Chronography of the Indian subcontinent
(Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan)
Page last
modified 18/2/2022
See also Sri Lanka
See also Myanmar
Bhutan� - see Appendix 2
Maldives � see
Appendix 3
Nepal � see
Appendix 4
Bangladesh,
India, Pakistan
15/6/2020, Tensions along the ill-defined and disputed
Himalayan border between India and China escalated. India accused China of
annexing the Galwan Valley, some 60 square miles. China accused India of
building military roads into disputed areas and of attempting to control more
of Kashmir, including an area ceded by Pakistan to China that India claims.
Some 20 soldiers died, mainly through falling into icy gorges.
14/2/2019, Pakistani terrorists suicide-bombed Indian
security forces in Kashmir, killing 45. Tensions briefly rose between the two
countries, with Indian jets striking Pakistan and one being shot down. The
pilot was later returned to India as tensions eased.
5/1/2016, Violent riots broke out in Kaliachak, West Bengal,
India, after political activist Kamlesh Tiwari allegedly insulted the Muslim
prophet Muhammad.
16/12/2014, Taliban gunmen scaled the wall of an army-run
school in Peshawar, Pakistan, and began shooting indiscriminately. 141
schoolchildren were killed before the army regained control; many more had been
injured. This was in revenge for Army attacks on the Taliban.
16/2/2013,
A bomb exploded at a marketplace in Quetta, Pakistan, killing over 80 people.
5/9/2011, India and Bangladesh signed a pact to end
their 40-year border dispute.
26/11/2008, Pakistani Islamic
terrorists struck at several targets in Mumbai, India, taking visitors at
the Taj Mahal luxury hotel hostage.�
Indian forces stormed the terrorists in the hotel. 183 people were
killed and over 300 injured.
2007, India and Pakistan signed an agreement to prevent accidental nuclear
war.
27/12/2007, The moderate Pakistani politician, Benazir Bhutto,
was assassinated whilst participating in an opposition rally against the
hard-line ruler, President Pervez Musharraf.
11/7/2006, Bombs exploded in Mumbai railway station, India.
200 were killed. Pakistani Islamic militants were suspected.
6/2/2006, Two fishermen who had
landed on North Sentinel Island were murdered by the inhabitants, the
Sentinelese, who are one of the world�s last �Stone Age� tribes. They fiercely
resist any visitors with a hail of arrows, although the Indian authorities said
they would try and clandestinely recover the bodies at a later date.
13/5/2004, In Indian elections, the traditional-Socialist
Congress Party gained unexpected victory over the Hindu-Nationalist
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The majority of poorer Indians had
failed to benefit from the economic modernisation programmes of the BJP. Manmohan Singh became Prime
Minister.
16/3/2004, The Pakistan Army began an
offensive against Afghan Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in the NW border area
of Pakistan. When the offensive ended on 30/3/2004, some 150 militants had been
killed, but many had escaped through tunnels back to the Afghan border.
2/5/2003, India and Pakistan resumed
diplomatic relations.
12/12/2002, In Indian State elections, the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
consolidated its political control of Gujarat.
8/5/2002, In Karachi a
suicide car bomber blew himself up next to a bus, killing 14 people � 11 of
them were French naval engineers working for the Pakistan navy.
27/2/2002,
Muslims attacked a train in Gujarat, western India, carrying Hindi activists.
Conflict between Hindus and Muslims had bene growing since the terrorist attack
of 13/12/2001 on the Indian parliament.
13/12/2001, Terrorists attacked the Indian Parliament, killing
14 people.� This brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.
8/10/2001. Anti-American riots in several Pakistani cities. Banks, a
shopping mall, and cinemas showing American films, were burnt down. Pakistan
was a vital access point for USA forces seeking to enter Afghanistan. Raids
continue over the next few days, with anti-American protests in Pakistan and
Indonesia.
20/6/2001, Pervez Musharraf was appointed
President of Palistan.
24/1/2001, The
greatest gathering of people ever recorded took place at Allahabad, India,
where 20 million people gathered for the Maha Kumbh Mela.
2000, India�s
population now exceeded one billion.
12/10/1999, General Pervez
Musharraf (born 1943) took control of Pakistan in a military coup. Nawaz Sherif was deposed.
10/8/1999, A
Pakistani plane intruding into Indian airspace was shot down.
11/7/1999, India
recaptured the town of Kargil from
Pakistan, after two months of conflict.
26/5/1999, Indian
air force planes attacked Pakistani intruders in Kashmir, sparking the Kargil War.
23/1/1999, In India, radical Hindus killed US Christian missionaries Graham Stewart Baines and his two sons. The act was blamed on the militant group bajrang Dal,
who opposed the conversion of Hindus to Christianity or Islam.
India,
Pakistan, nuclear missile tests
14/4/1999, Following the Indian test, Pakistan also
carried out a successful test of its ballistic missile.
11/4/1999, India carried out a
successful test of a ballistic missile.
30/5/1998,
Pakistan conducted further nuclear tests.
28/5/1998,
Pakistan test-exploded five nuclear devices in retaliation for India�s nuclear tests earlier in the month.� The US, Japan,
and other nations imposed sanctions on Pakistan.
13/5/1998,
The US and Japan imposed economic
sanctions on India because of its nuclear test.
11/5/1998,
India conducted a nuclear test in the Rajasthan Desert, its first
such test since 1974.� Pakistan, which
already had nuclear weapons, was angered.
28/11/1997, In India the Congress Party withdrew from the coalition, which then
collapsed.
5/9/1997, Mother Teresa
died in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, aged 87.
14/7/1997, In India KR Narayanan was elected President. He was
the first President to come from the �untouchable� caste.
20/4/1997, In India the minority 13-Party United Front Government led by HD Deve Gowda fell when the Congress party withdrew support. A new United Front
government was formed with Congress party backing under former Foreign Minister
Kumar Gujral.
1995,
In India, the Punjab Chief Minister was assassinated by Sikh extremists.
17/2/1997, The Pakistan Muslim league won general elections. Nawaz Sharif became prime Minister.
5/11/1996, The Pakistan President
dismissed Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto after she and her Government
were accused of corruption and mismanagement.
20/10/1993, Pakistan elected Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) as Prime
Minister.
12/3/1993, 257
people were killing in a bombing in Mumbai, India.
7/12/1992. Religious riots swept India after Hindu fanatics
destroyed the Babri Masjid mosque. 1,200 people died in these riots.
6/12/1992. Riots followed a Hindu attack on the Ayodha Mosque,
India. This mosque was built by the first Moghul Emperor Babur in the early
16th century; Hindus contended that it was built on top of a Hindu temple
marking the birthplace of the Hindu god, Rama. India appeared to be abandoning
its secular legacy in favour of a militant Hinduism.
18/11/1992, In
Pakistan, Benazir
Bhutto was put under house arrest after police broke up a political
demonstration.
21/5/1991. Indian
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
was assassinated. Police blamed Tamil
Tigers.
Sangshad. BNP leader Khaleda Zia, widow of President Zia,
became President of Bangladesh on 19/3/1991.
31/10/1990. In India, Hindu fundamentalists again attempted to
storm the mosque at Ayodhya. Hindus wanted to demolish the mosque,
claiming it stood on the site of the birthplace of one of their gods, Lord
Rama. Over 8 days, 170 died in India in clashes over this mosque.
19/1/1990. Free love guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh died of a heart attack
at his commune in Poona, India. Aged 58, he owned nearly 100 Rolls Royces, and
was banned from nearly 20 countries; including the US where his commune in Oregon was
closed down.
6/8/1990, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, President of Pakistan,
removed the Government of Benazir Bhutto, charging her with corruption.
Islamists, the landed aristocracy and other political opponents wanted her
gone, and Benazir�s
supporters allged that the charges were purely politically motivated.
2/12/1989, VP Singh, leader of the Janata Dat Party, replaced Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister of India,
although Rajiv�s
Congress Party remained the largest
single party.
1/10/1989. Pakistan rejoined the Commonwealth after 17 years.
14/2/1989. Union
Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million to the Indian Government in
compensation for the 1984 Bhopal
disaster.
31/12/1988, In the Pakistani capital Islamabad, the Indian
Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi and his Pakistani counterpart Benazir Bhutto signed the first
agreement between the two countries for 16 years.
8/12/1988, The new Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto,
released 1,000 political prisoners.
30/11/1988. Benazir Bhutto became the first woman
Prime Minister of Pakistan; the first female leader of an Islamic country. These were the first
democratic elections in Pakistan for 11 years. Her father, Zufilqar Ali Bhutto, was leader
of Pakistan from 1971 until he was deposed in a military coup headed by General Zia
in 1977; Zufilqar
was hanged in 1979. Benazir inherited the leadership of the
People�s Party and was an ongoing annoyance to the military regime until Zia
died in 1987 in a plane crash.
17/8/1988, General Zia ul Haq of Pakistan died when his
aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from a military demonstration of US
tanks at Bahawalpur for Islamabad. The US ambassador to Pakistan was on board. A bomb or
missile attack was suspected.
19/5/1988,
In India, Sikh rebels occupying the Golden Temple in Amritsar surrendered.
4/1/1988,
Indian Kami Bheel, who possessed the
world�s longest moustache at 7ft 10 inches from tip to tip, was found
decapitated.
12/5/1987, Rajiv Gandhi imposed direct Federal rule
from New Delhi on the mainly Sikh province of Punjab, removing its provincial
autonomy. The Sikhs in Punjab had wanted their own country, separate from
India as Pakistan was, at Independence in 1947, but this did not happen. They
have been agitating for independence ever since. Under Indira Gandhi�s rule (1966-84), which was
nominally democratic but veered towards autocracy, especially in times of crisis,
the Punjab was even subdivided by creating the new Province of Haryana, to
weaken Punjab identity, and attacked the Sikhs at the Golden temple, Amritsar
(see 6/6/1984). The Direct Rule was in revenge for the assassination of his
mother, Indira Gandhi on 31/10/1984.
The immediate cause of Rajiv Gandhi�s
move was the assassination of Sant Harchand
Singh Longowal, a Sikh politician who had collaborated closely with
both Indira and Rajiv, by militant Sikh separatists. Sikh Separatism in the
Punjab remains a major issue in Indian politics.
14/8/1986. In Pakistan, Benazir
Bhutto was jailed by General Zia.
9/5/1986, Tenzing Norgay, or Tensing, the first joint conqueror of Everest, died.
22/1/1986, In India, three Sikhs were sentenced to death for the murder
of Indira Gandhi.
