Here are some of the important dates in Indian history. Very important for different government sector competitive examinations.
Important dates of Indian history B.C. (Before Christ)
| DATES | IMPORTANCE |
| 2500-1800 | Indus valley civilization |
| 599 | Birth of Mahavir, Nirvana in 523. B.C. |
| 563 | Birth of Gautam Buddha; Nirvana in 483 B.C. |
| 327-26 | Alexander’s invasion of India and the opening of the land routes between India and Europe. |
| 268-232 | Ashoka’s reign |
| 261 | Battle of Kalinga |
| 57 | Beginning of Vikrama era. |
| 30 | Satvahana dynasty in Deccan. Pandya empire in for south |
Important dates of Indian history A.D. (Anno Domini)
| DATES | IMPORTANCE |
| 78 | Beginning of the Saka era. |
| 320 | Beginning of the Gupta era. |
| 360 | Samudragupta conquest the whole of N. India and much of the Deccan. |
| 380-413 | Rule of Chandragupta Vikramaditya, age of Kalidasa, renewal of Hinduism. |
| 606-647 | Rule of Harshavardhana. |
| 629-645 | Hieun Tsang’s visit to India. |
| 622 | Beginning of the Hijra era. |
| 712 | Arab invasion of Sind by Mohd. bin Qasim. |
| 1001-27 | Repeated attacks of Mehmud Ghazni. |
| 1025 | Sacking of Somnath temple by Mehmud. |
| 1191 | The first battle of Tarain in which Prithviraj Chauhan defeated Mohd. Ghori. |
| 1192 | The second battle of Tarain in which Mohd. Ghori defeated Prithviraj Chauhan. |
| 1206 | Qutubuddin Aibak founded the llbari/Slave dynasty. |
| 1290 | Jalaluddin Firuz Khilji established the Khilji dynasty. |
| 1290 | Marco Polo visited India. |
| 1320 | Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq founded the Tughlaq dynasty. |
| 1333 | Ibn Batuta arrved in India. |
| 1336 | Harihara and Bukka founded the Vijaynagar empire. |
| 1347 | Bahmani kingdom was founded. |
| 1398 | Timur invades India. |
| 1451 | The Lodi dynasty comes into power in Delhi Sultanate. |
| 1469 | Birth of Guru Nanak Dev. |
| 1498 | Vasco da Gama lands at Calicut. |
| 1510 | Portuguese capture Goa-Albuquerque Governor. |
| 1526 | First Battle of Panipat in which Babar defeated Ibrahim Lodhi established the Mughal dynasty. |
| 1556 | The second battle of Panipat was in which Akbar defeated Hemu. |
| 1565 | Battle of Talikota in which Vijaynagar empire is defeated. |
| 1571 | Foundation of Fatehpur Sikri by Akbar |
| 1576 | Battle of Haldighati in which Akbar defeated Maharana Pratap. |
| 1582 | Akbar started Din-i-llahi. |
| 1600 | English East India Company was established. |
| 1604 | Compilation of Adi Granth. |
| 1605 | Death of Akbar. |
| 1611 | The English built a factory at Masulipatnam. |
| 1627 | Birth of Shivaji. |
| 1631 | Death of Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal. The building of the Taj Mahal. |
| 1658 | Aurangzeb became Emperor of Delhi. |
| 1666 | Birth of Guru Gobind Singh. |
| 1699 | Guru Gobind Singh creates ‘Khalsa’. |
| 1707 | Death of Aurangzeb, the fall of the Mughal empire begins. |
| 1739 | Nadir Shah invaded India: the peacock throne and the Kohinoor Diamond took away from India. |
| 1757 | Battle of Plassey in which the English defeated Siraj-ud- daula, Nawab of Bengal. |
| 1760 | Battle of Wandiwash, the end of French power in India |
| 1761 | Third Battle of Panipat in which Ahmed Shah Abdali defeated the Marathas. |
| 1764 | Battle of Buxar in which the English defeated the triple alliance of Nawab Mir Qasim of Bengal, Nawab Shuja-ud-daula of Awadh and Mughal emperor Shah Alam. |
| 1793 | Permanent settlement in Bengal. |
| 1799 | Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, death of Tipu Sultan, Ranjit Singh occupied Lahore and made it his capital. |
| 1817-19 | Marathas is finally crushed. |
| 1828 | Lord William Bentick becomes Governo Era of social reforms; Prohibition of Sati (1829), Suppression of thugs (1830). |
| 1835 | Introduction of English as a medium of instruction. |
| 1853 | First Indian railway from Bombay to Thane. |
| 1857-58 | The first war of Indian Independence. |
| 1858 | British crown takes over the Indian Government End of East India Company’s rule. |
| 1861 | Birth of Rabindra Nath Tagore. |
