Important Dates in Indian History
Important Dates in Indian History
BC |
|
3000 – 1500 |
Indus Valley Civilization |
(563 or 576 in some sources) |
Birth of Gautama Buddha |
527 |
Birth of Mahavira |
327 – 326 |
Alexander’s invasion of India, It opened a land route between India and Europe |
313 |
Accession of Chandragupta Maurya according to Jain traditions |
305 |
Defeat of Seleucus at the hands of Chandragupta Maurya |
273 – 231 |
Ashoka’s reign |
261 |
Conquest of Kalinga |
145 – 101 |
Region of Elara, the Chola King of Sri Lanka |
58 |
Beginning of Vikram era |
AD |
|
78 |
Beginning of Saka era |
120 |
Accesson of Kanishka |
320 |
Commencement of Gupta era, the golden age of Hindu India |
380 |
Accession of Vikramaditya |
405 – 411 |
Visit of Chinese traveler Fa-hien |
415 |
Accession of Kumara Gupta I |
455 |
Accession of Skanda Gupta |
606 – 647 |
Harshvardhan’s reign |
712 |
First invasion in Sind by Arabs |
836 |
Accession of King Bhoja of Kannauj |
985 |
Accession of Rajaraja, the Chola ruler |
998 |
Accession of Sultan Mahmood |
1001 |
First invasion of India by Mahmud Ghazni who defeated Jaipal, ruler of Punjab |
1025 |
Destruction of Somnath temple by Mahmud Ghazni |
1191 |
First Battle of Tarain |
1192 |
Second Battle of Tarain |
1206 |
Accession of Qutu-ud-din Aibak to the throne of Delhi |
1210 |
Death of Qutub-ud-din Aibak |
1221 |
Changez Khan Razia Sultan to the throne of Delhi |
1240 |
Razia Sultan dies |
1296 |
Accession of Ala-ud-din Khilji |
1316 |
Ala-ud-din Khilji Dies |
1325 |
Accession of Muhammad-bin Tughlaq |
1327 |
Shifting of Capital from Delhi to Daulatabad in Deccan by the Tughlaqs |
1336 |
Founding of Vijaynagar empire in the South |
1351 |
Accession of Feroze Shah |
1398 |
Invasion of India by Timur Lang |
1469 |
Birth of Guru Nanak |
1494 |
Accession of Babar in Farghana |
1497 – 98 |
First voyage of Vasco da Gama to India (discovery of a sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope) |
1526 |
First Battle of Panipat; Babar defeated Ibrahim Lodhi; foundation of Mughal rule by Babar |
1527 |
Battle of Khanya; Babar defeated Rana Sanga |
1530 |
Death of Babar and accession of Humayun and became India’s emperor |
1540 |
Battle of kannauj |
1555 |
Humayun recaptured the throne of Delhi |
1556 |
Second Battle of Panipat |
1565 |
Battle of Talikota |
1576 |
Battle of Haldighati; Rana Pratap defeated by Akbar |
1582 |
Din-e-Illahi founded by Akbar |
1597 |
Death of Rana Pratap |
1600 |
East India Company established |
1605 |
Death of Akbar and accession of jehangir |
1606 |
Execution of Guru Arjun Dev |
1611 |
Jehangir marries Nur jahan |
1616 |
Sir Thomas Roe visits Jehangir |
1628 |
Shahjahan becomes emperor of India |
1631 |
Death of Mumtaz Mahal |
1634 |
The British permitted to trade in India (In Bengal) |
1659 |
Accession of Aurangzeb, Shahjahan imprisoned |
1665 |
Shivaji imprisoned by Aurangzeb |
1666 |
Death of Shahjahan |
1675 |
Execution of Teg Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhs |
1680 |
Death of Shivaji |
1707 |
Death of Aurangzeb |
1708 |
Death of Guru Gobind Singh |
1739 |
Nadir Shah invades India |
1757 |
Battle of Plassey, establishment of British political rule in India at the hands of Lord Clive |
1761 |
Third Battle of Panipat; Shah Alam II becomes India;s emperor |
1764 |
Battle of Buxer |
1765 |
Clive appointed Company’s Governor in India |
1767 – 69 |
First Mysore War |
1770 |
The Great Bengal Famine |
1780 |
Birth of Maharaja Ranjit Singh |
1780 – 84 |
Second Mysore War |
1784 |
Pitt’s India Act |
1790 – 92 |
Third mysore War |
1793 |
The permanent Settlement of Bengal |
1799 |
Fourth Mysore War – Death of Tipu Sultan |
1802 |
Treaty of Bassein |
1809 |
Treaty of Amritsar |
1829 |
Practice of Sati Prohibited |
1830 |
Raja Ram Mohun Roy, founder of Brahmo Samaj, visits England |
1833 |
Death of Raja Ram Mohun Roy |
1839 |
Death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh |
1839 -42 |
First Afghan War |
