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Timeline of Indian History (10,000 BC - 2016 AD)


TIMELINE OF INDIAN HISTORY


Introduction

“A nation that forgets its past has no future” – Winston Churchill

These immortal words aptly encapsulates why nations MUST preserve its cultural heritage and traditions to know the roots of its past to grow and shape its present and future.

These 10-pages, organized into bold headers characterizing key time periods, charter the journey of our beloved nation - Bharat-varsha, Hindustan, India – called by different names at different points in our History – but weaving a common thread of love, pride and passion in our hearts as we look back to the major events that shaped our destiny to date and the future that beckons.

The source of information is Wikipedia and other research publications from various sources. The names, place, date, events can be easily searched on the internet to know, read and learn more.

Jai Hind !!


Ancient India: 10000 - 350 BC

Bhimbetaka Rock Shelters at Raisen, Madhya Pradesh indicate semi-permanent settlements (Paleolithic Age) since 9th Century BC with certain rock paintings dated 30,000 years back; Indus Valley Civilization dated to 8000 BC (older than Egypt & Mesopotamia), major cities include Harappa and Mohenjodaro that develop between 5500-3300 BC; Mathematician Baudhayana computes the value of ‘pi’, pythagros theorem, square root of 2, etc (7000 BC) much before western discoveries later; Climate change impacts Indus Valley Civilization by 2500 BC; Farming settlements develop between 1800-1500 BC; Vedic Civilization flourishes with "Rig-Veda" composed in the late Bronze & Iron Age (1400 BC); 16 Maha-Janapadas (Great States) form in northern India between 1000 - 600 BC, these include Anga (Munger & Bhagalpur, Bihar), Asmaka (Paithan, Maharashtra), Avanti (Ujjain, MP), Chedi (Bundelkhand, MP), Gandhara (Qandhar, Peshawar, Rawalpindi), Kamboja (Poonch, Kashmir), Kasi (Varanasi, UP), Kosala (Faizabad, Gonda, Bahraich in UP), Kuru (Thanesar, Delhi & Meerut), Matsya (Jaipur, Alwar & Bharatpur in Rajasthan), Malla (Deoria, Basti & Gorakhpur, UP), Magadha (Patna & Gaya, Bihar), Panchala (Bareilly & Kanauj, UP), Surasena (Mathura, UP), Vrijji (Janakpur, Nepal), Vatsa (Allahabad & Mirzapur, UP); Magadha is most powerful in 600-500 BC with Bimbisara and his son Ajatashatru its most important Kings; Earliest known Indian Punch Mark Coins (PMC) develops independent of Lydia (Greece) and China (8-6 Century BC); Development of caste system; "Upanishads" composed (8-6 Century BC); Taxila University established (600 BC) and survives till 500 AD, famous students/teachers include Vishnu Gupta (Kautilya or Chanakya), Panini (Sanskrit scholar), Jeevaka & Charaka (Ayurveda) and Vishnu Sharma (author of Panchtantra stories); Prince Siddharta Gautama becomes the Buddha (500 BC); Prince Mahavira founds Jainism (500 BC); Jataka tales written detailing previous lives (jati) of Buddha as Bodhisattva (400 BC); First Buddhist Council held at Rajgir (400 BC).


