Events

c. 7,000 BCE	Farming begins at Mehrgarh Cultural / religious Among the earliest evidence of wheat, barley and cattle domestication in the Indian subcontinent.	Mehrgarh	Mehrgarh Cultural Tradition

c. 5,500 BCE	Pottery appears at Mehrgarh Cultural / religious The earliest pottery found in the Indian subcontinent is 7,000 to 8,000 years old, from the Ganga plains (Lahuradewa) and from Baluchistan (Mehrgarh).	Mehrgarh	Mehrgarh Cultural Tradition

c. 5,000 BCE	Earliest cotton and copper at Mehrgarh Cultural / religious Cotton seeds and copper beads among the earliest in the world.	Mehrgarh	Mehrgarh Cultural Tradition

c. 4,000 BCE	Hakra-ware villages at Bhirrana and Kunal Cultural / religious	Bhirrana

c. 3,300 BCE	Early Harappan phase begins Cultural / religious Regional cultures lay the foundations of the cities.	Harappa	Early Harappan Cultures

c. 3,000 BCE	Neolithic pit-dwellings at Burzahom Cultural / religious	Burzahom	Neolithic Kashmir (Burzahom)

c. 2,900 BCE	Ash mounds of the southern Neolithic Cultural / religious	Sanganakallu	South Indian Neolithic (Ash-mound cultures)

c. 2,600 BCE	Mature Harappan urban phase begins Cultural / religious Planned cities with drains, granaries and standardised bricks appear.	Mohenjo-daro	Indus / Harappan Civilization

c. 2,500 BCE	Dholavira's reservoirs and 'signboard' Cultural / religious Dholavira stored water in large reservoirs — one, cut into the rock, is 33 metres long — and signs found there are considered to be from a signboard.	Dholavira	Indus / Harappan Civilization

c. 2,400 BCE	Lothal dockyard in use Cultural / religious Lothal had a huge dockyard, and it lay near sources of carnelian (from Bharuch), steatite (from south Rajasthan and north Gujarat) and metal (from Rajasthan) — raw materials for Harappan crafts.	Lothal	Indus / Harappan Civilization

c. 2,300 BCE	Harappan trade with Mesopotamia ('Meluhha') Cultural / religious Mesopotamian texts refer to ships from Meluhha.	Lothal	Indus / Harappan Civilization

c. 2,000 BCE	Copper hoards and OCP settlements in the doab Cultural / religious	Ganga-Yamuna doab	Ochre Coloured Pottery Culture

c. 1,900 BCE	Decline of the Harappan cities Decline / collapse Cities are abandoned; settlement shifts east and regionalises.	Indus basin	Indus / Harappan Civilization

c. 1,750 BCE	Kalibangan abandoned Decline / collapse	Kalibangan	Indus / Harappan Civilization

c. 1,700 BCE	Malwa culture at Navdatoli Cultural / religious	Navdatoli	Malwa Culture

c. 1,500 BCE	Composition of the Rigveda begins Cultural / religious Oldest layer of the Vedic corpus.	Sapta Sindhu	Early Vedic Communities

c. 1,400 BCE	Jorwe farming villages at Inamgaon Cultural / religious	Inamgaon	Jorwe Culture

c. 1,300 BCE	Cemetery H culture at Harappa Cultural / religious After the decline and abandonment of the Harappan cities, regional Late Harappan cultures followed; NCERT’s map of Late Harappan occupation includes Cemetery H.	Harappa	Late Harappan Cultures

c. 1,200 BCE	Battle of the Ten Kings Battle Rigvedic victory of Sudas of the Bharatas.	Parushni (Ravi) river	Early Vedic Communities

c. 1,100 BCE	Iron comes into use in the Ganga plain Cultural / religious In several regions of India the techniques of extracting and shaping iron were perfected from the early 2nd millennium BCE; iron metallurgy became the major new technology of the ‘Second Urbanisation’.	Atranjikhera	Later Vedic Polities

c. 1,000 BCE	Painted Grey Ware settlements spread in the doab Cultural / religious Iron use and larger agrarian settlements.	Hastinapura	Later Vedic Polities
c. 1,000 BCE	Later Vedic texts: Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda Cultural / religious There are four Vedas — the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda — the most ancient texts of India and among the most ancient in the world, made up of thousands of hymns.	Kuru-Panchala region	Later Vedic Polities

c. 900 BCE	Kuru kingdom consolidates Vedic ritual Political The Kuru kingdom lay in the Upper Ganga doab. Excavating a village named Hastinapura near Meerut, B.B. Lal suggested it may have been the Kuru capital of the epic.	Hastinapura	Kuru

c. 800 BCE	Early Upanishads composed Cultural / religious The Upanishads built on Vedic ideas and introduced new ones, such as rebirth and karma; the Brihadaranyaka is one of the earliest.	Videha	Videha

c. 700 BCE	Second urbanisation: Northern Black Polished Ware Cultural / religious A new phase of towns and cities, often called India’s ‘Second Urbanisation’, is known from excavated urban centres and from late Vedic, Buddhist and Jain literature.	Kaushambi

c. 600 BCE	Rise of the sixteen Mahajanapadas Political Listed in the Buddhist Anguttara Nikaya. Territorial states replaced tribal janas across north India.	Gangetic plain
c. 599 BCE	Birth of Vardhamana Mahavira Cultural / religious Traditional date; many scholars prefer c. 540 BCE.	Kundagrama, Vaishali	Vajji / Vrijji Confederacy
c. 563 BCE	Birth of Siddhartha Gautama at Lumbini Cultural / religious Traditional date; debated (c. 563 or c. 480 BCE).	Lumbini	Shakya
c. 540 BCE	Bimbisara annexes Anga Conquest / annexation The first step in Magadha's expansion.	Champa	Haryanka Dynasty
c. 528 BCE	The Buddha's enlightenment at Bodh Gaya Cultural / religious After meditating for many days under a pipal tree at Bodh Gaya, Siddhartha attained enlightenment: he realised that ignorance and attachment are the source of human suffering, and became known as the Buddha.	Bodh Gaya
c. 527 BCE	Mahavira's nirvana at Pavapuri Cultural / religious Traditional date.	Pavapuri
c. 518 BCE	Achaemenid Persia annexes Gandhara Conquest / annexation Gandhara and Hindush appear in Darius I's inscriptions.	Takshashila	Achaemenid Gandhara & Hindush

c. 492 BCE	Ajatashatru becomes king of Magadha Founding / accession Early Buddhist and Jaina writers credited Magadha’s rise to ambitious kings — Bimbisara, Ajatashatru and Mahapadma Nanda are the best known — and their ministers. Magadha’s capital was then the fortified hill town of Rajagaha (Rajgir).	Rajagriha	Haryanka Dynasty
c. 483 BCE	Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha Cultural / religious Date debated (c. 483 or c. 400 BCE).	Kushinagar	Malla
c. 483 BCE	First Buddhist Council at Rajagriha Cultural / religious	Rajgir	Haryanka Dynasty
c. 468 BCE	Ajatashatru defeats the Vajji confederacy Conquest / annexation	Vaishali	Haryanka Dynasty
c. 460 BCE	Pataliputra becomes Magadha's capital Political Magadha’s capital moved from Rajagaha to Pataliputra (present-day Patna), which commanded routes of communication along the Ganga. NCERT dates the move to the fourth century BCE.	Pataliputra	Haryanka Dynasty
c. 413 BCE	Shishunaga dynasty replaces the Haryankas Founding / accession Shishunaga later annexed Avanti.	Magadha	Shishunaga Dynasty

c. 400 BCE	Panini composes the Ashtadhyayi Cultural / religious The Ashtadhyayi of Panini is a work on Sanskrit grammar. NCERT’s timeline of major textual traditions dates it to c. 500 BCE, alongside the major Dharmasutras and the early Buddhist texts. Sanskrit grammar was fixed in about 4,000 sutras.	Shalatula, Gandhara	Gandhara
c. 383 BCE	Second Buddhist Council at Vaishali Cultural / religious The Buddha’s teachings were not written down in his lifetime; NCERT notes that his disciples compiled them at a council of senior monks at Vesali (Vaishali), and the compilations became the Tipitaka, the ‘three baskets’.	Vaishali	Shishunaga Dynasty
c. 345 BCE	Mahapadma Nanda founds the Nanda dynasty Founding / accession Mahapadma Nanda rose to prominence in Magadha and founded the Nanda dynasty. He unified many smaller kingdoms, extended his rule across parts of eastern and northern India and issued his own coins.	Pataliputra	Nanda Dynasty
327 BCE	Alexander crosses the Hindu Kush into Gandhara Conquest / annexation Eager to reach the ‘end of the world’, Alexander of Macedon pushed east and brought his campaign to India, where he met fierce resistance from local tribes and rulers.	Kapisa
326 BCE	Battle of the Hydaspes Battle Alexander of Macedon defeats Porus. Alexander won but restored Porus as a vassal king.	Jhelum river
326 BCE	Alexander's army mutinies at the Beas Political Tired and homesick, Alexander’s soldiers lost the will to fight and refused to go deeper into India, towards the Ganga. Alexander turned back and left India in 325 BCE.	Beas (Hyphasis) river
325 BCE	Alexander's army sails down the Indus Political Alexander and part of his army went back to Persia by the southern coastal route and through Iran’s harsh deserts, losing many men to thirst, hunger and disease.	Patala
c. 321 BCE	Chandragupta Maurya overthrows the Nandas Founding / accession Foundation of the Mauryan Empire with Chanakya's guidance. The Nanda dynasty ended and the Mauryan Empire was founded.	Pataliputra	Mauryan Empire
c. 317 BCE	Chandragupta takes the northwest from Alexander's satraps Conquest / annexation Advised by Kautilya, Chandragupta Maurya defeated the Greek satraps Alexander had left in the northwest and joined the region to an empire stretching from the northern plains to the Deccan. Greek garrisons east of the Indus were removed.	Punjab	Mauryan Empire
c. 303 BCE	Seleucid-Mauryan treaty Treaty Seleucus cedes Arachosia and Gandhara; Megasthenes sent to Pataliputra. Seleucus ceded the lands west of the Indus in return for 500 war elephants.	Northwest	Mauryan Empire
c. 302 BCE	Megasthenes at Pataliputra writes the Indica Cultural / religious Megasthenes, a Greek historian and diplomat, lived at Chandragupta Maurya’s court and wrote the Indika — lost except for excerpts quoted by later writers. He describes, for instance, a committee with six subcommittees that ran the army.	Pataliputra	Mauryan Empire

c. 297 BCE	Chandragupta Maurya retires to Shravanabelagola Political Jain tradition.	Shravanabelagola	Mauryan Empire
c. 268 BCE	Ashoka's accession Founding / accession Ashoka, Chandragupta’s grandson, inherited a vast empire and at first expanded it to cover almost the whole subcontinent except the far south.	Pataliputra	Mauryan Empire
c. 261 BCE	Kalinga War Battle Ashoka's conquest of Kalinga and turn to Dhamma. Kalinga was annexed and Ashoka renounced war for Dhamma.	Dhauli, Kalinga	Mauryan Empire
c. 257 BCE	Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts inscribed Cultural / religious Edicts in Prakrit (Brahmi and Kharosthi) across the empire.	Girnar	Mauryan Empire
c. 250 BCE	Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra Cultural / religious	Pataliputra	Mauryan Empire
c. 249 BCE	Ashoka visits Lumbini Cultural / religious His pillar inscription records the visit. Lumbini's taxes were reduced to one-eighth.	Lumbini	Mauryan Empire
c. 247 BCE	Mahinda brings Buddhism to Sri Lanka Cultural / religious After embracing the Buddha’s teachings, Ashoka sent emissaries to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Central Asia and beyond to spread the Buddha’s message.	Mihintale	Anuradhapura Kingdom
c. 232 BCE	Death of Ashoka Political The Maurya empire lasted about half a century after Ashoka’s death; his successors could not hold it together, and many smaller kingdoms broke away.	Pataliputra	Mauryan Empire