30/12/1985, In Pakistan, General Zia ended martial law.
31/12/1984, Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister of India.
19/12/1984. Rajiv Ghandhi won the Indian elections by a
large majority.
3/12/1984. The Union Carbide
disaster at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh State, India. 410 died immediately as 30
tons of poison gas (methyl isocyanate) leaked; the final toll was 4,000 dead
and 20,000 seriously injured; 150,000 required hospital treatment.
3/11/1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
was cremated.
1/11/1984, Rajiv Gandhi, son of Indira, was sworn in as
Indian Prime Minister
31/10/1984 �Mrs Indira Gandhi,
Prime Minister of India, 67, was shot dead by a Sikh member of her bodyguard,
whilst in New Delhi. Beant Singh, one of the attackers, was then
shot dead by other loyal bodyguards. She was succeeded by her son, Rajiv Gandhi.
Indira Gandhi was cremated on 3/11/1984. The assassination was in revenge for Indian
troops storming the Golden Temple of Amritsar.
29/6/1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi dismissed the
Governor and the Police Chief of Punjab.
6/6/1984. Indian troops stormed the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar. 712 Sikhs and 90 soldiers
were killed.
Ethnic
violence in India
5/4/1984, India imposed detention without trial in
Pinjab.
3/4/1984, India declared Punjab a �dangerously
disturbed area�.
6/10/1983, The Indian Government took over direct
control of Punjab Province in response to growing unrest there.
22/2/1983, Hindus killed 3,000 Muslims in Assam,
India.
22/6/1980, 1,000 died in ethnic violence in Tripura,
India.
13/4/1984, India captured most of the Siachen glacier on its
disputed Kashmir frontier with
Pakistan.
6/1/1980. In India, Indira Ghandhi
was re-elected as Prime Minister.
10/12/1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work helping
the destitute in India. Born in Albania in 1910, she joined a convent at age
18 and taught in the convent�s Calcutta premises. In 1946 she began working the streets of Calcutta to relieve poverty.
15/7/1979, Moraji Desai resigned as Indian Prime
Minister. On 28/7/1979 Charan Singh became Indian Prime Minister.
10/2/1979, General Zia, ruler of Pakistan, introduced Islamic Shia
law.
7/11/1978, Indira Gandhi
was re-elected to the Indian Parliament.
3/1/1978. Ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
was expelled from her Congress Party.
16/9/1978. Zia ul Haq became Head of State in Pakistan,
succeeding President
Chaudry.
President
Bhutto of Pakistan, 1977-78
10/1/1984, General Zia of Pakistan freed Benazir Bhutto,
daughter of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who had been executed in
1979.
4/4/1979. There were demonstrations in Pakistan as
ex-Prime Minister Ali Bhutto was hanged.� He was accused of conspiring to murder a
political opponent.� See 18/3/1978.
6/2/1979. Pakistan�s Supreme Court ruled that the
former Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, should be hanged for conspiring to murder an
opponent. He was hanged in Rawalpindi on 4/4/1979, despite pleas from world
leaders.
18/3/1978. Former Pakistani PM, Zufilkar Ali Bhutto, was
sentenced to death for ordering the murder of a political opponent in 1974, see
5/7/1977 and 4/4/1979.
3/9/1977, In Pakistan, Bhutto was arrested on charges
of conspiring to murder Ahmad Kasuri in 1974.
5/7/1977. In Pakistan, President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first
democratically elected President of Pakistan, was overthrown, and then
arrested, in a military coup by Zia, after rioting following accusations of
vote rigging by Bhutto.� Bhutto was later arrested and charged with
treason, see 18/3/1978.
11/3/1977, Widespread violent protests in Pakistan,
amid claims that Mrs Bhutto�s election victory was fraudulent.
7/3/1977. Bhutto won the Pakistani general elections.
However opposition to her had been so widespread that vote-rigging was
suspected, and the Pakistani Army stepped in, led by Zia Ul Haq.
11/11/1974, In Pakistan, Ahmad Kasuri, an outspoken
critic of President
Zufilkar al Bhutto, was assassinated by members of Bhutto�s
security forces.
22/3/1977, Indira Gandhi
resigned as President of India after an election defeat.
22/7/1976, Relations between India and Pakistan improved.
This day the first through train ran from Delhi to Lahore.
16/4/1976. India, to
curb population growth, raised the minimum age for marriage to 21 for men and
18 for women.
14/8/1975, In a military coup in
Bangladesh, Sheikh
Mujibur Rhaman was overthrown; he and his family were murdered. General Zia ur
Rahman now headed a military Government which ruled until 1981.
30/6/1975, In India, Indira Gandhi
imposed press censorship, to suppress dissent.
11/6/1975, The High Court in India ruled that Indira
Gandhi had used unfair practices to win the election and must stand
down. She refused to go.
16/5/1975, India annexed Sikkim.
16/4/1975, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian statesman,
died aged 86.
6/3/1975, Large demonstrations in New Delhi against Indira
Gandhi.
1974, Pakistan formally recognised
Bangladesh
18/5/1974, India announced that it had successfully
underground-tested an atom bomb.
19/3/1974, Food riots in Bihar, India.
1973, Prime Minister Bhutto of
Pakistan initiated �Islamic Socialism�.
7/11/1973, Pakistan formally left SEATO.
20/10/1973, The Dalai Lama first visited Britain.
8/4/1973. Indian troops annexed Sikkim in the Himalayas.
13/3/1972, The Congress Party, led by Indira Gandhi, won Indian
elections
11/12/1972, India and Pakistan agreed on a� truce line in Jammu and Kashmir.
2/7/1972, India and Pakistan agreed to renounce the use of
force in settling disputes.
18/4/1972. Pakistan became a member of the
Commonwealth again. See 30/1/1972.
Secession
of East Pakistan, 1958 � 72
25/8/1972, China vetoed the admission of Bangladesh to the UN.
17/4/1972, Bangladesh formally seceded from Pakistan.� See 26/3/1971.
4/4/1972, The USA formally recognised Bangladesh. The
US had delayed this move because of its support for Pakistan, which emerged from
the war with a badly damaged economy, low national morale, and its army on the
point of collapse.
19/3/1972. Bangladesh signed a treaty of friendship with India.
30/1/1972. Pakistan, under Zulfiqar
Bhutto, withdrew from the Commonwealth, after
Britain, Australia, and New Zealand recognised the independence of Bangladesh. See 18/4/1972.
12/1/1972, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was
sworn in as Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
10/1/1972, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned
to a heroes welcome in Dacca, Bangladesh.
22/12/1971, Mujibur Rahman was
released from prison in West Pakistan, to become President of Bangladesh.
20/12/1971. In Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto became President in place of Yahya Khan.
18/12/1971, Bangladesh formally came into
existence after East Pakistan surrendered in the war with India.
16/12/1971. All eastern Pakistani troops surrendered to India.
9/12/1971, Indian planes bombed an orphanage in Dacca, East Pakistan,
killing 300 children.
8/12/1971. Indian troops advanced to within 30 miles of Dacca, East
Pakistan.
6/12/1971. India recognised Bangladesh as an independent republic.�
3/12/1971. India was on a war footing with fighting on its western
border with Pakistan. Yahya Khan knew he could not defend secessionist East Pakistan against
India; India and Pakistan were hostile, and it was in India�s interests to see
Bangladesh secede from Pakistan. Yahya Khan therefore tried to seize the initiative by attacking India
from West Pakistan, hoping that a favourable outcome for Pakistan would force
India to accept Pakistan�s terms in the East. On this day Pakistan launched air
strikes into India. India responded decisively, completely overrunning East
Pakistan� The Pakistani offensive in the
West petered out.
31/5/1971, India requested international aid to cope with the millions
of refugees from the war in East Pakistan.
India� now involved. Major influx of refugees to India,
which supports secessionists against Pakistan
26/3/1971 The
Pakistan Army easily overcame East Pakistani resistance by end-April. Assisted
by Islamic fundamentalist groups, the Army then massacred all those deemed in
favour of independence,� including Awami league members, Hindus (about 10% of
the population), also students and intellectuals, including teachers, lecturers
and doctors. Between one and three million people weer massacred; a further ten
million fled to India. Many more died in the makeshift refugee camps.
Bangladesh could only attain independence win Indian intervention,which did
occur later in 1971.
25/3/1971, Yahya Khan, leader of
Pakistan, announced a �restore law and order� campaign in East Pakistan (see
23/3/1971). Members of the Awami League
were arrested.
23/3/1971. Bangladesh (meaning �The Bengal Nation�), formerly East Pakistan, proclaimed its
independence under
Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman. This started a civil war on 26/3/1971 between Pakistan and
East Pakistan, or Bangladesh, in which India intervened on to help Bangladesh
become independent. India helped defeat Pakistan on 17/12/1971. Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman was reported killed on 28/3/1970 and 7,000 people killed in
the uprising against the government in West Pakistan.� See 17/4/1972. West Pakistani
troops killed anyone deemed �Bengali�, even teenage boys, as well as any Hindus
they came across; rape was also widespread. The USA had been a close ally of
Pakistan, to counter the Soviet-India axis, and was now embarrassed to see its
arms being used to massacre Bengalis. In rural areas of East Pakistan Awami
supporters used local knowledge to outflank Pakistani troops, forcing them back
into the cities; the troops and their supporters were massacred as brutally as
the Bengalis had been. Meanwhile India faced a major refugee crisis as ten
million Bengalis fled into the country.
East Pakistan officially declares UDI as Bangladesh
Following aid deficiencies (11/1970), unrest and sentiment for independence
now grows in East Pakistan
7/3/1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, political leader of East Pakistan
(now Bangladesh), delivered his famous speech in the Racecourse Field in Dhaka,
calling on the masses to be prepared to fight for national independence.
1/3/1971, A General Strike began in East Pakistan after the
Pakistani President Yahya Khan postponed summoning the new National Assembly.
7/12/1970, In the Pakistani elections, the Awami League (inevitably) won 160 of the 162
seats reserved for Eastern candidates (see 23/9/1969). In the west of the
country, Benazhir
Bhutto did well, gaining 81 of the
remaining 138 seats, but this still left the Awami
League as clear election winner. Bhutto, backed by Yahya Khan, immediately
announced that he would not countenance implementation of the Awami �Six Point� plan. Rahman responded by proposing
that he govern East Pakistan whilst Bhutto governed the West; a proposal tantamount to secession.
