Minister ridiculed for saying ancient India invented internet

[Gibbs]

Minister ridiculed for saying ancient India invented internet

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GETTY IMAGES
Image captionThe minister cited this example from the Hindu epic Mahabharata to prove his point
A minister who has claimed that the internet was invented thousands of years ago by ancient Indians is being met with ridicule.

Biplab Deb, who is the chief minister of the north-eastern state of Tripura, made the comments at a public function on Tuesday evening.

He cited an example from the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata to prove his point, but has not found many takers.

"Tripura CM Biplap Deb" is trending on Twitter, with many Indians mocking him.

Mr Deb, in fact, joins a fairly long list of Indian ministers in the current Hindu nationalist BJP government - including Prime Minister Narendra Modi - who have claimed many modern-day scientific or technological achievements were invented many centuries ago.

In 2014 Mr Modi told a gathering of doctors and medical staff at a Mumbai hospital that cosmetic surgery existed in ancient India.

More recently, in September, junior education minister Satyapal Singh raised a few eyebrows when he claimed that the airplane was first mentioned in the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana.

Critics say that this is a dangerous trend:

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Rupa Subramanya@rupasubramanya
https://twitter.com/rupasubramanya/status/986442194130231297

The anti-intellectualism and regressive streak from sections of the BJP continues to astound and worry. Rather than solve today’s problems they’re busy romanticizing a fictional past that never existed. Pathetic and embarrassing. https://twitter.com/ndtv/status/986250138619465728 …



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Mr Deb said that the battle of Kurukshetra in the Mahabharata proved the existence of not just the internet, but also satellite technology in ancient India.

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He said the fact that one of the characters in the epic, Sanjaya, had been able to give a blow-by-blow account of a battle that was taking place many miles away to his king Dhritarashtra proved India had access to both technologies.

This understandably raised more sceptical questions, including from professors of South Asian history:

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Audrey Truschke

✔@AudreyTruschke
https://twitter.com/AudreyTruschke/status/986330549856989185

This raises a few questions. Why didn't Abhimanyu ask Quora how to escape the Chakravyuha? Why did Sanjay narrate the Kurukshetra War when Siri could have done it? Also, Krishna really should have streamed the Bhagavad-Gita on Facebook Live. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/internet-existed-in-the-days-of-mahabharata-tripura-cm-biplab-deb/articleshow/63803490.cms … #Mahabharata

1:18 AM - Apr 18, 2018

Internet existed in the days of Mahabharata: Tripura CM Biplab Deb
Deb while taking part in a programme of public distribution said, "India is using internet since a long time.




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Others had more "practical" concerns.

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Kshitij Nagar@KshitijNagar
https://twitter.com/KshitijNagar/status/986442192527831040

Well I hope they at-least had better #bandwidth than what present day #ISPs offer...#internet #bizarre #HeadlineGrabbinghttps://www.news18.com/news/india/internet-not-new-to-india-existed-during-mahabharata-days-tripura-cm-biplab-deb-1721395.html …

8:42 AM - Apr 18, 2018

Internet Not New to India, Used in Mahabharata to Share Battle Updates: Tripura CM Biplab Deb
Deb said that the blind king Dhritarashtra would get regular updates about the battles of Kurukshetra sitting at a faraway castle through Sanjay, who was also nowhere near the battlefield and this...




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Arif Rafiq@ArifCRafiq
https://twitter.com/ArifCRafiq/status/986445853148831745

The chief minister of India’s Tripura state says that his country has been using the Internet since the era of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

So I think that would mean around the 10th century BC.

No wonder India leads the world in trolls.https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/internet-existed-in-the-days-of-mahabharata-tripura-cm-biplab-deb/articleshow/63803490.cms …

cc: @algore

8:56 AM - Apr 18, 2018

Internet existed in the days of Mahabharata: Tripura CM Biplab Deb
Deb while taking part in a programme of public distribution said, "India is using internet since a long time.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43806078

 

[Mamluk]

He's a smart guy. He understands the IQ of his voters.

 

[AfrazulMandal]

This is what you get for voting in Hindus. Suffer silently Tripura.

 

[Neptune_]

So many threads for one single news. Huh....

Perhaps ancient Indians indeed used to communicate by using Internet. Can we prove that that ancient Indians aren't the inventor of Internet? Of course not.

Our brain still hasn't evolved enough to understand these complex stuff. I m sure in distant future when we will have complete control over our brain we will find enough proof which will tell us that it was indeed the ancient Indians who invented Internet.

 

[El Sidd]

He is telling the truth you morons

 

[Dalit]

So many threads for one single news. Huh....

Perhaps ancient Indians indeed used to communicate by using Internet. Can we prove that that ancient Indians aren't the inventor of Internet? Of course not.

Our brain still hasn't evolved enough to understand these complex stuff. I m sure in distant future when we will have complete control over our brain we will find enough proof which will tell us that it was indeed the ancient Indians who invented Internet.

LOL you just keep believing in your fairy tales. Spoken like a RSS troll because you are one.

 

[Neptune_]

LOL you just keep believing in your fairy tales. Spoken like a RSS troll because you are one.

Can u scientifically prove that Internet didn't exist in ancient India? U can't. We usually consider those things as myth which we can't explain or more preciously don't have the knowledge to give an explanation. We still have a lot to learn to understand this world.

I m sure there were some technological process that ancient Indians used to communicate, it could be Internet or it could be something that was more advanced than Internet. How do u think those spaceships were controlled without a proper communication system back in those days. Open up ur mind.

 

[Path-Finder]

The vedics had invented it which due to calamities was lost to mankind. In our postmodern times we are merely reinventing the wheel!

 

[Pakistani Aircraft]

I wonder if ancient India also invented toilets as well or were they also bad as today?

 

[El Sidd]

I wonder if ancient India also invented toilets as well or were they also bad as today?

They had

Then God smited them and took away knowledge from them and bondaged them to be Forever colonised.

Add in brahmin aryan whatever superficial things you desire

 

[delta2]

Hopefully he, along with Modi, will get reelected.

 

[Logam42]

Well, at least the Indians are mocking him as well. God knows I've seen Indonesian politicians say the most idiotic things and get praised instead.

 

[beijingwalker]

India produces some amazing ministers..

 

[HariPrasad]

This is what you get for voting in Hindus. Suffer silently Tripura.

YaY and world witness a great rise of a great islamic nation created to be an iconic islamic nation. World is silently watching this expirement and draws its conclusion.

 

[abc123xyx]

your problem....not the ministers fault...
from aircraft to intercepter missiles ..its all writen in the epics..