Alexanders Invasion, Mauryan Empire and Development of Castes: 326 BC - 200 AD

"Ramayana" composed by Valmiki (300 BC); Alexander III (Alexander the Great) of Macedon (Greece) invades Indus Valley (326 BC) at the invitation of King Ambhi of Taxila and Gandhara, defeats King Purushottam (Parvataka, Puru or Porus) but returns his kingdom impressed by his bravery; Chandragupta Maurya defeats Dhana Nanda of the Nanda Dynasty and establishes the first Mega Empire in India (324 BC); Chandragupta defeats Alexander’s general, Seleucus Nicator, marries his daughter and gifts him 500 war elephants (305 BC); Chandragupta Maurya’s mentor Kautilya composes “Arthshastra”; Chandragupta’s grandson, Ashoka the Great rules Mauryan Empire (272 BC); The Kalinga War (262 BC) leaves 200,000 dead, Ashoka vows ‘Ahimsa’ and becomes Buddhist ; Construction begins of the Great Stupa at Sanchi to house Buddha’s relics; Ashoka erects Pillars (250 BC) each of 40-50 ft high and weighing 50 tons each, ‘Lion Pillar’ becomes frontrunner to Independent India’s National Symbol and the ‘Dharma Chakra (wheel)’ finds central place in India’s National Flag; Death of Ashoka (232); Mauryan General Pushyamitra Sunga assumes power (185); Mauryan Empire fragments rapidly post death of Ashoka and many republics, tribes and ancient city states declare independence – these include Kaushambi, Vidisha, Ujjain, Eran, Erikaccha, Tripuri, Mahismati, Suktimati, Kurara, Kurupurika, Madhyamika, Bhagila, Taxila etc; Satavahana Empire established in Deccan, rulers follow matriarchal society with important rulers being Gautimiputra Satakarni, Sri Pulumavi etc; foreign nomadic tribes invade India with the Indo-Scythian (Sakas) Empire established (200 BC), important rulers include Maues & Azes; Indian epic "Mahabharata" (incl ‘Bhagavada Gita’) composed; Indo-Greek (Baktrian) Kingdom established (200 BC), important Greek rulers include Demetrious, Eukratides, Apollodotus, Menander (Milinda), Antialcidas, Antimachos etc with more than 45 Kings identified through source of coins only; Ajanta caves (30 no.) built by Satavahana Dynasty depicting Jataka tales (100 BC); Vikrami Samvat (V.S.) era established by King Vikramaditya (of Vikram and Baitaal stories fame) of Ujjain following victory over Sakas (56 BC); Kalidasa, a nav-ratna (nine gems) at Vikramaditya’s court, composes classical plays ‘Shakuntalam’ and ‘Meghduta’; Indo-Parthian (Persian) kingdoms established by Gondophares (20 BC); Kushan Kingdom established by the Chinese Ku-shuang (or Gui-shuang) of the Yueh-chi nomadic tribe fleeing the Mongolian Xiang-nu or the Huns (30 AD), important Kushan rulers include Kujula Kadphises, Wima Kadphises, Kanishka the Great, Vashiska, Huvishka, Vasudeva; Kushans introduce first gold and portrait coins in India imitating the Indo-Greeks rulers, patronize the Gandhara and Mathura school of art; Western Kshatraps also gain foothold in India in first Century AD, fight with Satavahanas for supremacy in Deccan; "Laws of Manu" define four main Hindu castes (Brahmin ie priest, Shatriya ie king/warrior, Vaishya ie trader, Shudra ie menial labourer or untouchable); Saka (or Shalivahana) era begins from AD 78 to commemorate victory of Satavahanas over the Sakas.


Gupta Empire and Fragmentation: 300 - 750 AD

Gupta Empire established (320 AD) - "Golden Age" of Indian history begins under Gupta kings, main rulers include Samudragupta (Dharmaditya), Chandragupta (Vikramaditya), Kumaragupta (Mahendraditya), Skandagupta (Karmaditya); revival of Hinduism under Gupta kings with Asvamedha yagna and other rituals followed by the Kings; Indian decimal numbering system takes its modern shape under Guptas (later these are spread to Europe by Arabs and known as Hindu-Arabic numerals); The Gupta Kings introduce the first ‘Indianized’ gold coins of India bearing effigy of the King, sometimes Queen and Hindu deities; Pallava Dynasty established in South India (Tamil Nadu, Andhra); Chandragupta II conquers Gujarat, destroys the Sakas and gains title ‘Sakahari’; Kumaragupta erects an Iron pillar, 23.8 ft high, 16 inch diameter, visible at the Qutub Minar complex (New Delhi) that withstands test of time/corrosion; The game of Chaturanga (chess) develops during Gupta period; Gupta Empire declines (500 AD) and India fragments with invasion of the Huns; Aryabhata composes ‘aryabhatiya’ - text on maths and astronomy (499 AD), his works on astronomy and mathematics is extensively translated by later Arabs and spread to Europe ; Nalanda University established in Bihar; Chalukyan kingdom founded in Central India; Thanesar Kingdom founded by Harsha Vardhana in north India and Nepal; Banabhatta composes biography ‘Harsacarita’ and novel ‘Kadambri’; Famous chinese pilgrims Fa-Hien (400 AD) and Hieun-Tsang (630 AD) visit India; Ellora caves built (34 no – 12 Buddhist, 17 Hindu & 5 Jain); Chalukyas defeat Harsha Vardhana at Battle of Malwa; Pratihara Dynasty forms in northern India and Palas in East India (Bengal); Chittorgarh, the largest fort in India, built by Maurya rulers (700 AD), gains fame under Bappa Rawal, Sisodia Gehlot Rajput; First Arab-Muslim invasion of India at Sindh under Mohd Bin Qassim (712)


