2000 B.C.

Mohenjo Daro Civilization
Bronze dancing girl from Mohenjo Daro in Sind province , Pakistan This tiny and famous figurine is Harrappan and has been dated to c.2000 BC.

1000 B.C. Aryans expand into the valley of the Ganga: composition of the Brahmanas.
900 B.C.

Mahabharata War

The great Indian Epic which is read all over India since ancient times. The Mahabharat war was considered to be the longest war in India

800 Aryans penetrate into Bengal: Composition of the Mahabharata: First version of Ramayana: Beginning of the Epic Age.
550 Composition of the Upanishads
544(?) Traditional Date of Buddha's Nirvana.
527(?) Accession of Darius 1 in Persia
518(?) (Darius sends Scylax on a naval expedition down the Indus: Persian conquest of NW India:  Formation of a Persian satrapy in India.
326 Alexander invades India.
323 Death of Alexander
321 Chandragupta unseats the Nanda dynasty in Pataliputra and founds the Maurya dynasty.  Kautilaya, the Chief Minister of Chandragupta, writes Arthasastra(Science of Government).
272-232

Reign of Ashoka.
The great Indian Ruler who accepted Buddhism and travelled all over India preaching the principals of Buddhism

185 Pushyamitra, the Mauryan General overthrows the last Mauryan Emperor Brihadratha and founds the Sanga dynasty.
145 Chola King Erata conquers Ceylon.  Kharavela builds up an empire in Kalinga.
58 The Krita-Malava-Vikrama era.
26 A Pandyan king sends an ambassador to Rome, Chera Kings in Kerala
A.D.40 The Sakas  or Scythians in power in the Indus Valley and Western India.
52 Parthian King Gondopharnes in NW India.
78 Saka Era begins
98-117 Kanishka, the Kushan King.
320 Chandragupta 1 establishes the Gupta dynasty-Gupta Era begins
360 Samudra Gupta conquers the whole of northen India and much of the Deccan
380-413 Chandragupta Vikramditya-The Golden Age of the Guptas-Literary Renaissance-Kalidasa and other poets.   Renaisssance-Kalidasa and other poets.  Renewal of Hinduism.
606 Accesion of Harsha Vardhana.
609 Rise of the Chalukyas.
622 Era of the Hejira begins.
711 Invasion of Sind by Muhammad-bin Kassim.
753 Rise of the Rashtrakuta empire.
892 Rise of the Eastern Chalukyas.
985 The Chola Dynasty-Rajaraja the great.
1001 B.C. Mahmood of Ghazni's first of 14 raids on India.
1002 B.C. Joint rule by the father-son duo of Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra1 of Tanjore. Rajendra conquers Ceylon.
January 8,1026
Sack of Somnath by Mohmmad of Ghazni.
1077 B.C. An embassy of 72 merchants is sent to China by the Chalukyan king Kulottunga 1.
1175 B.C. Muhammad Ghori's first expedition to India; captures Multan.
1191 Prithvi Raj Chauhan, King of Delhi, routs Muhammad Ghori-the first battle of Tarain.
1192

Muhammad Ghori defeats Prithvi Raj- second battle of Tarain.

