HISTORICAL EVENTS

HISTORICAL EVENTS
B.C
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 land route between India and Europe.
269-232	Ashoka's reign.
261	Battle of Kalinga.
57	Beginning of Vikrama era.
30	Satvahana dynasty in Deooan. Pandyan empire in for south.
326	Alexander defeated Poras in the Battle of Hydaspas
261	Ashoka defeated Kalinga in the Kalinga War
A.D
78	Beginning of Saka era.
320	Beginning of Gupta era.
360	Samudragupta conquers the whole of N. India and much of the Deccan.
380-413	Rule of Chandragupta Vikramaditya, age of Kalidasa, renewal of induism.
606-647	Rule of Harshavardhana.
629-645	Hieun Tsang's visit in India.
622	Beginning of 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	First battle of Tarain in which Prithviraj Chauhan defeated Mohd. Ghori.
1192	Second battle of Tarain in which Mohd. Ghori defeated Prithviraj Chauhan.
1206	Qutubuddin Aibak founded the Ilbari/Slave dynasty.
1290	Jalaluddin Firuz Khilji established Khilji dynasty.
1290	Marco Polo visited India.
1320	Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq founded the Tughlaq dynasty.
1333	Ibn Batuta arrived in India.
1336	Harihara and Bukka founded the Vijaynagar empire.
1347	Bahmani kingdom founded.
1398	Timur invades India.
1451	Lodi dynasty comes in 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 and established the Mughal dynasty.
1556	Second battle of Panipat 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 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 Taj Mahal.
1658	Aurangzeb became Emperor of Delhi.
1666	Birth of Guru Gobind Singh.
1699	Guru Gobind Singh creates 'Khalsa'.
1707	Death of Aurangzeb, fall of Mughal empire begins.
1739	Nadir Shah invaded India; the peacock throne and the Kohinoor Diamond taken away from India.
1757	Battle of Plassey in which the English defeated Siraj-ud- daula, Nawab of Bengal.
1760	Battle of Wandiwash, 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 finally crushed.
1828	Lord William Bentick becomes Governor General; Era of social reforms; Prohibition of Sati (1829), Suppression of thugs (1830).
1835	Introduction of English as medium of instruction.
A.D
1853	First Indian railway from Bombay to Thane.
1857-58	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, partition of Bengal cancelled, 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 rebellian 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 Lahore session.
1930	January 26 celebrated as Independence Day throughout India, Dandi Salt Satyagraha, First Round Table conference.
1931	Gandhi-lrvin Pact, Second Round Table Conference.
1932	Suppression of Congress Movement, Third Round Table Conference, Communal 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 II.
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 created, both achieve independence, Jawarhar Lai Nehru becomes the I Prime Minister of India.
1948	Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi (Jan. 30).
1950	India became republic (Jan. 26).
1951	First Five Year Plan implemented.
1952	First General Elections held.
1953	Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary conquer Mt. Everest (May 29).
1954	Panchsheel agreement between India and China.
1956	Life insurance nationalized, State Reorganising Act comes into force.
1957	Second General Elections.
1958	Metric system of weights and measures introduced.
1959	Dalai Lama exiled; enters India.
1961	Liberation of Goa.
1962	Chinese attack on India. (Oct 20).
1964	Jawaharlal Nehru dies; Lai Bahadur Shastri becomes PM.
1965	Indo-Pak war.
1966	Tashkent Agreement reached, Death of Lai Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi became PM.
1967	Dr. Zakir Hussain 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 ruler's privy purses abolished. Dr. C. V. Raman died (Nov. 2).
1971	Indo-Pak War over Bangladesh.
1972	Shimla Agreement signed.
1973	Manekshaw 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', life of Lok Sabha extended by an year.
1977	Defeat of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in the election, Morarji 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 centre, India launches first satellite using its own satellite launching vehicle (July. 18).
1981	India launched APPLE, Khalistan activists hijack Indian Airlines Boeing 737 to Lahore.
1982	Zail Singh sworn in as President, the 21-member Indian scientific expedition headed by Dr. S. Z. Qasim lands on Antarctica (Jan. 9), INSAT1 A 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-1 B launched (Aug. 30), Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi" wins 8 oscars.
1984	Rakesh Sharma becomes India's first spaceman (Apr. 5), Bachendri Pal become 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), Azharuddin hits 3 centuries in 3 tests.
1986	The first wholly Indian test-tube baby bom 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	Successful launching of INSAT 1-D (June 12), Mandal Commission recommendation implemented (Aug. 7), V.P. Singh tenders resignation (Nov. 7), S. Chandrashekhar becomes PM. (Nov. 10).
1991	Rajiv Gandhi killed in a bomb blast (May 21), P. V. Narsimha Rao became PM. (June 21), Earthquake in Uttarkashi region (Oct. 20), Satyajit Ray got special Oscar award. (Dec.16).
1992	Prithvi test fired (May 5), INSAT-2 A launched (July 10), Dr. Shanker Dayal Sharma became President (July 25), the domes of Babri Masjid demolished (Dec 6).
1993	Panchayati Raj Act effective (Apr. 24), INSAT-2 B launched from French Guyana (July 23), Earthquake in Latur region (Sept. 30).
1994	First heart transplant in the country (Aug. 3), PSLV D-2 launched (Oct. 15).
1995	Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh assassinated (Agu. 31), INSAT-2 C launched (Dec. 7)
1996	A.B. Vajpayee became PM. (May 16), H.D. Deve Gowda became PM. (June 1), India-Bangladesh sign Ganga Water Pact (Dec. 12)
1997	I. K. Gujral became PM. (Apr. 21), K. R. Narayanan sworn in as President (July 25), Mother Teresa passes away (Sept. 5), Arundhati Roy wins Booker Prize (Oct. 14), I. K. Gujral resigns as PM. (Nov. 28)
1998	Konkan railway commissioned (Jan. 26), A. B. Vajpayee became PM. (Mar. 19), India conducted total 5 nuclear tests (May 11 and May 13), Severe cyclone in Gujarat (June 9), Amartya Sen won the Noble Prize in Economics (Oct. 14)
1999	P.M. Vajpayee arrived in Pakistan by Delhi-Lahore bus (Feb. 20), India successfully launched its first commercial telecom satellite INSAT-2 E from Kourou (Apr. 3), Intense fighting in Kargil (June-July), Devastating cyclone in Orissa and A. P. (Oct.)
2000	U. S. President Bill Clinton visited India (Mar.) INSAT-3 B launched from Kourou (Mar. 22), Successful test firing of 'Dhanush', the naval version of 'Prithvi' missile (Apr. 11), Karnam Malleshwari wins a bronze at Olympics, Chattisgarh formed (Nov. 1), Uttaranchal formed (Nov. 9), Jharkhand formed (Nov. 15)
2001	The pilotless target aircraft 'Lakshya' inducted into the Indian Air Force (Jan. 5), Severe earthquake in Gujarat (Ja. 26), the newly-constructed Ennore port dedicated to the nation (Feb. 1), India successfully launches GSLV D-1 from Sriharikota (Apr. 18), Indo-Pak summit at Agra (July 15-16), Lok Pal Bill introduced in Lok Sabha (Aug. 14), 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	INSAT-3 C launched on Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guyana (Jan. 24), ISRO successfully tries the indegenious cryogenic engine (Feb. 5), POTO passed in the joint session of the Parliament (Mar. 26), LCA test flown successfully (June 6), Cabinet clears 26% FDI in print media (June 25), Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam elected the President of India (July 18), Bhairon Singh Shekhawat sworn in as Vice-President of India (Aug. 19), India launches METSAT by using PSLV-C4 (Sept. 12), Draft of the Tenth Five-Year Plan approved by the Planning Commission (Oct. 5), BSNL launches mobile phone service (Oct. 15), Vajpayee and Putin sign Delhi declaration (Dec. 4), Kelkar submitted modified report on tax reforms (Dec. 28)
2003	Kalpana Chawla killed in space shuttle Columbia burnup (Feb. 1); Large reserves of oil & gas discovered in Barmer district of Rajasthan (Feb. 4); US launched attack on Iraq (Mar. 20); INSAT-3A launched from Kourou (Apr. 10); Indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) renamed 'Tejas' (May 4); GSLVD-2 launched from Sriharikota (May 8); First instance of power failure in modern USA (Aug. 15-16); Mars comes closest to Earth (Aug. 27); Govt. approves the purchase of Advanced Jet Trainers, Hawk, from Britain (Sept. 3); INSAT-3E launched from Kourou (Sept. 20); Pope John Paul-ll beautifies Mother Teresa (Oct. 19); First Afro-Asian Games held in Hyderabad (Oct. 24-Nov. 1); India & Pakistan agree to a formal cease-fire along the LOG (Nov. 25); 97th, 98th, 99th & 100th Constitutional Amendment Bills passed (Dec. 18-23)
2004	Sensex crosses the magical figure of 6000 (Jan. 2); India signs agreement with Russia for obtaining Admiral Gorshkov (Jan. 20); Delhi High Court clears Rajiv Gandhi from the Bofors deal (Feb. 4); 200 killed in Madrid train blast (Mar. 11); Nobel Medals of Rabindra Nath Tagore gets stolen from Shantiniketan (Mar. 25); NDA conducts election before time, but loses unexpectedly, UPA government comes in power, Dr. Manmohan Singh sworn-in as the new PM (May 22); 87 children killed in a fire in school in Kumbhkonam, Tamil Nadu (July 17); Olympics return to their homeland Athens, Rajyavardhan Rathode wins a 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); Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati arrested on murder charges (Nov. 11); Yasser Arafat is dead (Nov. 11); Parliament dismissses POTA (Dec. 9); Tsunami causes havoc in South and South East Asia killing more than a lakh (Dec. 26)