Chola Empire and Medieval India: 750 - 1200 AD

Sri Adi Shankara spreads the Vedanta philosophy (800); Rashtrakuta Dynasty controls south and central India, expands northward; Chola Empire breaks off from Pallavas; Pratihara Empire at its height; Chola conquers all of South India; Raja Raja Chola builds India’s largest ‘Brihadeshvara Temple’ at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu (1010); Mahmud of Ghazni invades India and conquers much of Punjab; Chandela Rajputs build the world famous temples at Khajuraho in Central India (950-1150); Mahmud of Ghazni sacks Gurjara-Pratihara capital Kannauj (1018), invades Somnath temple (Somnath is the first amongst the 12 Jyotirlinga’s dedicated to Shiva) (1024); Pala Empire peaks under King Mahipala who is defeated by Rajendra Chola (1024); Raja Bhoja of Malwa and King Bhima of Gujarat rebuild Somnath temple after Mahmud Ghazni’s invasion (1026-1042); Cholas expand into Southeast Asia; World famous Dilwara temples (Adinath temple) built in marble at Mount Abu, Rajasthan (1031); Chalukya Empire breaks into three kingdoms (Badami, Kalyani, Vengi); Anantavarman Choda Ganga constructs the Jagannath temple at Puri (1100); King Suryavarman II builds the world’s largest Hindu temple complex at Angkor Wat in Cambodia (1130); Mohd Ghori defeated by Solanki Rajputs in Gujarat (1178), by Prithviraj Chauhan (1191), defeats and kills Chauhan in the Battle of Tarian (1192); Construction commences on Qutub Minar in Delhi by Mohd Ghori’s slave general, Qutb-ud-din Aibak (1193) and is finished by his son-in-law, Iltutmish; Nalanda University sacked by Qutub-ud-din’s military general, Baktiar Khilji (1193), the library burns for more than 3 months and immense knowledge source is lost.


Muslim Rule in India: 1200 - 1500 AD

Following death of Mohd Ghori, Delhi Sultanate founded by Qutb-ud-din Aibak (1206); Razia Sultan, Qutub-ud-din’s daughter, becomes the first and only woman ruler of Delhi Sultanate (1236-40); Balban, slave of Qutub-ud-din Aibak, usurps power in Delhi (1266); Chola Dynasty falls; Khilji Dynasty under Jalal-ud-din Firoz Khilji takes over Delhi Sultanate (1290); Ala-ud-din Khilji murders his uncle Firoz Khilji and becomes greatest ruler of the Khilji Dynasty (1296); Battle of Jalandhar - Khilji general Zafar Khan defeats Mongols (1297), prisoners are brought to Delhi and those embracing Islam are resettled in area known today as Mongolpuri; Ala-ud-din Khilji sieges Chittor, first Jauhar (‘mass self-immolation’) in Chittor as Rani Padmini and all Rajput women jump into burning pyres while the Rajput men wearing ‘kesariya bana’ (saffron dress) march out for battle to death (‘Saka’) (1303); Ala-ud-din’s general Malik Kafur sacks Meenakshi temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu (1310); Qutub al-din Mubarak Khilji, son of Alauddin Khilji, assumes lofty titles as the next imam/prophet; Ghazi Malik, general under the Khiljis, murders the last Sultan and establishes the Tughlaq Dynasty adopting the title Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq (1321); Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya curses the Delhi Sultan with his saying ‘Hunuz Dilli Dur Asth’ (meaning ‘abhi Delhi dur hai’ ie Delhi is as yet far) that proves true as Mohd bin Tughluq murders his father and ascends the Delhi throne (1326); Mohd bin Tughlaq proves to be an eccentric ruler renowned for crazy reforms viz shifting capital from Delhi to Daulatabad and back, introduction of token currency (copper with same value as gold/silver, hindi idiom ‘din dugani raat chaugani unnati’ originates as people start minting forged ‘gani’ (lowest unit of denomination) coins during daytime and doubling it at night time); Arab Ibn Batuta arrives at Mohd bin Tughluq’s court (1332), spends 10 years as Qazi, ambassador to China etc; Vijayanagara Empire founded at Hampi in southern India by Harihara I (Hakka) and his brother Bukka Raya I (1336) by throwing off the yoke of Delhi Sultan Mohd Bin Tughlaq, visitors are over-awed with the grandeur of Vijayanagara and the hindi idiom ‘hakka-bakka’ (astounded) originates - important ruler was Krishana Deva Raya with his famous poet Tenali Raman, one of the ‘asta-diggajas’ (eight giants) ; The first Islamic Bahmani Kingdom founded in southern India at Gulbarga (Karnataka) by Hassan Gangu who assumes the title of Alauddin Bahman Shah (1347); Marco Polo visits India (1288); Timur (Tamerlane) sacks Delhi (1398); Bahmani Kingdom fragments into 5 independent states – Bijapur, Bidar, Berar, Golconda and Ahmednagar; Vasco da Gama lands in Calicut, Kerala (1498); Sikhism founded by Guru Nanak Dev (1499).