1193 B.C. Delhi made the seat of Islamic power in India by Ghori's slave Qutub-ud-din Aibak. Qutub-ud-din sacks Ayodhya.
1200 B.C. The famous Nalanda University in Bihar dating back to ancient times is destroyed by Bhaktiyar Khilji.
1206 Qutubuddin Aybek establishes the Slave dynasty at Delhi.
1221 Mongol invasion under Genghis Khan.
1230 B.C. Ahoms captures Assam. They had begun arriving from 1228 AD, from Thailand, displacing the Bodos.
1232 Foundation of the Qutub Minar.
1290 Jalaludin Firuz Khilji establishes the Khilji dynasty at Delhi.
1294 B.C. First Islamic threat to the Deccan-Allauddin Khilji crosses the Narmada.
1298 Marco Polo visits India.
1299 B.C. Mongol chief Qutlugh Khan advances on Delhi with 200,000 cavalry, the largest invading army in India sofar. Allaudin's army routs them.
1304
  • Allaudin Khilji takes the Kohinoor diamond from the Raja of Malwa
  • Forms the part of the loot of Nadirshah after his raid on India in 1739
  • After his death falls into the hands of his General Ahmed Shah Abdali
  • His descendant surrenders the stone to Maharaja Ranjit Singh
  • 1849 Its acquired by the British
1320 Ghiyasuddin Tughluk founds the Tughluk dynasty at Delhi.
1323 B.C. Warangal, the capital of Telangana captured by Juna Khan(Muhammad bin Tughlaq) Sultan Ghiasuddin's son. End of 250 years of Kakatiya rule.
1327 B.C. Disastrous attempt at shifting the capital from Delhi to Devagiri (Daulatabad) by Muhammad bin Tughlaq. It is aimed at keeping the Mongols from reaching his capital, and the court, officials, army, tradesmen and even cripples are forced to shift.
1333 Ibn Batutah arrives in India.
1336 Founding of Vijaynagar(Deccan).
1398 Timur invades India.
1424 Rise of the Bahmani dynasty (Deccan).
1438 B.C. Rana Kumbha ascends the throne at Mewar. Builds the massive Kumbhalgarh fort, which never fell.
1451 The Lodi Dynasty-Bahlul Lodi ascends the throne of Delhi.
1469 The birth of Guru Nanak Dev.
1489 Adil Shah dynasty at Bijapur
1490 Nizam Shahi dynasty at Ahmadnagar.
1493 The Pope assigns India to Portugal in his division of the world between Portugal and Spain.
1498 Vasco de Gama lands at Calicut.
1500 B.C. The first European factory in India established at Calicut by the Portuguese.
1508 B.C. The Zamorin of Calicut, the Sultan of Egypt and Sultan of Egypt and Sultan Mahmud Begara of Gujarat combine their naval strength to beat the Portuguese navy at Chaul.
1509 B.C. Krishnadeva Raya ascends the throne at Hampi and rules till 1530. The Vijaynagar empire is at its apex.
1510 Portuguese capture Goa-Albuquerque Governor.
1512 B.C. A Turkish officer named Quli Qutub ul Malik declares independence of Golconda from the Bahmani kingdom, leading to the Qutub Shahi dynasty.
1518 Kutub Shahi dynasty at Golconda
April 21,1526 First Battle of Panipat -Babur defeats the Lodis-Establishment of the Mughal dynasty.
1530 Humayun succeeds Babur
1539 Death of Guru Nanak Dev; Sher Shah defeats Humayun and becomes emperor of Delhi.
1542 B.C. Birth of Akbar, the son of Humayun, at Umarkot in Sind. At this time, Humayun was taking refuge there with the help of Rana Pratap of Mewar.
1555 Humayun recovers the Delhi throne from Eslam Shah, successor of Sher Shah.
November 5,1556 Death of Humayun-Accession of Akbar.  Akbar defeats Hemu at the battle of Panipat.
1564 Akbar abolishes 'Jiziya' or poll tax on Hindus.
January 26,1565 Battle of Talikota -An alliance of Muslim rulers in Deccan defeats and destroys Vijayanagar Empire.
1571 Foundation of Fatehpur Sikri by Akbar.
1572 B.C. Akbar conquers Gujarat.
1576 Battle of Haldighat.  Akbar defeats Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar.