1. The first president of the Constituent Assembly was Sachidanand Sinha later, Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly.
2. The members of the Constituent Assembly met for the first time in the year 1946 on December 9.
3. On August 29, 1947, the Drafting Committee was appointed, with Dr Ambedkar as the Chairman along with six other members.
4. A Draft Constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on November 4, 1947.
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Atomic Energy
=================
The Atomic Energy Commission is a governing body functioning under the Department of
Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. The DAE is under the direct charge
of the Prime Minister.
2. Department of Atomic Energy (India) was founded with Homi Bhabha as secretary
3. The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was found in 1962 with Vikram Sarabhai as its chairman.
4. The first nuclear test explosion by India on May 18, 1974 at Pokhran.
5. The Indian Space Research Organization in its modern form was created by Vikarm Sarabhai in 1969

Tarapur Atomic Power Station, Tarapur, Maharashtra
Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, Rawatbhata, Rajasthan
Madras Atomic Power Station, Kalpakkam, Tamilnadu
Narora Atomic Power Station, Narora, Uttar Pradesh
Kakrapar Atomic Power Station, Kakrapar, Gujarat
Kaiga Atomic Power Station, Kaiga, Karnataka
Jaitapur nuclear power project — Maharashtra
Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant
Mumbai — Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
==============================================================
Tamilnadu information
=====================
tamilnadu -11 largest state
Population - 7th state
Area 130,058 km2 (50,216 sq mi)
President's rule on four occasions - 1.1976 to 1977,
2.short period in 1980
3. 1988 to 1989
4. the latest in 1991.

The major administrative units of the state constitutes
39 Lok Sabha constituencies,
234 Assembly constituencies,
32 districts,
10 city corporations,
152[40] municipalities,
611 town panchayats and 12,618 village panchayats

Tamil Nadu had a bicameral legislature until 1986,
when it was replaced with a unicameral legislature, like most other states in India.

Tamil Nadu has 10 City Corporations:
Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Salem,
Tirunelveli, Tirupur, Erode, Vellore and Thoothukudi.

The Tamil Nadu Police Force is over 140 years old.
The current Director General of Police of Tamil Nadu is K. P. Jain.