Rejection of Rahman�s proposal precipitated widespread rioting across East
Pakistan. In early March 1971 Yahya Khan announced an indefinite postponement of the convening of
the newly-elected National Assembly and appointed General Tikka Khan as Military Governor of East Pakistan. Mujib responded by calling on his supporters to turn Pakistan�s
Republic Day (23 March) into �Resistance Day�.
Pakistani aid to East Pakistan seen as grossly defieicnt following disastrous
cyclone, 11/1970
13/11/1970. In Bangladesh (East Pakistan) a cyclone and
tidal waves killed over 500,000 people. Yahya Khan�s response was seen by East
Bengalis as grossly inadequate. Only one military transport plane and three
small aircraft were mobilised by Khan, leaving Bengalis more dependent on aid from Britain.
Western aid arrived faster than aid from West Pakistan.
25/3/1969, Amidst increasing separatist tension in East Pakistan, Ayub resigned, handing
power to General Yahya Khan. Khan promised elections for 7/12/1970, and that 162 of the 300 seats
in the National Assembly would be reserved for East Bengalis. Given the
popularity of the Awami League in East Pakistan, this appeared to invite further problems
of governance.
1/1968, A general strike in East Pakistan, encouraged
by Rahman,
Subsequently, Rahman was arested and opposition tension increased.
1966, Rahman launched his �Six Points� demands, which effectively meant
almost complete autonomy for East Pakistan, except in the fields of foreign
policy and defence. Even more alarmingly for Karachi, Rahman appeared to be
demanding this devolution not just for the East but for �wherever [Pakistan]
was divided ethnically or religiously�. This might have meant the breakup of
West Pakistan, leaving the east as the largest singe unit.
7/6/1966, Demonstrations in
East Pakistan, demanding greater autonomy.
1963, In
East Pakistan, the Awami League
chairman, Huseyn Suhrawady, died. This opened the way for the militant separatist, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to
become leader of the Aawami league.
Rahman argued that economic growth due to the efforts of Easterners
was benefitting West Pakistan alone/ It was true that Bengal was much poorer
than West Pakistan and that foreign aid received by Karachi was spent mainly in
West Pakistan. Rahman sturred up
separatist sentiments in the East by continually referring to it as a �colony�
of Karachi.
10/1958, East Pakistan was becoming more rebellious
against the economic and political domination of (smaller) West Pakistan. In
response to this unrest, the Governor-General of East Pakistan, Iskander Mirza, placed the
half-country under military rule and appointed General
Mohammed Ayub Khan as Prime Minister. Ayub Khan promptly exiled Mirza to London � effectively a military coup. Martial law in
East Pakistan continued until 1962, during which time Ayub Khan replaced
civilians in key government posts with senior military figures; the
administration became highly centralised. Excluded from legitimate political
participation, opposition parties became foci for discontent; the Awami League became the central locus for
this discontent. Ayub Khan made efforts to placate Easterners, reserving half his
Cabinet for them and making Dacca the �second capital� of Pakistan; these
measures were seen as tokenism and only intensified separatist ambitions,
1969, The Swat region became
fully incorporated into Pakistan. A valley kingdom in the Hindu Kush mountains,
half the size of Wales, it remained an independent feudal state with its own
monarch long after Pakistan was officially created in 1947.
17/9/1969, A week of violence between Hindus and Muslims broke out in
Gujarat.
25/12/1968, 42 Dalits were burned alive in
Kilavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, India, in retaliation for a campaign for
higher wages by Dalit labourers.
1967, The Mangla Dam on the Jhelum River
was completed. This was the first part of a World Bank scheme to improve
irrigation and agriculture in Pakistan.
8/7/1967, Fatima
Jinnah, Pakistani politician, died.
(15)5/1967, In the village of Naxalbari, West Bengal, peasants rebelled
against landowners. This was the start of the Maoist rebel Naxalite movement in eastern India.
12/3/1967. Mrs Gandhi re-elected Prime Minister of India.
1966, The planned
city of Chandigarh was built. Designed by le Corbusier, it was to be the capital of
Haryana and Punjab.
6/3/1966, Food riots in West Bengal, India, spreading to Kolkata and Delhi.
19/1/1966. Indira Gandhi
(no relation to Mahatma
Gandhi) became Prime Minister of India. She succeeded her father Jawaharlal
Nehru. She had been leader of the National Congress Party since
1959.
1965 border
war, India-Pakistan
22/9/1965.
India and Pakistan halted fighting in Kashmir.
6/9/1965.
India invaded West Pakistan. A three-pronged attack threatened the Pakistani
city of Lahore. Pakistan parachuted troops in behind Indian lines. The conflict
in Kashmir escalated.
1/9/1965. Pakistani troops crossed
into Kashmir over the cease-fire line.
30/6/1965,
India and Pakistan agreed a ceasefire.
9/4/1965.
Border clashes between India and Pakistan.
2/1/1965, In Pakistani presidential
elections, President Ayub
Khan gained a clear majority over Miss Fatimah Jinnah.
30/12/1964. 500 were arrested in India on suspicion of spying
for China.
27/5/1964 The Indian
statesman 'Pandit' Nehru
died, aged 74, having been the first Prime Minister of India since independence
in 1947. He was succeeded by Lal
Shastri.
22/3/1964. Anti-Muslim
violence broke out in India.
13/1/1964. In Calcutta, 200 died in Muslim-Hindu riots.
29/8/1963, Gulzarilal
Nanda replaced Lal Bahadur Shastri as Indian Minister for
Home Affairs.
27/12/1962, India and
Pakistan reopened talks on Kashmir,
1962 border war, India-China
27/11/1962, Britain
agreed to supply arms to India in case of further Chinese military action.
21/11/1962, Ceasefire in the India-China border
dispute.
2/11/1962, The US pledged
to send arms to India in its dispute with China.
20/10/1962, Chinese troops attacked Indian border positions.
8/9/1962. China-India border dispute escalated.
China crossed the 14,000 ft high Tangla Ridge and attacked Indian border posts
on 20/10/1962. On 28/10/1962 the USA pledged to send arms to India.
19/12/1961. India
annexed Goa from the Portuguese, after 400 years of Portuguese rule.
1960, The State of
Bombay was divided into the States of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
14/2/1960, Muhammad Ayub Khan was elected President of
Pakistan.
1959, The first newsprint mill was established in the
Sundarbans region of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) to exploit the forest resources
there.
29/12/1959, Durgapur steel works, West Bengal, officially
opened.
23/12/1959, The Earl of Halifax,
politician and Viceroy of India, 1926-31, died.
1950s unrest in Pakistan, and move towards Islam
7/10/1958, Following unrest in Pakistan, President
Iskander Mirza proclaimed martial law and suspended the
Constitution.
23/3/1956, Pakistan became an independent Islamic republic within the Commonwealth
29/2/1956. Pakistan was declared an Islamic Republic.
14/10/1955, Baluchistan formally became part of West
Pakistan
23/9/1955, Pakistan joined the Baghdad pact.
27/3/1955, Pakistan declared a State of Emergency.
2/11/1953, Pakistan
announced it was to adopt Sharia law.
8/1/1953, Riots in Karachi, Pakistan, followed by
unrest in other cities, due to adverse economic conditions.
16/10/1951, Liaquat Ali Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan,
was assassinated by an Afghan fanatic; civil disorder ensued.
Kashmir conflict 1947-57 see also 1965 above
26/1/1957,
Kashmir joined India, under �special status� agreements, providing for example
that non-Kashmiri Indians could not buy property there. Pakistan protested.
17/11/1956, Kashmir voted to become part of India.
3/7/1951, India lodged a complaint with the UN
Security Council over Pakistani violations of the ceasefire in Kashmir.
30/12/1947. The Kashmir problem went before the UN.
26/10/1947. Kashmir joined India despite Pakistani protests.
22/10/1947, Pakistan sent troops into Kashmir, seizing Muzaffarabad and Uri, then
advancing towards the Kashmiri capital, Srinagar.
13/5/1957, India�s
second election since independence continued the administration of Nehru�s Congress Party; however in the southern
State of Kerala a Communist
administration was elected.
31/3/1957, India
continued its modernisation programme under Nehru with the introduction of a decimal
currency. Nine days earlier the country had adopted a standard calendar.
1956.
India passed the States Reorganisation
Act. State boundaries were to be redrawn according to ethno-linguistic
lines, with some divided, and new States carved out.
1955, King Tribhuvan of Nepal died
(reigned from 1951). He was succeeded by his son, King Mahendra.
15/8/1955. India
attempted to take over Goa.
Himalayan
expeditions
9/10/2005, China�s Bureau of Surveying and Mapping
announced that Mount Everest was 29,017.16 feet (8,844.43 metres) high, 12.14
ft (3.7m) lower than previously thought.
8/7/1978, Two German mountaineers, Reinhold
Messner and Peter Habeller, made the first ascent of Everest without oxygen.
24/9/1975. The south-west
face of Everest was climbed for the first time by Douglas Haston and Doug
Scott.
9/6/1957, Broad Peak, Himalayas, the world�s
12th-highest mountain, was first ascended by an Austrian expedition comprising Fritz
Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Deimberger and Hermann Buhl.
25/5/1955, A British expedition, led by Charles Evans,
became the first to climb Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak in the
Himalayas.
31/7/1954, K2, or Godwin
Austen Mountain, in the Himalayas, was climbed for the first time.
31/12/1953, A British
expedition arrived in India to search for the abominable snowman.
29/5/1953. The New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary, and the Sherpa, Tensing,
became the first two climbers to ascend to the 29,028 foot summit of Mount Everest. They spent 15 minutes at
the summit, taking photographs and eating mint cake before leaving the Union
Jack, the Nepalese Flag, and the United Nations Flag at the summit. The news
reached London on Coronation Day, 2/6/1953.
Sir Hillary headed the New Zealand Antarctic Expedition and
reached the South Pole in 1957. In the 60s he set up a hospital for Sherpa
tribesmen in Nepal. In 1974 his wife and daughter were killed in a plane crash.
He remarried in 1989 and his son climbed Everest in 1990.
10/7/1954, US President Eisenhower signed Public Law 480,
the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, better known as
PL-480. This facilitated the export of grain to US-aligned governments that were facing
threats from Leftist agencies, either internal rebels or intimidation from a
Soviet-aligned State next door. PL-480 could be used to keep recalcitrant
allies, those possibly sliding towards Communism, in line. For example in 1965 US President
Johnson shifted the renewal of PL-480 food aid to India from an
annual to a� monthly basis, threatening
India with withdrawal of food aid as India�s President Shastri expressed
disapproval of US bombing in Vietnam. However if Shastri abandoned Nehru�s
ideas of land distribution to Indian peasants then India would receive US
agricultural technology, enhancing food yields.
