Miscellaneous of Indian History

I. ANCIENT INDIA

BC

2500-1750

• Indus Valley Civilization

563-483

• Buddha's life span

540-468

• Mahavir's life span

327-326

• Alexander's invasion of India

• It opened a land route between India and Europe

322

• Accession of Chandragupta Maurya

305

• Defeat of Seleucus at the hands of Chandragupta Maurya

273-232

• Ashoka's reign

261

• Conquest of Kalinga

145-101

• Reign of Elara, the Chola king of Sri Lanka

58

• Beginning of the Vikram era

AD

78

• Beginning of the Saka era

78-101

• Kanishka's reign

319-320

• Commencement of the Gupta era

380

• Accession of Chandragupta 11 "Vikramaditya"

405-411

• Visit of Chinese traveller Fahien

415

• Accession of Kumaragupta 1

455

• Accession of Skandagupta

606-647

• Harshavardhan's reign

II. MEDIEVAL INDIA

712

• First invasion of Sindh by Arabs (Mohd. Bin Qasim)

836

• Accession of King Bhoja of Kannauj

985

• Accession of Rajaraja, the Chola ruler

998

• Accession of Sultan Mahmud Ghazni

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 Qutubuddin Aibak to the throne of Delhi

1210

• Death of Qutubuddin Aibak

1221

• Chengiz Khan invaded India (Mongol invasion)

1236

• Accession of Razia Sultana to the throne of Delhi

1240

• Death of Razia Sultana

1296

• Accession of Alauddin Khilji

1316

• Death of Alauddin Khilji

1325

• Accession of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq

1327

• Transfer of Capital from Delhi to Devagiri (Daulatabad) in Deccan by Muhammad bin Tughlaq

1336

• Foundation of the Vijayanagar Empire in the South

1351

• Accession of Firoz Shah Tughlaq

1398

• Timur's Invasion of India

1469

• Birth of Guru Nanak

1494

• Accession of Babur in Farghana

1497-98

• First voyage of Vasco da Gama to India (discovery of sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope)

1526

• First Battle of Panipat: Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi foundation of the Mughal dynasty by Babur

1527

• Battle of Khanwa - Babur defeated Rana Sanga

1530

• Death of Babur and accession of Humayun

1539

• Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun in the battle of Chausa and became India's emperor

1555

• Humayun recaptured the throne of Delhi

1556

• Second Battle of Panipat (Akbar defeated Hemu)

1565

• Battle of Talikota (Rakshasa-Tangadi)

1576

• Battle of Haldighati - Rana Pratap was defeated by Akbar

1582

• Din-i-llahi was founded by Akbar

1600

• English East India Company was established

1605

• Death of Akbar and accession of Jahangir

1606

• Execution of Guru Arjun Dev, the 5th Guru of Sikhs

1611

• Jahangir married Nurjahan

1615

• Sir Thomas Roe visited Jahangir

1627

• Birth of Shivaji and death of Jahangir

1628

• Shahjahan became the emperor of India

1631

• Death of Mumtaz Mahal

1634

• The English were permitted to trade in India (in Bengal)

1659

• Accession of Aurangzeb, Shahjahan was imprisoned

1665

• Shivaji was imprisoned by Aurangzeb

1666

• Death of Shahjahan

1675

• Execution of Guru Teg Bahadur, the 9th Guru of  Sikhs

1680

• Death of Shivaji

1707

• Death of Aurangzeb

1708

• Death of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Guru of Sikhs

1739

• Nadir Shah invaded India

III. Modern INDIA

1757

• Battle of Plassey (establishment of British political rule in India at the hands of Lord Clive)

1761

• Third Battle of Panipat

1764

• Battle of Buxar

1765

• Clive was appointed the Company's Governor in India

1767-69

• First Anglo—Mysore War.

1780

• Birth of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

1780-84

• Second Anglo-Mysore War

1784

• Pitt's India Act

1790-92

• Third Anglo-Mysore War

1793

• The Permanent Settlement of Bengal.

1799

• Fourth Anglo-Mysore War—Death of Tipu Sultan.

1802

• Treaty of Bassein

1809

• Treaty of Amritsar

1829

• Practice of Sati prohibited

1830

• Raja Kaminohan Roy visited England.

1833

• Death of Raja Rammohan Roy at Bristol, England.