The 32 districts of Tamil Nadu are as listed below

1.Ariyalur District
2.Chennai District
3.Coimbatore District
4.Cuddalore District
5.Dharmapuri District
6.Dindigul District
7.Erode District
8.Kanchipuram District
9.Kanyakumari District (Smallest District)
10.Karur District
11.Krishnagiri District
12.Madurai District
13.Nagapattinam District
14.Namakkal District
15.Nilgiris District
16.Perambalur District
17.Pudukkottai District
18.Ramanathapuram District
19.Salem District
20.Sivagangai District
21.Thanjavur District
22.Theni District
23.Thoothukudi District
24.Tiruchirapalli District
25.Tirunelveli District
26.Tirupur district
27.Tiruvallur District
28.Tiruvannamalai District
29.Tiruvarur District
30.Vellore District
31.Viluppuram District
32.Virudhunagar District

First mayor of madras : L. Sriramulu Naidu
The DMK decided to enter politics in 1956.
Tamil Nadu has 19 universities

Nobel Prize Winners in India

S.No	Name	Year	Specialization	Other Info
1.	RABINDRANATH TAGORE	1913	Literature	Popularly known as Gurudev, India's most famous writer and poet was awarded the Nobel Prize in recognition of his work Geetanjali, a collection of poems, in 1913. Tagore was also involved in teaching. In 1901 he founded the famous Santiniketan which later came to be known as Vishwabharati University.
2.	CHANDRASHEKAR VENKATA RAMAN(C.V.RAMAN)	1930	Physics	Born at Thiruvanaikkaval in Tamil Nadu, Raman studied at Presidency College, Madras. Later, he served as Professor of Physics at Calcutta University. C.V. Raman won the Nobel Prize for an important research in the field of optics (light). Raman had found that diffused light contained rays of other wavelengths-what is now popularly known as Raman Effect. His theory explains why the frequency of light passing through a transparent medium changes.
3.	HARGOBIND KHORANA	1968	Medicine	Dr. Khorana was born in Raipur, Punjab (now in Pakistan). He went abroad to get his doctorate in Chemistry and later settled there. It was his study of the human genetic code and the role it plays in protein synthesis that got him the Nobel Prize.
4.	MOTHER TERESA	1979	Peace	Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu at Skopje, now in Yugoslavia. She wanted to become a nun and joined the Irish order of the Sisters of Loretto (at Dublin) in 1928. It is as a nun that Agnes came Calcutta in 1929. Here she was extremely touched by the misery of the poor and the sick. She decided to dedicate her life to serving them. She then founded a group of similar minded people called the Missionaries of Charity and set up Nirmal Hriday a center where she took care of the dying, the lepers and other people who had been left alone on the streets of Calcutta to die. Today her group has centers all over the world.
5.	SUBRAMANIAN CHANDRASHEKAR	1983	Physics	Dr S. Chandrashekar, is an Indian-born astrophysicist (a branch of astronomy or the study of space). After studying at the Presidency College in Madras, Dr. Chandrashekhar went to the United States for work and settled there. He has written many books on his field Astrophysics and Stellar Dynamics. He developed a theory on white dwarf stars forecasts the limit of mass that dwarf stars can have. This limit is known as the Chandrashekar Limit. His theory also explains the final stages of the evolution of stars.
6.	AMARTYA SEN	1998	Economics	Prof. Amartya Sen is the first Asian to win the Economics Nobel. He is one of the most respected economics thinker in the world. He is also an excellent teacher. He won the Nobel for his work in the area of economic theory. Some of his most important work is in the areas of poverty, democracy, development and social welfare. Rudyard Kipling (Literature 1907) Ronald Ross (Medicine 1902)
7.	VENKATRAMAN RAMAKRISHNAN	2009	Bio-Chemistry	Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was born in Chidambaram in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, India. He moved to Baroda (Vadodara) in Gujarat state at the age of three, where he had his schooling, except for spending 1960-61 in Adelaide, Australia. Following his Pre-Science at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, he did his undergraduate studies in the same university on a National Science Talent Scholarship, graduating with a B.Sc. in Physics in 1971. Immediately after graduation he moved to the U.S.A., where he obtained his Ph.D. in Physics from Ohio University in 1976.[6][7][8] He then spent two years studying biology as a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego while making a transition from theoretical physics to biology.

Supreme Court of India

Supreme Court of India
Established	28-Jan-1950
Location	New Delhi
Authorized by	Constitution of India
Judge term length	65 Years of age
Number of positions	31
Chief Justice of India	K. G. Balakrishnan Since (14-Jan-2007)
The current president of the SCBA(supreme Court Bar Association)	Mr. P.H. Parekh.
The first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court was Justice	Fatima Beevi in 1987
Other Womens to be appointed to the Supreme Court was Justice	1.Sujata Manohar 2. Ruma Pal
First chief justice of supreme court of india	harilal kania or H. J. Kania

List of states and territories

Administrative divisions of India, including 28 states and 7 union territories.States:

1.Andhra Pradesh
2.Arunachal Pradesh
3.Assam
4.Bihar
5.Chhattisgarh
6.Goa
7.Gujarat
8.Haryana
9.Himachal Pradesh
10.Jammu and Kashmir
11.Jharkhand
12.Karnataka
13.Kerala
14.Madhya Pradesh
15.Maharashtra
16.Manipur
17.Meghalaya
18.Mizoram
19.Nagaland
20.Orissa
21.Punjab
22.Rajasthan
23.Sikkim
24.Tamil Nadu
25.Tripura
26.Uttar Pradesh
27.Uttarakhand
28.West Bengal


Union Territories:

A.Andaman and Nicobar Islands
B.Chandigarh
C.Dadra and Nagar Haveli
D.Daman and Diu
E.Lakshadweep
F.National Capital Territory of Delhi
G.Puducherry

Constituent Assembly of India

Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was the first president(temporary Chairman of the Assembly )of the Constituent Assembly when it met on December 9, 1946. Dr. Rajendra Prasad then became the President of the Constituent Assembly, and would later became the first President of India. The Vice President of the Constituent Assembly was Professor Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, former Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University and a prominent Christian from Bengal who also served as the Chairman of the Minorities Committee of the Constituent Assembly. He was appointed Governor of West Bengal after India became a republic.