c. 185 BCE	Pushyamitra Shunga assassinates Brihadratha Political End of the Mauryan dynasty. The Mauryan dynasty ended and the Shunga dynasty began.	Pataliputra	Shunga Dynasty
c. 180 BCE	Demetrius I invades northwest India Conquest / annexation The satraps Alexander left behind founded independent domains and came to be known as Indo-Greeks; after the Mauryas declined, the northwest was an easy target for them. They blended Greek and Indian elements in governance, art and language. Founded Indo-Greek rule south of the Hindu Kush.	Gandhara	Indo-Greek Kingdoms
c. 161 BCE	Dutugemunu unites Sri Lanka Conquest / annexation Defeats Elara (Ellalan).	Anuradhapura	Anuradhapura Kingdom
c. 150 BCE	Kharavela's Hathigumpha inscription Cultural / religious Kharavela, a Chedi king of Kalinga and a devoted follower of Jain teachings, recorded his achievements year by year — campaigns and works for his people’s welfare — in the Hathigumpha inscription in the Udayagiri caves near Bhubaneswar.	Udayagiri, Bhubaneswar	Mahameghavahana (Chedi) of Kalinga
c. 150 BCE	Menander's reign; Milindapanha dialogues Cultural / religious Menander was an Indo-Greek king. Indo-Greek coins often carried Greek deities, but some depicted Indian deities such as Vasudeva-Krishna and Lakshmi.	Sagala	Indo-Greek Kingdoms
c. 150 BCE	Bharhut stupa railings carved Cultural / religious The Bharhut stupa was probably built in Ashoka’s time, but the Shungas added beautifully carved railings and reliefs from the Buddha’s life — some of the earliest Buddhist art.	Bharhut	Shunga Dynasty
c. 113 BCE	Heliodorus Pillar at Vidisha Cultural / religious A Greek envoy's Garuda pillar to Vasudeva.	Vidisha	Indo-Greek Kingdoms

57 BCE	Vikram Samvat era begins Political	Ujjain
c. 50 BCE	Sanchi gateways carved Cultural / religious Sanchi’s carved gateways survive to this day. In the 19th century the French asked Shahjehan Begum of Bhopal for the best-preserved eastern gateway, but plaster-cast copies were made instead and the original stayed at the site.	Sanchi	Satavahana Empire
c. 29 BCE	Pali Canon written down at Aluvihare Cultural / religious	Aluvihare	Anuradhapura Kingdom
c. 28 BCE	Satavahanas end the Kanva dynasty Conquest / annexation The Kanvas, like the Shungas, were among the immediate successors of the Mauryas. The Satavahanas ruled much of the Deccan from the 2nd century BCE, with capitals such as Amaravati and Pratishthana (Paithan). The Kanva dynasty ended.	Magadha	Satavahana Empire

c. 30 CE	Kujula Kadphises unites the Kushans Founding / accession The five Yuezhi tribes were united under one ruler.	Bactria-Gandhara	Kushan Empire
c. 46 CE	Takht-i-Bahi monastery founded Cultural / religious	Takht-i-Bahi	Indo-Parthian Kingdom
c. 50 CE	Roman trade at Arikamedu and Muziris Cultural / religious	Arikamedu	Early Cholas (Sangam era)
c. 52 CE	St Thomas traditionally lands at Muziris Cultural / religious	Kodungallur	Early Cheras (Sangam era)
78 CE	Saka era begins Political Basis of India's national calendar.	Western India	Western Kshatrapas
c. 100 CE	Chaitya halls at Karla and Nashik Cultural / religious The Satavahanas contributed to the Karla caves near Lonavala, made for Buddhist monks, with magnificent pillars and a stone stupa at the centre — all carved out of a rocky hillside.	Karla	Satavahana Empire

c. 124 CE	Gautamiputra Satakarni defeats Nahapana Battle Gautamiputra Satakarni (Gotami-puta Siri-Satakani, ‘son of Gotami’) was the best-known Satavahana ruler; he claimed to be both a unique Brahmana and a destroyer of the pride of Kshatriyas. The Satavahanas recovered the western Deccan from the Kshaharatas.	Nashik	Satavahana Empire
c. 127 CE	Kanishka's accession Political Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir during his reign.	Purushapura	Kushan Empire
c. 150 CE	Rudradaman's Junagadh inscription Cultural / religious Early long Sanskrit inscription; repair of Sudarshana lake.	Junagadh	Western Kshatrapas

c. 230 CE	Sasanian conquest of the western Kushan lands Conquest / annexation Kushanshah governors ruled Bactria as Sasanian vassals.	Bactria	Kushan Empire
c. 240 CE	Sri Gupta founds the Gupta line Founding / accession	Magadha	Gupta Empire
c. 250 CE	Nagarjunakonda flourishes under the Ikshvakus Cultural / religious	Nagarjunakonda	Ikshvakus of Vijayapuri
c. 275 CE	Pallava rule begins at Kanchi Founding / accession With their capital at Kanchipuram, the Pallavas rose to power after the Satavahanas and ruled until the latter half of the 9th century CE.	Kanchipuram	Pallava Dynasty

c. 319 CE	Gupta era begins Founding / accession Chandragupta I's accession.	Pataliputra	Gupta Empire
c. 320 CE	Chandragupta I marries the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi Political A gold coin shows Chandragupta I with his queen Kumaradevi. He played a crucial role in the early expansion of the Gupta Empire and is remembered for his coins and strategic alliances. The alliance strengthened Gupta power in Magadha.	Pataliputra	Gupta Empire
c. 335 CE	Samudragupta becomes emperor Founding / accession The Prayaga prashasti, a pillar inscription at Prayagraj by the court poet Harisena, praises Samudragupta: many defeated kings were reinstated and paid him tribute, while others submitted without a fight.	Pataliputra	Gupta Empire
c. 350 CE	Samudragupta's Prayaga prashasti Cultural / religious Records Samudragupta's campaigns.	Prayagraj	Gupta Empire
c. 380 CE	Gupta-Vakataka marriage alliance Political Prabhavatigupta married Rudrasena II. Secured the Gupta southern flank for the war against the Sakas.	Nandivardhana	Vakataka Dynasty
c. 395 CE	Chandragupta II conquers the Western Kshatrapas Conquest / annexation The Guptas gained Gujarat, Malwa and the western ports.	Ujjain	Gupta Empire
c. 400 CE	Kalidasa at the Gupta court Cultural / religious In the Gupta period Sanskrit literature flourished, with Kalidasa’s works and many major Puranas; NCERT dates Sanskrit plays including Kalidasa’s to c. 400–500 CE.	Ujjain	Gupta Empire

c. 402 CE	Iron Pillar erected Cultural / religious Rust-resistant wrought-iron pillar.	Mehrauli, Delhi	Gupta Empire
c. 405 CE	Faxian travels in India Cultural / religious The Chinese pilgrim Faxian came in the early 5th century CE to visit Buddhist sites, learn from Indian scholars and collect Buddhist manuscripts; his travelogue has survived.	Pataliputra	Gupta Empire
c. 415 CE	Kumaragupta I becomes emperor Founding / accession	Pataliputra	Gupta Empire
c. 427 CE	Nalanda Mahavihara founded Cultural / religious According to the records of the pilgrim Xuanzang, a monastery’s foundation was laid at Nalanda by Kumaragupta I in the fifth century CE; later kings built it up into a great university.	Nalanda	Gupta Empire
c. 455 CE	Skandagupta repels the Hunas Battle The first Huna invasion was repulsed.	Bhitari	Gupta Empire
c. 464 CE	Manadeva I's Changu Narayan inscription Cultural / religious Earliest dated inscription of Nepal.	Changu Narayan	Licchavi Kingdom of Nepal
c. 467 CE	Death of Skandagupta Decline / collapse Gupta power began a long decline.	Pataliputra	Gupta Empire
c. 477 CE	Kashyapa I builds Sigiriya Cultural / religious	Sigiriya	Anuradhapura Kingdom
c. 480 CE	Ajanta's later caves under Harishena Cultural / religious Ajanta has twenty-nine caves from two phases; among the patrons of the later caves were Varahadeva, prime minister of the Vakataka king Harishena (Cave 16), and Upendragupta, a feudatory of Harishena (Caves 17–20).	Ajanta	Vakataka Dynasty
499 CE	Aryabhata writes the Aryabhatiya Cultural / religious Place-value mathematics and astronomy.	Kusumapura (Pataliputra)	Gupta Empire

c. 510 CE	Huna invasions under Toramana Battle The Hunas who came into India adopted Sanskrit and Prakrit for their inscriptions and used Gupta-style royal titles, coin designs and religious symbols — the Huna Toramana’s coins closely resemble Skandagupta’s. The Hunas seized parts of western and central India, weakening the Guptas.	Eran	Alchon Huns (Hunas)
c. 528 CE	Yashodharman defeats Mihirakula Battle Mihirakula's power in central India was broken.	Mandsaur
543 CE	Pulakeshin I fortifies Vatapi Founding / accession Pulakeshin I founded the Chalukya dynasty in the mid-6th century CE; its capital Vatapi — present-day Badami in Karnataka — is famous for its Hindu and Jain cave temples.	Badami	Chalukyas of Badami
c. 550 CE	Colossal Buddhas carved at Bamiyan Cultural / religious The gigantic Buddhas of Bamiyan, carved into Afghan cliffs, stood as symbols of Mahayana Buddhism’s reach from India; they were destroyed in 2001.	Bamiyan
c. 550 CE	Fall of the imperial Guptas Decline / collapse By the sixth century CE the Gupta Empire was declining: the Huna tribe from Central Asia attacked it again and again, and powerful regional rulers rose. North India fragmented among the Maukharis, Later Guptas and others.	Magadha	Gupta Empire

606 CE	Harsha becomes king Founding / accession Harshavardhana ascended the throne in 606 CE at Kannauj. He belonged to the Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) dynasty, whose earlier capital was Sthaneshvara (present-day Thanesar in Haryana).	Thanesar	Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty
c. 612 CE	Harsha makes Kannauj his capital Political Ruling from Kannauj (ancient Kanyakubja), Harsha expanded his empire over large parts of northern and eastern India; his court poet Banabhatta wrote his biography, the Harshacharita. Kannauj became the imperial city of north India.	Kannauj	Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty
c. 618 CE	Pulakeshin II defeats Harsha on the Narmada Battle Harsha tried to extend his empire south beyond the Narmada but was held in check by Pulakeshin II of the Chalukyas. A Sanskrit inscription by the court poet Ravikirti, on a Jain temple atop Meguti Hill, records Pulakeshin’s victories over Harsha. The Narmada became the southern limit of Harsha's empire.	Narmada river	Chalukyas of Badami
634 CE	Aihole inscription of Ravikirti Cultural / religious At Aihole — the earlier Chalukya capital, with over a hundred Hindu, Buddhist and Jain temples — a long Sanskrit inscription by the court poet Ravikirti on the Meguti temple praises the Chalukyas and records Pulakeshin II’s victories over Harsha.	Aihole	Chalukyas of Badami
c. 636 CE	Xuanzang studies at Nalanda Cultural / religious Chinese pilgrim travelled in India c. 630-645.	Nalanda	Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty
642 CE	Narasimhavarman I captures Vatapi Battle Under Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I the Pallavas reached their peak; Narasimhavarman, called ‘Mamalla’, defeated Pulakeshin II and captured Badami, then withdrew, keeping the Tungabhadra as an unwritten boundary. Pulakeshin II was killed and Narasimhavarman took the title Vatapikonda.	Badami	Pallava Dynasty
643 CE	Harsha's assemblies at Kannauj and Prayag Cultural / religious In honour of the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, Harsha held an assembly at Kannauj attended by kings and leaders of many sects; every five years he held an assembly at Prayaga where he gave away wealth to Buddhists, Brahmins and the poor.	Kannauj	Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty
647 CE	Death of Harsha Decline / collapse	Kannauj	Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty
c. 700 CE	Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram Cultural / religious The Shore Temple at Mamallapuram was built during the reign of the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II.	Mahabalipuram	Pallava Dynasty