1839

• Death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Suppression of Thuggee by Colonel William Henry Sleeman

1839-42

• First Anglo-Afghan War

1845-46

• First Anglo-Sikh War

1852

• Second Anglo-Burmese War

1853

• The first 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 the Indian National Congress

1889

• Birth of Jawaharlal Nehru

1897

• Birth of Subhash Chandra Bose

1903

• Tibet Expedition (Young Husband delegation)

1905

• Partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon.

1906

• Foundation of the Muslim League by Salimullah (Nawab of Dhaka) at Dhaka.

1911

• Delhi Darbar, King and Queen visit India; Delhi becomes the capital of India

1914

• World War I begins

1916

• Lucknow Pact was signed by the Muslim League and the Congress

1918

• World War I ends

1919

• Montague-Chelmsford Reforms were introduced, Jallianwala Bagh massacre at Amritsar

1920

• Khilafat Movement was launched

1927

• The boycott of the Simon Commission, broadcast in India

1928

• Death of Lala Lajpat Rai

1929

• Resolution of 'Poorna Swaraj' (complete independence) passed at the Lahore Session of the INC

1930

• Civil Disobedience Movement was launched, the Dandi March by Mahatma Gandhi (April 6, 1930)

1931

• Gandhi-Irwin Pact

1935

• Government of India Act

1937

• Provincial Autonomy, Congress formed ministries

1939

• World War II began (September I)

1941

• The escape of Subhash Chandra Bose from India, Death of Rabindranath Tagore.

1942

• Arrival of the Cripps Mission in India, Quit India movement launched (August 8).

1943-44

• S-C. Bose formed the Provisional Government of Free India and reorganised the Indian National Army in Singapore; the Bengal famine.

1945

• Trial of Indian National Army at Red Fort; Shimla Conference; End of World War II.

1The 946

• The British Cabinet Mission visited India; the Interim government was formed at the Centre.

1947

• End of British rule and partition of the sub-continent into India and Pakistan, Jawaharlal Lai (J. L.) Nehru was sworn in as the first Prime Minister by Lord Mountbatten (the last British Governor-General of India). Hundreds of thousands die in communal bloodshed.

1948

• Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, C. Rajagopalachari became the first and last Indian Governor-General, War with Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir, India won the London Olympic hockey gold, Indian Atomic Commission created.

1949

• Constitution of India adopted by the Constituent Assembly (26 November)

1950

• Constitution of India came into force with universal adult franchise, Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel died.

1951-52

• Congress won the first general election under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru.

1953

• Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest, and the UGC was established.

1954

• Sahitva Akademi established, Panchsheel Agreement signed between India & China.

1955

• The Touchability (Offence) Act came into force, Hindu Marriage Act was passed.

1956

• State Reorganisation Act was passed

1957

• All India Radio was renamed as Akashvani.

1958

• The metric system was introduced, and Nationwide Panchayati Raj was launched.

1959

• Swatantra Party was formed by C. Rajagopalachari.

• For the first time in India television programme started, Dalai Lama got political asylum in India.

1960

• Bombay was bifurcated into the Maharashtra and Gujarat states

1961

• India occupied the Portuguese enclaves of Goa, Daman, and Diu

1962

• India lost a brief border war with China

1962

• Sino-Indian War

1963

• Rajendra Prasad died

1964

• Jawaharlal Nehru died, Lai Bahadur Shastri became India's second Prime Minister.

1965

• Second war with Pakistan over Kashmir.

• Taskent Agreement, Lai Bahadur Shastri died in Tashkent (USSR)

1966

• Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi, became Prime Minister, and Homi Jehangir Bhabha died in a plane crash.

• The states of Haryana and Punjab came into existence.

1967

• Naxalbari Peasant Revolt began from Naxalbari village, Darjeeling district.

• West Bengal State

1968

• Hargobind Khorana shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology.

1969

• 14 leading banks nationalised

1970

• Former Indian rulers' Privy purses abolished.

1971

• The third war with Pakistan was over the creation of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan.

1972

• The Himachal Agreement (on Kashmir) was signed between India and Pakistan by Indira Gandhi and Z.A. Bhutto.

1973

• Manekshaw was named India's first Field Marshal, State of Mysore was renamed Karnataka state.

1974

• India exploded its first nuclear device (Code name 'Smiling Buddha') in an underground test at Pokharan, Rajasthan.

1975

• Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency, Satellite 'Aryabhata' was launched.

1975-77

• Nearly 1,000 political opponents were imprisoned, and a programme of compulsory birth control was introduced.

• The Emergency was withdrawn (March 21, 1977).

1977

• Indira Gandhi's Congress Party lost the general election, the Janata Party won the general election, and Morarji Desai became Prime Minister.