Committees under the Constituent Assembly


Committee on the Rules of procedure - Rajendra Prasad

Steering Committee Rajendra Prasad

Finance and Staff Committee Anugrah Narayan Sinha

Credential Committee Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer

House Committee B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya

Order of Business Committee K.M. Munshi

Ad hoc Committee on the National Flag Rajendra Prasad

Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly G.V. Mavalankar

States Committee Jawaharlal Nehru

Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities

Tribal and Excluded Areas Vallabhbhai Patel

Minorities Sub-Committee H.C. Mookherjee

Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee J.B. Kripalani

North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam. Excluded & Partially Excluded Areas Sub-Committee Gopinath Bardoloi

Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other than those in Assam) Sub-Committee A.V. Thakkar

Union Powers Committee Jawaharlal Nehru

Union Constitution Committee Jawaharlal Nehru

Drafting Committee B.R. Ambedkar

[edit] Members of the Indian Constituent Assembly

[edit] Indian National Congress

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, 1st Prime Minister

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,Deputy Prime Minister cum Home Minister

Maulana Azad, Minister for Education,

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Chairman of the Assembly

C. Rajagopalachari, Governor General

Sarat Chandra Bose

Sri Krishna Sinha, Chief Minister,Bihar

Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra

Anugrah Narayan Sinha,Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister,Bihar

Rafi Ahmed Kidwai

Asaf Ali

Syama Prasad Mookerjee, President, Hindu Mahasabha

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Minister for Health

Hansa Mehta, President, All India Women's Conference

Constitution of India

1. Which article of the constitution abolishes untouchability – ARTICLE-17
2. Which constitutional amendment introduced the anti defection provisions in the constitution – 52nd Amendments
3. After independence the first state organized on the basis of language is Andhra Pradesh
4. If a no-confidence motion is passed against a Minister the whole council of ministers has to resign
5. Who was the constitutional advisor to the constituent assembly? Jawaharlal Nehru
6. What was the exact constitutional status of the Indian republic on Jan 26, 1950?
A Sovereign Democratic Republic
7. Who amongst the following acts as the presiding officer of the house without being its member? Vice President of India
8. The number of articles our constitution contains is 444
9. Our constitution has 12 schedules
10. Our constitution was adopted on 26th November 1949

World Tamil Conference

The list of world Tamil Conferences held so far are listed below:

• Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) - 1967
• Chennai (Tamilnadu, India) - 1968 (by Tamilnadu CM, C.N.Annadurai (DMK party) )
• Paris (France) - 1970
• Jaffna (SriLanka) - 1974
• Madurai (Tamilnadu, India) - 1981 (by Tamilnadu CM, M.G. Ramachandran (ADMK party) )
• Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) - 1987
• Mauritius
• Thanjavur (Tamilnadu, India) - 1995 (by Tamilnadu CM, J. Jayalalitha (ADMK party) )
• Coimbatore (Tamilnadu, India) - 1995 (by Tamilnadu CM, Mr.Karunanithi (DMK party) )

India's Atomic Research

India's Atomic Research First Nuclear Explosion Carried out on May 18, 1974 at Pokharan in Rajasthan (Thar) desert. The main objective was the use of atomic energy for peaceful purpose, that is digging canals, reservoirs, oil exploration, as well as to study rock dynamics. This successful explosion made India the sixth nuclear nation in the world. (for Pokhran II, please refer to the Current Affairs Section). Atomic Energy Commission Established in 1948, with Dr. H. J. Bhabha as its first Chairman, to look after India?s atomic energy programmes. Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) Set up in August 1954 for implementation of Atomic energy programmes and headed by the Prime Minister of India. It has five research Centers: Bhabha Atomic research Centre (BARC): Established in 1957, it is located in Trombay (Maharashtra) and is India?s largest atomic research centre. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research: established in 1971, it is located at Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu). Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT): Established in 1984, it is located at Indore. Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (CECC), Kolkata. Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration Research (AMD), Hyderabad. It has: Three Industrial Organizations: Heavy Water Board (HWB), Mumbai. Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), Hyderabad. Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology (BRIT), Mumbai. Four Public Sector Undertakings: Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), Mumbai. Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), Jaduguda (Jharkhand). Indian Rare Earth Limited (IRE), Mumbai. Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad. Four Service Organizations: Directorate of Purchase and Stores (DPS), Mumbai. Construction, Services and Estate Management Group, Mumbai. General Services Organization (GSO). Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu). Atomic Energy Education Society (AEES), Mumbai DAE also financially supports seven autonomous national institutes: Tata institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), Mumbai. Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), Kolkata. Institute of Physics (IOP), Bhubaneswar. Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI), Allahabad. Institute of Mathematical Studies (IMS), Chennai. Institute of Plasma Research (IPR), Ahmadabad. The Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) and the National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM) Promote research in nuclear and allied fields and mathematics respectively. Nuclear Power Projects The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), set up in1987, is responsible for the design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants in the country. It is envisaged that by the year 2000, India's atomic power generation would be in the vicinity of 10,000 MW.