21/6/1953, Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan,
was born in Karachi.
8/12/1951, Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India, began his first 5-year Plan. Energy
and Agricultire were to be prioritised in this Plan. Each successive Plan would
target the sectors of the Indian economy that most needed improving. This
tactic helped India�s economy advance rapidly.
3/6/1951, In India, the Socialist Party organised a large
protest against the government�s food and housing policies.
3/6/1950, The Himalayan Peak of Annapurna was first climbed,
by Herzog
and Lachenal,
members of a French expedition.
8/4/1950, India and Pakistan signed the Delhi Pact, each
nation committing itself to protecting the rights of minorities within their
borders.
26/1/1950, India became a
democratic republic within the Commonwealth.
1949, The New Awami
League demended more autonomy for East Bengal.
15/11/1949, In India, Nathuram Godse
was hanged for the murder of Gandhi.
7/3/1949, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Indian
politician, was born.
1/1/1949. India and Pakistan agreed a truce in the war over Kashmir.
4/11/1948, The new Indian Constitution was formally
introduced to the Constituent Assembly.
13/9/1948, Nehru
sent Indian troops to occupy the State of Hyderabad, whose ruler, the Nizam,
had declined to join India. An appeal by the Nizam to the United Nations was in
vain. The Nizam was allowed to keep his palaces and other private property.
11/9/1948, Death of Muhammed Ali Jinnah, first Governor-General of Pakistan.
28/2/1948. Last British
troops left India.
12/2/1948, The ashes of Mahatma Gandhi
were placed in the �holy waters� of the River Ganges at Allahabad.
30/1/1948. The Indian
leader Mahatma (= �Great Soul) or Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic. Gandhi had been at a prayer meeting when he was
shot by Nathuram
Godse, a fanatic who totally rejected Gandhi's message of goodwill,
peace, and love.� Some extremist Hindus
saw that India could never become a Hindu-dominated state whilst Gandhi
was still alive; Gandhi had preached tolerance between Hindus and Moslems.. Nathuram Godse
was hanged on 15/11/1949. A previous attempt on Gandhi�s life had been made on
20/1/1948.
13/1/1948, Mahatma Gandhi began a six-day fast, in order to promote harmony
between Muslims and Hindus.
2/1/1948, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru threatened to
invade Pakistan to stop Muslim attacks in Kashmir.
1947,
Indian Independence from Britain; religious, ethnic, conflicts ensued
28/9/1947,
Sheikh
Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 2009, was born in
Tungipara, East Pakistan
24/9/1947.
1,200 Muslims fleeing India for Pakistan on a train were massacred by
Sikhs at Amritsar in the Punjab.
15/8/1947.
India became independent; the Union
Jack was run down for the last time in New Delhi. Pandit Nehru was the first
Indian Prime Minister.� Ali Khan
became first PM of the newly created Pakistan.� See 4/6/1947 for more details.
14/8/1947,
Pakistan became independent from Britain.
4/6/1947.
The last British viceroy to India, Lord
Mountbatten, announced that
plans for Indian independence from Britain would be speeded up and completed in
just 70 days, not the 12 months previously envisaged (see 20/2/1947). Britain was deep in economic crisis and
wanted to shed Empire as fast as possible. As a result of this haste, the
subcontinent was hacked crudely into three states, and following this a million
people were massacred and one of the greatest forced migrations in history
began as Muslims fled India and Hindus fled East and West. Pakistan. This was
the start of the Kashmir problem. The Maharajah of Kashmir was faced
with a choice of joining Pakistan, effectively ending his own rule, or of
joining India with his mainly Muslim population. On Independence Day,
15/8/1947, Kashmir had still not decided who to join. In October 1947
Afghan tribesmen, backed by Pakistan, began invading Kashmir from Pakistan and
in response India sent tens of thousands of troops to repel them, one day after
the Maharajah
had decided to join India. Had Britain
not pulled out of India in such haste, more orderly arrangements for Kashmir
could have been set up whilst Britain was still in a position to enforce them.
29/5/1947.
The Indian Parliament banned
'untouchables'.
23/5/1947,
Britain agreed to the partition of
India.� Muslims wanted a separate state
(Pakistan), fearing they would be subsumed in a Hindi India.
23/3/1947,
Lord Wavell
resigned as Viceroy of India. He was succeeded by Lord Mountbatten, who announced, after consultation with
local leaders, that the Muslim-dominated areas must become a separate State.
20/2/1947, Lord Louis
Mountbatten was appointed the last
Viceroy of India, the same day the British government announced that the
British would leave India by June 1948.
See 4/6/1947. Mountbatten
was to supervise the peaceful transition to independence of India, despite
major difference between Hindus and Muslims. Winston Churchill opposed Indian
independence.
9/12/1946, In India the Constituent Assembly met to discuss
independence; but it was boycotted by the Muslim League.
19/8/1946, Violence in Calcutta between Hindus and Moslems,
thousands were killed.
16/8/1946, Major riots
against the British salt tax began in Calcutta, inspired by Gandhi�s
campaign of disobedience.� The riots
lasted till 20/8/1946.
21/2/1946, Indian naval mutiny at Bombay.
19/9/1945. Clement Attlee, UK Prime Minister, promised India will have
independence.
20/8/1944, Rajiv Gandhi, younger son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi,
was born.
22/5/1944, Vaiko, Indian politician, was born.
1/3/1943. Gandhi broke his fast after 12 days.
9/8/1942. With Gandhi
about to launch a major civil disobedience campaign to force the British out of
India, the
British arrested the whole Congress leadership, including Nehru.
5/1942, The British Government sent a special
envoy, Sir
Stafford Cripps, to India. In an effort to win over the
nationalists, he promised India Dominion status after the War, that is,
self-government but continued membership of the Commonwealth. There would also
be an election for an indigenous assembly to draft an Indian Constitution � the
Cripps Proposal. However this
spurred nationalist leaders such as Gandhi and Nehru to step up their efforts
for total independence.
15/1/1942. Gandhi named Nehru as his successor.
1941, In what is now Pakistan,
the Jaamat e Islami Party (Islamic
Group) was founded by the Leninist writer Maulana Abu Ala Maududi (died 9/1979).
23/3/1940. At the Moslem
League conference in India, the Moslems there called for their own separate
state within India.
8/2/1936, Jawaharlal Nehru was elected President of the
India National Congress.
6/7/1935, The Dalai Lama was born.
11/2/1935, The UK Government
passed the 1935 Government of India Act,
giving the colony of India more autonomy; Britain retained control of external
affairs and defence.
24/10/1934. Gandhi left the Congress Party.
7/4/1934. Gandhi suspended his campaign of civil disobedience.
23/8/1933. Gandhi was released from Poona
jail after his hunger strike over the government�s attitude to Untouchables
nearly killed him.
4/7/1933. Gandhi was jailed for a year for anti-British activity.
16/5/1932. Clashes between Hindus and Muslims killed hundreds
in Bombay.
4/1/1932. Gandhi was arrested in India as the Congress party was
outlawed.
4/11/1931, Indian campaigner
Mahatma Gandhi,
in London for the Round Table Conference on Dominion Status for India, had tea
with King
George V at Buckingham Palace.
29/8/1931, The Indian
nationalist leader Mohandas Gandhi came to London, to attend the
second Round Table Conference at St James Palace.
3/3/1931. The Viceroy of India agreed to withdraw the salt
tax.
16/2/1931, The Indian
Viceroy received Gandhi.
10/2/1931, New Delhi was officially inaugurated.
1/2/1931. Gandhi continued his campaign of civil disobedience.
26/1/1931. Winston
Churchill resigned from Baldwin�s
shadow cabinet after disagreements over the policy of conciliation with Indian
nationalism; Churchill
opposed any hint of independence for India. In India, Mahatma Gandhi
was released from prison, for talks with the government.
12/11/1930. The British colony
of India demanded Dominion status.
5/5/1930. In India, Gandhi
was arrested. Civil disturbances continued. A young Punjabi terrorist, Bhagat Singh,
had been executed for shooting a British police officer. The Sikh majority in
Punjab protested and called for demonstrations and strikes as a sign of
mourning for Bhagat
Singh. In Cawnpore the shopkeepers
were mainly Muslim and refused to close their shops. Angry mobs of Sikhs
attacked and burnt any shops they found open, massacring the shopkeepers and
their families. Muslims fought back and violence continued in Cawnpore for
several days. It was in Cawnpore that, eighty years earlier, hundreds of
British civilians had been murdered in the Indian Mutiny. Gandhi tried to intervene to
restore peace but was assaulted by the crowd. The British forcibly restored
order with many troops and police but discontent remained.
16/4/1930, Rioting in India; police fired on the crowds.
6/4/1930. Mahatma Gandhi reached the Indian coast after a 300 mile walk from
his ashram near Ahmedabad, taking 25 days. Thousands followed him, and prepared
to defy the British salt tax. To
India�s millions of nationalists, the salt tax of 1 rupee per 82 pounds is an
effective poll tax, burdening the poorest, and a symbol of foreign oppression.
At 5.30 in the morning, Gandhi walked down to the sea and picked up a piece of
crystallised sea salt, so effectively breaking the salt laws.� His followers did� likewise. They had wanted to work the
mudflats, covered with salt after each high tide, but the police forestalled
them by stirring the salt into the mud.
8/3/1930. Mahatma Gandhi started a civil disobedience campaign in India.
3/2/1930, The first
ever �untouchables� were elected to local councils in India.
26/1/1930, A mock "Independence Day" was observed in
India on the opening day of a civil disobedience campaign. British police were
out in full force as rioting was expected, but apart from one incident in which
Communist mill workers disrupted a gathering in Mumbai the day was peaceful.
2/1/1930, The All-India National Congress called for �complete
independence�.
22/12/1929. The All-India National Congress demanded Indian
independence.
7/12/1929, Agha Khan III was married at a private
ceremony in Aix les Bains, France, to a former candy store clerk and
dressmaker. He was founder and first President of the all-India Muslim League.
28/9/1929, In India, marriage of girls aged under 14 was
banned by the Sarda Act.
5/5/1929. In Bombay a curfew was imposed to quell
Hindu-Moslem fighting.
17/11/1928, Lala Rajpat Raj,
Indian politician, died.
1/9/1926, Adbur Rahman
Biswas, President of Bangladesh, was born.
