Last September, India put a spacecraft into orbit around Mars. Since then, boasts about the country's scientific prowess have grown outlandishly. In October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed to the half-human, half-elephant Hindu god Ganesh as evidence that ancient Indians had pioneered the art of plastic surgery. Over the weekend, Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vadhan told delegates to the Indian Science Congress -- an annual gathering of the country's top researchers -- that Indian mathematicians had discovered the Pythagorean theorem and graciously allowed the Greeks to take credit. Other speakers claimed that bacteria in cow dung could turn objects into solid gold, and that 7,000 years ago, Indians were flying huge airplanes "from one planet to another."
As ludicrous as these claims are, what should really worry Indians is the current state of the country's research sector.
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