India General Knowledge Questions

India General Knowledge Questions Question: Ministerial meeting of WTO held in Dec 99 was unsuccessful because of what reasons? Answer: Environment-related issues. Question: Name the only Indian President who was the speaker of Lok Sabha also? Answer: Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy Question: What was the venue of world cup of Football in 1994? Answer: U.S.A. Question: Manisha Koirala is associated with the advertisement of which brand of fan? Answer: Ortem fan Question: Name the company whose C.E.O was chosen as the manager of the century by Fortune magazine? Answer: General Electric (GE) Question: Which International company owns Lotus Development Company? Answer: IBM Question: Which film has won 11 Oscar awards other than "Titanic"? Answer: Ben Hur Question: Which states has maximum number of seats reserved for Schedule Tribes in Lok Sabha? Answer: Madhya Pradesh Question: French Revolution resulted in the abolition of what? Answer: Slavery Question: The Standing committee of state finance ministers recommended in January 2000 uniform rates across the states in respect of what? Answer: Sales Tax Question: Which city is known as the "Manchester of South India"? Answer: Coimbatore Question: How many states are there in India? Answer: 28 Question: Economic liberalization in India started with what? Answer: It started in the year 1991 with the delicensing of Industries in India Question: Which body is not a creation of the constitution? Answer: Election Commission Question: Which was the first Indian company to dematerialize its shares? Answer: Reliance Industries Question: Who is the first person from Africa to become the Secretary General of UN? Answer: Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali Question: National Income in India is estimated by? Answer: Central Statistical Organization (C. S. O) Question: Which is the oldest company listed in Wall Street? Answer: Bank of New York Question: Who led Indian delegation to G-15 summit held at Cairo in June 2000? Answer: Vice-President, Krishna Kant Question: "Talk to me" is a promotional campaign associated with which company? Answer: Toothpaste Question: What is the expected food subsidy bill for 2000-01? Answer: 8100 crores Question: Who is the founder of positive health clinic? Answer: Dr. Mukesh Batra Question: First public sector unit registered in New York Stock Exchange on 15th August 2000? Answer: ICICI LTD. Question: Which bank is associated with the Sapnay credit card? Answer: Standard Chartered Bank Question: Lexus is a sports car owned by which Asian car manufacturer? Answer: Toyota Question: Indian population constitutes what percentage of the world population? Answer: 16% Question: Sanjukta Panigrahi was the popular exponent of which form of dance? Answer: Odissi Question: Who is the MD of ICICI Bank? Answer: K.V Kamath Question: What is the full form of TRAI? Answer: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Question: What is the meaning of Direct Tax? Answer: Tax imposed and collected directly on and by the consumer Question: Vishvas / Vikas / Vaibahav is the motto of which private bank? Answer: IndusInd Bank Question: Which form of intellectual property can provide the longest protections? Answer: Trade mark Question: Khalid Ansari is associated with which publications? Answer: Mid Day Question: Which Indian News paper has highest of circulation? Answer: Dainik Bhaskar Question: Who is the Ex-officio chairman of the Planning Commission of India? Answer: Prime Minister Question: Which Indian TV channel owned the rights for the telecast of 50th Miss World Contest held in Millennium Dome in London? Answer: Zee TV Question: Bajaj Auto Ltd. is setting its two-wheeler plant in which south Asian country? Answer: China Question: Who was chosen as the Businessman of the Century by Fortune Magazine? Answer: Henry Ford Question: Marjorie Sardino is the CEO of which company? Answer: Pearson Plc. Question: The speaker can ask a member of the house to stop speaking and let another member speak. This phenomenon is known as? Answer: Yielding the floor. Question: Which place associated with the 1917 freedom movement? Answer: Champaran Movement Question: Which among the following is the hardest metal among Gold, Iron, Platinum, Tungsten? Answer: Tungsten Question: Glass is manufactured by heating which of the following up to 400ºC? (a) Lime stone (b) Soda Ash (c) Silica (Give right combination) Answer: Glass is manufactured by heating Lime stone + Soda Ash + Silica, (all of them) Question: What was the purpose of initiation of Dandi March? Answer: To break the salt law Question: Convulsions in infants is caused due to the deficiency of which vitamin? Answer: Pyridoxine - A type of vitamin B Question: Name the only Indian musician to have sung in United Nations (UN)? Answer: M.S. Subbulakshmi Question: Who won the Tansen Samman for 2001? Answer: Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Question: Who is the Secretary-General of Commonwealth? Answer: Don-Mckinnon Question: Who is the Secretary General of Lok Sabha? Answer: G.C. Malhotra Question: Name the party that won parliamentary elections in Bangladesh in 2001? Answer: Bangladeshi Nationalist Party (BNP) Question: What is the real GDP annual growth rate according to RBI for 2001 - 2002? Answer: For 2001-2002 it is 6 to 6.5% (estimated) Question: Who is the chairman of the probing committee of UTI fiasco? Answer: S.S. Tarapore Question: Name the country that banned Human Cloning in 2001? Answer: United Kingdom, around April 2001 Question: Name the scheme that was not announced by the Prime Minister on 15th August 2001? Answer: Schemes that were announced on 15th August 2001 are: (1) Sampoorna Gramin Yojana (2) National Nutrition Mission (3) Ambedkar Awas Yojana (4) Housing for families of Army Jawans (therefore, the scheme except the above stated ones was not announced by the Prime Minister) Question: What is the meaning of Hysterisis of an instrument? Answer: A retardation of the effect when the forces acting upon a body are changed especially a lagging in the values of resulting magnetization in a magnetic material (as iron) due to changing magnetic force. Question: Which physical quantity's unit is 'Tesla'? Answer: Magnetic Flux Question: Who is the chairman of Railway Board? Answer: V.K. Aggarwal Question: Who is the Vice-Chancellor of IGNOU? Answer: Professor H.P Dixit Question: Name the movie directed by Mira Nair that won the Golden lion award in 2001? Answer: Monsoon Wedding Question: K. Venkataswami Commission is associated with which scandal? Answer: Tehelka Episode (Armsgate Scandal) Question: Who won the Century of the star award in a function held at Egypt in 2001? Answer: Amitabh Bachchan Question: Who authored "India from midnight to millennium"? Answer: Shashi Tharoor Question: Who is the Managing Director of HDFC Bank? Answer: Aditya Puri Question: What is the reason of not falling of Leaning Tower of Peasa? Answer: Soil below the