2/4/1926. In India, riots broke out between Hindus and
Moslems. On 4/4/1926 martial law was declared in Calcutta.
24/3/1925, Quazi Nuruzzaman, Bangladeshi guerrilla
commander, was born (died 2011)
18/9/1924. Mohandas Gandhi, serving 6 years in prison for sedition, began a
21-day hunger strike, to try and dissuade Hindus and Moslems from rioting.
11/7/1924. Hindus and Muslims rioted in Delhi.
8/6/1924. George Mallory, on his third attempt to
conquer Everest, was seen for the last time at a point 800 feet from the
summit.
12/6/1922, The Mallory
expedition succeeded in getting within 3,200 feet of the summit of Everest.
18/3/1922. Gandhi was jailed for 6 years for civil disobedience.
11/3/1922, Ghandi was arrested at Ahmedabad.
25/12/1921, Gandhi organised a successful mass boycott of the Prince of Wales
as he arrived in Calcutta.
10/10/1921, Ghandi set fire to a large pile of foreign-made clothing
in Mumbai.
28/7/1921, The All-India Congress Party voted to boycott a
visit to India by the Prince of Wales, and also urged a boycott of
imported cloth.
3/1/1921, India's first parliament met.
10/9/1920, The Indian National Congress voted to adopt Mahatma Gandhi�s policy of non-co-operation with
Britain�s colonial administration.
1/8/1920, Gandhi began his campaign of resistance to British rule in India.
Further
unrest in Brittish colonial India; Amritsar Massacre
13/4/1919. The British
fired on and massacred Indian Nationalist rioters in Amritsar, Punjab. A
British officer, General Dyer, panicked and ordered his troops to fire at
point-blank range into a large crowd. 380 of Gandhi�s followers were killed
and over 1200 injured. This massacre
turned even moderate Indians against the British. The army had been called
in by the police after several days of rioting against new security laws, in
which some Europeans had been killed.
Following the rioting and massacre, martial law was proclaimed in Amritsar and
the infamous �crawling order� was
imposed, requiring Indians to crawl when passing the site of the attack on Mrs Sherwood.
Meanwhile General
Dyer was relieved of his command and sent home on sick leave. A
further affront to the Indians was how upper class opinion in Britain rallied
behind General
Dyer.
10/4/1919, Rioting by Sikhs began at Amritsar, see
13/4/1919. A hartal
had been proclaimed whoich passed off peacefully but the British then arrested
and deported two nationalist leaders. This provoked the rioting, during which
five Europeans were killed, two banks burned down and an English missionary, Mrs Sherwood,
was attacked and left for dead. In fact she was taken in and cared for by an
Indian family.
3/1919, Faced with mounting unrest
against British rule, the Indian Government passed the Rowlatt Bills. These gave provinvial Governors the right to detain
without trial and provided for trial without jury in political cases. The
Indian leader Mahatma
Gandhi urged peaceful resistance such as the hartal, effecrtively a one-say
general strike and day of fasting.
9/1/1919, Major mill strike began in Mumbai, with
100,000 workers out on strike.
10/9/1918, Muslim riots in Calcutta (Kolkata), India.
19/3/1915, The Defence
of India Act was passed, giving the colonial government in British India
powers to enforce criminal law, to curb nationalist and revolutionary
activities in the country during and after World War I.
19/11/1917. Indira Gandhi born in Allahabad.� India�s
first woman Prime Minister, she was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru.
12/1/1917, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the
Transcendental Meditation Movement,� was
born in India (some sources say 12/1/1918).
8/6/1915, Kayyar Kinhanna Rai, Indian poet, known for
his poems and activism work for an independent India, was born in Kayyar,
India (died 2015).
13/3/1914, Saroj Dutta, Indian Communist Leader, active
in the Naxalite movement in India, was born (died 1971).
6/11/1913, Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian Passive
Resistance Mobement, was arrested.
12/12/1911, King George V was crowned Emperor of India,
and founded the city of New Delhi,
as new capital to replace Calcutta.
11/11/1911. The British King and Queen left Britain
for the sea voyage to India. On 12/12/1911 there was a splendid ceremony at the
Delhi Durbar, at which it was announced that henceforth Delhi would be the capital of India in place of Calcutta.
27/8/1910. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who dedicated her
life to the relief of the poor in India, was born in Skopje (Yugoslavia), of
Albanian parents.
10/6/1910, Sir Charles Hardinge, British Under Secretary
for Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the Viceroy of India, succeeding the Earl of Minto.
Increasing
unrest in British colonial India
23/12/1912, Lord Hardinge, Governor-General of India, was
seriously injured in a bomb explosion.
11/1/1911, 18 killed in riots in Bombay, India.
13/11/1909,
Two bombs were thrown at the Viceroy of India, The Earl of Minto.
1/7/1909, Indian terrorist
assassinated Anglo-Indian Sir Curzon Wylie.
5/1/1909. Hindus and Moslems rioted in Calcutta.
24/3/1908, John Colvin, Governor of the North-West
Provinces of India, died.
26/12/1907, The first session of the Indian National
Congress was halted after clashes between moderates and extremists.
4/10/1907, Riots in India were blamed on a visit by UK
MP Kier
Hardie to the colony
6/6/1907. The British Government said it would never leave India.
14/5/1907, Muhammad Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan, was
born (died 1974).
2/5/1907, Rioting in Rawalpindi and East Bengal,
India.
30/12/1906, In India the Muslim League was founded, to call for separate Muslim areas and
counter the Pan-Indian ideals of the Indian National Congress. The separate
Muslim electoral areas were delivered under the Indian Councils Act of 1909. Ultimately
this paved the way for the Partition of India in 1947.
20/7/1903, The UK Government announced it was to send
large numbers of troops to India.
1/1/1903, King George VII was proclaimed Emperor of
India.
1901, Dabadhai Naoroji published his
book, Poverty and Un-British Rule in
India, arguing that high taxation and exploitation of resources was
damaging the Indian economy. This work inspired Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal
Nehru.
1/10/1901, Partap Singh Kairon, India politician and Chief
Minister of the Punjab from 1956 to 1964, was born (assassinated 1965).
13/9/1901, Sir Sheshadri Aiyar, Indian statesman, died
(born 1845). He did much to develop Mysore State.
24/7/1899, Sir Arthur Cotton, irrigation engineer in
India, died (born 15/5/1803).
2/3/1898, Saiyid Ahmed, Indian educationalist, died at
Aligarh (born 1817).
British
India; issues with the North-West Frontier area
10/11/1901. The North-West Frontier province was
incorporated into India.
12/2/1901, Britain extended direct rule from India into
the tribal areas of Peshawar, Khyber and Waziristan, scene of much inter-ethnic
fighting. Britain was concerned that unrest in these areas, on India�s northern
frontier, would allow Russia to invade from the north through Afghanistan.
11/10/1897, Mohmand tribesmen surrendered to a British
punitive attack in Northwest Frontier Province, resultant on earlier raids on
British frontier positions.
27/9/1897, British punitive operations began in the
Northwest Frontier area, against Mohmand tribesmen who had harassed British
forces, inspired by preaching from the Amir of Afghanistan.
21/9/1897, British forces attacked by Mohmand
tribesmen at Nawagai. The attackers were repulsed and reinforcements under General Elles
arrived.
14/9/1897, A British punitive expedition into the
North West Frontier region of India, against local tribes who had been
harassing British forces since the Amir of Afghanistan began rousing
anti-Christian sentiments in the region, came under attack and was halted at
Nawagai. The commander, Major-General Blood, dug in and awaited
reinforcements.
8/8/1897, Mohmand tribal attack on Shabdakar, British
India, inspired by preaching by the Afghan Mullah.
31/7/1897, Swati tribal attack on British-India frontier
posts, inspired by preaching by an Afghan Mullah
3/4/1895, A 16,000 strong British army defeated some
12,000 Chitral tribesmen in the Malakand Pass, NorthWest Frontire region.
12/11/1893, The Durand
Agreement, defining the border between Afghanistan and India, was signed. This line bisected Pathan lands.
1/10/1887. The British in India annexed Baluchistan, an
area strategic to the North-West Frontier.
British
military strategy on the Indian North-West Frontier was to maintain an
administrative zone where the military protected the civilian, farming,
population, a �forward zone� where garrisons were purely for military
operations, and forward of that, a �tribal zone� where just the main roads were
protected. This zone system had been in use for many centuries.
10/6/1897, Pathan attack on Indian forces escorting a
British frontier officer in the Tochi valley. Anti-Christian sentiment amongst
Muslims in the area had been building, inspired by Turkish success against
Greece and preaching by the Amir of Afghanistan, but the |British were unaware
of this.
13/6/1896, Sir James Browne, British engineer in India,
died (born 1839).
29/2/1896, Ranchhodji Morarji Desai,
Indian Prime Minister who was imprisoned with Gandhi, was born.
19/7/1894, Khwaja
Nazimuddin, Prime Minister of Pakistan from
16/10/1951, was born in Dhaka, Bengal.
22/10/1893, Dhuleep Singh, Maharajah of Lahore, died (born
2/1837).
1892, The first indigenous
Indians sat on the legislative council.
14/11/1889, Pandit Nehru, first Prime Minister of India,
was born in Allahabad.
5/9/1888, Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishanan, Indian
statesman, was born.
8/7/1887, Sir Ashley Eden, Britsh administrator of
India, died (born 13/11/1831).
16/2/1887, Queen Victoria�s
Jubilee was marked in India by the freeing of 25,000 prisoners.
2/2/1887, Rajkumari
Amrit Kaur, Indian politician and social
worker, a Punjabi Sikh noblewoman who served as secretary to Mahatma Gandhi for
16 years, was born in the Karpathala Palace, Lucknow.
1/1/1887, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of
India in Delhi.
1885, The Indian National
Congress was founded.
3/12/1884, Rajendra Prasad, Indian statesman, was born.
4/12/1883, The
International Exhibition at Calcutta opened, the first exhibition to be held in
India.
30/12/1879, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Hindu Yogi, was born.
27/6/1879, John Lawrence, colonial Governor-General of
India, died (born 24/3/1811).
1/5/1876, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of
India.
8/2/1872, Lord Mayo, British Viceroy to India, was
murdered by nationalists.
25/1/1871, Sir Proby Cautley, British engineer of canals
in India, died (born 1802).
2/10/1869, Mahatma Gandhi, Indian nationalist leader, was born
in Porbandar, Gujarat.