712 CE	Muhammad ibn Qasim conquers Sindh Conquest / annexation Raja Dahir killed; Sindh joins the Umayyad Caliphate. Raja Dahir was killed and Sindh became an Umayyad province.	Debal / Aror	Umayyad Caliphate — Sindh province
c. 738 CE	Arab advance checked in Rajasthan Battle Nagabhata I and the Chalukyas of Gujarat halt Arab expansion. Arab expansion east of Sindh was halted for centuries.	Rajasthan	Gurjara-Pratihara Empire
c. 740 CE	Lalitaditya's Martand Sun Temple Cultural / religious	Martand	Karkota Dynasty of Kashmir
c. 750 CE	Gopala elected king in Bengal Founding / accession Foundation of the Pala dynasty.	Bengal	Pala Empire
c. 753 CE	Dantidurga founds Rashtrakuta power Founding / accession Dantidurga became the first independent Rashtrakuta ruler when he overthrew the Chalukyas in the Deccan; the Rashtrakutas, with their capital at Manyakheta, stayed among the most dominant powers for nearly two centuries.	Ellora region	Rashtrakuta Empire
c. 757 CE	Kailasa temple, Ellora begun Cultural / religious The Rashtrakuta king Krishna I had the Kailashanatha temple — the largest rock-cut temple in India — carved out of a hillside at Ellora; it is not a construction but a gigantic sculpture.	Ellora	Rashtrakuta Empire
c. 788 CE	Adi Shankaracharya born (traditional) Cultural / religious Adi Shankaracharya was the 8th-century scholar and teacher of the Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy.	Kalady
c. 800 CE	Vikramashila university founded Cultural / religious The Pala king Dharmapala founded Vikramashila on the banks of the Ganga in the late 8th century; with six colleges and nearly 3,000 scholars, it remained a great centre of learning for more than four centuries.	Vikramashila	Pala Empire

c. 816 CE	Nagabhata II captures Kannauj Conquest / annexation Kannauj becomes the Pratihara capital; climax of the tripartite struggle. Kannauj became the Pratihara capital.	Kannauj	Gurjara-Pratihara Empire
c. 850 CE	Amoghavarsha's Kavirajamarga Cultural / religious Earliest extant Kannada literary work.	Manyakheta	Rashtrakuta Empire
879 CE	Nepal Samvat era begins Political	Kathmandu	Thakuri Kingdom of Nepal

c. 916 CE	Indra III sacks Kannauj Battle Kannauj was the prize of the long ‘Tripartite Struggle’ between the Palas, the Gurjara-Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas; the destruction of Kannauj by Rashtrakuta rulers hastened the Pratihara empire’s break-up. The Pratiharas were temporarily driven out of Kannauj.	Kannauj	Rashtrakuta Empire
949 CE	Battle of Takkolam Battle Krishna III defeats the Cholas. The Rashtrakutas defeated the Cholas and occupied Tondaimandalam.	Takkolam	Rashtrakuta Empire
973 CE	Tailapa II overthrows the Rashtrakutas Founding / accession The Western Chalukya dynasty of Kalyani was founded.	Manyakheta	Western Chalukyas of Kalyani
985 CE	Rajaraja I becomes Chola king Founding / accession From 985 Rajaraja Chola ruled for some three decades, conquering parts of present-day Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and the north of Sri Lanka; he built the Brihadishvara (Rajarajeshvaram) temple at Thanjavur.	Thanjavur	Chola Empire
c. 993 CE	Chola invasion of Sri Lanka Conquest / annexation Rajaraja Chola conquered the northern part of Sri Lanka, including the kingdom of Anuradhapura; his inscriptions also record a conquest of ‘islands of the sea’, which most historians identify with the Maldives. Anuradhapura was sacked and the Sinhalese capital abandoned.	Anuradhapura	Chola Empire
1000	Mahmud of Ghazni begins his raids on India Conquest / annexation Mahmud of Ghazni raided the subcontinent 17 times between 1000 and 1025, targeting wealthy temples; much of the wealth he carried away built up his capital at Ghazni. About seventeen raids followed over 25 years.	Northwest frontier	Ghaznavid Empire

1001	Mahmud defeats Jayapala at Peshawar Battle The Hindu Shahis, who controlled the Khyber Pass, resisted several invasions with the help of other Indian rulers; Mahmud of Ghazni campaigned against them from 1000 to 1008. Jayapala was captured and later abdicated.	Peshawar	Ghaznavid Empire
1008	Battle of Chach Battle Anandapala defeated. Anandapala's coalition was defeated, opening Punjab to Mahmud.	Chach plain, Attock	Ghaznavid Empire
1010	Brihadisvara Temple completed Cultural / religious Rajaraja I's great temple.	Thanjavur	Chola Empire
1014	Rajendra I becomes Chola king Founding / accession Rajaraja’s son Rajendra Chola I ruled for nearly 30 years and expanded the empire further, conquering parts of present-day Odisha and Bengal.	Thanjavur	Chola Empire
1017	Chola conquest of Sri Lanka completed Conquest / annexation Rajendra expanded his father’s conquest of northern Sri Lanka, which remained part of the Chola Empire for about half a century. Northern Sri Lanka became the Chola province of Mummudi-chola-mandalam.	Anuradhapura / Polonnaruwa	Chola Empire
1018	Mahmud sacks Mathura and Kannauj Battle Mahmud found Mathura a city of enormous wealth with a magnificent temple; he destroyed it and plundered its treasure, then went on to Kannauj, where he took one of the last Pratihara rulers by surprise and destroyed many temples. The Pratihara capital was plundered.	Mathura	Ghaznavid Empire
c. 1023	Rajendra's Ganga expedition; Gangaikonda Cholapuram founded Conquest / annexation Rajendra Chola commemorated his northern victories with the title ‘Gangaikondachola’ — ‘the Chola who seized (or brought) Ganga’ — and built a temple at Gangaikondacholapuram to mark them. Chola armies reached the Ganga and a new capital commemorated the victory.	Gangaikonda Cholapuram	Chola Empire
1025	Chola naval expedition to Srivijaya Conquest / annexation Rajendra I raids Kadaram and the Srivijaya ports. Srivijaya's ports were raided, securing Chola trade routes to China.	Nagapattinam	Chola Empire
1026	Mahmud of Ghazni raids Somnath Battle Mahmud of Ghazni destroyed and plundered the Somnath temple in Gujarat. The Somnath temple was plundered and Mahmud carried vast treasure to Ghazni.	Somnath	Ghaznavid Empire
1030	Al-Biruni writes the Kitab al-Hind Cultural / religious Al-Biruni’s Kitab-ul-Hind, written in Arabic, is a voluminous text of 80 chapters on subjects such as religion and philosophy, festivals, astronomy, alchemy, social life, weights and measures, laws and metrology.	Ghazni	Ghaznavid Empire
c. 1055	Death of Raja Bhoja Decline / collapse Bhoja of the Paramara dynasty reigned c. 1010–55, with his capital at Dhara. Paramara power declined under attack from the Chaulukyas and Kalachuris.	Dhar	Paramara Dynasty
1070	Vijayabahu I expels the Cholas from Sri Lanka Conquest / annexation After about half a century of Chola rule in northern Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan king Vijayabahu I drove the Cholas out after several battles; he married a princess from Kalinga. Sinhalese rule was restored with its capital at Polonnaruwa.	Polonnaruwa	Polonnaruwa Kingdom
1076	Chalukya-Vikrama era of Vikramaditya VI Political	Kalyani	Western Chalukyas of Kalyani

c. 1135	Jagannath temple at Puri begun Cultural / religious In the twelfth century Anantavarman, one of the most important rulers of the Ganga dynasty, decided to build a temple for Purushottama Jagannatha at Puri.	Puri	Eastern Ganga Dynasty
1148	Kalhana begins the Rajatarangini Cultural / religious Kalhana’s long poem on the kings of Kashmir used inscriptions, documents, eyewitness accounts and earlier histories, and was often critical of rulers and their policies.	Kashmir	Lohara Dynasty of Kashmir
1153	The Maldives converts to Islam Cultural / religious	Malé	Sultanate of the Maldives
1153	Parakramabahu I rules Sri Lanka Founding / accession	Polonnaruwa	Polonnaruwa Kingdom
c. 1161	End of the Pala dynasty Decline / collapse After the decline of the Palas, the Sena dynasty became the dominant power over much of Bengal, with its capital at Nadiya. The Senas became the leading power in Bengal.	Bengal	Pala Empire
1175	Muhammad of Ghor takes Multan Conquest / annexation The Ghurids, once vassals of the Ghaznavids, took Ghazni; their leader Muhammad, sultan of Ghur, soon brought parts of Punjab and Sindh under his rule.	Multan	Ghurid Empire
1178	Battle of Kasahrada: Ghurids defeated Battle Muhammad Ghuri’s attempt to expand into Gujarat failed: he was defeated by the Chaulukya king Mularaja II at the foot of Mount Abu. In another version, the king’s mother, Queen Naikidevi, led the victorious army. Muhammad of Ghor was repulsed from Gujarat.	Mount Abu	Chaulukyas (Solankis) of Gujarat
1186	Ghurids take Lahore, ending the Ghaznavids Conquest / annexation The last Ghaznavid ruler, Khusrau Malik, was captured.	Lahore	Ghurid Empire
c. 1190	Minaret of Jam built Cultural / religious	Jam	Ghurid Empire
1191	First Battle of Tarain Battle Prithviraj Chauhan defeats Muhammad of Ghor. Prithviraj Chauhan defeated Muhammad of Ghor, who retreated wounded.	Tarain	Chahamanas (Chauhans) of Shakambhari
1192	Second Battle of Tarain Battle Muhammad of Ghor defeats Prithviraj; Turkish rule in north India begins. Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated and killed, opening north India to the Ghurids.	Tarain	Ghurid Empire
1194	Battle of Chandawar Battle Jayachandra of the Gahadavalas killed. Jayachandra was killed and the Ghurids took Kannauj and Varanasi.	Chandawar	Ghurid Empire
c. 1200	Destruction of Nalanda Decline / collapse Attributed to Bakhtiyar Khalji's campaigns (c. 1193-1200).	Nalanda