This Helmet was worn by Maharaja Rana Pratap in the battle of Haldighati
1582 Akbar proclaims "Din Ilahi" or Divine Faith-an attempt at synthesising Hinduism and Islam.
1586 B.C. Proclamation by Akbar that the had ceased to be a Muslim, and is not a follower of his newly promulgated religion, Din-e-Ilahi, Akbar remains its prophet until 1605, and bans the construction of new mosques and repairof old ones at government expense.
1596 B.C. Mughal suzerainty is established over Ahmadnagar after a diplomatic and military offensive. Chand Bibi of Ahmadnagar dies during the siege.
1597 Akbar completes his conquests.   Death of Rana Pratap.
1600 English East India Company constituted.
1602 Dutch East India Company formed.
1604 Compilation of "Adi Granth" the Holy Book of Sikhs.
1605 Death of Akbar and the accession of Jehangir.
1606 Martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev.
1609 The Dutch open a factory at Pulicat.
1611 The English build a factory at Masulipatam.
1612 The Portuguese attack Pulicat and expel the Dutch. However, Pulicat went back to the Dutch by a convention in 1616.
1615 B.C. Sir Thomas Rose lands at Surat as King James I's envoy; presents himself as ambassador of Britain at Jehangir's court in 1616.
1627 Death of Jehangir-Accession of Shah Jehan ,

Birth of Shivaji.
The great Maratha Warrior
1628 B.C. Shahjahan, the son of Jehangir, is emthroaned as Mughal emperor at Agra.
1631 Death of Shah Jehan's wife Mumtaz Mahal-
The Building of the Taj Mahal.
1639 Fort St.George at Madras by the English.
1646 Capture of Torna fort from Bijapur by Shivaji, which provides the start to his adventurous career of conquest.
1655 Arrival in India of Job Charnock, the founder of Calcutta. Employed with the English East India Company as a junior member of the council of Kasimbazar.
1658 Aurangzeb becomes Emperor of Delhi.
1659 In the year-long struggle for the Delhi throne Aurangzeb defeats his brother, Shuja and Dara Shiroh, he is formally enthroaned on June 15 with the title Alamgir.
1661 In 1661 Bombay was gifted to the British as dowry to on the marraige of King Charles II with Catherine D Braganza, Princess of Portugal. The King leased it to East India Company in 1668 for a loan of 500,000 pounds at 6 percent interest per annum for its upkeep and annual rent of 10 pounds
1664 Shivaji assumes royal title.
1666 Birth of Guru Gobind Singh.
1669 Aurangzeb issues general order to provincial governors to demolish all the schools and temples of the 'infidels'. Among the temples destroyed after this order were the temples of Varanasi, including the Vishwanath temple.
1672 The Satnami revolt is ruthlessly suppressed by Aurangzeb.
1675 Martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur.
1677 Aurangzeb issues order to stop recruitment of Hindus in public service.
1685 King James II gives permission to the East India Company to exert their rights in India.
1699 Guru Gobind Singh creates 'Khalsa'.
1707 Death of Aurangzeb.
1708 Guru Gobind Singh dies.
1715 Asaf Jah, the Viceroy of the Mughal emperor successfully establishes himself as the subedar of the Deccan. Later, he is to become the first Nizam of Hyderabad.
1720 Accession of Baji Rao Peshwa at Poona.
1721 Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath's death in 1720, his son Baji Rao becomes the Peshwa. Baji Rao goes on to become famous as a great soldier and general.
1733 Peshwa Baji Rao receives tribute from Nizam-ul-Mulk after defeating him twice. The Marathas have a control of Malwa, Gujarat and parts of Bundelkhand. They capture Salcette and Bassein and check the rise of the Portuguese.
1739 Nadir Shah of Persia conquers Delhi.
