Columbus beaten by Vedic Sailors

Negationists announce New Discovery :

Vedic Sailors reached America before Columbus !

The discoveries made by Hindutvadin scholars have come in an astonishing rate, which has startled the world. First was the `discovery' that the Indus Valley was not destroyed by Aryans and that there was no Sudra Holocaust. Then came the hypothesis that the Indus Valley itself was Vedic. Now comes another new discovery, namely that, not only did these Vedic geniuses build Harappa, but that they sailed to America centuries before Columbus !

Aranova 3rd Dec. 2001

Hindus 'beat Columbus to America' An Indian poltical group claims Christopher Columbus was beaten to America by Hindu explorers. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or National Self-Reliance Society, also claims Indians invented chess, wireless technology and dams. Hindus also discovered the law of gravity long before Sir Isaac Newton, the society claims. The RSS detail great Indian achievements in a pamphlet titled We're Proud To Be Hindus which the group is handing out in the run-up to local elections. The society claims that art found in Aztec temples proves that Hindus lived in Mexico long before Columbus reached the Americas in 1492. They also dismiss claims that chess originated in Persia and say the game is Indian, and that the wireless was not invented by Marconi but by Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose. Dam technology was pioneered in Saurashtra - now Gujarat - where rivers were diverted to form lakes. Opponents, particularly Muslim and Christian groups, have dismissed the RSS as extremists, the Daily Star reports.

Deccan Herald , Monday, January 1, 2001 (http://www.deccanherald.com)

RSS challenges general knowledge New Delhi, Dec 31 (UNI) Didn't you always believe that Newton discovered the force of gravity, Columbus discoverd America and the famous Pythagoras theorem was formulated by Pythagoras? You are in the wrong if you do so, according to a booklet distributed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) during its recent nationwide awareness campaign. The booklet entitled Garv Se Kaho Hum Hindu Hain (Say with pride we are Hindus) claims that Indian astronomers Aryabhatta and Bhaskaracharya, who existed 1,000 and 500 years before Newton, were quite familiar with the gravitational force. Similarly, before Christopher Columbus reached America, Indians had already landed there, the booklet says, adding that the specimen of Indian art found in the temples of Aztecs are ample proof in this regard. The RSS gives credit to Bodhayan for defining in the sixth century the geometrical principle which was later presented to the world by Greek philosopher Pythagoras and known as Pythagoras Theorem. The oufit also discounts the story of discovery of electrical force by Benzamin Franklin, saying electricity, magnetism, sound and ether were all well defined in the Vedic times. Even the concept of nuclear fusion was known in those times, it says. The booklet also claims that the Hindus invented the number system as well as the decimal system, besides giving the world the concept of shunya (zero). Though Aryabhatta used shunya in the sixth century, the concept was known thousands of years before him in pre-Vedic times, it adds. In the field of medical science too, it speaks of astounding achievements made by the Hindus in ancient times. Sushrut, who existed 2600 years ago, is said to be the pioneer of surgery. He is credited with surgical operations such as cataract, caesarean delivery and even organ transplant. The ancient Hindu scriptures also provide deep knowledge of genetics, which is considered a modern science the world over, the booklet says. According to the RSS, the naval transport system also started in the Indus river for the first time in the world some 6,000 years ago. The words navy and navigation were derived from the Sanskrit words nau and navgati carrying similar meanings, it says. In irrigation technology, the first dam-based water reservoir in the world was built in Saurashtra region of Gujarat, it claims, adding that a beautiful artificial lake, named Sudarshan, was also constructed on the Raivatak hill in the times of Chandragupta Maurya.

Sources:

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_160519.html
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jan/01rss.htm
http://www.the-hindu.com/2001/01/03/stories/03030007.htm
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/RSSlaunches.htm
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-60843,00.html
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-60856,00.html
http://www.indiaserver.com/thehindu/2001/01/01/stories/0201000h.htm
http://www.indian-express.com/ie/daily/20010101/ifr01033.html
http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20010101/ifr01033.html
http://www.timesofindia.com/031200/03indi8.htm