c. 1203	Destruction of Vikramashila Decline / collapse Bakhtiyar Khilji’s campaign through Bihar and Bengal destroyed the great Buddhist monasteries and universities of Nalanda and Vikramashila. Historians of Buddhism agree this hastened Buddhism’s decline in India; the loss also scattered learned scholars.	Vikramashila
c. 1204	Bakhtiyar Khalji takes Nadia Conquest / annexation Bakhtiyar Khilji, an army commander serving the Ghurids, campaigned in eastern India from the end of the 12th century and conquered Bihar and Bengal, then ruled by the Senas from Nadia. His expedition towards Tibet was routed in Kamarupa in 1205, and he was assassinated in 1206. Lakshmana Sena fled to east Bengal and Turkish rule began in Bengal.	Nabadwip	Ghurid Empire
1206	Delhi Sultanate founded Founding / accession Qutbuddin Aibak becomes independent after Muhammad of Ghor's death.	Delhi / Lahore	Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty
1211	Iltutmish becomes sultan Founding / accession Rather than appoint aristocrats and landed chieftains as governors, the early Delhi Sultans — especially Iltutmish — relied on special slaves bought for military service and trained for high office. In 1236 Iltutmish’s daughter Raziyya became Sultan.	Delhi	Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty
1221	Chinggis Khan pursues Jalal ad-Din to the Indus Battle One wing of Genghis (Chinggis) Khan’s army chased Jalaluddin, son of the Sultan of Khwarazm, into Afghanistan and Sindh. On the banks of the Indus, Genghis Khan thought of returning to Mongolia through north India and Assam, but the heat, the terrain and his shaman’s ill omens changed his mind. Jalal ad-Din escaped across the Indus and Iltutmish refused him asylum.	Indus river
1228	Sukaphaa founds the Ahom kingdom Founding / accession The Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from present-day Myanmar in the thirteenth century and built a new state; later they annexed the Chhutiya (1523) and Koch-Hajo (1581) kingdoms.	Charaideo	Ahom Kingdom
1229	Iltutmish receives caliphal investiture Political	Delhi	Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty
1236	Razia Sultana ascends the throne Political Raziyya, daughter of Iltutmish, became Sultan in 1236. The chronicler Minhaj-us-Siraj saw her ability but was uneasy at a queen ruling; on her inscriptions and coins she named herself the daughter of Sultan Iltutmish.	Delhi	Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty
1240	Razia Sultana deposed and killed Decline / collapse The nobles were unhappy at Raziyya’s attempts to rule independently, and she was removed from the throne in 1240. Power passed to the Turkish nobles known as the 'Forty'.	Kaithal	Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty
c. 1250	Konark Sun Temple built Cultural / religious Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga kingdom repelled several Sultanate inroads and defeated the Delhi Sultanate’s governor of Bengal; partly to commemorate these victories he built the Surya temple at Konark, famous for its carved stone wheels.	Konark	Eastern Ganga Dynasty
1266	Balban becomes sultan Founding / accession	Delhi	Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty
1279	End of the Chola dynasty Decline / collapse The Pandyas became the dominant Tamil power.	Thanjavur	Chola Empire
1290	Khalji revolution Founding / accession	Delhi	Khalji Dynasty
1292	Marco Polo visits the Pandya coast Cultural / religious	Kayal	Pandya Empire (Second Empire)
1296	Alauddin Khalji raids Devagiri Battle In the 13th century most of Maharashtra was ruled by the Yadava dynasty from Devagiri (present-day Daulatabad). Alauddin Khalji campaigned over large areas of north and central India, and the Yadavas were overcome by the Khilji Sultanate in the early 14th century.	Devagiri	Khalji Dynasty
1296	Alauddin Khalji becomes sultan Founding / accession He had his uncle Jalaluddin murdered.	Delhi	Khalji Dynasty
1299	Mongols defeated at Kili Battle Alauddin Khalji repelled several Mongol invasions aimed at adding India to the vast Mongol Empire. Mongol attacks grew during his reign, forcing him to keep a large standing army in Delhi. Alauddin Khalji's army repelled Qutlugh Khwaja's Mongol invasion.	Kili, near Delhi	Khalji Dynasty

1301	Alauddin Khalji takes Ranthambore Conquest / annexation Hammiradeva Chauhan was killed.	Ranthambore	Khalji Dynasty
1303	Siege of Chittorgarh Battle Alauddin Khalji takes Chittor. Chittor fell to Alauddin Khalji after a long siege.	Chittorgarh	Khalji Dynasty
1310	Malik Kafur takes Warangal Conquest / annexation Alauddin Khalji’s slave-general Malik Kafur pushed the Sultanate southward, conquering several kingdoms; their plundered wealth paid for the Sultanate’s huge army. Warangal (Orugallu) was the capital of the Kakatiyas, who ruled much of present-day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Kakatiya ruler Prataparudra became a tributary of Delhi.	Warangal	Khalji Dynasty
1311	Malik Kafur's southern campaign reaches Madurai Conquest / annexation Pushing deep into the south, Malik Kafur attacked a number of Hindu centres such as Srirangam, Madurai, Chidambaram and possibly Rameswaram. The Pandya capital was plundered and its treasure carried to Delhi.	Madurai	Khalji Dynasty
1316	Death of Alauddin Khalji Decline / collapse Under Alauddin Khalji the state took land-revenue assessment and collection into its own hands and cancelled local chieftains’ rights to levy taxes. His coins called him ‘Sikander Sani’ — the second Alexander. Malik Kafur briefly seized power; the Khaljis fell four years later.	Delhi	Khalji Dynasty
1320	Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq founds the Tughlaq dynasty Founding / accession	Delhi	Tughlaq Dynasty
1323	Fall of the Kakatiyas Conquest / annexation Warangal, the Kakatiya capital — where Queen Rudramadevi had ruled from 1262 to 1289 — fell to the Delhi Sultanate. Around 1330–1336 the Musunuri Nayakas, Telugu chieftains, rallied over 75 others into a confederacy and expelled Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s army from Warangal. Warangal was annexed and the Kakatiya dynasty ended.	Warangal	Tughlaq Dynasty
1327	Capital shifted to Daulatabad Political Muhammad bin Tughlaq's transfer of capital. The move caused great hardship and was reversed within a few years.	Daulatabad	Tughlaq Dynasty
c. 1329	Muhammad bin Tughlaq issues token currency Political Brass and copper coins were to pass at the value of silver. Widespread forgery forced the coins to be withdrawn.	Delhi	Tughlaq Dynasty
1334	Ibn Battuta arrives in Delhi Cultural / religious The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reached Sind in 1333 and travelled on to Delhi, drawn by Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reputation as a generous patron. Impressed by his scholarship, the Sultan made him the qazi (judge) of Delhi, a post he held for several years.	Delhi	Tughlaq Dynasty
1336	Vijayanagara founded Founding / accession By Harihara I and Bukka Raya I.	Hampi	Sangama Dynasty
1343	Ibn Battuta serves as qadi in the Maldives Cultural / religious Sent by Muhammad bin Tughlaq in 1342 as his envoy to the Mongol ruler of China, Ibn Battuta went by way of the Malabar coast to the Maldives, where he stayed eighteen months as the qazi before moving on to Sri Lanka.	Malé	Sultanate of the Maldives
1347	Bahmani Sultanate founded Founding / accession As revolts weakened the Delhi Sultanate, the Bahmani Sultanate rose in the Deccan and for a while controlled much of it.	Gulbarga	Bahmani Sultanate
1351	Firuz Shah Tughlaq becomes sultan Founding / accession	Delhi	Tughlaq Dynasty
1352	Ilyas Shah unifies Bengal Founding / accession	Pandua	Bengal Sultanate
1378	Vijayanagara annexes the Madurai Sultanate Conquest / annexation Kumara Kampana's campaign ended the Madurai Sultanate.	Madurai	Sangama Dynasty
1382	Jayasthiti Malla's reforms in Nepal Political	Kathmandu	Malla Dynasty of Nepal
1398	Timur sacks Delhi Battle Timur — ruler of Iran, Iraq and present-day Turkey, and later claimed as an ancestor by the Mughals — attacked Delhi. Delhi was devastated and the Tughlaq sultanate never recovered.	Delhi	Tughlaq Dynasty

1407	Gujarat Sultanate becomes independent Founding / accession As the Delhi Sultanate weakened, independent regional Sultanates emerged — powerful ones in Gujarat, Bengal and elsewhere — leading to a complex play of alliances and frequent wars. The Sultanates of Gujarat and Malwa were established in the 15th century.	Patan	Gujarat Sultanate
1411	Ahmedabad founded Founding / accession	Ahmedabad	Gujarat Sultanate
1412	Parakramabahu VI unifies Sri Lanka from Kotte Founding / accession	Kotte	Kingdom of Kotte
1414	Khizr Khan founds the Sayyid dynasty Founding / accession After Timur’s devastating attack on Delhi at the end of the 14th century, the Tughluqs gave way to the Sayyid dynasty — Khizr Khan ruled 1414–1421 — and then the Lodis, while the Sultanate’s territory shrank.	Delhi	Sayyid Dynasty
1420	Nicolò de' Conti visits Vijayanagara Cultural / religious The Italian trader Nicolo de Conti was one of several 15th-century visitors — with the Persian ambassador Abdur Razzaq and the Russian merchant Afanasii Nikitin — whose accounts describe the city of Vijayanagara.	Hampi	Sangama Dynasty
1443	Abdur Razzaq's embassy to Vijayanagara Cultural / religious Abdur Razzaq, an ambassador sent by the ruler of Persia to Calicut, was greatly impressed by Vijayanagara’s seven lines of fortifications, which enclosed not only the city but its farmland and forests: between the walls, he noted, were cultivated fields, gardens and houses.	Hampi	Sangama Dynasty
c. 1450	Kabir's poetry in Varanasi Cultural / religious Kabir, raised by a family of Muslim weavers (julahas) in or near Benares (Varanasi), composed verses that speak of one God and decry the rituals of both Hinduism and Islam; little reliable information about his life survives, but his poems were sung far and wide.	Varanasi
c. 1450	Sixty Dome Mosque at Bagerhat Cultural / religious	Bagerhat	Bengal Sultanate
1451	Bahlul Lodi founds the Lodi dynasty Founding / accession The first Afghan dynasty of Delhi.	Delhi	Lodi Dynasty
1459	Rao Jodha founds Jodhpur Founding / accession Mehrangarh fort became the Rathore capital.	Jodhpur	Marwar (Rathore)
1469	Birth of Guru Nanak Cultural / religious Founder of Sikhism.	Nankana Sahib
c. 1469	Kingdom of Kandy emerges Founding / accession	Kandy	Kingdom of Kandy
1482	Nepal valley divides into three Malla kingdoms Political	Kathmandu valley	Malla Dynasty of Nepal
1490	Bijapur and Ahmadnagar break from the Bahmanis Founding / accession The Bahmani Sultanate, which arose in the mid-14th century and long rivalled Vijayanagara, fragmented into five ‘Deccan Sultanates’ — Bijapur, Golconda, Berar, Ahmednagar and Bidar — each founded by a former governor; Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Berar emerged in 1490.	Bijapur	Bijapur Sultanate (Adil Shahi)
1498	Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut Political Opening of the sea route from Europe to India. The direct sea route from Europe to India was opened.	Kozhikode	Zamorins of Calicut