23/12/1868, Sir Herbert Edwardes, British soldier in
India, died (born 12/11/1819.
7/11/1862, Bahadur Shah II, last titular Mogul Emperor of India, died.
17/6/1862, Charles Canning, British Governor-General of
India during the mutiny of 1857, died (born 14/12/1812).
20/11/1859, Mountstuart Elphinstone, Indian statesman,
died (born 1779).
1/11/1858. Queen Victoria
was proclaimed ruler of India. The East India Company, formed in 1600 to exploit trade with the East,
but accused of imperial abuse from the early 1700s, was abolished
and administration of India was transferred to the British crown. Misconduct by
the East India Company had been partially curbed by the Regulating Act (1773)
and Pitt�s India Act (1784). The Indian Mutiny broke
the Company�s power, British influence being totally regained
with the conquest of Lucknow in March 1858.
2/8/1858, The Government of India transferred the East India Company to the British Government.
Indian
Mutiny
11/3/1858, William Hodson, British cavalry leader, was killed
during the attack on Begum Kotee, Lucknow.
24/11/1857, Sir Henry Havelock, British soldier, died in
India.
25/9/1857. The British lifted the siege of Lucknow, ending the Indian Mutiny.
20/9/1857. The British recaptured Delhi
from Indian mutineers.
4/7/1857, Sir Henry Lawrence, British colonial
administrator in India, died (born 28/6/1806).
2/7/1857, The siege of Lucknow began.
30/5/1857, Anti-British mutiny at Oudh, india.
4/6/1857, In the Indian Mutiny,
the British garrison of Kanpur (Cawnpore) in Uttar Pradesh, niorthern
India,� came under siege by Indian rebels
against British rule. After a three-week siege the British, under Sir Hugh
Wheeler, were promised safe passage to Allahabad, on thatched
barges. However as they departed the barges were fired upon, and set ablaze.
The survivors were transferred to a house called the Bibighar, where they were
massacred on 15/7/1857 by Indian rebels. 197 died.
10/5/1857. The outbreak of the Indian (Sepoy) Mutiny
in Meerat. On 6/5/1857, 85 men of the 90-strong 3rd Cavalry
Regiment in Meerut had refused to bite off the greased and of the new
cartridges for Lee Enfield rifles, which they claimed contained both pig and
cow fat, so offending both Muslims and Hindus. The British had 24 hours
warning of the mutiny but refused to take the threat seriously. The Indian
mutineers seized Delhi on 11/5/1857.
Indian
Mutiny
1856, The Annexation of Awadh
(Oudh) by the British East India Company.
The loss of rights by hereditary landowners caused resentment which contributed
to the Indian Mutiny.
24/9/1856, Henry Hardinge, British colonial
Governor-General of India, died (born 30/3/1785).
1850, Sikkim, a region in the far north of India, became a British dependency,
paving the way for British penetration into Tibet.
21/2/1849. Sikh forces were
decisively defeated by the British at the Battle of Gujerat. This concluded the Second Sikh War;
Britain annexed Punjab.
4/1/1849, British forces captured the city of Multan, India.
18/6/1848, A Sikh force was
defeated by the British at Kinyeri.
5/9/1846, Charles Metcalfe, British colonial
administrator of India, died (born 30/1/1785).
28/6/1846, Defeat of Ranjit Singh
by British forces at Aliwal, during the First
Sikh War.
21/12/1845, The Battle of Ferozeshah began.
13/9/1845, Sir Henry Cotton, British administrator in
India, was born.
29/12/1843,
The Battle of Maharaipur.
17/2/1843, The Muslim Emirs of Sind refused to cede their
independence to the East India Company. The British provoked an Anglo-Sind
conflict, so that Charles Napier
could destroy the 30,000 strong Baluch Army. In March 1843 Napier defeated the
Emirs of Sind, and sent a one-word telegram to London �Peccavi�, meaning �I
have sinned�.
7/4/1842,
British forces defeated Akbar Khan at
Jalabad.
24/7/1837, The Indian Post Office was established.
18/2/1836, Ramakrishna, Indian mystic was born in
Kamarpukur, India (died 1886).
1835, The British in India
ceased using Persian as the official language, replacing it with English.
6/5/1834, Sikh troops from the Punjab under Ranjit Singh
took Peshawar.
30/5/1833, Sir John Malcolm, British diplomat to India,
died (born 2/5/1769).
28/1/1832, Sir Tiruvarur Aiyar, Indian High Court Judge
(Madras), was born (died 1895).
18/11/1831, An
uprising in Bengal against tyrannical Hindu rule was suppressed. Its leader,
the Muslim
Titu Mir,
was killed by government forces.
13/11/1831, Sir Ashley Eden,
Britsh administrator of India, was born (died 8/7/1887).
21/6/1830, Benoit de
Boigne, first of the French military adventurers in India, died
(born in Chambery, Savoy 8/3/1751).
17/6/1830, Lord William
Bentinck, Governor-General of India, died in Paris).
4/12/1829, The
practice of suttee, immolation of
widows, was made illegal in British-controlled India.
28/11/1826, Francis
Hastings, British colonial Governor of India, died (born 9/12/1754).
4/9/1825, Naoroji
Dadabhai, Indian statesman, was born.
12/11/1819, Sir Herbert
Edwardes, British soldier in India, was born (died 23/12/1868).
22/8/1818, Warren Hastings, British administrator and first Governor-General of British India,
died in Worcestershire aged 85.
2/3/1816, Ghurkas signed a
peace treaty with the British, following their heavy defeat in the Kathmandu
Valley; this ended their year-long war.
1/7/1813, The East India Company lost its
monopoly of trade with India.
14/12/1812,
Charles Canning, British Governor-General of India during the mutiny of 1857, was born
(died 17/6/1862).
11/1/1812, John Jacob, Indian administrator, was born
(died 1858)
24/3/1811, John Lawrence, colonial Governor-General of
India, was born (died 27/6/1879).
29/5/1807, John Russell Colvin, Governor of the
north-west provinces of India, was born in Kolkata (died 24/3/1908).
28/6/1806, Sir Henry Lawrence, British colonial
administrator in India, was born (died 4/7/1857).
28/11/1803, The British
army, led by Major
John Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, won a great victory over
the Indians at Argaum, Madhya Pradesh.
1/11/1803, The
British won the Battle of Laswari, against the Marathas of India.
23/9/1803, The British won
the Battle of Assay, India, defeating the Marathas in the Second Maratha
War.
14/9/1803, British General Lake
captured Delhi, India.
15/5/1803, Sir Arthur Cotton, irrigation engineer in
India, was born (died 24/7/1899).
20/2/1803, The British
captured the town of Kandy, Ceylon
(Sri Lanka).
4/5/1799, The British
conquered Seringapatam, capital of Mysore in southern India.
23/4/1795, Warren Hastings was acquitted of high treason.
16/3/1792, Tippoo Sahib, Indian
Sultan who was resisting the advance of the British East India Company into
Mysore, surrendered. Tippoo had studied British military tactics and so was
able to resist General
Charles Cornwallis for longer than other Indian rulers.
30/3/1785, Henry Hardinge, British colonial
Governor-General of India, was born (died 24/9/1856).
30/1/1785, Charles Metcalfe, British colonial
administrator of India, was born (died 5/9/1846).
13/8/1784, The East India Act put the Company
under a board of control to manage its revenue and administration.
3/4/1784, The British
Parliament passed the India Act, to make the British East India Company more accountable.
1/7/1781, In India,
British troops defeated Haidar Ali at Porto Novo.
18/10/1778, The city
of Pondicherry surrendered to the
British.
22/11/1774, Robert Clive, English soldier and Governor of
India, died from an overdose of opium, shortly after being vindicated of
improper behaviour regarding the East India Company.
14/9/1774, Lord William Bentinck, Governor-General of
India, was born (died in Paris 17/6/1830).
13/4/1772, Warren Hastings was appointed Governor
of Bengal.
2/5/1769, Sir John Malcolm, British diplomat to India,
was born (died 30/5/1833).
12/8/1765, Robert Clive received revenue authority over Bengal from the
Mogul emperor. The disintegration of the Mogul Empire created
opportunities for the British, the French, and also Indian princes.
See 12/8/1756.
23/10/1764, The
British won the Battle of Buxar, Bengal.
3/5/1764, The
British won the Battle of Patna, Bengal.
10/11/1763, Joseph Dupleix,
French colonial governor of India, died (born 1/1/1697).
27/5/1761, Sir Thomas
Munro, British colonial Governor of India, was born (died 6/7/1827).
14/1/1761, At
the Battle of Panipat, north of Delhi, the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani defeated the
Marathas Indians. Although Durrani weakened Mughal power he was unable
to fill the resultant power vacuum, thereby opening the way for British
dominance of India.
23/6/1757. The Battle of
Plassey took place in Bengal. The
British victory of Robert Clive over the Nawab of Bengal laid the foundations for the British Empire in India.
23/3/1757, The British
won the Battle of Chandernagore, Bengal.
7/2/1757, The Treaty of Alinagar was concluded by Clive of
Plassey, following his recapture of Calcutta from the Nawab of
Bengal, Siraj al Daula. Under this Treaty, Calcutta was returned to
the East India Company, who gained the right to fortify the city and to print
money. Calcutta became a bridgehead from
which the East India Company extended its control across Bengal.
2/1/1757, Clive of India captured
Calcutta after it had been seized by the Nawab of Bengal. The Nawab
had imprisoned 146 British in the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta, see
20/6/1756. This brought Bengal, with all
its wealth, under British control.
20/6/1756, Night of the Black Hole of Calcutta. See
2/1/1757, and 12/8/1765. A total of 147
people were confined in what came to be known as the Black Hole of
Calcutta. The remaining European defenders of Calcutta in the Seven Years
War in India were shut away in a local lock up for petty offenders, following the capture of Calcutta by the Nawab Siraj Ul Dawlah of Bengal. The Black
Hole was a room 18 feet long by 14 foot 10 inches wide, with only two small
windows. According to the British leader John Z Holwell, only 23 of the 147 imprisoned
survived, but this figure may be inaccurate. Instead of the suspected
slaughter, the Nawab
may have been guilty of negligence.
9/12/1754, Francis Hastings, British colonial Governor of
India, was born (died 28/11/1826).
Britain and France competed for control of India; Britain won.
5/11/1751, British
forces defeated the French in the battle for control of southern India at Arcot.
10/6/1747, Nadir Shah was assassinated by a bodyguard.