structure precisely subterranean water makes the ground beneath the tower, unstable Question: Why enamel is coated on a transformer between its coils? Answer: To reduce heating effect Question: How many states went for Assembly elections in the year 2000? Answer: five Question: Which personality is known as "Fiat Palio brand champion"? Answer: Sachin Tendulkar Question: Name the plant that gives only seeds and not fruit? Answer: Cycus Question: Which is a polymer (few options like, vinyl chloride, urea etc. were given)? Answer: Nylon Question: Who initiated the construction of Fatehpur Sikri? Answer: Akbar Question: According to the World FDI investment report, from the year 2000 to 2001, FDI has increased by 18%. This increase amounts to what amount in dollars? Answer: 1.3 trillion dollars. Question: Which state has launched "Apna Van Apna Dhan" scheme? Answer: Himachal Pradesh Question: Borndila pass is situated in which state of India? Answer: Arunachal Pradesh Question: When was National Tourism Policy drafted? Answer: The answer was none of the given options, as Dec. 2001 was slated to be the month of drafting the policy, finally. Question: As per the Global Competitiveness Report, 2001 which country has emerged as the most the competitive nation? Answer: Singapore Question: An egg sinks in tap water but floats in a concentrated solution of salt because of what? Answer: The density of salt solution exceeds the density of eggs. Question: The science dealing with the study of phenomenon at very low temperature is known as what? Answer: CRYOGENICS Question: Jhum is a type of what? Answer: Cultivation Question: Gasoline is the name given to the same substance as: Answer: natural gas Question: Which of the following is an organic rock? Answer: coal Question: The writ of certiorari is issued by a superior court Answer: to an inferior court to transfer the records of proceedings in a case for its review. Question: Tata, Birlas, AT&T infused Rs. 300 crores (100 crores each) into which company as it was jointly called: Answer: Batata Question: Inflation, in theory, occurs: Answer: when money supply grows at a higher rate than GDP in real terms. Question: Aggregate Measure of Support (AMS) in the context of WTO refers to: Answer: The quantum of subsidy given to the agriculture sector. Question: Name the official sponsor of the Indian hockey Team for the year 2001? Answer: Indian Airlines. Question: Daniel Radcliffe made headlines for getting the role of portraying on screen which famous muggle-born in the literary world? Answer: Harry Potter Question: Name the scheme run by Unit Trust of India, which was dubbed "Pandora's Box of Horror"? Answer: US 64. Question: In which year did the first modern Olympic Games take place? Answer: 1896. Question: The Pizza Hut is the world's largest food chain. Name the world's largest restaurant company? Answer: McDonalds. Question: Which is the last letter in the Greek alphabet? Answer: Omega. Question: Sound travels fastest through: Answer: Steel. Question: Excise duty is tax levied on: Answer: production of goods. Question: Which of the following is considered a good source of Vitamin A? Answer: Carrot. Question: What is common to these people? Manmohan Singh, C. Rangarajan, Bimal Jalan, L.K. Jha Answer: They have served as Governors of RBI. Question: What is common to these cities? Seattle, Doha, Singapore Answer: Venue of WTO ministerial conference. Question: Which among the following products forms India's largest item of export in terms of value? Answer: Gems and Jewellery Question: Who received the Indira Gandhi Prize of Peace, Disarmament and Development of the year 2000? Answer: Mary Robinson Question: Jeff Bezos is the founder of which popular website? Answer: Amazon.com Question: Who was involved in Hawala scandal? Answer: Jain brothers Question: Where are the headquarters WTO? Answer: Geneva Question: What is India's share in total world exports? Answer: 0.6% Question: Where is Almati Dam Situated? Answer: Karnataka Question: "Wealth of Nations", is authored by? Answer: Adam Smith Question: Hydraulic brake is application of? Answer: Pascal's law of pressure Question: What are the main components of fertilizers? Answer: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium (N, P, K) Question: Optical fiber is mode up of? Answer: Glass threads Question: Where are the Headquarters of European Union? Answer: Brussels Question: Who is the chairman of UTI? Answer: M.M Damodaran Question: Dalal Street is situated in which city of India? Answer: Mumbai Question: Who is the Governor of Reserve Bank of India? Answer: Dr. Bimal Jalan Question: Ashok Chakra is associated with? Answer: Bravery Question: Name the tallest living tree. Answer: Redwood tree Question: Who was the founding leader of Muslim league? Answer: Aga Khan III Question: Where are Caves of Ajanta situated? Answer: Maharashtra Question: How many countries have adopted 'Euro' as their currency? Answer: 12 (as on Jan 1, 2002) Question: Which batsman has the best bowling record in One Day Internationals? Answer: Wasim Akram (only cricketer to have 300 wickets and 3000 runs in ODI's) Question: Which state won highest number of medals in National Games which were held in Nov - Dec 2001? Answer: Punjab Question: Who is "Ranil Wickramasinghay"? Answer: Leader of the opposition in Sri-Lanka. Question: Which of the following is the second largest commercial Bank in India? Answer: According to the latest information ICICI Ltd. has said that it would merge with ICICI Bank to create the second largest commercial Bank in India, in the last week of October, 2001. Question: Which Indian Film was nominated for Oscar 2002 award? Answer: Lagaan by Amir Khan. Question: Which Indian state produces largest amount of mica? Answer: Bihar Question: ISO 14000 certificates are associated with which field? Answer: Environment Management Standards Question: Which movie won the "Golden Lion" award in 2001? Answer: Monsoon wedding directed by Mira Nair. Question: Which serial won the best serial award? Answer: Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Question: Who is the present Principal scientific Advisor to the Government of India? Answer: Dr. R. Chidambaram Question: Which industrialist purchased the L&T shares from Ambanis in late 2001? Answer: A.V. Birla (owner of Grasim Industries) Question: What is the former name of the company "Aventis"? Answer: Pasteur Merieux Connaught. Question: What was the venue for 2004 Olympic Games? Answer: Athens in Greece Question: How many Indians have won all England Badminton Championship so far? Answer: 2 - Prakash Padukone & P. Gopichand Question: What is the revised Indian export growth target for 2001 - 2002? Answer: For the year 2001 to 2002 (April to March) it is reduced from 12% to 9%. Question: '.com' in all the web sites stands for? Answer: Commercial Question: "You give me blood, I will give you freedom", was the words of which famous Indian leader? Answer: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

