The Arab scholar Said Al-Andalusi who lived in the 11th century was
an admirer of medieval Indian mathematics and civilization.
He stated: "India is the first nation to have cultivated the sciences,
and although black, Allah ranked them above many white and
brown people. It is a powerful, wealthy and populous nation known
for the wisdom of its people and their abilities in all branches
of knowledge."
Author M. K. Agarwal shows how this early culture, where ideation by enlightened philosopher Brahmin kings, brought material and spiritual wealth that was to remain unchallenged until the colonial era