Mughal Empire and British East India Co.: 1500 – 1770 AD
First Battle of Panipat (1526) - Babur and Mughals defeat Delhi Sultan Ibrahim Lodi; Babur defeats Rana Sanga at Khanwa (1527); Turkic Mughal Empire rules north and central India; Humayun ousted by Afghan Farid Khan (Sher Shah Suri) 1540; Sher Shah introduces standard weight silver Rupiya that later becomes the Rupee, builds the Grand Trunk road; Sher Shah dies in a gunpowder explosion invading Kalinjar Fort (Banda, UP) of Chandela Rajputs (1545); Humayun regains control of Delhi (1555) but dies within the year from a fall while descending staircase of his library; Akbar the Great ascends to throne aged 14 years under tutelage of uncle Bairam Khan, fights and wins second battle of Panipat against the Hindu king Hemu Vikramaditya (1556); Vijayanagara Empire destroyed by the combined Muslim armies of Bijapur, Bidar, Berar, Golconda and Ahmedanagar (1565); Akbar introduces copper coin called ‘dam’ surviving to this day in hindi/urdu language as basic price of an item; Akbar wins Chittor fort (1568) after much bloodshed and killing of innocent civilians, Chittor is abandoned forever; Akbar builds new city near Agra – Fatehpur Sikri – in honour of Sufi saint Salim Chisti, whose name is also given to his son Prince Salim or Sheikhu Baba (later Emperor Jahangir) (1569); Akbar defeats Maharana Pratap at Battle of Haldighati (1576); Tulsidas completes composition of ‘Ramcharitamanas’, sends a copy to Raja Todar Mal, finance minister of Akbar (1577); Akbar’s court includes Nav-ratnas (nine gems) consisting of 5 Muslims (Abul Fazl – chronicler, Faizi – poet and Abul Fazl’s brother, Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanana – poet and son of Bairam Khan, Akbar’s regent on accession, Fakir Aziao Din – mystic and advisor, Abdul Momin or Mullah Do Piaza – advisor) and 4 Hindu’s (Ramtanu Pandey or Tansen - singer, Maheshdas Bhat or Raja Birbal – court jester, Raja Todar Mal – finance minister and Raja Man Singh – army general); Akbar establishes new religion ‘Din-e-Elahi’ in 30th year of his reign (1592), issue’s coins denoted in Ilahi Era; British East India Co. founded in London by Royal Charter issued by Queen Elizabeth I (31 Dec 1600); Prince Salim (later Emperor Jahangir) murders Akbar’s close aide Abu’l Fazal and revolts (1602); Death of Akbar, Jahangir ascends Mughal throne (1605), agrees to provide Surat as a trading outpost to the British East India Company; Guru Arjan Dev is the first Sikh guru to be martyred under Jahangir’s orders (1606), Sikh’s become saint soldiers thereafter; Jahangir orders ‘Chain of Justice’ (60 bells) outside Agra fort for anyone to ring and seek justice; Treasurer of Jahangir, Sheikh Farid, founds the city of Faridabad near Delhi (1607); Jahangir marries Mehr-un-Nisaa (Nur Jahan), widow of his Bengal Governor Sher Afghan Quli Khan (1611), Jahangir’s son Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) marries Arjumand Banu Begum (Mumtaz Mahal) 1612; Jahangir orders his son Prince Khurram to battle in Deccan and honours him with the title ‘Shah Jahan’ for his bravery (1617); Jahangir mints the world’s largest surviving gold coin of 1,000 Mohur (12 Kg), his numismatic innovations also includes portrait coins featuring him and Akbar, and ‘zodiac’ coins; Jahangir’s favorite queen, Nur Jahan rules in the last 5 years of Jahangir’s reign as the king is addicted to wine and opium; Jahangir dies and Shah Jahan is crowned Mughal Emperor (1627); Shah Jahan renames Agra to Akbarabad in honour of his grandfather Akbar (1628); Shah Jahan orders the construction of the ‘peacock throne’ completed in 7 years and inaugurated in 1635, costs twice as much (Rs 1 crore) as the Taj Mahal built later; Mumtaz Mahal dies in Burhanpur (MP) giving birth to 14th child Gauhara Begum (1631); Shah Jahan fights with the Portuguese at Port Hoogly in Bengal (1631); Construction starts to build Taj Mahal to honour Nur Jahan, takes 22 years to build; Shah Jahan deposed by son Aurangzeb (1658); Aurangzeb introduces Jizyah tax on Hindus and destroys many Hindu temples including Somnath, Kashi Visvanath (Banaras), Mathura etc; Maratha chief Shivaji fights Aurangzeb till his death (1680); Guru Govind Singh, the 10th and last Guru, establishes the Khalsa (1699), baptizes men as ‘Singh’ and women as ‘Kaur’ and decrees ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ as the everlasting Guru for all Sikhs till eternity; Aurangzeb dies (1707); Sayyid Brothers play Mughal kingmakers in 1719 when one after the other, 4 rulers are placed on the Mughal throne with first 3 being killed/murdered in quick succession – Farruksiyar, Rafi-ud-Darjat and Rafi-ud-Daula – ascension of Mohammad Shah ‘Rangeela’ brings stability; Nadir Shah of Persia (Iran) sacks Delhi during the reign of Muhammad Shah, stays in Delhi for 53 days and carts away the famous Peacock Throne and Koh-i-noor (186 carats) and Darya-i-noor diamond (182 carats) (1739); Shah Alam-II begins reign as the Mughal Emperor in 1759; Robert Clive defeats the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah at Battle of Plassey, British East India Co. begins political control of India (1757); Ahmad Shah Durrani (Abdali) (Afghanistan) defeats Marathas at third battle of Panipat (1761); Battle of Buxar (1764) further consolidates British power in India with defeat of Nawab of Awadh, Nawab of Bengal and Shah Alam II; Bengal Famine kills 10 million people (1770); First post office opens in Calcutta (1774).

