"Internet and satellite communication had existed in the days of Mahabharata," an Indian politician and chief minister of the north-eastern state of Tripura, Biplab Deb, said during a public function on Tuesday, referring to one of the major Sanskrit epics of ancient India that was written thousands years ago.
The epic narrates the story of the Kurukṣetra War, a major dynastic struggle for the throne.
According to Deb, the events described in the epic serve as a proof that both the internet and the satellite technology existed in ancient India many centuries ago.
READ MORE: Indian Astrology Ventures Riding High on Digital Multimedia Technology
"We had technology in those times… Who knows what happened in the middle but those technologies existed thousands of years ago," he said.
Footage of him making these comments went viral and sparked active debate among social media users.
Some people called his statements "embarrassing."
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://t.co/QqTxXZFL9F
— Rupa Subramanya (@rupasubramanya) 18 апреля 2018 г.
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.
— Arif Rafiq (@ArifCRafiq) 18 апреля 2018 г.
So I think that would mean around the 10th century BC.
No wonder India leads the world in trolls.https://t.co/SBqWZ2fgMM
cc: @algore
Others perceived his remark with restraint.
They are busy keeping all those without a job engaged in this beautiful debate that means nothing. Just allow them their freedom to express.
— Narayan Srikanth (@NarayanSrikanth) 18 апреля 2018 г.
@mihirssharma In some way it could have been correct. An invention is just a concept which is usually protected through a patent. The concept need not be physically realizable or feasible. This is how it works today. Only difference, had there been process of patenting then.
— Satyam Dwivedi (@stym_D) 18 апреля 2018 г.