| 1869 | Birth of M.K. Gandhi. |
| 1885 | Formation of Indian National Congress. |
| 1905 | Partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon. |
| 1906 | Formation of All India Muslim League. |
| 1909 | Minto-Morley Reforms. |
| 1911 | Delhi durbar held, the partition of Bengal was canceled, the capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi. |
| 1914 | World War I started. |
| 1918 | End of World War I. |
| 1919 | Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Montague- Chelmsford reforms. |
| 1920 | Non-cooperation Movement launched. |
| 1921 | Moplah rebellion in Malabar, visit of Prince of Wales. |
| 1922 | Chauri-Chaura incidence. |
| 1923 | Swaraj party formed. |
| 1927 | Simon Commission appointed. |
| 1928 | Visit of Simon Commission to India, death of Lala Lajpat Rai. |
| 1929 | Congress demanded Poorna Swaraj’ in the Lahore session. |
| 1930 | January 26 celebrated as Independence Day throughout India, Dandi Salt Satyagraha, First Round Table conference. |
| 1931 | Gandhi-Invin Pact, Second Round Table Conference. |
| 1932 | Suppression of Congress Movement, Third Round Table Conference, Communal The award, Poona Pact. |
| 1935 | Government of India Act. |
| 1937 | Inauguration of Provincial Autonomy. Congress ministries formed in 8 out of 11 provinces. |
| 1939 | Resignation of Congress ministries, beginning of World War ll. |
| 1942 | Cripps Mission Plan, Quit India Movement, Formation of Indian National Army by S.C. Bose. |
| 1945 | Simla conference held and the failure of Wavell Plan, INA trials at Red Fort, Delhi. |
| 1946 | Cabinet Mission Plan, Formation of interim Government, Direct Action Resolution by Muslim League. |
| 1947 | Mountbatten Plan of June 3 in which partition of India resolution is proposed, India divided, Pakistan was created, both achieved independence, Jawahar Lal Nehru becomes the first Prime Minister of India. |
B.ED, D.EL.ED-Related Study Materials
Important dates of Indian history POST-INDEPENDENCE
| DATES | IMPORTANCE |
| 1948 | The assassination of Mahatma Gandhi (Jan. 30) |
| 1950 | India became a republic (Jan. 26). |
| 1951 | First Five-Year Plan implemented. |
| 1952 | First General Elections held. |
| 1953 | Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hilary conquer Mt. Everest (May 29). |
| 1954 | Panchsheel agreement between India and China. |
| 1956 | Life insurance nationalized, state Heorgansing Act comes into force. |
| 1957 | Second General Elections. |
| 1958 | A metric system of weights and measures was introduced. |
| 1959 | Dalai Lama exiled enters India. |
| 1961 | Liberation of Goa. |
| 1962 | Chinese attack on India. (Oct 20) |
| 1964 | Jawaharlal Nehru dies: Lal Bahadur Shastri becomes PM. |
| 1965 | Indo-Pak war. |
| 1966 | Tashkent Agreement reached, Death of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi became PM. |
| 1967 | Dr. Zakir Hussain was elected President. |
| 1968 | Hargovind Khurana shares the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology. |
| 1969 | Death of President Zakir Hussain (May 3). V. V. Giri elected President, Nationalization of 14 leading banks, Split in Indian National Congress. |
| 1970 | Former Indian rulers’ privy purses were abolished. Dr. C. V. Raman died (on Nov. 2) |
| 1971 | Indo-Pak War over Bangladesh. |
| 1972 | Shimla Agreement signed. |
| 1973 | Manekshaw was named India’s first Field Marshal. |
| 1974 | Nuclear explosion at Pokhran (May 18). |
| 1975 | Indian satellite ‘Aryabhatta’ launched, National emergency declared. |
| 1976 | The four Indian News agencies merged into a single News Agency known as Samachar, the life of Lok Sabha was extended by a year. |
| 1977 | With the defeat of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in the election, Morari Desai takes over as PM, emergency withdrawn. |
| 1978 | India launches world’s biggest adult literacy plan (Oct. 2). |
| 1979 | Charan Singh became PM, Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize. |
| 1980 | Indira Gandhi returns to power at the center, India launches first satellite using its own satellite launching vehicle (July. 18) |