Questions about Human Body

Human Body - Quiz Questions with Answers What is the body temperature of a normal man? 81.1oC 36.9oC 98.6oC 21.7oC Which of the following helps in clotting of blood? Vitamin B1 Vitamin B2 Vitamin D Vitamin K Total volume of blood in a normal adult human being is 5-6 liters 3-4 liters 8-10 liters 10-12 liters Red blood corpuscles are formed in the Liver Bone marrow Kidneys Heart How many bones are there in an adult human being? 210 260 206 300 The pancreas secretes Insulin Bile juice Peptic juice None of these Tibia is a bone found in the Skull Arm Leg Face The largest part of the human brain is the Medulla oblongata Cerebellum Cerebrum None of these What is the main component of bones and teeth? Calcium carbonate Calcium phosphate Calcium sulphate Calcium nitrate The main constituent of hemoglobin is Chlorine Iron Calcium None of these The main function of the kidney is To control blood pressure To control body temperature To remove waste product from the body To help in digestion of food The function of hemoglobin is Transportation of oxygen Destruction of bacteria Prevention of anemia Utilization of energy Which of the following glands secrete tears? Lachrymal Pituitary Thyroid Pancreas Which is the largest gland in the human body? Thyroid Liver Pancreas None of these Which is the largest organ in the human body? Liver Heart Skin Kidney A person of which of the following blood groups is called a universal donor? O AB A B Which gland in the human body is called the master gland? Pancreas Thyroid Pituitary Spleen How many bones are there in a newly born infant? 206 230 280 300 Which of the following have maximum calorific value? Carbohydrates Fats Proteins Vitamins Which of the following vitamins promote healthy functioning of eyes in human beings? Vitamin B Vitamin C Vitamin A Vitamin D The average heartbeat per minute in a normal man is 50 70 80 100 A person with which of the following blood groups can receive blood of any group? A AB B O Malaria is a disease which effects the Heart Lungs Spleen Kidneys Which of the following diseases is caused by virus? Small pox Tuberculosis Malaria Cholera Medulla oblongata is a part of human Heart Brain Liver Sex organ Myopia is a disease connected with Ears Eyes Lungs Brain Leukemia is a disease of the Lungs Blood Skin Nerves Short-sightedness can be corrected by using Convex lens Concave lens Convex-concave lens Concave-convex lens Trachoma is a disease of the Liver Eyes Lungs Kidneys Match the following Column I Column II Beriberi 1. Vitamin A Scurvy 2. Vitamin B Rickets 3. Vitamin C Night Blindness 4. Vitamin D A B C D (a) 3 2 1 4 (b) 2 1 3 4 (c) 2 3 4 1 (d) 2 3 1 4 Typhoid and cholera are typical examples of Infectious diseases Air-borne disease Water-borne disease None of these Pyorrhea is a disease of the Nose Gums Heart Lungs Lack of what causes diabetes. Sugar Insulin Calcium Vitamins Appendix is appendix is a part of Small intestine Large intestine Stomach Liver Match the following columns Column I Column II Cataract 1. Bones Jaundice 2. Eyes Diabetes 3. Liver Arthritis 4. Pancreas A B C D (a) 2 3 4 1 (b) 2 3 1 4 (c) 1 3 4 2 (d) 3 2 4 1 Bronchitis is a disease of which of the following organs? Blood Bladder Liver Respiratory tract ECG is used for the diagnosis of aliments of Brain Heart Kidneys Lungs Biopsy is done on Tissues taken from a dead body Tissues taken form a living body Blood from veins Blood from arteries Barium is used for Checking blood group X-ray of alimentary canal X-ray of brain None of these Dialysis is used for the treatment of Kidney failure Heart weakness Brain diseases None of these Insulin is injected into the intestines by Pancreas Liver Stomach Gall bladder Lock Jaw, i.e., difficulty in opening the mouth is a symptom of Cholera Plague Tetanus Diphtheria Which of the following pairs is incorrect? Plague-rats Rabies-dog Tapeworm-pig Poliomyelitis-monkey Match the following columns Column I Column II Air-borne 1. Tetanus Water-borne 2. Tuberculosis Contact 3. Cholera Wound 4. Syphilis A B C D (a) 2 3 1 4 (b) 2 3 4 1 (c) 3 2 4 1 (d) 4 3 2 1 Ricketts is a disease of the Bones Tissue Muscles Blood Which of the following statements is correct Pulmonary artery carries pure blood Pulmonary artery carries impure blood Pulmonary vein carries impure blood None of these Lungs are situated in the Abdominal cavity Pericardial cavity Buccal cavity Thoracic cavity The human cell contains 44 chromosomes 48 chromosomes 46 chromosomes 23 chromosomes Enzymes help in Respiration Digestion of food Immune system Reproduction Food is normally digested in the Liver Stomach Small intestines Large intestines Answers 1. b 2. d 3. a 4. b 5. c 6. a 7. c 8. c 9. b 10. b 11. c 12. a 13. a 14. b 15. c 16. a 17. c 18. d 19. a 20. c 21. b 22. b 23. c 24. a 25. b 26. b 27. b 28. b 29. b 30. c 31. c 32. b 33. b 34. b 35. a 36. d 37. b 38. b 39. b 40. a 41. d 42. c 43. d 44. b 45. a 46. b 47. d 48. c 49. b 50. c

PRESIDENTS OF INDIA

Time Period	President's Name
1950-1962	Rajendra Prasad
1962-1967	S.Radhakrishnan
1967-1974	V.V. Giri
1974-1977	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
1977-1982	N.Sanjiva Reddy
1982-1987	Gyani Zail Singh
1987-1992	R. Venkataraman
1992-1997	Dr. Shanker Dayal Sharma
1997-2002	K.R. Narayanan
2002-2007	Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
2007 July 25	Mrs. Pratibha Patil

Vice Presidents of India - List of Vice-Presidents of India

Vice Presidents of India - List of Vice-Presidents of India
Time Period	Vice-President's Name
1952-1962	S. Radhakrishnan
1962-1967	Zakir Hussain
1967-1969	V. V. Giri
1969-1974	G. S. Pathak
1974-1979	B.D. Jatti
1979-1984	Md. Hidayatullah
1984-1987	R. Venkataraman
1987-1992	Dr. S.D. Sharma
1992-1997	K.R. Narayanan
1997-2002	Krishan Kanth
2002-207	Bhairon Singh Shekawath
2007 August 9 - Till Date	Mohammad Hamid Anzari

Post-Partition (1947 - Present)