British Raj in India: 1799 - 1946

British defeat and kill Tipu Sultan of Mysore (1799); Sikh Empire founded in Punjab; First bank established in India – Bank of Calcutta (1806) renamed Bank of Bengal in 1809; British outlaw Sati (1829); James Princep deciphers the Brahmi script and unlocks the Ashokan rock edicts (1837); British overpower the Sikhs after Ranjit Singh’s death (1846); Lord Dalhousie introduces the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ policy for annexing Indian Princely States for misgovernance or no male heir (1848); Railways introduced in India (1853); Bal Gangadhar Tilak is born (1856); Mangal Pandey fires the first shot in Meerut declaring Indian Mutiny (10 May 1857), residency seized in Lucknow; University of Calcutta established (1857); Rani Laxmibhai of Jhansi killed in Gwalior battling the British (1858); British overthrow the last Mughal emperor (Bahadur Shah Zafar) and exile him to Burma (1858); India comes under direct control of the British Government (1858); Trams begin operations in Calcutta (1873); British East India Company dissolved (1874); Sir Syed Ahmed Khan establishes a school (madrasa) for Indian  Muslims (1875) that later becomes the Aligarh Muslim University in 1920; Queen Victoria named Empress of India (1876); Bankim Chandra Chattopadyaya composes the novel ‘Anandmath’ which includes the poem ‘Vande Mataram’ that becomes the  national cry for freedom (1882); Indian National Congress formed (1885); Narendra Nath Datta (Swami Vivekananda’s) speech beginning ‘Sisters and Brothers of America’ brings standing ovation and raises profile of India and awareness of Hinduism in USA (1893); Fist imported automobile runs on Indian roads (1898); Edward VII named Emperor of India following death of Queen Victoria (1901), Lord Curzon organizes a grand Delhi Darbar in honour of Edward VII coronation(1903); Urdu poet Mohd Iqbal composes ‘Saare Jahan Se Achcha’ (1904); Lord Curzon announces Partition of Bengal along hindu muslim religious lines (1905); All India Muslim League founded in Dacca (1906); 18 year old Khudiram Bose hanged in Muzaffarpur for throwing a bomb at British Magistrate (1908); George V and Queen Mary become the first British reigning monarch to visit India and attend the Delhi Durbar in 1911, announce shifting of capital from Calcutta to Delhi; Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker commissioned in 1912 to build a new imperial capital in New Delhi (Lutyen’s Delhi), works include Viceroys House (Rastrapati Bhawan), Parliament House (Sansad Bhawan), Central Secretariat (North and South Block), Hyderabad House, Bikaner House, Baroda House, Patiala House, Bungalows, etc; Jana Gana Mana, India’s future National Anthem, sung for first time at Congress session in Calcutta (1911); Bengal reunites in 1911; Rabindranath Tagore becomes  first non-European to win Nobel Literature Prize (1913); Origin of Bollywood - First silent movie ‘Raja Harishchandra’ made in India by Dadasaheb Phalke (1913); First World War begins (1914-18); Banaras Hindu University established by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya (1916); Annie Besant launches Home Rule League with Lokmanya Tilak demanding self-rule for India (1916); General Dyer orders the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre in Amritsar (13 Apr 1919); Congress launches ‘Non Cooperation Movement’ (1920); Bal Gangadhar Tilak who gave the fiery slogan ‘Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it’ dies (1920); Ramanujan, the great Indian mathematician, dies at age 32 (1920); Mohandas Gandhi leads anti-British Civil Disobedience Movement (1922); Sarojini Naidu ‘The Nightingale of India’ becomes the first woman President of Indian National Congress (1925); Sri Aurobindo Ashram established in Pondicherry (1926); Lala Lajpat Rai dies in a lathi-charge during a peaceful street protest against the ‘Simon Commission’(1928); Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and Chandrsekhar Azad avenge Lala’s death by shooting ASP John Saunders (instead of SP James Scott) (1928); Gandhi's Dandi (salt protest) and March to the Sea (1930); Gandhi introduces ‘Swaraj’ Flag to Congress session with spinning charkha in centre (1931); Chandrasekhar Azad shoots himself fighting the British police at Alfred Park, Allahabad (1931); Bhagat Singh, Rajguru & Sukhdev hanged by the British at Lahore jail (1931); All India War Memorial (India Gate) inaugurated by Lord Irwin in New Delhi (1931); Indian Air Force established (1932); JRD Tata forms Tata Airlines, forerunner to Air India, flies first postal mail from Karachi to Bombay (1932); Reserve Bank of India established (1935); All India Radio established (1936); Indian hockey team under Dhyan Chand defeat Germany 8-1 in the Berlin Olympics finals, Hitler leaves the stadium midway (15 Aug 1936); Second World War starts (1939); Muslim League leader Mohd Ali Jinnah demands a separate homeland ‘Pak-i-stan’ (Land of the pure) for Muslims (1940); Congress launches "Quit India" movement (1942-43); Birla establishes Hindustan Motors, frontrunner to the ‘Ambassador’ car modeled on British Oxford Morris (1942); Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose forms the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) to fight the British (1943); Major Abid Hasan Safrani, a lieutenant of Netaji, coins the slogan ‘Jai Hindustan Ki’ the shortened version of which ‘Jai Hind’ becomes the battle cry of Azad Hind Fauj; Netaji dies in an aircrash in Taipei in mysterious circumstances, conspiracy theories abound (1945); World War II ends with USA dropping atomic bombs in Japan - Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945); India joins the United Nations (UN) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) (1945); Western India Products Ltd (Wipro) established by Mohd Hashem Premji (1945), becomes a leading IT powerhouse under son Azim Premji later; A hoard of 2,150 gold coins of the Gupta Kings discovered by cowherds in Bayana, Bharatpur State, of which 1,821 are preserved and help unlock the ‘Golden Period of Indian History’ (1946).