1845 – 46 |
First Anglo – Sikh War |
1852 |
Second Anglo – Burmese War |
1853 |
Frist Railway line opened between Bombay and Thane, and a Telegraph line in Calcutta |
1857 |
The Sepoy Mutiny or First War of Independence |
1861 |
Birth of Rabindranath Tagore |
1869 |
Birth of Mahatma Gandhi |
1885 |
Foundation of Indian National Congress |
1889 |
Birth of Jawaharlal Nehru |
1897 |
Birth of Subhas Chandra Bose |
1904 |
Tibet Expedition |
1905 |
First partition of Bengal under Lord Curzon |
1906 |
Foundation of Muslim League |
1911 |
Delhi Darbar; King and Queen visit India; Delhi becomes the capital India |
1916 |
World War I Begins |
1916 |
Lucknow Pact signed by Muslim League and Congress |
1918 |
World War I ends |
1919 |
Montague – Chelmsford Reforms introduced, Jallianwala Bagh maggages |
1920 |
Khillfat Movement Launched |
1927 |
Boycott of Simon Commission, Broadcasting strated in India |
1928 |
Death of Lala Lajpat Rai (Sher-e-Punjab) |
1929 |
Lord Irwin’s Pact, resolution of complete independence passed at Lahore Congress |
1930 |
Civil Disobedience Movement Launched; Dandi March by Mahatma Gandhi (April 6, 1930) |
1931 |
Gandhi – Irwin Pact |
1935 |
Government of India Act enacted |
1937 |
Provincial Autonomy, Congress forms ministery |
1939 |
World War II begins (September 1) |
1941 |
Death of Rabindranath Tagore, escape of Subhas Chandra Bose from India |
1942 |
Arrival of Cripps Mission in India, ’Quit India’ movement launched (Aug. 8) |
1942 – 44 |
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose forms provincial Azad Hindu Hukumat and Indian National Army; Bengal famine |
1945 |
Trial of Indian National Army at Red Fort; Shimla Conference; World War II ends |
1946 |
British Cabinet Mission visits India; interim Government formed at the Centre |
1947 |
Divison of India; India and Pakistan form separate independent dominions |
1948 |
Mahatma Gandhi assassinated (Jan. 30); integration of princely states |
1949 |
Cease-fire in Kashmir, Indian Constitution signed and adopted (Nov. 26) |
1950 |
India becomes a Sovereign democratic Republic (Jan. 26) and Constitution of India comes into force |
1951 |
First Five-Year Plan; First Asian Games held in Delhi |
1952 |
First General Elections of the Lok Sabha |
1953 |
Conquest of Mt Everest by Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary |
1956 |
Second Five – Year Plan launched |
1957 |
Second General Elections; decimal coinage introduced, Liberation of Goa |
1962 |
Third General elections in India; Chinese attack on India (Dec. 20) |
1963 |
Nagaland becomes the 16 th IndianState |
1964 |
Death of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru |
1965 |
Pakistan attacks |
1966 |
Tashkent Pact; Death of Lal bahadur Shastri; Mrs Indira Gandhi elected Prime Minister of India |
1967 |
Fourth General Elections; Dr Zakir Hussain elected the third president of India |
1969 |
V.V. Giri elected President of India; nationalization of the leading banks by Presidential ordinance |
1970 |
Meghalaya designated as autonomous state. |
1971 |
Himachal Pradesh becomes a State; Indo – Pak War; Bangladesh is born |
1972 |
Shimla agreement; Death of C. Rajagopalchari |
1973 |
MysoreState renamed Karnataka |
1974 |
India explodes a nuclear device; Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed elected as fifth President, Sikkim becomes an ’associate State’ of India |
1975 |
India launches ’Aryabhata’; Sikkim becomes 22 nd State of the Indian Union; State of Emergency in declared |
1976 |
India and China establish diplomatic relations |
1977 |
Sixth General elections; janata Party gets majority in Lok Sabha; Neelam Sanjiva Reddy elected sixth President of India |
1979 |
Morarji Desai resigns as Prime Minister; Charan singh becomes Prime Minister; Charan Singh resigns (Aug. 20): Sixth Lok Sabha dissolved |
1980 |
Seventh General Elections; Congress I comes to power; Mrs Indira Gandhi sworn in as Prime Minister; Sanjay Gandhi dies in an air crash, India launches SLV-3 into space carrying Rohini satellite |