1742 Marathas invade Bengal-Dupl-eix, French Governor of Pondicherry.
1748 First Anglo-French War.
1751 Maratha power is at its peak. Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao invades Bengal and forces its Nawab to cede Orissa. Mysore and other southern principally pay tribute to them. The Marathas reach Delhi and place Imad-ud-Mulk as the wazir who becomes their puppet.
1752 Defeat of Chanda Sahib, Nawab of Arcot, in the Battle of Tiruchirapalli against British forces under Robert Clive. The Nawab's alliance with French general Duplex doesn't pay off.
June 23,1756 The battle of Plassey which was won before it was fought. The British Raj was firmly established after this battle.
1757 Battle of Plassey-The English defeat Siraj-ud-Daulah-Mir Jafar, Nawab of Bengal.
1760 Battle of Wandiwash-The English defeat the French.
1761 Third Battle of Panipat-Ahmed Shah Abdali, the ruler of Afghanistan, defeats the Marathas-Maratha imperialism checked.
1763 Sanyasi and Fakir rebellions in Bengal against English rule. They have effective control of north Bengal and north Bihar till 1774.
October 24,1764 Battle of Buxar-the English defeat Mir Kasim.
1765 The English get Diwani Rights in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa-Clive, Governor in Bengal.
1766 The English secure Northen Circars in the Carnatic.
1767-69 First Mysor war-the British conclude a humiliating peace with Hyder Ali of Mysore.
1771 Marathas capture Delhi. They induce Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II to return to Delhi and install him on the throne. The Mughal emperor sits on the throne of Delhi after an absence of 18 years(he had seen under British 'protection' in Allahabad.)
1772 Warren Hastings, Governor of Bengal.
1773 The Regulating act by the British Parliament.
1775-82 First Anglo-Maratha war; The Treaty of Saibaba.
1780 Birth: Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
1780-84 The Second Mysore War.  The English defeat Hyder Ali
1784 Pitt's India Act.
1790-92 Third Mysore War between the English and Tipu-Treaty of Seringapatam.
1793 Permanent Settlement of Bengal.
1796 Marquees of Wellesley Governor General.
1799 Fourth Mysore War-The English defeat Tipu Sultan -Death of Tipu-Partition of Mysore.
1801 The English annex the Carnatic.
1803-5 Second Anglo-Maratha War.   
British under Sir Arthur Wellesley inflict a crushing defeat on the Marathas at Assaye.
1811 India bans the import of slaves.
1816 The king of Nepal cedes Kumaon and Garhwal to India under Warren Hastings.
1817-19 Marathas finally crushed.
1826 East India Company annexes Assam.
1828 Lord William Bentinck becomes Governor General-Era of social reforms-Prohibition of Sati(1829).  Suppression of Thugs(1837).
1831 Rise of the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh.
1834 Ranjit Singh conquers Peshawar.
1839 Maharaja Ranjit Singh dies.
1842 Sandalwood gates of Somnath Temple brought back from Ghazni by the British after the Afghan War.
1845-46 First Anglo-Sikh War-Sikhs defeated.
1848 Lord Dalhousie Governor General.
January 4,1848-49 Second Anglo-Sikh War-Sikhs defeated.  The British annex Punjab.(Battle of Chillianwallian)
1853 First Indian Railway-Bombay to Thana. Charter Act leads to the holding of Competitive exams for the Indian Civil Services.
1854 Annexation of Jhansi under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse; Rani Lakshmibai is killed on June 18 while fighting in male attire in the Battle of Kotah-KiSarai near Gwalior.
1856 Death knell for an empire. Governor General Lord Canning declares that after Emperor Bahadur Shah's death his descendants would no longer hold the title.
1856