25/7/1746, The French won a major naval victory at Negapatam,
allowing them to capture Madras.
20/3/1739, Persian ruler Nadir Shah
sacked the Indian city of Delhi.
The collapse of the Moghul Empire created a large power vacuum in India. The
Afghans invaded from the north-west, Marathas invaded from the west, and local
warlords carved out small independent states, perpetually fighting each other. In the middle
of this chaos, Britain was able to take over.
7/2/1736,
Rene-Marie Madec, French adventurer in India, was born.
6/12/1732, Warren Hastings, British ambassador and first
Governor-General of India, was born in Churchill, Oxfordshire.
13/6/1732, Sir Elijah Impey, Chief Justoce of Bengal, was
born (died 1809).
18/11/1727, The Indian city of Jaipur was founded.
Death of
Aurangzeb. Decline and chaos in India, paved the
way for British colonisation.
20/2/1707, The Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb
died aged 88, his empire crumbling around him. He seized the throne at Agra
from his father Shah
Jehan 49 years earlier, killing two of his brothers and jailing the
third to secure his succession. He moved
the capital to Delhi, and enjoyed stable rule until his third son backed a
rebellion by the Rajputs, Hindu warriors of Rajasthan. His military ventures bankrupted his kingdom, causing his subjects
starvation through excessive taxation, and he caused resentment by destroying
hundreds of Hindu temples. On his
death, provincial Governors quickly declared independence amidst wars of
succession and foreign invasions.
1/1/1697, Joseph Dupleix,
French colonial governor of India, was born (died 10/11/1763).
24/8/1690, The port of Calcutta was founded by Job Charnock of the English East India
Company. He obtained a grant for the land on which the city stands
this year from Aurangzeb.
18/4/1669. Aurangzeb, the Moghul Emperor of India, ordered that all recently constructed Hindu
temples should be demolished.
Reign of
Aurangzeb
1668, First French visitors to India.
22/1/1666, Shah Jahan died, aged 74, in the fort where
his son Aurangzeb
had imprisoned him with his harem for the previous eight years. He had ruled
India from 1628 to 1658, until illness forced his abdication. Shah Jahan
had built the Taj Mahal as a
mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz-i-Mahal and he was buried beside her. Aurangzeb
had fought and killed his brothers to attain the throne, as Shah Jahan
had done in 1628.
1658, Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb
acceded to the throne.
1653, The Taj Mahal was completed (construction began 1632).
3/11/1618, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb born (died 1707).
24/6/1632, At Hooghly (founded by Portuguese traders, 1537)
the Portuguese had secured a monopoly on salt trading and also enforced a high
duty on the tobacco trade; they refused to share any of this income with the
indigenous Moguls. They also seized Muslim and Hindu children, to sell as
slaves. Shah Jehan (1592-1666)�
therefore, in 1631, resolved to destroy Hooghly, and this day began a
3-month siege of the port, with a 150,000 man army. Hooghly was defended by 300
Portuguese soldiers and some 700 Indian Christians. After it fell, some 400
surviving defenders were taken captive to Agra, and in 1635 those who refused
to convert to Islam were executed.
14/2/1628, Coronation of Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan in Agra.
Death of Jahangir
28/10/1627, Jahangir,
ruler of the Moghul Empire, died.
10/1/1615, Sir Thomas Roe, Britain�s first Ambassador to India,
presented his credentials at Agra.
15/10/1605, Akbar I (The
Great), Jalal
ud Din Muhammad Akbar, died. He was Mughal Emperor of India,
1556-1605 (born 1542). Succeeeding his father, Humayun, he took over from the
Regent in 1560. He gained control of the whole of India north of the Vindhaya
Mountains. He established a uniform system of weights and measures, encouraged
the arts and sciences, and was tolerant to non-Muslims. He was succeeded by his son, Jahangir.
31/12/1600. Queen Elizabeth I
granted a charter of incorporation to the East India Company. This charter gave George Clifford,
the Earl of Cumberland, and 215 knights, aldermen, and merchants the right to
trade in the East Indies (i.e. all
countries beyond the Cape of Good Hope) for 15 years. The members of the
Company paid a total of �72,000 to finance a large scale trading expedition and
planned to send five ships to Java and Sumatra, to break the Dutch monopoly on
the spice trade. Unauthorised interlopers were liable to confiscation of ships
and cargo.� See 20/3/1602.
1594, Lisbon closed its spice
market to Dutch and English traders; at this time Portugal was in personal
union with Spain, both being ruled by Philip II, and England was helping the
Dutch to gain independecnce from Spain. This forced traders from those
countries to get their spices directly from India, and the creation of the Dutch East India Company followed.
1572, Moghul forces conquered
Gujerat region.
5/11/1556, Jalal-ud-Din,
Moghul
Emperor Akbar, defeated a Hindu army at the Battle of Panipat in the
Punjab. He regained the Hindustani Empire.
27/1/1556, The Moghul
Emperor Humayun died after falling from his library roof in Delhi.
He was succeeded by his 14-year old son, Jalal-ud-Din, who returned from exile.
6/5/1542, Francis
Xavier arrived at the Portuguese colony of Goa, India, to begin
his work of converting the indigenous inhabitants to Christianity.
7/9/1539, Guru Angad Dev became the second Guru of the Sikhs.
1537, Portuguese traders founded
the port of Hooghly, on the Bay of Bengal. See 24/6/1632.
26/12/1530, Death of Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire (born
1483).
16/3/1527, The Battle of Khanwa. Babur
continued his conquest of northern India.
See also Afghanistan
21/4/1526, The First battle
of Panipat.� Babur became first Moghul
(Mughal) Emperor of India.� He captured
Delhi, and northern India, beginning the
Moghul Empire, which lasted until 1857. End of the Sultanate of Delhi, founded 1200.
Start of
Mogul Empire
Start of
Portugese colonisation in India
24/12/1524. The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, who discovered the sea route
from Europe to the East, died on his second voyage after landing in Cochin, on
the Malabar coast of India. See 22/11/1497.
10/12/1510, The Portuguese seized Goa.
1/3/1510, Francesco de Almeida, the first Portuguese viceroy to
India, died.
3/2/1509, Portugal defeated
the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Diu, Indian Ocean. Portugal was moving
to dominate the spice trade, which had been lucrative for the Sultan of
Gujarat, Mahmud Begada. Begada was supported by other beneficiaries of
the established trade; Egypt, the Ottoman Empire and Venice. However the
Portuguese ships, built to withstand the rigours of a long voyage, were superior,
and Portugal�s victory gave them control of the Indian spice trade for a
century.
20/5/1498. Vasco da
Gama arrived at Calicut, southern India, after discovering a route
via the tip of southern Africa. , proving the feasibility of a sea route from Portugal to India
and the Spice Islands. This meant Europe could buy spices independent from
Venetian and Muslim middlemen.
1519, Guru Nanak Dev built the first Sikh Temnple, in Kartapur, Punjab.
20/8/1507, Guru Nanak Dev became the first guru and
leader of the Sikh religion.
20/10/1469, Guru Nanak Dev, Sikh leader, was born.
13/1/1399, Delhi was captured and sacked by Tamerlane.
Tughlaq Dynasty
1388, Death of Firuz Shah Tughlaq (born 1305),
the third Tughlaq ruler of the Kingdom of Delhi since 1351. His reign brought
peace and stability, and he developed agriculture and irrigation; some of his
canal works survive to the present day. He also promoted building works, and
constructed a new capital, Firuzabad,
which today forms part of Delhi.
1346, Shah Mirza founded a Muslim
Dynasty in Kashmir that endured for 243 years. He replaced the extortionate
taxation of the Hindu Kings with a one sixth tax on land.
1325, Death of Ghiyyas Ud-din Tughlaq, ruler of
Delhi, murdered by his son after a 5-year reign. His son now ruled until 1351
as Mohammed
Tughlaq.
1320, The Muslim Tughlaq Dynasty was established by Turkish Shah Ghiyas ud din Tughlaq. He
defeated the Mongols before his death in 1325. He led a rebellion that
overthrew the former Khalji Dynasty (began 1290) and moved the capital from
Delhi 4 miles east to the new city of Tughlaqabad. The Tughlaq Dynasty endured until 1413.
Khalji Dynasty
1316, Death of Ala al Din Khalji, second ruler
of the Khalji dynasty (acceded
1296). He subdued the Rajput and Gujerat princes, conquering large regions of
southern India.
1290, The Khalji Dynasty, which ruled Delhi until 1320, was founded by Firuz Shah
Jalal Uddin. He overthrew the former Balban Dynasty (founded 1266).
1279, Rajendra III, last Chola King,
died, The Chola Kingdom was overrun by neighbouring kingdoms.
1266, Sultan Balban, former slave and
chamberlain to Sultan
Mahmud in Delhi, now became ruler, founding a new dynasty. he
reigned for 21 years, suppressed highway robbers and curbed the powers of the
Indian nobility.
1252, The Ahom Kingdom was founded in Assam.
1236, Sultan Altamsh of Delhi died
after a 25-year reign during which he had extended Moslem rule across northern
India, including Bengal and Sind. He was succeeded by his daughter Rayiza,
who ruled until 1240 when she was assassinated by Hindus.
1206, Persian Sultan Mohammed of Ghor, who had
created a Moslem
empire within India, was assassinated and delhi was now governed by his former
Viceroy, Kuth
ud din Aibak. Aibak was killed in 1210 but the dynasty he
founded endured until 1266.
1192, Rajput King Prithviraj III was defeated
by Muslim forces. End of the Rajput era (began ca. 800).
1187, The Punjab was invaded by Mohammed of
Ghor.
1175, India was invaded by Persia, under Muizzadin
Mohammed of Ghor.
1044, Death of King Rajendra I of the Chola Dynasty.
He ruled over southern India from 1014 and extended his Tamil kingdom into Sri
Lanka.
1021, Lahore fell to invading Turkish/Persian
armies.
1014, Rajendra I became King of the Cholas.
985, Chola King Rajaraja I conqured Kerala,
southern India.
973, King Tala II overthrew the Rashtrakuta Dynasty,re-founding the
Chalukya Dynasty.
815, Death of King Govinda III (783-815).
773, Death of Rashtrakuta
King Krishna
I (ca. 756-773).,
711, Muslim armies conquered Sind.
642, Death of Chalukya King Pulakesin
II (608-642). He died in battle with his Pallava rivals on the east
coast. The Chalukya Kingdom now split into east and west; the
west came under Rashtrakuta
rule.
