and cauterization were

developed. Various types of bandages and ointments were used as were

basic procedures for ensuring cleanliness and limiting contamination.

The caesarian section was known, bone-setting reached a high degree

of skill, and plastic surgery developed far beyond anything known

elsewhere at the time. Indian surgeons also became proficient at the

repair of noses, ears and lips lost or injured in battle or by

judicially mandated mutilation. By the 1st C. AD the foundations of

this rather evolved medical system were in place and by the 4th C. -

much of this knowledge was standardized and available in the

classical textbooks of Charaka and Susruta.

 

While all ancient societies cherished and admired the skills of the

medical practitioner, it was the more determined adoption of the

scientific approach that enabled Indian medicine to make a quantum

leap over the older medical systems of the time.

 

{Progress in medicine also led to developments in chemistry and

chemical technologies. The manufacture of alkaline substances,

medicinal powders, ointments and liquids was systematized, as were

chemical processes relating to the manufacture of glass. Advances in

food processing (such as manufacture of sugar, condiments and edible

oils) took place as did the manufacture of personal hygiene products

and beauty aids (such as shampoos, deodorizers, perfumes and

cosmetics).}

 

Cultural Mores and Technological Innovation

 

Cultural preferences also impelled technological innovations. During

the rational period, considerable attention was paid to human

psychological processes. The analysis of moods and emotions led to

elaborate theories on the role of color and design in inducing

psychological well-being. Treatises on art and architecture

emphasized the importance of color. As a result, the use of color in

decorating household artifacts, textiles, furniture, and public and

private dwellings became widely prevalent and a matter of conscious

choice.

 

Discoveries concerning the manufacture and application of natural and

artificial dyes quickly followed. Block printing, tie and dye, and

other textile-dyeing techniques were popularized. The use of mordents

in color-fast dyeing of textiles became known as did the knowledge of

lacquers that could be applied to wood or leather. Paints that could

be used on different building materials were developed and elaborate

techniques were employed to prevent fading and loss of color during

the heavy monsoons. (It is remarkable that paintings in the Ajanta

caves have survived almost 1500 years, but what is even more

noteworthy is how the paint on some of the exterior sections of

Ellora's temples has survived 1200 years. The richness of color in

well-preserved Indian miniatures continues to amaze and astonish. It

may be noted that for many centuries, color-fast dyes made up an

important component of India's exports, and export of these to

ancient Rome has been documented in Roman records)

 

State Support of Technology

 

A notable aspect of technological progress in India was it's

dependence on state support. Without the support of a technologically

inclined nobility, without grants from the royal treasuries, many of

the technological developments that took place in the field of water-

management, construction and metallurgy simply would not have taken

place. Progress in astronomy also benefited from active state

support.

 

Raja Bhoja (1018-60 of Dhar -Malwa) who was himself a great engineer

and was the architect of Bhojsagar - (one of the largest artificial

irrigation lakes of medieval India) was a great patron of engineering

projects. Reputed to be a fine scholar, he was well educated in the

sciences and the arts and was responsible for the commissioning of a

university (Bhoj Shala) at Dhar and several monumental temples in the

Malwa region, including one at Bhojpur which has a cast iron Shiva-

Linga of very impressive proportions. Viewing town planning as an

important aspect of government, he provided a detailed network of

roads connecting villages and towns in his magnum opus, Somarangana

Sutradhara.

 

In addition to a chapter on town planning, the Somarangana Sutradhara

also included chapters on mechanical engineering, soil testing,

orientation of buildings, the selection of building material,

architectural styles, and the vertical and horizontal components of

buildings.

 

The Somarangana Sutradhara also describes machines and mechanical

devices such as chiming chronometers (putrika-nadiprabodhana), and in

his Yuktikalpataru, Raja Bhoja also warned shipbuilders about using

iron along the bottom of the vessels for this would render them

vulnerable to magnetic rocks at sea.

 

However, state support for technological innovation was not always

forthcoming and depended considerably on the attitude of individual

rulers. By and large, arms manufacturing and the production of luxury

goods received the maximum support from the rulers. Mughal rulers

like Akbar and Aurangzeb invested heavily in the production of

artillery and other weapons as did some of the Rajputs and the Deccan

kings. Investments were also made in high quality manufactured goods

that found favor in the courts such as fine textiles, carpets, lamps,

glassware, marble and stone quarrying, jewelry, decorated metalware

etc. Specialized manufacturing towns were promoted almost throughout

the country.