| 1981 | India launched APPLE, and Khalistan activists hijack Indian Airlines Boeing 737 to Lahore. |
| 1982 | Zail Singh was sworn in as President, of the 21-member Indian scientific expedition headed by Dr. S. Z. Qasim lands in Antarctica (Jan. 9), INSAT 1A launched, Ninth Asian Games held in New Delhi. |
| 1983 | The 7th Non-Aligned Summit in New Delhi, Kalpakkam Atomic Energy plant goes critical (July 2), INSAT-1B launched (Aug 30), Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi” wins 8 Oscars. |
| 1984 | Rakesh Sharma becomes India’s first spaceman (Apr. 5), Bachendri Pal becomes the first Indian woman to scale Mt. Everest (May 23), Operation Blue Star, Assassination of Indira Gandhi (Oct 31), Rajiv Gandhi becomes PM, Bhopal Gas tragedy (Dec. 3). |
| 1985 | Anti-defection Bill passed (Jan. 3), and Azharuddin hits 3 centuries in 3 tests. |
| 1986 | The first wholly Indian test-tube baby was born at KEM Hospital, Bombay (Aug. 7). |
| 1987 | Sunil Gavaskar becomes the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in tests (Mar. 7), Goa becomes the 25th state of India (May 30) |
| 1988 | India s first remote sensing satellite IRS 1-A launched from Russia (Mar. 17), INSAT 1-C launched from French Guyana (July 22). |
| 1989 | Successful test of Agni (May 22), laying of the foundation stone for the Ram Janmabhoomi temple of Ayodhya (Nov 10). V.P. Singh becomes the PM. |
| 1990 | Successfully launching of INSAT 1-D (June 12), Mandal Commission recommendation implemented (Aug. 7), V.P. Singh tenders resignation (Nov. 7), S. Chandrasheknar becomes PM. (Nov. 10). |
| 1991 | Hajiy Gandhi was killed in a bomb blast (on May 21), and P. V. Narsimha Rao became PM. (June 21), Earthquake in Uttarkashi region (Oct. 20), Satyajit Ray got a special oscar award. (Dec. 16). |
| 1992 | Prithvi test fired (May 5), INSAT-2 A launched (July 10), Dr, Shanker Dayal Shama DecamePresident (July 25 the domes of Babri Masjid was demolished (Dec 6). |
| 1997 | I. K. Gujral became PM. (Apr. 21), K.R Narayan sworn in as President (July 25) Mother Teresa passes away (Sept. 5), a Hoy wins Booker Prize (Oct. 14), 1. K Gujral resigns as PM. (Nov. 28) |
| 1998 | Konkan railway was commissioned (Jan. 26), and Vajpayee became PM, (Mar. 19). India conducted total5 nuclear tests (May ay 13), Severe cyclone in Gujarat June 9), Amartya Sen won the Noble Pniz EConomics (Oct. 14). |
| 1999 | P.M. Vajpayee arrived in Pakistan by De Ore bus (Feb. 20), India successfully launched its first commercial telecom satellite INSAT-2 from Kourou (Apr. 3), Intense fighting in Kargil (June-July), a Devastating cyclone in Orissa and A. P. (Oct.). |
| 2000 | U. S. President Bill Clinton visited India (Mar. NSAT-3 launched from Kourou (Mar. 22), Successful test firing of ‘Dhanush, tne, and version of Prithvi’ missile (Apr. 11), Karnam Malleshwari wins bronze at ynpios, Chattisgarh formed (Nov. 1), Uttaranchal was formed (Nov. 9), and Jharkhand was formed (Nov. 15). |
| 2001 | The pilotless target aircraft ‘Lakshya’ was inducted into the Indian Air Force (Jan. 5), a Severe earthquake in Gujarat (Ja. 26), the newly-constructed Ennore port dedicated to the nation (Feb. 1), an Attack on WTC, New York shakes the world (Sept. 11), Lok Sabha passes the bill on “Right to Education till 14” (Nov. 30), Terrorist attack on Indian Parliament (Dec. 13). |
| 2002 | 1SRO Successfully tries the indigenous cryogenic engine (Feb. 5), POTO passed in the joint session of the Parliament (Mar. 26), L Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam elected the President of India (July 18), Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was sworn in as Vice-President of India (Aug. 19), Draft of the Tenth Five-Year The plan was approved by the Planning Commission (Oct. 5). |
| 2003 | Kalpana Chawla killed in space shuttle Columbia burnup (Feb. 1); Large reserves of oil & gas discovered in Barmer district of Rajasthan (Feb. 4); the US launched an attack on Iraq (Mar. 20), INSAT-3A launched from Kourou (Apr. 10); GSLVD-2 launched from Sriharikota (May 8); First instance of power failure in modern USA (Aug. 15-16); INSAT-3E launched from Kourou (Sept. 20), 97th, 98th, 99th & 100th Constitutional Amendment Bills passed (Dec. 18-23) |