1978

• Hindi novelist and poet Sachidanand Hiranand Vatsyayan 'Ajneya' won the 1978 Jnanpith Award for 'Kitani Navon Mein Kitani Baar'.

1979

• Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize.

1980

• Indira Gandhi returned to power, heading the Congress Party splinter group, Congress (Indira).

• Mother Teresa was awarded the 'Bharat Ratna'.

1981

• International Court of Justice re-elected Nagendra Singh as  Judge for another 9-year term, Dr. Pramod Karan Sethi was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership, for developing the 'Jaipur Foot', Salman Rushdie's 'Midnight's Children' won the Booker Prize (later adjudged the 'Booker of Bookers').

1982

• EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) were used for the first time for an assembly by-election in Kerala, and Delhi Doordarshan began its telecast in colour.

• Chandi Prasad Bhatt, environmentalist and Chipko movement leader, got the Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership, 9th Asian Games held at New Delhi.

1983

• Indian-born S. Chandrashekhar shared the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on dwarf stars and their limit of mass (Known as Chandrashekhar Limit), Bhanu Athaiya became the first Indian to win an Oscar for costume design in the Richard Attenborough's film 'Gandhi' shared with John Mollo, Led by kapil Dev India won the Prudential World Cup of cricket.

1984

• Rakesh Sharma became India's first spaceman. Troops stormed the Golden Temple-Sikhs' most holy shrine-to flush out militants pressing for self-rule (Operation Bluestar).

1984

• Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.

• Her son Rajiv took over as Prime Minister (October).

• The toxic gas (methyl-isocyanate) leaked at the Union Carbide pesticides plant in Bhopal.

• Thousands were killed immediately, and many more subsequently died or were left disabled (December).

1985

• Murlidhar Devidas Amte alias Baba Amte, lawyer and social worker, got the Ramon Magsaysay Award for public service.

• Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was established to promote the distance education system.

1986

• Shah Bano, a Muslim divorcee, won an alimony and inheritance case in the Supreme Court.

1987

• India deployed troops for three years in, peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict.

1988

• Pakistan confers its highest civil award, 'Nishan-e-Pakistan', on Morarji Desai, 'The Satanic Verses' by Salman Rushdie, banned in India.

1989

• Foundation stone laid for the Ram Janmabhoomi temple at Ayodhya, Vishwanath Pratap (V.P.) Singh became Prime Minister, and Devi Lai became Deputy Prime Minister.

1990

• Muslim separatist groups began a campaign of violence in Kashmir, the V.P. Singh-led Government announced reservation of 27% jobs for other Backward Classes (OBCs) in pursuance of the Mandal Commission recommendations, Lai Krishna (L.K.) Advani started a rath yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya, Prime Minister V.P. Singh resigned, and Chandra Shekhar was sworn in as Prime Minister.

IV. POST MODERN INDIA

1991

• Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated at Sriperumbudur near Chennai by a suicide bomber sympathetic to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers. P.V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister.

• The economic reform programme was begun by Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.

1992

• The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of 27% reservation in government jobs for OBCs, and Hindu extremists demolished Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, triggering widespread Hindu-Muslim violence.

• Noted filmmaker Satyajit Ray received an Oscar for lifetime achievement.

1993

• 73rd Constitution Amendment Act or Panchayati Raj Act came into effect (April 24, 1993; April 24 commemorated as 'Panchayati Raj Diwas').

1994

• Sushmita Sen became the first Indian to win the Miss Universe title, and Aishwarya Rai was crowned Miss World 1994.

1995

• Mobile phones and Internet service were launched in India.

1996

• Congress suffered its worst ever electoral defeat as the BJP emerged as the largest single party, Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Prime Minister for 17 days, and H.D. Deve Gowda became Prime Minister.

1997

• I.K. Gujral sworn in as PM., I.K. Gujral resigned as PM.

1998

• BJP formed a coalition government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India carried out nuclear tests (code name-Operation Shakti) at Pokhran, and Amartya Sen won the Nobel Prize for Economics.

1999

• A.B. Vajpayee made the historic bus trip to Pakistan to meet Premier Nawaz Sharif and signed the bilateral Lahore peace declaration (February).

• Tension in Kashmir led to a brief war with Pakistan-backed forces in the icy heights around Kargil in Indian-held Kashmir (Operation Vijay) (May).

2000

• India marked the birth of its billionth citizen (May Creation of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand states (1, and 15 No. v. respectively).