1504	Sikandar Lodi founds Agra Founding / accession Agra became the Lodi and later Mughal capital.	Agra	Lodi Dynasty
1505	Portuguese reach Sri Lanka Political	Colombo	Kingdom of Kotte
1509	Krishnadevaraya's accession Founding / accession Krishnadeva Raya of the Tuluva dynasty ruled Vijayanagara from 1509 to 1529 and became its most famous king; under him the empire reached its peak, and he patronised poets in Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada and wrote a Telugu work on statecraft himself.	Hampi	Tuluva Dynasty
1509	Battle of Diu Battle Portuguese naval victory over a Gujarati-Mamluk fleet. Portuguese naval supremacy in the Arabian Sea was established.	Diu	Portuguese Estado da Índia
1510	Portuguese capture Goa Conquest / annexation Afonso de Albuquerque takes Goa from Bijapur. Goa became the capital of the Portuguese Estado da Índia until 1961.	Goa	Portuguese Estado da Índia
1520	Krishnadevaraya takes Raichur Battle Krishnadeva Raya’s reign was one of expansion: the Raichur doab between the Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers was acquired (1512), the rulers of Orissa were subdued (1514) and severe defeats were inflicted on the Sultan of Bijapur (1520). Vijayanagara won the Raichur doab from Bijapur.	Raichur	Tuluva Dynasty
1526	First Battle of Panipat Battle Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodi; the Mughal Empire begins. Ibrahim Lodi was killed and Babur founded the Mughal Empire.	Panipat	Mughal Empire
1527	Battle of Khanwa Battle Babur defeats Rana Sanga. Babur defeated Rana Sanga's Rajput confederacy, securing Mughal rule in the north.	Khanwa	Mughal Empire
1529	Battle of the Ghaghra Battle Babur defeated the Afghan chiefs of the east.	Ghaghra river	Mughal Empire
1530	Death of Babur; Humayun succeeds Political After Babur died in 1530, his son Humayun struggled to hold the empire together. Defeated by the Afghan Sher Shah, he spent 1540–55 in exile at the Safavid court of Shah Tahmasp before regaining his lost territories.	Agra	Mughal Empire
1535	Humayun takes Mandu and Champaner Conquest / annexation	Champaner	Mughal Empire
1539	Battle of Chausa Battle Sher Shah defeats Humayun. Humayun was defeated and escaped by swimming the Ganga.	Chausa	Sur Empire
1540	Battle of Kannauj Battle Sher Shah Suri defeats Humayun, who goes into exile. Humayun fled into exile and Sher Shah founded the Sur Empire.	Kannauj	Sur Empire
1541	Rohtas Fort begun by Sher Shah Cultural / religious	Rohtas	Sur Empire
1545	Death of Sher Shah at Kalinjar Decline / collapse Sher Shah Suri, a powerful Afghan leader who had defeated Humayun, established the Sur Empire over much of north India and introduced lasting reforms; his administration became the model Akbar later followed. The Sur Empire was short-lived — Humayun regained his territories in 1555–56.	Kalinjar	Sur Empire
1555	Humayun recovers Delhi (Battle of Sirhind) Battle Defeated by Sher Shah, Humayun spent 1540–55 in exile at the Safavid court in Iran; in 1555–56 he regained his lost territories. Humayun regained his throne from the Surs.	Sirhind	Mughal Empire
1556	Second Battle of Panipat Battle Akbar's forces defeat Hemu. Hemu was captured and killed, securing Akbar's throne.	Panipat	Mughal Empire
1558	Portuguese occupy Malé Conquest / annexation	Malé	Portuguese Malé
1559	Drabya Shah founds the Gorkha kingdom Founding / accession	Gorkha	Gorkha Kingdom
1564	Akbar abolishes the jizya Political Part of Akbar's policy of Sulh-i-kul (peace with all).	Agra	Mughal Empire
1565	Battle of Talikota Battle Deccan Sultanates defeat Vijayanagara; Hampi sacked. Vijayanagara's army was routed and its capital Hampi was sacked.	Talikota	Tuluva Dynasty
1568	Akbar takes Chittorgarh Battle When Akbar’s forces broke into Chittorgarh Fort, hundreds of Rajput women, led by their queens and noblewomen, committed jauhar. Chittor fell and Rana Udai Singh moved his capital to Udaipur.	Chittorgarh	Mughal Empire
1571	Fatehpur Sikri founded Founding / accession Akbar built Fatehpur Sikri near Agra as his capital. The dargah of the Sufi Shaikh Salim Chishti there symbolised the bond between the Chishtis and the Mughal state.	Fatehpur Sikri	Mughal Empire
1573	Akbar conquers Gujarat Conquest / annexation	Ahmedabad	Mughal Empire
1573	Muhammad Thakurufaanu frees the Maldives Political The Portuguese were expelled after fifteen years.	Malé	Sultanate of the Maldives
1576	Battle of Haldighati Battle Maharana Pratap against Akbar's army under Man Singh. The Mughals held the field but Maharana Pratap escaped to continue resisting.	Haldighati	Mewar (Sisodia)
1576	Battle of Rajmahal: Mughals take Bengal Battle Daud Khan Karrani was killed and Bengal became a Mughal province.	Rajmahal	Mughal Empire
1580	Akbar organises the empire into subahs Political Abu’l Fazl’s Ain-i Akbari describes the provinces (subas) of Akbar’s empire in its ‘Account of the Twelve Provinces’, giving each suba’s divisions (sarkars and parganas), measured area and assessed revenue. The empire was divided into twelve provinces with uniform administration.	Fatehpur Sikri	Mughal Empire
1582	Akbar's Din-i-Ilahi Cultural / religious	Fatehpur Sikri	Mughal Empire
1586	Mughals annex Kashmir Conquest / annexation The last fifteen years of Akbar’s nearly fifty-year reign brought fresh military campaigns in Kashmir, Sindh, the Deccan and Afghanistan.	Srinagar	Mughal Empire
1591	Charminar built Cultural / religious	Hyderabad	Golconda Sultanate (Qutb Shahi)
1600	East India Company chartered Founding / accession Royal charter granted in London on 31 December 1600.		British East India Company

1601	Asirgarh falls to Akbar Conquest / annexation	Asirgarh	Mughal Empire
1602	Dutch East India Company (VOC) founded Founding / accession The Dutch arrived in India in the early 17th century and, unlike the Portuguese, focused mainly on trade, especially in spices. Their Dutch East India Company set up trading posts at Surat, Bharuch and Cochin in the west and Nagapattinam and Masulipatnam in the east.		Dutch East India Company (VOC) in India
1604	Adi Granth installed at Harmandir Sahib Cultural / religious Guru Arjan compiled the hymns of Baba Guru Nanak and his successors, together with those of poets such as Baba Farid, Ravidas and Kabir, in 1604 — the Adi Granth. The town of Ramdaspur (Amritsar) grew around the central gurdwara, Harmandar Sahib (the Golden Temple).	Amritsar
1605	Death of Akbar Political Akbar’s reign lasted almost 50 years, from 1556 to his death in 1605; its middle years were relatively peaceful, but the last 15 brought fresh campaigns in Kashmir, Sindh, the Deccan and Afghanistan.	Agra	Mughal Empire
1606	Execution of Guru Arjan Dev Political Emperor Jahangir saw the growing Sikh community as a potential threat; finding that Guru Arjan had supported his rebellious son, he had the Guru executed in 1606. This led Guru Arjan’s son and successor, Guru Hargobind, to introduce martial training and form a Sikh army. Sikhism began to take on a militant character under Guru Hargobind.	Lahore	Mughal Empire
1611	English factory at Masulipatnam Founding / accession The Company's first factory on the east coast.	Machilipatnam	British East India Company
1612	Battle of Swally Battle English defeat the Portuguese; Surat factory follows. The English defeated the Portuguese and won trading rights at Surat.	Suvali near Surat	British East India Company
1615	Sir Thomas Roe at Jahangir's court Political	Ajmer	Mughal Empire
1616	Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal arrives in Bhutan Founding / accession	Punakha	Bhutan under the Zhabdrung (Druk Desi)
1628	Shah Jahan becomes emperor Founding / accession Jahangir’s son Prince Khurram took the throne as Shah Jahan (1628–1658), inheriting a stable empire and its finest painters’ workshop. He fought several rebellions and is best remembered as the builder of the Taj Mahal.	Agra	Mughal Empire
1632	Taj Mahal construction begins Cultural / religious Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal at Agra as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. From 1632 it took nearly twenty years and 20,000 specialised workers to complete; it follows the charbagh garden plan.	Agra	Mughal Empire
1639	Fort St George founded at Madras Founding / accession Madras, with Surat, Bombay and Calcutta, was among the English East India Company’s first trading posts (1612–1690). A Company charter of 1687 made the town of Fort St George a corporation; the Madras Corporation, set up in 1688, is India’s oldest municipal institution.	Chennai	Fort St George, Madras
1646	Last Vijayanagara stronghold falls Decline / collapse After the Battle of Talikota (1565) the city of Vijayanagara was sacked and left in ruins; the empire fragmented into smaller regions ruled by Nayakas, former military governors, and came to an end in the mid-17th century.	Chandragiri	Aravidu Dynasty
1648	Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi) inaugurated Founding / accession Shah Jahan moved his capital from Agra to Shahjahanabad (now Old Delhi) and built the Jama Masjid there in the mid-17th century — India’s largest mosque, raised by about 5,000 workers. In 1739 Nadir Shah’s sack turned the new city to rubble.	Delhi	Mughal Empire
1653	Taj Mahal completed Cultural / religious Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal at Agra as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Begun in 1632, it took nearly twenty years and 20,000 specialised workers to complete.	Agra	Mughal Empire
1656	Dutch take Colombo from the Portuguese Conquest / annexation Portuguese rule in Sri Lanka ended by 1658.	Colombo	Dutch Ceylon
1658	Aurangzeb becomes emperor Political After a war of succession among Shah Jahan’s sons, Aurangzeb imprisoned his father in Agra Fort and crowned himself emperor as ‘Alamgir’ (‘conqueror of the world’). He ruled for almost 49 years.	Delhi	Mughal Empire
1659	Shivaji kills Afzal Khan at Pratapgad Battle Alarmed by Shivaji’s successes, the Bijapur Sultanate sent its veteran general Afzal Khan. The two met one-on-one at the foot of Pratapgad fort, where Shivaji killed Afzal Khan with a wagh nakh (‘tiger’s claw’), and Marathas hidden in the hills routed his army. Bijapur's army was routed and Shivaji's power grew.	Pratapgad
1661	Bombay passes to England Treaty Part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry.	Mumbai	Portuguese Bassein & Bombay
1664	Shivaji sacks Surat Battle In retaliation for Shaista Khan’s three-year Mughal invasion, Shivaji sacked Surat, a wealthy Mughal port, taking treasure worth almost one crore rupees while sparing religious places; he sacked it again a few years later. The raid was reported even in the London Gazette.	Surat
1665	Treaty of Purandar Treaty Stung by the sack of Surat, Aurangzeb sent the Rajput general Jai Singh against Shivaji, who had to concede defeat at Purandar fort near Pune and sign a treaty: he gave up a sizeable part of his kingdom, and his son Sambhaji entered Mughal service. Shivaji ceded 23 forts to the Mughals and agreed to attend Aurangzeb's court.	Purandar
1666	Shivaji escapes from Agra Political Persuaded to visit Aurangzeb’s court at Agra, Shivaji was insulted, stormed out and was put under house arrest. He began sending out baskets of sweets and fruit as gifts; once the guards stopped checking them, he and Sambhaji escaped hidden in the baskets.	Agra
1671	Battle of Saraighat Battle Lachit Borphukan's Ahom forces defeat the Mughal fleet on the Brahmaputra. The Ahoms defeated the Mughals, keeping Assam independent.	Saraighat, Guwahati	Ahom Kingdom
1674	Shivaji crowned Chhatrapati Founding / accession Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was crowned at Raigad Fort — the formal beginning of the Maratha Empire.	Raigad	Maratha Empire
1675	Execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur Political When Kashmiri Pandits sought his protection from religious persecution, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, stood with them. Arrested and ordered by Aurangzeb to convert, he refused and was publicly beheaded in Chandni Chowk, Delhi — the site of Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib.	Delhi	Mughal Empire
1679	Aurangzeb reimposes the jizya Political Aurangzeb reimposed the jizya, a tax on non-Muslim subjects, along with a pilgrimage tax on Hindus — both of which Akbar had abolished. Alienated many Rajput and other subjects.	Delhi	Mughal Empire
1680	Death of Shivaji Decline / collapse Shivaji, crowned with full Vedic rites at Raigad in 1674, died of a fever at the age of fifty. Within his lifetime his exploits had become legendary; the Bundela prince Chhatrasal, inspired by him, built an independent kingdom in Bundelkhand. His son Sambhaji succeeded him.	Raigad	Maratha Empire
1681	Aurangzeb moves to the Deccan Political With the Marathas the only obstacle to full Mughal control of the Deccan, Aurangzeb spent the last 25 years of his life fighting war after war there. The cost drained the treasury and strained the administration — often seen as a key cause of the Mughals’ rapid decline after his death in 1707.	Aurangabad	Mughal Empire
1686	Mughals annex Bijapur Conquest / annexation Aurangzeb invaded the Deccan and conquered the Bijapur (Adil Shahi) and Golconda (Qutb Shahi) Sultanates, ending the Adil Shahi dynasty (1489–1686), whose Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur is the tomb of Muhammad Adil Shah. The Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur ended.	Bijapur	Mughal Empire
1687	Mughals annex Golconda Conquest / annexation Aurangzeb invaded the Deccan and conquered the Bijapur (Adil Shahi) and Golconda (Qutb Shahi) Sultanates. The Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda ended.	Golconda	Mughal Empire
1689	Execution of Sambhaji Political Sambhaji, Shivaji’s son and successor (1681–1689), was captured by Aurangzeb, brutally tortured and executed; the Mughals then took Raigad, the Maratha capital. His brother Rajaram became Chhatrapati and withdrew to Gingee, carrying the war into south India.	Tulapur	Maratha Empire
1690	Job Charnock founds Calcutta Founding / accession The East India Company settled here, began building a fort in 1696, and two years later obtained zamindari rights over three villages — one of them Kalikata, which grew into Calcutta (Kolkata). Calcutta grew into the capital of British India.	Sutanuti	British East India Company
1699	Guru Gobind Singh founds the Khalsa Cultural / religious Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, laid the foundation of the Khalsa Panth (‘army of the pure’) and defined its five symbols; the community became a socio-religious and military force.	Anandpur Sahib