606, Shashanka became the first
recorded independent King of Bengal.
606, King Harsha (ca.590-647) acceded
to the throne of Thanesar and Kannauj.He began expanding his rule across
northern India.
535, The Gupta Empire collapsed.
480, Narasimhagupta Baladitya
succeeded his father Skandagupta as ruler of the Gupta Empire.
413, Kumara Gupta succeeded his
father Chandragupta
as ruler of the Gupta
Empire.
376, Chandragupta II became King of
India.
320, Chandraguota I, founder of the Gupta Empire,
acceded.
185, Vasudeva became Kushan Emperor.
99, An ambassador from India
arrived in Rome.
23 BCE,The Buddhist canon was put
in writing for the first time, in Sri Lanka.
128 BCE, Start of the Satavahana Dynasty in India.
184 BCE, Start of the Sunga Dynasty in India. The Mauryan Dynasty had crumbled in 185 BCE.
232 BCE,The Mauryan Empire began to crumble after Ashoka�s
death. Taxila was the first region to secede.
268 BCE, Start of the reign of King Asoka of India (died 232 BCE). He is
called the �Buddhist Constantine�
because he orgamised Buddhism as the State religion. Asoka himself converted to
Buddhism in around 260 BCE, and convened the 3rd great Buddhist
Council at Patna in 244 BCE.
319 BCE, Chandragupta
Maurya reconquered northern India from the Macedonians under Alexander the
Great and founded the Mauryan Dynasty.
326 BCE, Alexander the Great reached the
Indus River.
370 BCE, Start of the Nanda Dynasty in India.
415 BCE, The reign of Chandragupta II
over much of northern India (375 � 415) ended.
480 BCE, Death of Siddhartha
(Gautama Buddha), founder of Buddhism
(born 563 BCE).
500 BCE, The Aryan language,
Sanskrit, became established across India.
529 BCE, Birth of Buddhism. Siddhartha (Gautama Buddha),
found enlightenment during a long period of penance in sackcloth at Buddh Gaya, near Benares.
540 BCE, Mahavira, founder of the Jain religion,was born.
7/4/563 BCE, Buddha was born, in the forest of Lumbini, NE
India. He was the son of Suddhodana, King of the Shakya tribe. At birth
Buddha was named Prince Gautama Siddhartha. His father had been forewarned
that his son would forsake material possessions, and so tried to surround his
son with every luxury available.
600 BCE, Aryan Kingdoms doiminated much of northern India.
800 BCE, Urban centres developed in
the Ganges Valley
817 BCE, Traditional date of birth
of early Jain teacher, Parshvanatha.
1500 BCE, Aryan invasion of India.
Indus civilisation destroyed.
1750 BCE, Decline of the Indus
Valley cities of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, after two millennia of
unregulated irrigation had caused soil salinization and decline in food
production.
2600 BCE, Peak of Indus Valley
civilisation.
4500 BCE, Estimated date of start of
sedentary agriculture,
in the Ganges floodplain.
India was
named by
the Greeks and Persians, after the great Indus
or Sindhu River (which btoday lies
mainly in Pakistan).
Appendix 1
� Bangladesh from 1/1/1973
24/4/2013, A large garment factory in Rana Plaza in the
outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed, killing 1,129 people.
24/11/2012, A fire at
a clothing factory in Bangladesh killed 112 people.
5/9/2011, India and Bangladesh signed a pact to end
their 40-year border dispute.
2/12/1997, The Bangladesh Government signed� a peace accord with the indigenous peoples of
the Chittagong Hill Tracts (see 1973). However this agreememnt nwas rather one-sided, as it
did not include the withdrawal of Bengali settlers, or the Bangladeshi
military, or investigate human rights abuses in the area from 1973 onwards.
However it did cover the return of 50,000 refugees from Tripura, and a Hill
Council under the Tribal Affairs Ministry was inaugurated.
26/2/1991, In Bangladeshi general elections, the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party won 139 of 300 seats in the Jatiyo
1987, In Bangladesh, Ershad
announced a State of Emergency as strikes and demonstrations paralysed the
country.
10/11/1986,
President Ershad announced an end to
martial law in Bangladesh
24/3/1982, Military coup in Bangladesh. Ershad took power.
30/5/1981, President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh (born 1936) was
assassinated. Abdus
Sattar took power.
19/2/1979, In Bangladesh, Zia ur Rahman�s Bangladesh
Nationalist Party won the elections.
1976, In Bangladesh, trades
unions were banned.
15/8/1975. In a military coup in Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur
Rhaman was overthrown; he and his family were murdered.
22/2/1974. Pakistan recognised Bangladesh.
1973, Bangladesh, having newly achieved secession from Pakistan, now faced
its own insurgency issue from the indigenous, mainly Buddhist, tribes of the Chittagong
Hill Tracts, on the borders with India and Myanmar. These tribes
established the Shanti Bahini
(=Peace Force), to counter doiscrimminatioin and neglect theuy had faced from
successive centralised Governments. In the 1960s some 10% of the land (40% of
the arable land) of these peoples had been flooded by the Kaptai Hydroelectric
Dam, leading many to flee to India, where they still face ddiscrimmination.
Then in the 197os Bangladesh began settling Bengali Muslims in ythe Chittagoing
Hill Tracts, away from the crowded Delta area. See 2/12/1997.
For events
of Bangladesh from 31/12/1972 and earlier, relating to the secession from Pakistan,
see India Region
Appendix 2
� Bhutan
24/3/2008, Bhutan held its first-ever general elections.
1999, Bhutan
inaugurated its first TV service.
1998, The King of
Bhutan reformed the monarchy, making it more constitutional.
1972, Bhutan introduced a Gross National Happiness Index,
intended to reflect people�s wellbeing more than GDP does. King Jigme Wangchuk began a
process of modernisation.
1971, Nepal joined the United
Nations.
1949, India was given influence
over Bhutanese foreign affairs.
1907, The Bhutanese monartchy
was esatablished, with Ugyen Wangchuk as hereditary ruler.
1864, Bhutan lost territory to
Bengal and Assam in a British border war with India.
1731, Tibet imposed control over
Bhutan.
1616, Bhutan was unified by Prince Abbot
Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal.
Appendix 3
� Maldives
2005,
The Maldives Parliament voted uninamimously to permit multi-party politics.
2003,
Amnesty International accused the Maldives of torture and political repression.
Anti-government riots in Male. Gayyoom
was re-elected for a 6th 5-year term.
2002,
The Maldives Government took legal action against the USA for failing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol,
after the Maldives� vulnerability to rising sea levels became apparent.
2000,
Amnesty International claimed that opposition candidates in the 1999 Maldives
election were tortured.
1998,
Gayyoom
was elected for a 5th 5-year term.
1988,
An anti-Government coup was thwarted.
1985,
The increasing tourist industry was fuelling economic growth in the Maldives.
1978,
Gayyoom
became President, after Nasir
retired.
1976, Britain closed its airbase on the
Maldivian island of Gan, a move which seriously affected the national economy.
The Soviets
offered to lease the airbase but were rebuffed.
1968,
The Maldives Sultanate was abolished. Ibrahim Nasir was elected first Prewsident of
the new Republic.
27/7/1965, The Maldives Islands became independent,
having been a British Protectorate since 1887.
1932,
In a new democratic constitution, the Maldives Sultanate became an elected
position.
1887,
Britain
declared a Protectorate over the Maldives. This formalised British control
which had esisted since 1796, when Britain took over Sri Lanka.
1773,
The Portuguese were ejected by Bidu
Mohammed Takurufana, who founded a new Maldivian
dynasty.
1558,
Portugal took control of the Maldives.#
1153,
Accoreding to legend, Islam reached the Maldives when an Islamic preacher
converted the Maldivian ruler.
Appendix 4
� Nepal
2007, Maoists
were admitted to the Nepalese Parliament under the terms of a temporary
constitution.
24/12/2007, Nepal announced that the country�s 240-year old
monarchy was to be replaced by a Republic in 2008.
24/4/2006, King Gyanendra of Nepal restored
Parliamentary Government, ending weeks of protests. Gyanendra had seized absolute
power in 1/2005. Parliament now curbed the King�s powers and held peace
talks with rebels.
2005, King Gyanendra
dismissed the Prime Minister and assumed absolute powers.
3/3/2004, Rebels from the Maoist Communist
Party of Nepal attacked the Royal Nepalese Army at Bhojpur.
2003, Rebels
observed a ceasefire, but pulled out of peace talks with the Government.
14/12/2003, 70 people were killed in
Nepal in attacks by Maoist Communist rebels.
16/2/2002, Maoist guerrillas killed 130 people
in Nepal.
1/6/2001, Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal killed his
father, the King, and other members of the Royal family with an assault rifle,
then shot himself.� He died on
4/6/2001.� King Gyanendra ascended the
Nepalese throne.
1999, The Nepalese Communist
Party (NCP) won elections. A Maoist insurgency continued in rural areas.
13/2/1996, A Maoist
insurgency broke out in rural areas of Nepal; weak central government.
Start of Maoist civil insurgency
1994, Minority Communist
Government in Nepal.
1991, The Nepalese
Communist Party won elections. Girljad Prasad Koirala became Prime Minister.
15/5/1991, The
Nepalese Prime Minister, Bhattarai,
resigned.
19/4/1990. Victory for pro-democracy movement in Nepal.
1985, The Nepalese Communist Party began a
campaign of civil disobedience, to force a return to multi-Party politics.
1980, The Panchayat System of
devolved self-governance was confirmed by referendum.
1972, King Birendra ascended the
throne.
1960, The Nepalese Constitution
was suspended by King Mahendra, who took absolute political control.
1959, Nepal adopted a
multi-Party Constitution.
18/2/1951, The King of Nepal proclaimed a constitutional
monarchy. End of Rana rule (see
1816).
1923, Treaty with Britain
recognised Nepali independence.
25/2/1877, Bahadur Jung, Prime Minister of Nepal, died
aged 61.
1816, After a war with Britain
(1814-16), Nepal came under a British quasi-Protectorate ruled by hereditary
Ranas.
11/1814, Britain declared war on
Nepalese Ghurkas. By early 1816 tye British, having done less aell at first as
they despised the enemy and were unaccustomed to mountain warfare, were within
50 miles of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.
4/1814, Britain accused Nepalese
Ghurkas of encroaching on the territory of the East India Company.
1768, King Prithwi Naryan Shah united
Nepal into a single State, bringing together three valley kingdoms.
879, Nepal gained independence
from Tibet.