 

Limitations of pre-industrial manufacturing

 

However, one of the limitations of Indian manufacturing prior to the

industrial revolution was that although Indian artisans could produce

goods of exceptional quality, much of Indian manufacturing (as was

the case in much of the world) was highly labor intensive. Although

Indian artisans used a variety of tools and implements in

facilitating their manufactures, there was insufficient investment in

augmenting and expanding the range of available labor-saving tools.

 

Yet, more than in any other nation, manufacturing in medieval India

involved considerable specialization of labor. India had a very large

pool of relatively cheap skilled labor trained in a variety of

specialized tasks and manufacturing processes were optimized to take

full advantage of these highly trained hands. Since most manufactured

goods catered largely to the elite, demand was relatively limited and

the available labor pool was more than sufficient to meet those

needs. Hence, complacency ruled the day. India's great manufacturing

strengths thus became a significant obstacle in transitioning towards

the modern industrial era.

 

Nevertheless, in certain areas where demand growth was considerable,

there were successful attempts at improving manufacturing techniques.

The textile industry was one such industry where steady improvements

in manufacturing technology took place.

 

Indian textiles commanded a worldwide market and prior to

colonization, India's manually operated textile machines were amongst

the best in the world and the early textile machines produced in

newly industrialized Britain and Germany were modeled on the best of

these machines.

 

The huge demand for Indian exports also gave a fillip to the ship-

building and packaging industry and during the 18th century, the

Wadias of Bombay were building ships as good as any in the world.

 

India and the Industrial Revolution

 

Nevertheless, there were powerful forces at work that inhibited the

growth of science and technology in India and prevented Indian

manufacturing from entering the industrial era on it's own terms.

 

Perhaps the most important of these factors was the relative

prosperity that India enjoyed vis-a-vis the rest of the world. A mild

climate meant that the peasantry and working class could survive

relatively cheaply. And the huge trade surplus the country enjoyed

enabled the nobility and the middle classes to live lives of relative

luxury and comfort. There was little incentive to bring about

revolutionary changes and the forces of parasitism and conservatism

prevailed quite easily over more radical forces. Harry Verelst

(Senior Officer of the East India Company) described Bengal before

Plassey quite succintly: "The farmer was easy, the artisan

encouraged, the merchant enriched and the prince satisfied".

 

But in Europe, virtually all classes had an interest in bringing

about revolutionary changes that could improve their lives. Long and

harsh winters meant that even the peasantry and working class needed

more items of personal consumption just to survive, let alone live

comfortably. The demand for cheap manufactured goods for mass

consumption was initially far greater in Europe than in the warmer

parts of the globe. The short days in the long and harsh winters

created a much more compelling need for breakthrough inventions like

the light bulb or electric heater or piped hot water and indoor

toilets.

 

But need alone was an insufficient factor in securing technological

breakthroughs. Europe also needed important social changes to create

a climate where scientific study and technological innovation could

flourish. For centuries, the catholic church in Europe had preached

the idealogy of worldly renunciation and taught it's followers to

accept their earthly suffering in exchange for a promise of

redemption in the next world. Rational and scientific thinking was

routinely condemned as sacriligious or heresy. It was then little

wonder that Europe had slipped into a period of intense stagnation

and became inordinately dependant on imports from the more developed

nations of Asia.

 

But it was precisely this backwardness and internal oppression that

lead to mass radicalization and calls for revolution or reform. The

protestant movements were the first in a series of movements calling

for greater democracy and radical improvements in social conditions

for the masses. At the same time, the European intelligentsia was no

longer willing to wait for redemption after death but wanted to enjoy

the good life right here on earth. Secular and rational challenges to

Christian orthodoxy grew and science and philosophy were gradually

liberated from the strangulating influences of the church. The

knowledge of the East was translated into the European languages and

found it's way into university curriculums. Scientific research and

investigation began to thrive and technological innovations followed.

All the social ingredients for the industrial revolution were

beginning to fall into place.

 

But at first, Europe still lacked a vital ingredient for the

industrial revolution to take off and succeed - and that was capital.

For centuries, Europe had to fund it's negative trade balance (vis-a-

vis Asia) by exporting gold, silver and other precious metals. To

make matters worse, exports from India (which made up an important

share of European imports) were heavily marked up by various

intermediaries in the Middle East and later by the Venetians. By the

15th century, this burden was becoming almost impossible for the

royal houses of Western Europe to bear. It was in response to this

crisis that voyages to discover a new route to India were funded, and

eventually led to the creation of the East India Companies. {The

pillage and plunder of the Americas (and later Africa as well) played

a significant role in financing these voyages.}

 

While this made imports from India more affordable, it did not

eliminate the negative trade balance. European banks were initially

in little position to fund the new inventions that were waiting to

find industrial sponsors. Colonization provided the answer. Europe

thus embarked on a complex transition where within it's borders it

followed a path of progress and radical reform, but externally, it

raped and pillaged without mercy.

