India gets independence
On the eve of August 15, 1947, millions of Indians huddle around the radio as it transmits their first PM’s historic proclamation: “Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we will redeem our pledge.”
Mahatma Gandhi assassinated
On January 30, 1948, the man who had struggled for communal harmony all his life is shot dead by a Hindu extremist angered at the Mahatma’s insistence on evenhandedness towards the minorities.
First India-Pakistan war
The new neighbours go to war. It ends on December 31, 1948, leaving 1,500 soldiers dead on either side. Pakistan grabs a part of Kashmir
India gets a Constitution
Passed after long debates by the Constituent Assembly in 1949, the Constitution comes into effect on January 26, 1950.
IIT set up in jail barracks
Set up in May 1950 in the abandoned barracks of the Hubli Jail near Kharagpur, it becomes independent India’s first indigenously conceived institute of higher technological education. Six more IITs would come up in the following decades.
Language-based statehood
Violent demands for a separate Telugu homeland lead to the creation of Andhra Pradesh in 1953, the first Indian state established on a linguistic basis.
NAM is born
In 1954, in a world riven by suspicion and Cold War, Jawaharlal Nehru introduces the concept of non-alignment, which is later embraced by Tito of Yugoslavia, Sukarno of Indonesia, Nasser of Egypt and Nkrumah of Ghana.
India-China war
On October 20, 1962, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army enters Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh. India suffers a humiliating defeat in the war. It would be another 16 years before the two countries resume diplomatic relations.
Nehru dies
The baton passes on not to his daughter Indira, but Lal Bahadur Shastri. The latter gave the nation the slogan “Jai jawan, jai kisan”.
Second India-Pak War
In 1965, the two neighbours wage war over Kashmir yet again. India loses 3,000 soldiers to 3,800 of Pakistan.
Indira Gandhi is PM
Shastri dies in Tashkent on January 11, 1966. Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister by defeating Morarji Desai in an election in the Congress Parliamentary Party.
Green Revolution
From 1967 to 1978, the movement transforms India from a nation on the verge of starvation to one with overflowing granaries.
IT revolution
Starts with the founding of the Tata Consultancy Service in 1968. A major milestone was the listing of Infosys on the Nasdaq stock exchange in March 1999.
Banks nationalised and Privy Purses abolished
Indira Gandhi nationalises 14 banks on July 19, 1969. She also abolishes the Privy Purses, the government grant to rulers of some 400 princely states that had been doled out since 1947.
Third India-Pak War
The 15-day war leads to the creation of a new country called Bangladesh. Peace returns with the signing of the Shimla Agreement.
Chipko movement
In 1973 a group of villagers from Uttarakhand come up with the novel idea of hugging trees to protect them from contractors.
Chipko movement
In 1973 a group of villagers from Uttarakhand come up with the novel idea of hugging trees to protect them from contractors.
Pokhran I: ‘Buddha smiles’
On May 18, 1974, India successfully tests its first nuclear bomb at Pokhran in Rajasthan.
Sholay hits the screen
Ramesh Sippy’s 1975 cult film is now known as the best movie ever made in India. Kitney admi thhey!
Aryabhata takes off
India’s first satellite is launched on April 19, 1975, laying the foundation of an ambitious space programme.