1707	Death of Aurangzeb Political Beginning of rapid Mughal decline.	Ahmednagar	Mughal Empire
1708	Death of Guru Gobind Singh Decline / collapse Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, instituted the Khalsa in 1699 and in 1706 authenticated the compilation now known as the Guru Granth Sahib. After his death in 1708 the Khalsa rose against Mughal authority under Banda Bahadur. He declared the Guru Granth Sahib the eternal Guru.	Nanded
1709	Mirwais Hotak's revolt at Kandahar Founding / accession	Kandahar	Hotak Dynasty
1713	Balaji Vishwanath becomes Peshwa Political After Shivaji, effective power in the Maratha state passed to a family of Chitpavan Brahmanas who served his successors as Peshwa (principal minister), with Poona as the capital. Balaji Vishwanath was the first of this line.	Satara	Maratha Empire
1716	Execution of Banda Singh Bahadur Political Leading the Khalsa’s revolt after Guru Gobind Singh’s death, Banda Bahadur declared Sikh sovereign rule by striking coins in the names of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh and set up an administration between the Sutlej and the Yamuna. He was captured in 1715 and executed in 1716.	Delhi	Mughal Empire
1717	Farrukhsiyar's farman to the East India Company Treaty	Delhi	Mughal Empire
1720	Baji Rao I becomes Peshwa Political Baji Rao I, son of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, is credited with expanding the Maratha kingdom beyond the Vindhyas, with campaigns against Malwa, Bundelkhand, Gujarat and the Portuguese; he and his son Nanasaheb drove the Marathas’ pan-Indian expansion.	Pune	Maratha Empire
1724	Battle of Shakar Kheda: Hyderabad State founded Battle Nizam-ul-Mulk defeated the Mughal governor and founded Hyderabad State.	Shakar Kheda	Hyderabad State (Nizams)
1737	Baji Rao raids Delhi Battle After the Marathas raided Delhi in 1737, their dominance spread rapidly — into Rajasthan and the Punjab, Bengal and Orissa, and Karnataka and the Tamil and Telugu lands. These areas paid tribute in acceptance of Maratha sovereignty rather than being formally annexed.	Delhi	Maratha Empire
1739	Nadir Shah sacks Delhi Battle Peacock Throne and Koh-i-Noor carried off. Delhi was plundered and the Peacock Throne and Koh-i-Noor taken to Persia.	Karnal / Delhi	Mughal Empire
1741	Battle of Colachel Battle Travancore defeats the Dutch East India Company. Travancore defeated the Dutch, ending Dutch ambitions in Kerala.	Colachel	Travancore
1742	Maratha (Bargi) raids on Bengal Battle	Murshidabad	Nawabs of Bengal
1746	French capture Madras (First Carnatic War) Battle In the Carnatic Wars (1746–1763) between Britain and France, the French under Dupleix — Governor-General of French India, who first trained Indian ‘sepoys’ in European methods — captured Madras in 1746, but they later lost ground and were reduced to Pondicherry and a few enclaves.	Chennai	French India
1747	Ahmad Shah Durrani founds the Durrani Empire Founding / accession The Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded north India five times between 1748 and 1761, and in 1761 defeated the Marathas in the third battle of Panipat.	Kandahar	Durrani Empire
1749	Battle of Ambur Battle Anwaruddin Khan was killed; Chanda Sahib, backed by the French, took Arcot.	Ambur	Carnatic (Nawabs of Arcot)
1751	Siege of Arcot Battle Clive's defence of Arcot turned the Second Carnatic War in Britain's favour.	Arcot	Carnatic (Nawabs of Arcot)
1757 📅 23 June	Battle of Plassey Battle Clive defeats Siraj ud-Daulah; Company rule begins in Bengal. Siraj ud-Daulah was defeated and Mir Jafar became a Company-backed nawab.	Palashi	British East India Company
1760	Battle of Wandiwash Battle British defeat the French. French power in India was broken.	Vandavasi	British East India Company
1761	Third Battle of Panipat Battle Ahmad Shah Durrani defeats the Marathas. The Marathas were crushed by Ahmad Shah Durrani and their northward expansion checked.	Panipat	Maratha Empire
1764	Battle of Buxar Battle Company defeats Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daula and Shah Alam II. The Company defeated Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daula and Shah Alam II together.	Buxar	British East India Company
1765 📅 12 August	Diwani of Bengal granted Treaty Treaty of Allahabad gives the Company revenue rights over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The Company won the right to collect revenue in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.	Allahabad	British East India Company
1767	First Anglo-Mysore War Battle Mysore grew strong under Haidar Ali (ruled 1761–1782) and his son Tipu Sultan (1782–1799), controlling the Malabar trade in pepper and cardamom. The Company fought four wars with Mysore — 1767–69, 1780–84, 1790–92 and 1799 — and won outright only in the last.	Mysore	Kingdom of Mysore
1768	Prithvi Narayan Shah conquers Kathmandu Conquest / annexation Birth of modern Nepal. Kathmandu became the capital of a unified Nepal.	Kathmandu	Kingdom of Nepal — expansion era
1769	Treaty of Madras Treaty Ended the First Anglo-Mysore War with mutual restitution of conquests.	Chennai	Kingdom of Mysore
1770	Great Bengal Famine Decline / collapse Perhaps a third of Bengal's population died.	Bengal	British East India Company
1773	Regulating Act; Warren Hastings Governor-General Political The British Parliament passed the Regulating Act of 1773 to regulate the East India Company; it set up a Supreme Court at Calcutta. Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General (1773–1785), reorganised justice with civil and criminal courts in each district, and was later impeached in Parliament.	Kolkata	British East India Company
1775	First Anglo-Maratha War begins Battle In the late 18th century the Marathas were the chief rivals of the British in India. Three Anglo-Maratha wars were fought between 1775 and 1818; the first ended in 1782 with the Treaty of Salbai.	Pune	Maratha Empire
1780	Battle of Pollilur Battle The second of the Company’s four wars with Mysore was fought in 1780–84; NCERT notes that Company forces were defeated by Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan in several battles. Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan destroyed a Company force under Colonel Baillie.	Pollilur	Kingdom of Mysore
1782	Treaty of Salbai Treaty The Treaty of Salbai ended the First Anglo-Maratha War in 1782. Our Pasts III says there was no clear victor; the newer Grade 8 textbook counts it a Maratha victory, and a mural shows a British officer surrendering before Nana Phadnavis and Mahadji Shinde. The First Anglo-Maratha War ended with a return to the status quo.	Salbai	Scindia State (Gwalior)
1784	Asiatic Society founded Cultural / religious William Jones, a judge and linguist who arrived in Calcutta in 1783, studied Sanskrit with pandits and, with Henry Thomas Colebrooke and Nathaniel Halhed, set up the Asiatic Society of Bengal and the journal Asiatick Researches.	Kolkata	British East India Company
1784	Treaty of Mangalore Treaty Ended the Second Anglo-Mysore War on the basis of mutual restitution.	Mangaluru	Kingdom of Mysore
1792	Treaty of Seringapatam Treaty In 1792, attacked by the combined forces of the Marathas, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Company, Tipu Sultan was forced to sign a treaty with the British, under which two of his sons were taken as hostages. Tipu Sultan ceded half his kingdom and gave two sons as hostages.	Srirangapatna	Kingdom of Mysore
1793	Permanent Settlement of Bengal Political Under Governor-General Cornwallis the Company introduced the Permanent Settlement in 1793: rajas and taluqdars were recognised as zamindars and the revenue they paid was fixed for ever. The demand was so high that many could not pay — over 75 per cent of zamindaris changed hands afterwards.	Kolkata	British East India Company
1795	Battle of Kharda Battle Last joint Maratha victory, over Hyderabad. The Marathas defeated the Nizam of Hyderabad.	Kharda	Maratha Empire
1796	British take coastal Ceylon from the Dutch Conquest / annexation Coastal Sri Lanka passed to Britain, confirmed by the Treaty of Amiens.	Colombo	British Ceylon
1798	Hyderabad accepts the Subsidiary Alliance Treaty Under a ‘subsidiary alliance’ an Indian ruler accepted a British Resident and British troops paid for at his own cost, and conducted foreign relations only through the British. The ruler of Hyderabad was among the first to enter such an alliance, in 1798. The Nizam became the first ruler to accept Wellesley's system.	Hyderabad	Hyderabad State (Nizams)
1799 📅 4 May	Fall of Srirangapatna Battle Tipu Sultan killed in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. Tipu Sultan was killed and the Wodeyars were restored as Company allies.	Srirangapatna	Kingdom of Mysore
1799	Ranjit Singh takes Lahore Founding / accession Maharaja Ranjit Singh reunited the divided Sikh groups, whose lands stretched from the Indus to the Jamuna, and made Lahore his capital.	Lahore	Sikh Empire