Bal Gangadhar Tilak(1856-1920) an ardent promoter of swadeshi, raised political consciousness in India Swarajya is my birth right, was his slogan

1857-58 First War of Indian Independence.
1858 British Crown takes over the Indian Government-Queen Victoria's proclamation.
1861 Indian Council Act-IndianHighCourtsAct-Indian Penal Code.
1868 Railway opened from Ambala to Delhi.
1873

Jyotiba Govind Phule forms a society for the human rights and social justice in Maharashtra , publishes his famous work gulamgiri

1877 Delhi Durbar-The Queen of England  proclaimed Empress of India.
1878 Vernacular Press Act.
1881 Factory Act-Rendition of Mysore- Mysore State restored to its original ruler.
1885 Indian National Congress-First Meeting.
1892 Indian Council Act to regulate Indian administration.
1899 Lord Curzon becomes Governor General and Viceroy.
1905 First Partition of Bengal.
1906 Formation of the Muslim League.
1908 Newspapers Act
1909 Minto-Morley Reforms.
1911 King George V and Queen Mary hold Durbar in Delhi.  Partition of Bengal annulled to create the Presidency of Bengal.  The imperial  capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.
1914 The First World War Begins.
1915 Defence of India Act.
1917 Annie Besant becomes President of Indian National Congress.
1918 World War ends.
1919 Montague-Cheimsford Reforms; Jallianwala Bagh massacre at Amritsar, Rowlatt Act
1920 Khilafat Movement
1921 Chauri Chaura outrage in U.P.
1927 Broadcasting starts in India.
1928 Death of Lala Lajpat Rai(Sher-e-Punjab)
1929 Resolution of complete independence passed at Lahore Congress.
1930 Dandi March by Mahatma Gandhi (6 April)
1931 Gandhi-Trwin Pact
1935 Government of India Act
1937 Provincial Autonomy: Formation of popular governments.
1939 World War II started(September 1)
1941 Death of Rabindra Nath Tagore ; escape of Subhash Bose from India.
1942 'Quit India' Movement (8 August)
1943 Bengal famine; Indian National Army formed.
1945 Trial of INA at Red Fort; Shimla Conference; Failure of Wavell Plan; World War II ended.
1946 British Cabinet Mission visited India, interim government formed at the centre.
1947 Indian independence; India partitioned.
1948 Assasination of Mahatma Gandhi (January 30); Integration of princely States.
1949 Ceasefire in Kashmir; Enactment of Indian Constitution(November 26)
1950 India becomes Republic (January 26)
1951 First Five-Year Plan launched; first Asian games held at Delhi.
1952 First General Elections to the Lok Sabha.
1953 Mount Everest conquered by Tanzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary.
1954 Panchshilla signed by India and China.
1956 Reorganisation of Indian States on linguilistic basis; Second Five-Year Plan launched.
1957 Second General Election.
1959 Dalai Lama escapes to India; India's relations with China worsen as a result of latter's claim over Indian territories in NEFA and Ladakh.
1961 Third-Five-Year launched; Liberation of Goa from Portuguese possession.
1962 Third General Election; Chinese aggression (October 30)
1964 Death of Jawaharlal Nehru (May 27); Lal Bahadur Shastri becomes Prime Minister.
1965 Indo-Pak war; ceasefire.
1966 Indo-Pak summit at Tashkent; Death of Lal Bahadur Shastri (January 11): Mrs.Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister of India; Formation of Haryana State.
1967 Fourth General Election
1969 Death of President Zakir Hussain; Spirit in Indian National Congress; Nasationalism of Banks.
1970 Fourth Lok Sabha dissolved.
1971 Indo-Pak war; Birth of Bangladesh; Himachal Pradesh obtains statehood.
1972 Assam State reorganised, Meghalaya and Tripura becomes full-fledged States and two Union territories, Arunachal Pradesh and Mirzoram, inaugurated; Shimla agreement signed between Indira Gandhi and Z.A.Bhutto(July 2); Death of C.Rajgopalachari.
1973 Manekshaw promoted as first Indian Field Marshal; Mysore state renamed Karnataka.
1974 India becomes sixth nuclear power by exploding nuclear device at Pokhran in Rajsthan.
1975 Sikkim joins India as 22nd State; India enters space age; President declares emergency due to "Internal disturbance threat.
1976 Improvement of India-China relations as well as normalisation of India-Pak relations.
1977 Mr.Morarji Desai sworn in as Prime Minister of India.
1978 Second split in the Congress and formation of Congress(I) under the leadership of Mrs.Indira Gandhi; Mrs.Indira Gandhi wins LokSabha elections.
