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India
India is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
Timeline of Events
1913
11.6.1913
Mohandas Gandhi is arrested while leading a march of Indian miners in South Africa.
1922
3.18.1922
In India, Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience. He would serve only 2 years.
1925
8.9.1925
A train robbery takes place in Kakori, near Lucknow, India
1929
1.6.1929
Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta to begin her work among India's poorest and sick people.
1931
2.10.1931
New Delhi becomes the capital of India.
3.4.1931
The British Viceroy of India, Governor-General Edward Frederick Lindley Wood and Mohandas Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) meet to sign an agreement envisaging the release of political prisoners and allowing salt to be freely used by the poorest members of the population.
3.23.1931
Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged during the Indian struggle for independence. Their request to be executed by firing squad is refused. The day is now remembered in India as Shahidi divas or Martyr's day.
1933
5.8.1933
Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast in protest against British oppression in India.
1936
4.1.1936
Orissa formerly known as Kalinga or Utkal becomes a state in India.
1939
3.3.1939
In Mumbai, Mohandas Gandhi begins to fast in protest at the autocratic rule in India.
1940
7.2.1940
Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta.
1941
12.12.1941
World War II: UK declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.
1942
8.9.1942
Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement.
1943
12.30.1943
Subhas Chandra Bose raises the flag of Indian independence at Port Blair.
1947
7.4.1947
The "Indian Independence Bill" is presented before British House of Commons, suggesting bifurcation of British India into two sovereign countries – India and Pakistan.
7.20.1947
The Viceroy of India says the people of the North-West Frontier Province overwhelmingly voted the previous day to join Pakistan rather than India.
8.15.1947
India gains Independence from the British Indian Empire and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
10.26.1947
The Maharaja of Kashmir agrees to allow his kingdom to join India.
1948
1.30.1948
Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist.
1949
1.1.1949
United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
11.26.1949
The Indian Constituent Assembly adopts India's constitution presented by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
1950
4.8.1950
India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat-Nehru Pact.
8.15.1950
Srikakulam district is formed in Andhra Pradesh, India.
1956
10.14.1956
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Untouchable caste leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 of his followers (see Neo-Buddhism).
1957
4.5.1957
In India, Communists win the first elections in united Kerala and E.M.S. Namboodiripad is sworn in as the first chief minister.
1959
3.17.1959
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet for India.
3.31.1959
The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum.
1960
5.1.1960
Formation of the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
1961
12.19.1961
India annexes Daman and Diu, part of Portuguese India.
1964
1.13.1964
Hindu-Muslim rioting breaks out in the Indian city of Calcutta – now Kolkata – resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people.
11.27.1964
Cold War: Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appeals to the United States and the Soviet Union to end nuclear testing and to start nuclear disarmament, stating that such an action would "save humanity from the ultimate disaster".
1965
1.26.1965
Hindi becomes the official language of India.
9.6.1965
War of 1965: India retaliates following Pakistan's failed Operation Grand Slam which resulted in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 that is ended following the signing of the Tashkent Declaration.
9.7.1965
China announces that it will reinforce its troops on the Indian border.
9.22.1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 (also known as the Second Kashmir War) between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, ends after the UN calls for a cease-fire.
1967
5.13.1967
Dr. Zakir Hussain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of the Indian Union. He holds this position until August 24, 1969.
1968
12.25.1968
42 Dalits are burned alive in Kilavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, India, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit labourers.
1971
1.25.1971
Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state.
11.21.1971
Indian troops, partly aided by Mukti Bahini (Bengali guerrillas), defeat the Pakistan army in the Battle of Garibpur.
12.3.1971
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: Pakistan launches pre-emptive strike against India and a full scale war begins claiming hundreds of lives.