A tweet by X (formerly Twitter) user Sarah For Trump went viral after she posted an image of the Indian flag with the caption: “Name one thing this country gave to the world”.

The post, viewed nearly 5 lakh times, quickly gained traction. It sparked replies celebrating India’s cultural, scientific and spiritual influence.

One Indian user replied with diverse Indian-origin achievements, such as zero, the decimal system, yoga, Ayurveda, plastic surgery, chess, the binary system, snakes and ladders and Ramanujan prime.

The precise mentions helped the comment gain over 4,000 likes and 76,000 views.

Sarah’s simple response, “Wow”, captured the impact of the list as she acknowledged the depth of India’s civilisational influence.

In a humorous twist, a user joked that India gave “nothing” to the world, “Literally. 0.” The pun quickly gained attention when Sarah replied in disbelief:

“Zero? Like, nobody knew what zero was before? That’s wild!”

Her reaction highlighted how many outside India are still unaware of the nation’s contribution to mathematics: the invention of zero.

In the 5th century CE, Aryabhata developed and formalised the concept of zero in his place-value system. However, he didn’t use a symbol for it.

One proud Indian added another point: early forms of plastic surgery.

He highlighted that procedures like rhinoplasty were documented in ancient Indian texts, especially the Sushruta Samhita, long before reaching the West.

India’s contribution

Two more replies have added weight to India’s legacy. Climate activist Licypriya Kangujam proudly spotlighted Manipur as the birthplace of Polo, home to the world’s oldest Polo ground.

Another user praised India’s early mathematical advances, such as the decimal place value system and polynomial solutions.

“India can’t be defined in one word; people come and explore us. We are a land of god, miracles, technology & best minds who lead Google, Microsoft, Adobe, MasterCard, etc.,” came from another user.