Partition of India and Independence: 1947 - 1977

Independence and the Partition of India, between 0.5 to 1 Mn people die and 15 Mn made refugees; Jawaharlal Nehru gives a historic ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech at the stroke of midnight on 14 Aug 1947; Union of India comes into existence on 15 Aug 1947 with this day celebrated as India’s Independence Day; At the time of Independence, there are 565 princely states most of which (except Kashmir, Hyderabad, Manipur & Tripura) join India under Sardar Vallabhai Patel and VP Menon; India adopts National Flag as Gandhi’s ‘Swaraj’ Flag replacing spinning charkha with Ashoka’s dharma chakra in center (1947); Jawaharlal Nehru becomes Independent India’s first PM; ‘Operation Polo’ under Indian Army integrates Hyderabad to India (1948), the last Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan was the richest man in the world at that time with wealth equivalent to USD 225 Bn and featured in Time Magazine in early 1940s; Mohandas Gandhi assassinated by Hindu right wing activist Nathuram Godse (30 Jan 1948); First Indo-Pak War (1948); India becomes a Republic, adopts the world’s longest written Constitution (drafted by BR Ambedkar), Supreme Court established (1950); Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabhai Patel dies (1950); India establishes Planning Commission (1951); First Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) established in Kharagpur, W. Bengal (1951); First Asian Games held in New Delhi (1951); Bhabha Atomic Research Center established (1954); French territories in South India (Pondicherry etc) comes under Indian control (1954); All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) opens in New Delhi (1956); Doordarshan established (1959); Uprising in Tibet, India grants political asylum to Dalai Lama (1951); Raj Kapoor’s film ‘Awaara’ gains immense popularity in India and abroad (1951); ‘Mughal-e-azam’ starring Dilip Kumar and Madhubala becomes the costliest film produced (1951); National Museum opens in New Delhi (1960); Indian Army defeat Portuguese and integrate Goa into India (1961); India, under Jawaharlal Nehru, and several other world leaders, conceive and establishes the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at Belgrade (1961); First Indian Institute of Management (IIM) established in Calcutta followed by Ahmedabad (1961); INS Vikrant becomes the first Aircraft Carrier to be commissioned by Indian Navy (1961); India loses border war with China (1962); Lata Mangeskar sings ‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo’ on Republic Day, Nehru is moved to tears (1963); Prime Minister Nehru dies (1964); Second Indo-Pak War (1965); Indian PM Lal Bahadur Shastri coins the slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ (1965); Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister (1966); Dhirubhai Ambani establishes Reliance Industries (1966); Zakir Hussain becomes the first Muslim President of India (1967); Third Indo-Pak War and creation of Bangladesh (1971); Free Bangladesh adopts ‘Amar Shona Bangla’, composed by Rabindranath Tagore, as its National Anthem; Meghalaya is carved out of Assam (1972); First Indian nuclear test (Pokran, 1974); Sikkim joins India as the 22nd State (1975); G.P. Sippy produced film ‘Sholay’ releases on 15 Aug 1975, becomes Bollywood best known film; India launches its first satellite ‘Aryabhatta’ (1975); Indira Gandhi declares Emergency (1975); Congress loses elections (1977).