| 2004 | India signs agreement with Russia for obtaining Admiral Gorshkov (Jan. 20); NDA Conducts election before time, but loses unexpectedly, UPA government comes in power, Dr. Manmohan Slngh was sworn in as the new PM (May 22); Olympics return to their homeland Athens, Rajyavardhan Rathode wins silver for India (Aug. 13-29); Hamid Karzai wins the Presidential vote in Afghanistan (Oct. 14); Sandalwood King Veerappan is dead (Oct. 18); George W. Bush re-elected (Nov. 3); Yasser Arafat is dead (Nov. 11); TSunami causes havoc in South and South East Asia killing more than a lakh (Dec. 26). |
| 2005 | India and Pakistan presents each other with the list of atomic institutions in their respective countries (Jan. 1); Broadband Service of BSNL and MTNL initiated (Jan. 13); Indian Army’s South-West command constituted (HQ-Jaipur) (Apr. 15); Right to Information implemented (Oct. 12) |
| 2006 | Administrative Reforms Commission presents its first report (June 9); Agni-3 missile test fails (July 9); INSAT-4C launch fail (July 10); Pondicherry name changed to Puducherry (Oct. 1). |
| 2007 | V. Anand reaches the top FIDE ranking (Apr. 1); Legislative Council in Andhra Pradesh revoked (Apr. 1); INSAT-4B dedicated to the nation (June 9); Mrs. Pratibha Patil sworn in as country’s first woman President (July 25); Hamid Ansari is the new Vice President of India (Aug. 10); India wins the inaugural Twenty 20 World Cup (Sept. 24); the National approves the 11th five-year plan (2007-2012) document Development Council (Dec. 19) |
| 2008 | India successfully launches an Israeli satellite ‘Polaris’ from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota by a homegrown Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C10. (Jan. 21); India’s Under-19 cricket team beat South Africa by 12 runs to become world champions in Kuala Lumpur. (Mar. 2); Ending 34 years of nuclear isolation and formally bringing the country into the nuclear mainstream, India signs its 1st agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation with France. (Oct. 1); the government decides to declare Ganga as a national river and also set up a high-powered Ganga River Basin Authority to protect the ancient river from pollution and other degradation. (Nov. 4) |
| 2009 | India signs a key safeguards agreement with IAEA to allow inspection of additional civilian reactors, clearing the decks for the supply of atomic fuel and technology by the international community after a 34-year-old nUKe trade embargo was lifted last year (Feb 2); Dr. Manmohan Singh is inaugurated tor hiS second term as Prime Minister of India (May 22); Congress candidate Meira Kumar elected Speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha unanimously (June 3); India takes a giant leap toward energy security when PM Manmohan Singh turns the wheel of the Fortune valve to allow the first gush of black gold from Cairn’s Mangla field, the country’s biggest oil discovery in over two decades (Aug 29). |
FAQ-
Why 1764 is important in Indian history?
Battle of Buxar in which the English defeated the triple alliance of Nawab
Mir Qasim of Bengal, Nawab Shuja-ud-daula of Awadh and Mughal emperor Shah Alam.Why 1982 is important in Indian history?
Zail Singh was sworn in as President, of the 21-member Indian scientific expedition headed by
Dr. S. Z. Qasim lands in Antarctica (Jan. 9), INSAT 1A launched, Ninth Asian Games
held in New Delhi.Why 1984 is important in Indian history?
Rakesh Sharma becomes India’s first spaceman (Apr. 5), Bachendri Pal becomes the
first Indian woman to scale Mt. Everest (May 23), Operation Blue Star, Assassination of
Indira Gandhi (Oct 31), Rajiv Gandhi becomes PM, Bhopal Gas tragedy (Dec. 3).Why 1988 is important in Indian history?
India s first remote sensing satellite IRS 1-A launched from Russia (Mar. 17), INSAT
1-C launched from French Guyana (July 22).