Guwahati: Union minister of state for human resource development Satyapal Singh on Monday said IIT teachers should research in ancient Indian knowledge. He referred to a book by a US writer which "revealed" that an ancient Sanskrit manuscript found "irrelevant" by the Indian Institute of Science had helped China launch space satellites.
" Anti-Gravity Handbook by David Hatcher Childress in 1990 talks about this story: Chinese soldiers found a Sanskrit manuscript in Lhasa. As they could not read Sanskrit, they took help of a US professor staying in Punjab. They also sent a copy to the Indian Institute of Science which found it to be about space technology but said it was 'irrelevant'. Though I have not cross-checked the veracity of the story, it was about inter-planetary movement. Chinese worked on it and China became one of the first countries to launch a space satellite," Singh said in his address at the 20th convocation of IIT Guwahati here.
"There were many things such as this in our ancient India. There is a book by Raja Bhoj named Samrangan Sutradhar which talks about technology. There is another book by Muni Bharadwaj named Jantra Sarbaswa. There are many books and knowledge based on ancient Indian technology. Everything ancient cannot be bad. I request the professors to find out and work on that knowledge. India is doing well in technology, but how much of it is ending in a start-up, a business idea or helping society?" Singh asked.
Stating that education is not just about creating technology, science or publishing theses in journals, Singh said the first and foremost aim should be on how to create "good human beings".
"Just getting an MSc or any other degree will not help. We need to find out how to become good human beings by holistic development of mind, body and soul. This is more important than becoming a good scientist or a good technocrat," Singh, a former IPS-officer-turned-politician, who grabbed headlines for many controversial statements, said. He asked IIT Guwahati to concentrate on finding solutions to the problems confronting the Northeast such as floods and protection of ecology.
Altogether 1,450 students were conferred degrees at the convocation. Director of the IIT Gautam Biswas, teachers and parents attended the convocation.