1947: - Freedom from British Raj. 1947-48: - Hundreds of thousands die in widespread communal bloodshed after partition. 1948: - Mahatma Gandhi assassinated by Hindu extremist. 1948: - War with Pakistan over disputed territory of Kashmir. 1951-52: - Congress Party wins first general elections under leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. [edit] Regional tensions 1962: - India loses brief border war with China. 1964: - Death of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. 1965: - Second war with Pakistan over Kashmir. 1966: - Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi becomes prime minister. 1971: - Third war with Pakistan over creation of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan. 1971: - Twenty-year treaty of friendship signed with Soviet Union. 1974: - India explodes first nuclear device in underground test. [edit] Democratic strains 1975: - Indira Gandhi declares state of emergency after being found guilty of electoral malpractice. 1975-1977: - Nearly 1,000 political opponents imprisoned and programme of compulsory birth control introduced. 1977: - Indira Gandhi's Congress Party loses general elections. 1980: - Indira Gandhi returns to power heading Congress party splinter group, Congress (Indira). 1984: - Troops storm Golden Temple - Sikhs' most holy shrine - to flush out Sikh militants pressing for self-rule. 1984: - Indira Gandhi assassinated by Sikh bodyguards, following which her son, Rajiv, takes over. 1984: December - Gas leak at Union Carbide pesticides plant in Bhopal. Thousands are killed immediately, many more subsequently die or are left disabled. 1987: - India deploys troops for peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict. 1989: - Falling public support leads to Congress defeat in general election. 1990: - Indian troops withdrawn from Sri Lanka. 1990: - Muslim separatist groups begin campaign of violence in Kashmir. 1991: - Rajiv Gandhi assassinated by suicide bomber sympathetic to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers. 1991: - Economic reform programme begun by Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao. 1992: - Hindu extremists demolish mosque in Ayodhya, triggering widespread Hindu-Muslim violence. 1996: - Congress suffers worst ever electoral defeat as Hindu nationalist BJP emerges as largest single party. 1998: - BJP forms coalition government under Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. 1998: - India carries out nuclear tests, leading to widespread international condemnation. 1999: February - Vajpayee makes historic bus trip to Pakistan to meet Premier Nawaz Sharif and to sign bilateral Lahore peace declaration. 1999: May - Tension in Kashmir leads to brief war with Pakistan-backed forces in the icy heights around Kargil in Indian-held Kashmir. 1999: October - Cyclone devastates eastern state of Orissa, leaving at least 10,000 dead. [edit] Population: 1 billion 2000: May - India marks the birth of its billionth citizen. 2000: - US President Bill Clinton makes a groundbreaking visit to improve ties. 2001: January - Massive earthquakes hit the western state of Gujarat, leaving at least 30,000 dead. 2001: A high-powered rocket is launched, propelling India into the club of countries able to fire big satellites deep into space. 2001: July - Vajpayee meets Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in the first summit between the two neighbours in more than two years. The meeting ends without a breakthrough or even a joint statement because of differences over Kashmir. 2001: July - Vajpayee's BJP party declines his offer to resign over a number of political scandals and the apparent failure of his talks with Pakistani President Musharraf. 2001: September - US lifts sanctions which it imposed against India and Pakistan after they staged nuclear tests in 1998. The move is seen as a reward for their support for the US-led anti-terror campaign. [edit] Kashmir tensions rise 2001: October - India fires on Pakistani military posts in the heaviest firing along the dividing line of control in Kashmir for almost a year. 2001: December - Suicide squad attacks parliament in New Delhi, killing several police. The five gunmen die in the assault. 2001: December - India imposes sanctions against Pakistan, to force it to take action against two Kashmir militant groups blamed for the suicide attack on parliament. Pakistan retaliates with similar sanctions, and bans the groups in January. 2001: December - India, Pakistan mass troops on common border amid mounting fears of a looming war. 2002: January - India successfully test-fires a nuclear-capable ballistic missile - the Agni - off its eastern coast. 2002: February - Inter-religious bloodshed breaks out after 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya are killed in a train fire in Godhra, Gujarat. More than 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, die in subsequent riots. (Police and officials blamed the fire on a Muslim mob; a 2005 government investigation said it was an accident.) 2002: May - Pakistan test-fires three medium-range surface-to-surface Ghauri missiles, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. War of words between Indian and Pakistani leaders intensifies. Actual war seems imminent. 2002: June - UK, US urge their citizens to leave India and Pakistan, while maintaining diplomatic offensive to avert war. 2002: July - Retired scientist and architect of India's missile programme APJ Abdul Kalam is elected president. 2003: August - At least 50 people are killed in two simultaneous bomb blasts in Bombay. 2003: November - India matches Pakistan's declaration of a Kashmir ceasefire. 2003: December - India, Pakistan agree to resume direct air links and to allow overflights. 2004: January - Groundbreaking meeting held between government and moderate Kashmir separatists. 2004: May - Surprise victory for Congress Party in general elections. Manmohan Singh is sworn in as prime minister. 2004: September - India, along with Brazil, Germany and Japan, launches an application for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. 2004: November - India begins to withdraw some of its troops from Kashmir. 2004: December - Thousands are killed when tidal waves, caused by a powerful undersea earthquake off the Indonesian coast, devastate coastal communities in the south and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 2005: July - More than 1,000 people are killed in floods and landslides caused by monsoon rains in Mumbai (Bombay) and Maharashtra region. 2005: 8 October - An earthquake, with its epicentre in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, kills more than 1,000 people in Indian-administered Kashmir. 2006: February - India's largest-ever rural jobs scheme is launched, aimed at lifting around 60 million families out of poverty. 2006 March - US and India sign a nuclear agreement during a visit by US President George W Bush. The US gives India access to civilian nuclear technology while India agrees to greater scrutiny for its nurnment announces its strongest economic growth figures for 20 years - 9.4% in the year to March. 2007: July - India says the number of its people with HIV or AIDS is about half of earlier official tallies. Health ministry figures put the total at between 2 million and 3.1 million cases, compared with previous estimates of more than 5 million. 2007: July - Pratibha Patil becomes first woman to be elected president of India. 2008: July - Congre 2006: November - Hu Jintao makes the first visit to India by a Chinese president in a decade. 2006: December - US President George W Bush approves a controversial law allowing India to buy US nuclear reactors and fuel for the first time in 30 years. 2007: 18 February - 68 passengers, most of them Pakistanis, are killed by bomb blasts and a blaze on a train travelling from New Delhi to the Pakistani city of Lahore. 2007: February - India and Pakistan sign an agreement aimed at reducing the risk of accidental nuclear war. 2007: March - Maoist rebels in Chhattisgarh state kill more than 50 policemen in a dawn attack. 2007: April - India's first commercial space rocket is launched, carrying an Italian satellite. 2007: May - At least nine people are killed in a bomb explosion at the main mosque in Hyderabad. Several others are killed in subsequent rioting. 2007: May - Government announces its strongest economic growth figures for 20 years - 9.4% in the year to March. 2007: July - India says the number of its people with HIV or AIDS is about half of earlier official tallies. Health ministry figures put the total at between 2 million and 3.1 million cases, compared with previous estimates of more than 5 million. 2007: July - Pratibha Patil becomes first woman to be elected president of India. 2008: July - Congress-led governing coalition survives vote of confidence brought after left-wing parties withdraw their support over controversial nuclear cooperation deal with US. After the vote, several left-wing and regional parties form new alliance to oppose government, saying it has been tainted by corruption. 2008: July - Series of explosions kills 49 in Ahmedabad, in Gujarat state. The little-known group Indian Mujahideen claims responsibility. 2008: October - Following approval by the US Congress, President George W Bush signs into law a nuclear deal with India, which ends a three-decade ban on US nuclear trade with Delhi. India successfully launches its first mission to the moon, the unmanned lunar probe Chandrayaan-1. 2008: November - Nearly 200 people are killed and hundreds injured in a series of co-ordinated attacks by gunmen on the main tourist and business area of India's financial capital Mumbai. India blames militants from Pakistan for the attacks and demands that Islamabad take strong action against those responsible. 2008: December - India announces "pause" in peace process with Pakistan. Indian cricket team cancels planned tour of Pakistan. 2009: February - India and Russia sign deals worth $700m, according to which Moscow will supply uranium to Delhi. 2009: April - Trial of sole surviving suspect in Mumbai attacks begins. 2009: May - Resounding general election victory gives governing Congress-led alliance of PM Manmohan Singh an enhanced position in parliament, only 11 seats short of an absolute majority.