Published in:
05-10-2022 | Letter to the Editor
Reflections on Cancer/Healthcare Landscape in India on the Occasion of 75 Years of Independence: Glorious Past and a Future Filled with Pride and Optimism
Published in: Indian Journal of Surgical Oncology | Special Issue 1/2022
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For most of the past two millennia, Bharat (India, as we know now) was an economic powerhouse with the highest GDP in the world [1, 2]. From year 1 AD to almost 1500 AD, Bharat’s GDP was the highest in the world by a large measure and accounted for almost one-third of all global trade (Fig. 1). In parallel with its economic prowess, Bharat then and before was also a major contributor to the field of medical sciences [3‐5]. Researchers have noted that almost 9000 years ago, prehistoric dentists in Baluchistan used drills on the teeth of a living person to cure toothache [6].
Fig. 1
Share of the world’s GDP from 1 to 2003 AD. https://www.rug.nl/ggdc/historicaldevelopment/maddison/releases/maddison-database-2010
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