Period
| Description
|
|---|
ANCIENT EMPIRES
|
|
ca. 2500-1600 B.C.
| Indus Valley culture.
|
ca. 1500-500 B.C.
| Migrations of Aryan-speaking tribes;
the Vedic Age.
|
ca. 1000 B.C.
| Settlement of Bengal by
Dravidian-speaking peoples.
|
ca. 563-ca. 483 B.C.
| Life of Siddartha Gautama--the
Buddha; founding of Buddhism.
|
ca. 326-184 B.C.
| Mauryan Empire; reign of Ashoka
(269-232 B.C.); spread of Buddhism.
|
ca. 180 B.C.-A.D. 150
| Shaka dynasties in Indus Valley.
|
ca. A.D. 320-550
| Gupta Empire; classical age in North
India.
|
606-47
| North Indian empire of Harsha.
|
711
| Arab invaders conquer Sindh,
establish Islamic presence in India.
|
750-1150
| Pala Dynasty.
|
1150-1202
| Sena Dynasty.
|
GROWTH OF ISLAM
|
|
997-1027
| Mahmud of Ghazni raids Indian
subcontinent from Afghanistan.
|
1202
| Turkish conquerors defeat Sena
Dynasty and overrun Bengal.
|
1206-1398
| Delhi Sultanate.
|
1398
| Timur sacks Delhi.
|
1414-50
| Sayyid Dynasty; renewal of Delhi
Sultanate.
|
1451-1526
| Lodi Dynasty.
|
THE MUGHAL PERIOD
|
|
1526
| Babur lays foundation of Mughal
Empire; wins First Battle of Panipat.
|
1556-1605
| Akbar expands and reforms the empire;
Mughals win Second Battle of Panipat.
|
1605-27
| Reign of Jahangir; in 1612 East India
Company opens first trading post (factory).
|
1628-58
| Reign of Shah Jahan.
|
1658-1707
| Reign of Aurangzeb, last great Mughal
ruler.
|
1707-1858
| Lesser emperors; decline of the
Mughal Empire.
|
BRITISH PERIOD
|
|
1757
| Battle of Plassey--British victory
over Mughal forces in Bengal; British rule in India begins.
|
1835
| Institution of British education and
other reform measures.
|
1857-58
| Revolt of Indian sepoys (soldiers)
against East India Company.
|
1858
| East India Company dissolved; rule of
India under the British crown--the British Raj--begins with Government of
India Act; formal end of Mughal Empire.
|
1885
| Indian National Congress (Congress)
formed.
|
1905
| Partition of Bengal into separate
provinces of Eastern Bengal and Assam, West Bengal.
|
1906
| All-India Muslim League (Muslim
League) founded.
|
1909
| Morley-Minto Reforms; separate
electorates for Muslims.
|
1912
| Partition of Bengal annulled; new
province of Bihar and Orissa formed; plans to move capital from Calcutta to
Delhi announced.
|
1916
| Congress-League Scheme of Reforms
(often referred to as Lucknow Pact) signed.
|
1919
| Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms;
Government of India Act.
|
1935
| Government of India Act of 1935.
|
1940
| Muslim League adopts Lahore
Resolution; "Two Nations" theory articulated by Muslim League leader
Mohammad Ali Jinnah and others.
|
August 16, 1946
| "Direct Action Day" of Muslim League.
|
INDEPENDENT INDIA
|
|
August 15, 1947
| Partition of British India; India
achieves independence and incorporates West Bengal and Assam; Jawaharlal
Nehru becomes prime minister of India. Pakistan is created and incorporates
East Bengal (the East Wing, or East Pakistan) and territory in the northwest
(the West Wing, or West Pakistan); Jinnah becomes governor general of
Pakistan.
|
August 15, 1947-May 27, 1964
| Jawaharlal Nehru serves as prime
minister and leader of Congress-controlled government.
|
October 22, 1947-January 1, 1949
| Undeclared war with Pakistan; ends
with United Nations-arranged ceasefire.
|
January 30, 1948
| Mahatma Gandhi assassinated in New
Delhi.
|
October 20-November 21, 1962
| Border war with China.
|
June 9, 1964-January 11, 1966
| Lal Bhadur Shastri serves as prime
minister of Congress-led government.
|
August 5-September 23, 1965
| Second war with Pakistan.
|
January 24, 1966-March 24, 1977
| Indira Gandhi serves as prime
minister for first time, head of government initially led by Congress, later
Congress (R).
|
December 3-16, 1971
| Third war with Pakistan; Bangladesh
becomes independent following Indian invasion of East Pakistan.
|
June 25, 1975-January 18, 1977
| State of Emergency proclaimed by
Indira Gandhi.
|
March 24, 1977-July 28, 1979
| Morarji Desai serves as prime
minister as head of a multiparty front, Janata Party, India's first
non-Congress government.
|
July 28, 1979-January 14, 1980
| Chaudhury Charan Singh serves as
prime minister as head of a Janata-led coalition government.
|
January 14, 1980-October 31, 1984
| Indira Ganhdi serves as prime
minister for second time, head of Congress (I) government.
|
October 31, 1984
| Indira Gandhi assassinated in New
Delhi.
|
October 31, 1984-December 2, 1989
| Rajiv Gandhi serves as prime minister
of Congress (I)-led government.
|
December 2, 1989-November 7, 1990
| Vishwanath Pratap Singh serves as
prime minister of National Front-led coalition government.
|
November 10, 1990-June 20, 1991
| Chandra Shekhar serves as prime
minister, heading Samajwadi Janata Party government.
|
May 21, 1991
| Rajiv Gandhi assassinated near
Madras.
|
June 20, 1991-May 15, 1996
| P.V. Narasimha Rao serves as prime
minister of Congress (I)-led government.
|
December 6, 1992
| Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Uttar
Pradesh, destroyed by Hindu activists.
|
January-March 1993
| Communal violence in wake of Babri
Masjid destruction wracks Indian cities, especially Bombay, which suffered
from a series of bomb blasts in March.
|
May 1995
| Unpopular Terrorist and Disruptive
Activities (Prevention) Act of 1985 allowed to lapse
|
April 27-May 7, 1996
| General elections for Lok Sabha oust
Congress (I) government of P.V. Narasimha Rao.
|
May 15-28, 1996
| Minority Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee resigns after thirteen
days.
|
June 1, 1996
| Haradanahalli (H.D.) Deve Gowda, head
of thirteen-party United Front, sworn in as India's eleventh prime minister.
|
