It was not the Wright Brothers but an Indian sage who invented flying, Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel said on Thursday, igniting a controversy involving facts and history as the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader sought new education to students over these aspects.
“Students should be told about how Wright Brothers are being wrongly credited for developing an airplane,” Patel declared during her first media interaction after completing five years in office. She asserted that ancient sage Maharishi Bharadwaj developed aviation technology first — a claim that contradicts records of Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first sustained, controlled, powered flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.
The governor ventured further by describing Kumbhakarna, a character from the Hindu epic Ramayana, as “a technocrat who did not sleep for six months and instead worked in laboratories during the period.” This interpretation markedly differs from traditional religious texts, which portray Kumbhakarna as a mythological figure who slept for six-month intervals due to a divine boon or curse.
These assertions follow her remarks at Lucknow University’s 66th convocation ceremony on December 6, 2023, where she elaborated on ancient Indian aviation. “Maharishi Bharadwaj’s Ashram, which still exists in Prayagraj, and his Yantra Sarvasva, called the encyclopaedia of machines, of which the Vymaanika Shastra is a part, revealed eight types of airplanes,” Patel, a former Gujarat CM, said.
{{/usCountry}}These assertions follow her remarks at Lucknow University’s 66th convocation ceremony on December 6, 2023, where she elaborated on ancient Indian aviation. “Maharishi Bharadwaj’s Ashram, which still exists in Prayagraj, and his Yantra Sarvasva, called the encyclopaedia of machines, of which the Vymaanika Shastra is a part, revealed eight types of airplanes,” Patel, a former Gujarat CM, said.
{{/usCountry}}Scholars have noted that the Vymaanika Shastra, frequently cited in discussions of ancient aviation, was actually authored in the early 20th century and published in 1952 by G.R. Josyer.
“Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, a resident of Mumbai, developed the first model of airplane eight years ahead of Wright Brothers... Talpade’s flew his airplane at a height of 1,800 feet,” Patel added. Talpade attempted to build an aircraft and fly it, too, is regarded as unverified with no reliable records.
Patel, who took oath at Raj Bhavan on July 29, 2019, made these statements during her first comprehensive media interaction after completing five years in office.