MBR as the relic of big bang

In this talk I outline some of the arguments in support of a cosmological and primordial origin of the observed microwave background radiation (MBR) in the early hot phase of the universe. This interpretation of the MBR is at the heart of the hot Big Bang model (HBBM) of the universe. The observed Planckian energy distribution of the microwave photons reflects the thermal equilibrium that can be set up naturally within HBBM in the dense early universe. Alternate interpretations face the challenge of extremely tight constraints on deviations from a Planckian distribution. Within HBBM, the formation of large scale structure is linked to tiny anisotropies in the angular distribution of the MBR photons. Recent measurements of these anisotropies seem to be broadly consistent with the predictions of the current scenarios of structure formation in the universe. Since these predictions are based on HBBM, the concurrence of data with theory provides additional support in favour of viewing the MBR as the relic of Big Bang.