1979 Mr.Morarji Desai resigns from Prime Ministershiip; Mr.Charan Singh becomes Prime Minister; Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan passes away.
1980 Mrs.Indira Gandhi is sworn in as Prime Minister of India; Birth of Bharatiya Janata Party out of the third split in the Janata Party.
1981 Third split in the Indian National Congress when Jagjivan Ram forms his own Congress.
1982 Acharya Vinoba Bhave dies; Ninth Asian Games opened in New Delhi.
1983 India's multi-purpose satellite, INSAT-1B, successfully blasted off from Cape Carnival, U.S.A.; Sunil Gavaskar surpasses Don Bradman's record of 29th test centuries when he completes his 30th Test century in Madras against West Indies.
1984 Sqn.Ldr.Rakesh Sharma becomes first Indian Cosmonaut to go into space (April 3); Bachendri Pal becomes first Indian woman to scale Mount Everest; Mrs.Indira Gandhi assasinated; Rajiv Gandhi sworn in as new Prime Minister; Gas kills over 2,200 in Bhopal
1985 Air-India Boeing 'Kanishka'; H.S.Longowal shot dead; Kalpakkam FBTR dedicated to nation, Congress completes 100 years.
1986 India's first test tube baby born; Rajiv Gandhi survives assassination attempt at RajGhat; second SAARC summit begins at Bangalore.
1987 Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh become 23rd and 24th States of India; Sunil Gavaskar becomes the first batsman in the world to complete 10,000 test runs against Pakistan in Ahmedabad; Dr.Shankar Dayal Sharma sworn in Vice-President of India; Goa becomes 25th state of India
1988 'Prithvi', India's first-ever tactical surface-to-surface missile test-fired from Sriharikota; 'Operation Black Thunder' in which 151 terrorists surrender in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar.
1989 DMK sweeps to power in Tamil Nadu; 'Agni' launched at Chandipur-on-Sea in Orissa; India carries out second test launch of 'Prithvi' missile; Rajiv Gandhi resigns as Prime Minister; V.P.Singh sworn in as the seventh Prime Minister of India and DeviLal as his deputy.
1990 V.P.Singh resigns after losing vote of confidence in Loksabha; 'Akash' and 'Nag' is testfired successfully; President's rule in Goa; Governor's rule imposed in J&K.
1991 Fifteen-month-old ninth Lok Sabha is dissolved; Mr.Chandra Shekhar is asked to continue as caretaker Prime Minister
1992 'Prithvi' is testfired at Chandipur; ASVL blasts off from Sriharikota; Union Government imposes ban on five on five organisations-RSS, VHP, BajrangDal, Jamaat-e-Islami and the Islamic Sevak Sangh-for promotion of disharmony.
1993 President promulgates ordinance acquiring 67.33 acres of land in and around the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya; Ms.Santosh Yadav climbs Mount Everest and becomes first woman in the world to scale the highest peak twice; President rule is imposed in Manipur.
1994 Kapil Dev becomes world's highest Test scalper when he takes his 432nd wicket against SriLanka; India wins Wills World Series Cricket Cup in Calcutta; Aishwarya Rai crowned Miss World 1994.
1995 N.Chandrababu Naidu is appointed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister; 'Trishul' successfully testfired; India's third indigenous communication satellite, INSAT-2C, is put into orbit.
1996 Mr.Atal Behari Vajpayee is sworn in as Prime Minister; India ranks 11th among nuclear power station operating countries world-wide; India refuses to sign the controversial Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty(CTBT); A joint-indo-U.S. naval exercise code named 'Malabar' is launched in the Arabian Sea.
1997 Fifth Pay Commission raises the retirement age to 60 years,; 'Nag' an anti-tank missile is testfired; K.R.Narayan sworn as the 10th President of India; Janta Dal splits into JD & RJD; I.K.Gujral appointed India's 12th Prime Minister; Ms.Arundhanti Roy, an Indian writer, bags the 29th Booker Prize, for her first novel 'The God of Small Things'.
1998 Atal Bihari Vajpayee sworn in as India's 13th PM ; India achieves a major breakthrough in nuclear build-up by conducting three underground nuclear tests at the Pokhran; Indore becomes the first city in the country to have its own private telephone service; Leander Paes becomes the first Indian to win an ATP tour title in eight years; India successfully testfires its multi-barrel rocket system, Pinaka at Chandipur;
1999 US waives economic sanctions against India; Vajpayee takes India to the new Millenium; Diesel price hiked; Impact of Kargil War on the Economy.
 

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