1982 |
Longest bridge in Asia opened (March 2); Acharya J. B. Kripalani dies (March 19); INSAT1A launched; Giani Zail Singh elected President of India (July 15); Over 500 persons killed in Gujrat cyclone (Nov. 5); Aharya Vinoba Bhave dies (Nov. 15); IX Asian Games inaugurated (Nov. 19) |
1983 |
CHOGM held in New Delhi |
1984 |
Operation Blue Star in Punjab; Rakesh Sharma goes into space; Mrs Indira Gandhi assassinated; Rajiv Gandhi becomes PM of India |
1985 |
Raji – Longowal accord signed; Sant H. S. Longowal Killed; elections in Punjab; Assam accord; VII Five – Year Plan launched |
1986 |
Mizoram accord |
1987 |
R. Vankataraman elected President; Shankar Dayal Sharma elected Vice – President of India, Bofors gun and Fairfax controversies |
1988 |
Operation Black Thunder in Punjab; Accord to quell insurgency in Tripura |
1989 |
Ram Shilanyas Puja at Ayodhya; India’s First IRBM ’Agni’ successfully launched from Orissa (May 22); Trishul Missile test fired (June 5); Secong successful laungh of Prithvi (Sept. 27); Rajiv Government loses poll and resign (Nov. 29); Jawahar Rozgar Yojna launched (Nov. 29); National Front Leader V. P. Sworn in as seventh PM, New cabinet sworn in (Dec. 2), Ninth Lok Sabha constituted |
1990 |
Last of IPKF return home (March 25); Indian Airlines A-320 Airbus Crash (Feb. 14), janata Dal splits, BJP withdraws support to the Government, Advani takes out Rath Yatra and is arrested, Mandal Report implementation announced by V. P. Singh, Violence in Ayodhya due to Ram Janam Bhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute |
1991 |
Gulf War breaks out (Jan. 17), Rajiv Gandhi assassinated (May 21), X Lok Sabha constituted (June 20), P.V. Narsimha Rao becomes Prime Minister |
1992 |
India establishes full diplomatic ties with Israel (Jan. 29), Bharat Ratna and Oscar winner Satyajit Ray Dies (April 23), S. D. Sharma elected President (July 25), INS Shakti – first indigeneously built submarine was launched on Feb. 7 |
1993 |
Ordinance to acquire 67.33 acres in Ayodhya (Jan. 7), Massive security fails in BJP rally, Wave of bombing leaves 300 dead in Bombay, Insat-2B becomes fully, operational, Earthquake in Maharashtra |
1994 |
Government monopoly over civil aviation ends; Storm over GATT treaty; Plague outbreak; Sushmita Sen – Miss Universe; Aiswarya Rai – Miss World |
1995 |
Mayawati First Dalit Chief Minister; BJP comes to power in Maharashtra and Gujarat, Janata Dal in Karnatala and Congress in Orissa; Indian National Congress (T) formed; President’s Rule in UP after fall of mayawati; INSAT 2C and IRSI-C launched |
1996 |
Hawala takes toll of several Union Ministers and opposition leaders; PSLV D3 launched on March 21 with IRSP-3 ushering new era in Indian space programme; Eleventh Lok Sabha Elections held on April 127 – BJP emerges as the single largest party |
1997 |
On August 15, India celeberated its 50 th year of Independence |
1998 |
Death of Mother Teressa; Atal Behari Vajpayee becomes Indian Prime Minister; India explodes its second nuclear device (Pokhran II) |
1999 |
Indian Airlines plane IC-814 hijacked by terrorists and taken to Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Dec . 24.Three militants released by Indian govt. for the freedom of hostage kept as passengers. In June 1999, Flt Lt k. nachiketa,the captured Indian Pilot, released by Pakistan after eight days of captivity. ’Operation Vijay’ launched by Indian Army to flush out Pakistani infiltrators inside LoC in the Kargil sector of J&K, India wins battle. |
2000 |
US President Bill Clinton visits India during March 2000 Three new states Chhatisgarh, Uttaranchal, and Jharkhand created, India’s population crossed one billion mark. |
2001 |