The Turbulent Late 20th Century: 1977 - 1999

Geeta and Sanjay Chopra murder case rocks Delhi and India (1978), culprits Ranga & Billa hanged later in 1982; Assam agitation against illegal migrants begins (1979); Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa), born an Albanian but Indian citizen, wins Nobel Peace Prize (1979); Indira Gandhi returns to power (1980); Sanjay Gandhi dies in air crash (1980); Phoolan Devi ‘The Bandit Queen’ avenges her rape by upper caste men by massacring 22 upper caste villagers in Behmai (1981); Maruti Udyog founded to build peoples car (1981); Infosys Technology established by Narayanamurthy (1981); Asian Games held in New Delhi with dancing elephant ‘Appu’ as mascot (1982); Colour TV launched in India (1982); Trade Union leader Datta Samant leads massive textile strike in Bombay (1982); Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachhan suffers near fatal accident on the sets of film ‘Coolie’ following a punch to the stomach by co-star Puneet Issar, is hospitalized for 2 months (1982); India wins Prudential Cricket World Cup in England under captain Kapil Dev with ‘Kapils Devils’ beating the mighty West Indies team (1983); Indian troops launch ‘Operation Bluestar’ to flush out militants from the Golden Temple (1984); Union Carbide gas leak at Bhopal kills thousands (1984); India’s first soap opera and TV drama series launched titled ‘Hum Log’(1984); Wing Cmdr Rakesh Sharma becomes first Indian cosmonaut in space (1984), responds “Saare Jahan Se Accha” when asked by PM Indira Gandhi on how India looks from space; Indira Gandhi assassinated by Sikh bodyguards (1984), riots break out in Delhi, Haryana, Kanpur etc; Canada based Sikh terrorist group Babbar Khalsa blows up Air India flight 182 (Kanishka) over Ireland killing 329 people (1985), as revenge for Sikh victims of 1984 riots; Assam agitation ends (1985); Subhas Ghising leads violent agitation for a separate Gorkhaland in Darjeeling (1986); Flight purser Neerja Bhanot becomes youngest person to receive Ashok Chakra posthumously for helping save lives during hijacking of PanAm flight to Karachi (1986), commemorative stamp is issued by Indian Govt and Bollywood makes a biopic in 2016 starring Sonam Kapoor; Indian troops intervene in Sri Lankan civil war (1987); Demand begins in Assam for a separate homeland for the Bodos - Bodoland (1987); Ramanand Sagar’s TV serial ‘Ramayana’ launched, becomes the world’s most viewed mythological serial (1987); India withdraws from Sri Lanka (1989); Muslim separatist groups begin campaign of violence in Kashmir (1990); Rajiv Gandhi assassinated by Tamil Tiger suicide bomber (1991); Economic reforms begins under PM P.V. Narasimha Rao (1991); India test fires the home grown ‘Agni’ missile (1991); Hindu zealots destroy Babri Masjid mosque in Ayodhya triggering bloody riots (1992), retaliatory bomb blasts in Mumbai kills many (1993); Sushmita Sen is first Indian to win Miss Universe, Aishwarya Rai wins Miss World (1994); Indian National Congress loses elections to BJP (1996); Saudi airliner crashes midair with Kazakh airlines near New Delhi killing 349 people (1996); Mother Teresa dies in Calcutta (1997); BJP govt conducts second nuclear explosion (1998); Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee travels by bus to Pakistan to sign Lahore peace declaration with Pak PM Nawaz Sharif (1999); Renewed Indo-Pak fighting in Kargil, Kashmir (May 1999), Barkha Dutt of NDTV gains prominence for her fearless frontline coverage of the Kargil war.