1802	Treaty of Bassein Treaty Peshwa Baji Rao II accepted the Subsidiary Alliance.	Vasai	Maratha Empire
1803	Battle of Assaye Battle Second Anglo-Maratha War. Arthur Wellesley defeated the combined Scindia and Bhonsle armies.	Assaye	British East India Company
1803	British capture Delhi Conquest / annexation The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–05) was fought on several fronts and left the British in possession of Orissa and the territories north of the Yamuna, including Agra and Delhi. The Mughal emperor came under British protection.	Delhi	British East India Company
1806	Vellore mutiny Political New uniform rules forbade sepoys to wear religious marks on their foreheads and required them to shave their beards. In 1806 sepoys seized the Vellore fort and killed many British officers and troops; the revolt was crushed and hundreds of sepoys were killed or executed.	Vellore	British East India Company
1809	Treaty of Amritsar fixes the Sutlej frontier Treaty Ranjit Singh agreed not to expand south of the Sutlej.	Amritsar	Sikh Empire
1814	Anglo-Nepal War: siege of Nalapani Battle The Gorkha garrison under Balbhadra Kunwar held out before withdrawing.	Nalapani, Dehradun	Kingdom of Nepal — expansion era
1815	Kandyan Convention Treaty The whole of Sri Lanka passes to British rule. The Kandyan kingdom ended and all Sri Lanka came under British rule.	Kandy	Kingdom of Kandy
1816	Treaty of Sugauli Treaty Fixes most of Nepal's modern borders. Nepal ceded Kumaon, Garhwal and the Terai and accepted a British resident.	Sugauli	Kingdom of Nepal
1817	Battle of Khadki Battle Maratha power was finally ended by the Third Anglo-Maratha War of 1817–19. The Peshwa was removed and pensioned off to Bithur near Kanpur, and the Company gained control of the territories south of the Vindhyas. The Peshwa's army was defeated near Pune.	Khadki	Maratha Empire
1818	Third Anglo-Maratha War ends Decline / collapse Peshwa deposed; the Company becomes paramount. The Peshwa's territories were annexed and the Company became the paramount power.	Pune	Maratha Empire
1824	Kittur revolt against the Company Battle When the British tried to annex the small state of Kittur (in present-day Karnataka), Rani Channamma took up arms against them. She was arrested in 1824 and died in prison in 1829; Rayanna, a chowkidar of Sangoli, carried on the resistance until he was hanged in 1830. Rani Chennamma won an early victory but was captured in a second assault.	Kittur
1826	Treaty of Yandabo Treaty Assam passes to the British after the Burmese occupation. Burma ceded Assam, Manipur, Arakan and Tenasserim to the Company.	Assam	Ahom Kingdom
1828	Brahmo Samaj founded Cultural / religious Raja Rammohun Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha (later the Brahmo Samaj) in Calcutta in 1828. It opposed child marriage and caste discrimination, supported widows’ rights and girls’ education, and promoted a monotheistic reading of Hinduism.	Kolkata	British East India Company
1829	Sati abolished Political Rammohun Roy campaigned against sati, arguing from Sanskrit texts that widow burning had no sanction in ancient scripture; British officials, already critical of the custom, listened, and in 1829 sati was banned.	Kolkata	British East India Company
1835	English Education Act Political Following Thomas Macaulay’s minute, which claimed that ‘a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia’, the English Education Act of 1835 made English the medium of higher education and stopped the promotion of Oriental institutions such as the Calcutta Madrasa and Benaras Sanskrit College.	Kolkata	British East India Company
1839	Death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Decline / collapse Maharaja Ranjit Singh reunited the Sikh groups and made Lahore his capital in 1799. While he lived his presence held back the Company; after his death in 1839 two prolonged wars were fought with the Sikh kingdom, and Punjab was annexed in 1849.	Lahore	Sikh Empire
1839	First Anglo-Afghan War begins Battle Fearing that Russia might expand across Asia and enter India from the north-west, the British fought a prolonged war with Afghanistan from 1838 to 1842. Shah Shuja was installed in Kabul, but British forces were destroyed in 1842.	Kabul	Emirate of Afghanistan
1842	British retreat from Kabul Battle Worried that Russia might expand across Asia into India from the north-west, the Company fought a prolonged war with Afghanistan between 1838 and 1842. Almost the entire retreating British column was annihilated.	Gandamak	Emirate of Afghanistan
1843	Annexation of Sindh Conquest / annexation After the Afghan war, the Company moved to secure the north-west: Sind was taken over in 1843, and Punjab was next in line. Sindh was annexed after the Battle of Miani.	Hyderabad (Sindh)	British East India Company
1845	First Anglo-Sikh War Battle After Ranjit Singh’s death the Company fought two prolonged wars with the Sikh kingdom; Punjab was annexed in 1849, ending the Sikh Empire. The Sikhs ceded the Jullundur Doab and paid an indemnity.	Ferozeshah	Sikh Empire
1846	Jammu & Kashmir granted to Gulab Singh Treaty The Dogra-ruled princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was created.	Amritsar
1846	Kot massacre; Rana rule begins in Nepal Political Jung Bahadur Rana seized power and Rana prime ministers ruled for 104 years.	Kathmandu	Kingdom of Nepal
1848	Doctrine of Lapse applied to Satara Political Under Lord Dalhousie (Governor-General 1848–1856), the Doctrine of Lapse declared that a kingdom whose ruler died without a male heir would ‘lapse’ to the Company, disregarding the tradition of adoption. Satara (1848) was the first; Sambalpur, Udaipur, Nagpur and Jhansi followed. Satara was annexed because its ruler died without a natural heir.	Satara	British East India Company
1849	Punjab annexed Conquest / annexation After the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The Sikh Empire ended and Maharaja Duleep Singh was pensioned off.	Lahore	British East India Company
1853 📅 16 April	First passenger railway: Bombay to Thane Cultural / religious India’s first train ran from Mumbai to Thane in 1853, covering 34 km. NCERT notes the colonial network was built mainly to carry raw materials to the ports and British goods inland, and was largely paid for by Indian tax revenue.	Mumbai	British East India Company
1855	Santhal Hul (rebellion) Political Led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu. Suppressed in 1856; the Santhal Parganas district was created.	Santhal Pargana	British East India Company
1856	Awadh annexed Conquest / annexation Bound by a subsidiary alliance since 1801, Awadh was one of the last territories the Company annexed; Governor-General Dalhousie claimed it was being misgoverned. Wajid Ali Shah was deposed on the charge of misgovernance.	Lucknow	British East India Company
1856	Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act Political Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar used the ancient texts to argue that widows could remarry; British officials adopted his suggestion and a law permitting widow remarriage was passed in 1856. Those opposed boycotted him, and few widows actually remarried. Remarriage of Hindu widows was legalised.	Kolkata	British East India Company
1857 📅 10 May	Revolt of 1857 begins at Meerut Political Spreads to Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi and beyond. The revolt was suppressed by 1858 and Company rule was ended.	Meerut
1857	Mangal Pandey's attack at Barrackpore Political Mangal Pandey, a young sepoy, attacked his British officers at Barrackpore. His execution spread discontent among the sepoys, and soon after, sepoys at Meerut refused the new cartridges. Mangal Pandey was hanged; his regiment was disbanded.	Barrackpore	British East India Company
1857	Rebels proclaim Bahadur Shah Zafar emperor Political Rebel sepoys reached the Red Fort, forced their way in and proclaimed the ageing Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar their leader; he wrote to the country’s chiefs and rulers to join a confederacy against the British. Delhi became the centre of the revolt until retaken in September 1857.	Delhi
1858	Government of India Act — Crown rule begins Political Company rule ends; Queen's Proclamation. The Crown took over India, governed by a Viceroy and a Secretary of State.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1858 📅 18 June	Rani Lakshmibai falls at Gwalior Battle Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, who had joined the rebel sepoys and fought the British alongside Tantia Tope, was defeated and killed in June 1858.	Gwalior
1859	Indigo revolt in Bengal Political European planters forced peasants in northern Bengal to grow indigo instead of food crops and paid so little that many fell into debt. In the Indigo Revolt (1859–1862) the peasants rose against the planters; supported by educated Bengalis and the Bengali press, they forced the authorities to curb the worst abuses. The Indigo Commission of 1860 ended forced indigo cultivation.	Nadia	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1869	Birth of Mahatma Gandhi Cultural / religious Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, Gujarat, in 1869. He studied law in London and, in South Africa, experienced racial discrimination and developed satyagraha — passive resistance, nonviolence (ahimsa) and acceptance of suffering in the quest for truth.	Porbandar
1872	First census of British India Political The first population census in India was taken in 1872; the first complete census followed in 1881, and censuses have been held every ten years since.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1875	Arya Samaj and Aligarh (MAO) College founded Cultural / religious Swami Dayananda Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay in 1875. It called for a return to the Vedas, rational thinking and equality, opposed ritualism and birth-based caste, and supported women’s education and widow remarriage. In the same period Syed Ahmad Khan promoted modern education among Muslims.	Aligarh	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1876	Indian Association founded Political Political associations led mostly by English-educated professionals grew in the 1870s and 1880s — among the most important were the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, the Indian Association, the Madras Mahajan Sabha and the Bombay Presidency Association — paving the way for the Indian National Congress.	Kolkata	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1877	Delhi Durbar: Victoria proclaimed Empress of India Political At the height of the Great Famine of 1876–1878, in which up to 8 million Indians died, Viceroy Lytton held an extravagant durbar in Delhi with ‘a week-long feast for 68,000 officials, satraps and maharajas’.	Delhi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1878	Second Anglo-Afghan War Battle	Kabul	Emirate of Afghanistan
1878	Vernacular Press Act Political In 1878 the Arms Act barred Indians from keeping arms, and the Vernacular Press Act allowed the government to confiscate the assets of Indian-language newspapers, including their presses, if they published anything ‘objectionable’. Indian-language newspapers were curbed; repealed in 1881.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1883	Ilbert Bill controversy Political In 1883 the government tried to introduce the Ilbert Bill, which would have let Indian judges try British or European persons. White opposition forced it to withdraw the bill, revealing racial attitudes and deepening the desire for an all-India organisation of educated Indians. European opposition forced the bill to be diluted, stirring Indian nationalism.	Kolkata	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1885	Indian National Congress founded Political Seventy-two delegates from all over the country met at Bombay in December; the early leaders included Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Badruddin Tyabji and W.C. Bonnerji. It became the principal organisation of the freedom movement.	Mumbai	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1887	Maldives becomes a British protectorate Treaty	Malé	Sultanate of the Maldives
1893	Durand Line agreed Treaty Boundary between British India and Afghanistan. The frontier between British India and Afghanistan was fixed.	Khyber Pass	Emirate of Afghanistan
1897	Battle of Saragarhi Battle On 12 September 1897, 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment under Havildar Ishar Singh defended the Saragarhi signalling post against about ten thousand tribesmen and fought to the last; all 21 received the Indian Order of Merit. 12 September is observed as Saragarhi Day; the Saragarhi Memorial Gurdwara stands at Ferozepur.	Saragarhi (Samana hills)	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1899	Birsa Munda's Ulgulan Political Birsa Munda of the Chota Nagpur region led the ‘Ulgulaan’ (Great Tumult) of 1899–1900, mobilising tribal communities against colonial authority, oppressive landlords and missionaries. Arrested in early 1900, he died in jail four months later, aged 24. Birsa died in custody in 1900; the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act followed in 1908.	Ranchi	British Raj (Crown Rule)