’Agra Summit’ between India and Pakistan in July 2001; Worst Natural calamity of India; Gujarat Earthquake in Jan. 2001; ’Tehelka.com’ screened video tapes which opened the murky world of arms deal and its kickbacks to Indian Army officials, ministers and politicians in March 2001; vith census of India (since Independence) concluded in March 2001. Enron bids farewell to Indian Energy sector in August 2001; GSLY launched successfully in April 2001 and PSLV-C3 launch conducted in October 2001. |
2002 |
71- year old Missile scientist, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam is elected President of India; One of the most horrific communal roits in recent history, the Godhra Incident, happens on Feb. 27, 2002 in Gujarat; National Water Policy announced in April, which aims at integrating water resources development and management for optimal and sustainable utilization. |
2003 |
Formation of Strategic Forces Command (SFC) an the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) by India; Air Marshal Teja Mohan Asthana named first commander-in-chief of the SFC; Advanced multi-purpose satellite, INSAT – 3A is successfully launched into space from Kourou of French Guyana; CBI forms an Economic Intelligence Wing to Tackle white-collar crime in June; India’s advanced communication satellite INSAT – 3E is launched by an European rocket from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana in December. |
2004 |
NDA government ousted by the Congress and its allies in the General Election; Congress President Mrs Sonia Gandhi opts against becoming prime minister of India despite being in a strong position; Congress and its allies forms government at the centre under the Prime Minister ship of Dr. Manmohan Singh. On Dec. 26, 2004, Tsunani in the Indian Ocean hit South India along with many Southeast-Asian nations killing about 3,000 people. More than 11,000 deaths reported in India alone. |
2005 |
Monsoon rains in late July and early August 2005 caused devastating landslides and floods that killed about 900 people in and around Bombay. An earthquake with a Magnitude of 7,6 Struck Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) on October 8, 2005. More than 81,000 people were killed and 2.5 million left homeless. India suffered about 13,000 causalities. Indo-US reached an agreement in July 2005 that would allow India to seek outside help in developing its civilian nuclear power program while maintaining its nuclear weapons. In addition, India would submit the civilian program, administration, which bans country with nuclear weapons from buying nuclear fuel and equipment from foreign countries. The US allowed American companies to provide India with several types of modern combat weapons, including F–15 and F–18 fighter jets. The announcement was seen as an attempt to balance the US offer to sell Pakistan about two dozen F–16s. |
2006 |
In March 2006, President Bush and Prime Minister Singh agreed to a controversial nuclear deal that permitted the sale of US nuclear technology to India despite the fact that India has never signed the International Nuclear Nonproliferation agreement. Since 1998, the US has imposed sanctions on India for undertaking nuclear tests. Critics of the deal, which must be approved by Congress, contend that allowing India to circumvent the international treaty will make it more difficult to negotiate and rein in North Korea and Iran’s nuclear ambitions. |
2007 |
Tata emerges as the world’s fifth largest steel maker after the acquisition of British steel maker corus. Sensex regains the 14 K peak by gaining more than 72 points on sustained buying by foreign and domestic funds in banking, auto and technology sector stocks. Two coaches of the Delhi-Atari Express (4001 Up) were engulfed in a devastating fire caused by improvised explosive devices (IED). Nine persons are killed and 50 injured in a bomb blast inside the historic Mecca Masjid during the Friday prayers in Hyderabad. India’s leading private airline Jet Airways finally announced a takeover of the much smaller Air Sahara at a cost of Rs 1450 crore ($ 34 million) in April 2007. |