India in the 21st Century: 2000 – 2016 and ongoing………


India welcomes its 1 billionth citizen (2000); US President Bill Clinton visits India (2000); Indian IT professionals led by IIT graduates blaze a success trail in USA (2000); Madhya Pradesh is partitioned into Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh into Uttaranchal (2000); Gujarat earthquakes kill 30,000+; India launches first large orbital satellites (2001); Attack on Indian Parliament by Pak terrorists led by Afzal Guru (2001); Sectarian violence kills 59 Hindu pilgrims and then 1,000+ Muslims in Godhra, Gujarat (2002), retaliatory bomb blasts in Bombay (2003); India and Pakistan declare Kashmir ceasefire (2003); India launces bid for permanent UN Security Council membership (2004); Mahmohan Singh becomes PM of India (2004); Thousands of Indians die in Southeast Asian tsunami (2004); India signs Nuclear Deal during US President George Bush visit (2006); Famous painter M.F. Husain charged with hurting religious sentiments after painting hindu gods and goddesses in the nude (2006); Pratibha Patil becomes India's first female president (2007); Uttaranchal changes its name to Uttarakhand (2007); India launches first unmanned ‘Chandrayaan’ mission to the Moon (2008); Mumbai terrorist attack by Pak radicals (2008); Abinav Singh Bindra becomes first Indian to win an individual Olympic Gold Medal in shooting at Beijing (2008); India rocked by double murder case of teenager Arushi & servant Hemraj, parents blamed (2008); Congress wins general assembly elections (2009); Songwriter and composer A.R. Rehman wins Oscar for ‘Jai Ho’ song in film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ (2009); India adopts a new symbol for its currency (Rupee) designed by D. Udaya Kumar, an IIT Bombay student (2010); Commonwealth Games held in Delhi (2010); India under MS Dhoni wins Cricket World Cup in Mumbai defeating Sri Lanka in Finals (2011); Shady telecoms deal (2G scam) rocks India (2011); Vaults of Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum, Kerala opened on orders of Supreme Court, reveal $20bn treasure trove (2011); Anna Hazare goes on fast in Delhi for 12 days demanding anti-graft legislation (Jan Lokpal Bill) to fight state corruption (2011), Sachin Tendulkar scores his 100th Century at the Asia Cup at Mirpur, Bangladesh (India however lose the match) and becomes the first man ever to score a century of centuries (51 Test, 49 ODI) in cricket (2012) ; Captain Laxmi Sehgal (INA/Azad Hind Fauj and a close associate of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose) dies (2012); Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray dies (2012); Arvind Kejriwal floats his Aam Admi Party (AAP) (2012); brutal ‘Nirbhaya’ gangrape shocks Delhi, India and the world (2012); Religious guru Asaram Bapu arrested in sex scandal (2013); Arrest of Devyani Khobragade, India’s Dpt Consul General in New York, creates major diplomatic row (2013); Sachin Tendulkar retires after playing his 200th test match (2013); Afzal Guru, mastermind of attack on Indian Parliament in 2001, hanged (2013); Uttarakhand & Kedarnath devasted by floods (2013); Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) launched successfully by ISRO (2013), enters Mars orbit in 2014; Narendra Modi (NaMo) wave leads BJP to sweep Elections winning absolute majority for first time in 30 years (May 2014); Supreme Court recognizes Transgender (Hijras) as the ‘third gender’ (2014); Andhra Pradesh is split with a new 29th state of India, Telangana, born with Hyderabad as joint capital for fist 10 years (2014); India wins Hockey gold at Asian Games; Mary Kom wins boxing gold (2014); Nobel Peace Prize awarded jointly to Indian Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan’s teenager girl Malala Yousafzai (2014); Death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, raises suspicion of poisoning (2014); US President Barack Obama visits India as Republic Day Chief Guest (2015); AAP sweeps Delhi elections winning 67/70 seats (2015); Amravati declared new capital city for Andhra Pradesh (2015); Hardik Patel begins agitation in Gujarat for Patidar as OBC (Other Backward Castes) category (2015); Ex-servicemen begin nationwide protest for OROP (One Rank One Pension) scheme (2015); Saina Nehwal (badminton) and Sania Mirza (tennis) create history by achieving World No. 1 rank in their sports (2015);  UN declares 21 June as First International Yoga Day (2015); Yakub Menon, accused in 1993 Bombay blasts, hanged (2015); Indian Army conducts cross border anti-terror attack in Myanmar in response to killing of 14 servicemen in Manipur (2015); India evacuates 4,640 citizens and 960 nationals from 41 other countries from civil strife in Yemen (the event inspired Bollywood film ‘Airlift’ starring Akshay Kumar) (2015); Bharat Ratna awarded to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Late Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya (2015); ex-President APJ Abdul Kalam dies (2015); Dadri riots and mob lynching rocks India, many return awards and honours in protest, Aamir Khan faces backlash for his comments on intolerance (2015); Gunmen storm airbase at Pathankot (2016); JNU leader Kanhaiya Kumar arrested for sedition for organizing protest against Afzal Guru hanging in 2013 (2016); Hizbul commander, Burhan Wani’s killing paralyses Kashmir (2016); PV Sindhu (badminton) and Sakshi Malik (wrestling) win silver and bronze medals at Rio Olympics (2016); Goods and Services Tax bill (GST) passed in Parliament (2016); 17 soldiers die in early morning attack at Uri, India launches ‘surgical strikes’ across the LOC (2016); Corporate Governance turmoil at Tata Sons with Cyrus Mistry sacked (2016); Arnab Goswami, anchor of Times Now TV Channel, announces resignation (2016) and launch of his own ‘Republic TV’ in 2017; PM Modi’s sudden announcement on 8 Nov 2016 to demonetize Rs 500 & Rs 1,000 bank notes causes political uproar, massive disruption to money supply and long ques at banks and ATMs, new Rs 500 & Rs 2,000 notes launched (2016); Supreme Court orders national anthem to be played in all cinema theatres (2016); Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha dies (2016); Barkha Dutt, anchor of NDTV India’s TV shows ‘We the people’ and ‘The Buck Stops Here’, announces resignation in Jan 2017.

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