 

This occurred at a time when the rest of the world was largely ill-

equipped at dealing with such a wily and complex enemy. In much of

the world, large sections of society were moving in the opposite

direction - and particularly so in the Islamic world. Madrasahs

resisted numerous attempts at introducing anything resembling science

and reason in the curriculum. This was also true in India. In spite

of repeated attempts by Akbar to introduce a secular curriculum in

the nation's Madrasahs, the conservative clergy successfully resisted

all attempts at change. Similiar processes were at work in many of

the Buddhist monasteries and the Hindu Gurukuls who had succumbed to

the influence of orthodox Vedantism. In extreme versions of the

Vedantic world-view the real world was more an illusion, and hence

all efforts at changing it or transforming it were deemed

unimportant.

 

Even in schools that escaped Vedantic influences, and where science

and logic remained a part of the curriculum, religious instruction

often took precedence. In addition, Brahminical notions of purity

created a needless divide between the mental and physical creating

obstacles to experimentation and transfer of theoretical knowledge to

practical applications. The fixation on astrology and other such

superstitions also served to distract sections of the intelligentsia

from more scientific pursuits.

 

So just as Europe was preparing itself to meet the challenges of the

industrial revolution, significant sections of society in Africa and

Asia were becoming more resistant to studying science. This made the

process of colonization much easier as those who resisted

colonization were technologically outmatched and outwitted.

 

Once colonization had taken hold of a nations economy, educational

options became further limited. Often, the few who were keen to

pursue a career in the sciences could only do so under the auspices

of their colonial masters. But for the colonial powers, teaching

science and technology to the colonized was not necessarily a

benevolent act. The western educated individual played an important

role in the colonial process - either as a manager or engineer in a

company that produced cheap raw materials (or industrial goods) for

export from the colony to the master nation, or as a representative

of an import agency that imported expensive manufactured goods and

machinery into the colony.

 

So great was this contradiction in some nations that science and

technology almost came to be associated with treachery and religious

obscurantism became synonymous with patriotism. As a result the

masses were often denied the opportunity to deal with an

industrializing Europe on anything even remotely resembling equality.

 

Like other colonized nations, India was dragged into the industrial

era on terms that were not of it's own choosing and many of the

technological developments that have since taken place in India have

been geared more towards the export market than bringing about all-

round improvements in the quality of life for the Indian masses.

 

For that reason, it cannot yet be said that India has fully entered

the modern industrial era. Only when India is able to harness the

power of technology and modern industry towards improving the quality

of life for the vast majority of it's people will that be the case.

That will require not only major advances in the Indian education

system but radical social changes that have yet to take place in a

systematic way. Above all, the forces of religious fundamentalism,

religious obscurantism and social backwardness will have to be pushed

back and defeated. That is the real lesson of the Industrial

Revolution that has yet to sink in completely in India.

 

References:

Science and Technology in India (National Geographic insert): Dept.

of Science and Technology, GOI; Council of Scientific and Industrial

Research;

Studies in the History of Science in India (Anthology edited by

Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya)

 

A Cultural History of India (Edited: A.L. Basham)

 

History of Science and technology in India: Ed. G. Kuppuram and K.

Kumudamani

 

 

Relevant Ancient and Medieval Texts: Atharva Veda, Arthashastra,

Silpashastra, Silparatna, Manasollasa, Kasyapasilpa,Visnudharmottara,

Citrakalpadruma, Ansumadbhedagama, Svarna-Rupya-Siddhi-Sastra

(Jinadatta Suri), Caraka Samhita, Susruta Samhita, Hastyayurveda

(Veterinary Medicinal Text), Brihatsamhita (Varahamira),

Khargalakshanam (Varahamira), Rasaratnasamuchaya (Vagbhata), Ashtanga

Sangraha (Vagbhat), Rasaratnakara (Nagarjuna), Upaskara (Sankara

Misra), Rasarnava, Rasa-raja-mrganka (Bhoja), Yuktikalpataru (Bhoja),

Samarangana-sutradhara (Bhoja), Dhatu-ratna-mala (Devadatta) - all in

Sanskrit. There are also texts in regional langauges such as the

Siddha Vaidya in Tamil, as well as texts with diagrams of

manufacturing processes in Persian and Urdu.