It was an Indian, not Wright Brothers, who invented airplane, claims Rajasthan education minister Madan Dilawar

JAIPUR: School education minister Madan Dilawar on Wednesday claimed that airplane was invented by an Indian named Shivkar Bapuji Talpade before the Wright Brothers, but the fact was not mentioned in history books.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of Rajasthan Vigyan Mahotsav held to mark National Science Day in Jaipur, Dilawar said the historic event of an unmanned aircraft flown by Talpade in Mumbai was not documented in history texts as India was under colonial rule. Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani accompanied the minister.

“In the field of aeronautics, our country has always been advanced. Whenever we talk about the making of airplanes, the Wright Brothers’ name appears, but it is not true. The truth is that an Indian named Talpade had already invented an aircraft before the Wright Brothers,” said Dilawar.

The minister has been issuing statements in public, claiming that truthful information on several episodes of India’s history has not been mentioned in textbooks. The BJP leader earlier said the state government would form a committee to assess current history textbooks.

Addressing students at Rajasthan Vigyan Mahotsav, Dilawar further said oral rehydration solution (ORS) was also invented by scientists from India. “The invention of ORS was the biggest discovery of the 20th century. It reduced the death rate in many health problems significantly. Lakhs of people can have vision due to Lasik eye surgery, which was not possible before. This was also started by Rangaswamy Srinivasan. Whether it is the decimal point or the value of pi, India gave these and many other scientific solutions to the world,” said Dilawar.

Devnani said, “There is a need to inculcate in the new generation a scientific spirit along with that of swadeshi. Children should study the biographies of the great scientists of the nation and their inventions.”

The Speaker further said, “We must remember our rich ancient times, where Pushpak Viman is mentioned, and here are eyewitness accounts of war and Lord Ganesha getting an elephant’s head. All this indicates India’s rich science.”