1905	Partition of Bengal Political Triggers the Swadeshi movement; reversed in 1911. It triggered the Swadeshi movement and was annulled in 1911.	Kolkata	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1905 📅 7 August	Swadeshi movement launched Political The partition of Bengal angered people across India. Mass meetings and new methods of protest followed — the Swadeshi movement, strongest in Bengal and known in deltaic Andhra as the Vandemataram Movement. Boycott of British goods and promotion of Indian industry.	Kolkata	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1906	All-India Muslim League founded Political In December 1906 several prominent Muslim leaders founded the All-India Muslim League at Dhaka to defend Muslim political interests in British India. It supported the partition of Bengal and sought separate electorates for Muslims, conceded by the government in 1909.	Dhaka	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1907	Ugyen Wangchuck becomes first King of Bhutan Founding / accession	Punakha	Kingdom of Bhutan
1907	Surat split of the Congress Political At the Surat session of December 1907 the Moderates tried to step back from the 1906 Calcutta call for Swaraj, Swadeshi and Boycott. Tilak was prevented from speaking, chaos broke out, and the Nationalists led by Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo Ghose held their own separate session. The Congress divided into Moderates and Extremists.	Surat	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1908	Khudiram Bose executed Political In April 1908 Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki threw bombs at a carriage they believed carried the judge Douglas Kingsford, but killed two British women. Prafulla shot himself; Khudiram, just 18, was tried and hanged, and became a national hero.	Muzaffarpur	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1909	Morley-Minto Reforms Political The constitutional reforms of 1909 conceded the Muslim League’s demand for separate electorates: some council seats were reserved for Muslims elected by Muslim voters. The 1909 Act was the first of a series (1909, 1919, 1935) that gradually widened Indian participation. Separate electorates for Muslims were introduced.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1911	Capital moved from Calcutta to Delhi Political In 1911 the capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi. In 1912, as Viceroy Hardinge made his ceremonial entry into the new capital on an elephant, a bomb was thrown at him; he was injured but survived.	Delhi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1911	Delhi Durbar annuls the Partition of Bengal Political Curzon’s 1905 partition of Bengal — a ‘divide and rule’ measure — provoked the Swadeshi and Boycott movements. Owing to the continuing popular sentiment against it, the colonial government finally withdrew the partition in 1911. Bengal was reunited and the capital moved to Delhi.	Delhi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1913	Rabindranath Tagore wins the Nobel Prize Cultural / religious Rabindranath Tagore became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1913. He composed India’s national anthem, set Bande Mataram to music, and returned his British knighthood in protest after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.	Santiniketan	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1913	Ghadar Party founded Political Founded in San Francisco by Indian emigrants.
1915	Gandhi returns to India Political Mahatma Gandhi, aged 46, returned to India from South Africa in January 1915, already known internationally for his non-violent campaigns against racist restrictions. On Gopal Krishna Gokhale’s advice he joined the Indian National Congress.	Mumbai	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1916	Lucknow Pact Treaty The Congress and the Muslim League signed the Lucknow Pact and agreed to work together for representative government; Mohammad Ali Jinnah played an important part in making it. The Congress and the Muslim League agreed on joint constitutional demands.	Lucknow	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1916	Home Rule Leagues launched Political Led by Tilak and Annie Besant.	Pune	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1917	Champaran Satyagraha Political A peasant from Bihar persuaded Mahatma Gandhi, newly back from South Africa, to see the plight of the indigo cultivators; his visit began the Champaran movement against the indigo planters.	Champaran	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1918	Kheda Satyagraha Political Hit by crop failure and a plague epidemic, the peasants of Kheda district in Gujarat could not pay the land revenue and demanded that collection be relaxed. In 1918 Gandhi organised a satyagraha in their support. Revenue collection was suspended for the poorest farmers.	Kheda	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1918	Ahmedabad mill strike Political In 1918 Gandhi intervened in a labour dispute in Ahmedabad, demanding better working conditions for textile mill workers facing very low wages, and led a successful mill workers’ strike. Gandhi's fast won the workers a 35 per cent wage increase.	Ahmedabad	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1919 📅 13 April	Jallianwala Bagh massacre Political Amid protests against the Rowlatt Act, troops under General Dyer fired on a gathering at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on Baisakhi day, 13 April. Nationwide outrage followed and Tagore renounced his knighthood.	Amritsar	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1919	Third Anglo-Afghan War; Afghan independence Political The Treaty of Rawalpindi recognised Afghanistan's control of its foreign affairs.	Kabul	Emirate of Afghanistan
1919	Rowlatt Act Political Allowed detention without trial. Gandhi called a nationwide Rowlatt Satyagraha.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1919	Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms Political The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 allowed some representation in provincial legislative assemblies and made the provincial executive partly responsible to the legislature. Some Congress leaders, through the Swaraj Party, later sought to contest the councils set up under the Government of India Act of 1919. Dyarchy was introduced in the provinces.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1920	Non-Cooperation Movement Political Launched by the Congress at its Nagpur session in December 1920, the Non-Cooperation Movement urged the boycott of foreign goods, schools and courts, with Gandhi promising Swaraj within a year if it stayed nonviolent. Students left government schools and lawyers gave up practice; after the Chauri Chaura violence of February 1922, Gandhi called it off.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1920	Khilafat Movement Political After World War I the Ottoman Empire was dismembered and the Caliph’s position became shaky. The Ali brothers and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad launched the Khilafat Movement in 1919; in 1920 it allied with the Congress, and Gandhi saw a chance to unite Hindus and Muslims against British rule. It faded when Turkey abolished the Caliphate in 1924. Joined with Non-Cooperation in a united Hindu-Muslim struggle.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1922	Chauri Chaura incident Political Provoked when the police fired on their peaceful demonstration, a crowd of peasants set fire to the police station at Chauri Chaura and twenty-two policemen were killed; Gandhiji called off the Non-Cooperation Movement.	Chauri Chaura	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1923	Swaraj Party founded Political After the Non-Cooperation Movement was called off, C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party within the Congress to return to council politics — opposing British policies from inside the councils set up in 1919. It was short-lived after Das’s death in 1925. Nationalists contested legislative elections to wreck them from within.	Allahabad	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1925	Kakori train action Political To fund the Hindustan Republican Association, revolutionaries led by Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Chandrashekhar Azad robbed a train carrying government money near Kakori, outside Lucknow. In the crackdown that followed, Bismil, Khan and several others were executed and became popular heroes. Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh were hanged.	Kakori	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1928	Simon Commission boycotted Political The all-British commission met with 'Simon Go Back' protests. Lala Lajpat Rai died after a police lathi-charge.	Lahore	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1928	Nehru Report Political In 1928, in response to the all-British Simon Commission, a report drafted under Motilal Nehru’s chairmanship called for India to be given dominion status; it also demanded a bill of rights. Proposed dominion status; rejected by the Muslim League.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1928	Bardoli Satyagraha Political Vallabhbhai Patel led the Bardoli movement of 1928 for peasant rights — one of the most successful grassroots campaigns of the freedom struggle — earning from Gandhi the title ‘Sardar’. The revenue hike was rolled back and Vallabhbhai Patel was hailed as 'Sardar'.	Bardoli	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1929	Purna Swaraj resolution at Lahore Political Under Jawaharlal Nehru’s presidency the Lahore Congress formalised the demand for ‘Purna Swaraj’ — full independence — and declared that 26 January 1930 would be celebrated as Independence Day.	Lahore	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1929 📅 8 April	Central Legislative Assembly bombing Political On 8 April 1929 Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt threw two low-intensity bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi — harming no one, the aim being ‘to make the deaf hear’ — and dropped pamphlets. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged in 1931. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt courted arrest.	Delhi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1930 📅 12 March	Salt March to Dandi Political Civil Disobedience movement begins. Gandhi broke the salt law, launching the Civil Disobedience Movement.	Dandi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1930	Chittagong armoury raid Political Led by Surya Sen.	Chittagong	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1931 📅 5 March	Gandhi-Irwin Pact Treaty In 1931 Viceroy Irwin agreed to release political prisoners not involved in violence and allow limited private salt-making; in return the Congress suspended civil disobedience and agreed to attend the Round Table Conference in London. Younger leaders criticised it for not guaranteeing Purna Swaraj.	Delhi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1931 📅 23 March	Execution of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru Political The revolutionaries of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (founded 1928) wanted to overthrow colonial rule; in 1929 Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly ‘to make the deaf hear’. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were executed on 23 March.	Lahore	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1931	Karachi Congress resolution on Fundamental Rights Political	Karachi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1932	Poona Pact Treaty B.R. Ambedkar sought separate electorates for the Depressed Classes; Gandhi, fearing this would permanently divide Hindu society, began a fast unto death. The Poona Pact of September 1932 instead gave the Depressed Classes reserved seats in provincial and central councils, elected by the general electorate.	Pune	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1932	Communal Award Political Gandhi's fast against separate electorates for Depressed Classes led to the Poona Pact.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1935	Government of India Act 1935 Political The Government of India Act of 1935 introduced provincial autonomy, with elected provincial governments, though the British kept control of foreign affairs, defence and internal security and governors could take over provincial administration. The electorate stayed limited to 10–15 per cent of adults.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1937	Provincial elections under the 1935 Act Political In the provincial elections of 1937, held under the 1935 Act on a restricted franchise, the Congress won a comprehensive victory and came to power in eight of the eleven provinces. The Congress formed ministries in most provinces.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1939	Congress ministries resign Political When World War II broke out in September 1939, Congress leaders offered to support the war effort if Britain promised independence afterwards. The British refused, and the Congress ministries resigned in protest. Protest at India being declared at war without consultation.		British Raj (Crown Rule)
1940	Lahore Resolution Political In 1940 the Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, passed a resolution at Lahore demanding ‘Independent States’ for Muslims in the north-western and eastern areas; the resolution did not mention partition or Pakistan.	Lahore	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1942 📅 8 August	Quit India Movement Political In the middle of the Second World War, Mahatma Gandhi demanded that the British quit India immediately. Demonstrators clashed with the police everywhere; many thousands were arrested and over a thousand killed. Congress leaders were jailed, but the movement showed British rule was untenable.	Mumbai	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1942	Cripps Mission Political Under pressure to win India’s support in World War II, Churchill sent Stafford Cripps in 1942 with an offer of dominion status after the war — but provinces could opt out of post-war India. Most leaders, including Gandhi, found it insufficient and rejected it; the Quit India Movement followed in August. Its offer of post-war dominion status was rejected.	Delhi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1943	Bengal famine Decline / collapse One of the indirect outcomes of the Second World War, the Bengal famine ravaged the region and forced mass migration from villages to cities. Artists such as Chittaprosad and Somnath Hore recorded its victims.	Bengal	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1944	Battles of Imphal and Kohima Battle The INA fought alongside Japanese forces. Allied victory; the Japanese and INA were forced to retreat.	Kohima	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1945	INA trials at the Red Fort Political Subhas Chandra Bose formed the Indian National Army in 1943 from Indian prisoners of war and volunteers; its 1944 attempt to enter India through Imphal and Kohima failed. Its members were imprisoned and tried, and people from all walks of life joined the movement against the INA trials. Public outrage led to the sentences being remitted.	Delhi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1945	Simla Conference Political At the end of the war in 1945 the British opened negotiations between the Congress, the Muslim League and themselves on India’s independence. The talks failed because the League claimed to be the sole spokesperson of India’s Muslims — a claim the Congress could not accept. Failed over the League's claim to nominate all Muslim members.	Shimla	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1946	Royal Indian Navy mutiny Political In February 1946 naval ratings of the Royal Indian Navy in Bombay rebelled against ill-treatment, and the mutiny quickly spread across India. Though called off, it showed the British that they could no longer rely on the Indian military to hold their empire.	Mumbai	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1946 📅 16 August	Direct Action Day riots Political After the Cabinet Mission failed, the Muslim League called for ‘Direct Action Day’ on 16 August 1946 to press its demand for Pakistan. Riots broke out in Calcutta and lasted several days, killing thousands; by March 1947 the violence had spread across northern India.	Kolkata	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1946	Cabinet Mission Political In March 1946 the British cabinet sent a three-member mission to Delhi. It proposed that India stay united as a loose confederation, grouping the provinces with autonomy except in defence, foreign affairs and communications, but the Congress and the Muslim League could not agree on the details. Proposed a three-tier federation that ultimately failed.	Delhi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1946 📅 9 December	Constituent Assembly first meets Political Sachchidananda Sinha presided; Rajendra Prasad was elected permanent chairman.	New Delhi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1947 📅 15 August	Independence and Partition Founding / accession India becomes independent on 15 August 1947. India and Pakistan became independent dominions amid mass migration and violence.	New Delhi	Dominion of India
1947	Pakistan comes into being Founding / accession 14 August 1947.	Karachi	Pakistan (West & East)
1947	First Kashmir war Battle In October 1947 Pakistan sent tribal infiltrators to capture Kashmir. Maharaja Hari Singh asked India for military help; India drove the infiltrators back from the Kashmir valley after he signed the Instrument of Accession. The 1947–48 war left part of the state under Pakistani occupation, divided by the Line of Control.	Srinagar
1947 📅 3 June	Mountbatten Plan Political Announced on 3 June 1947. British India was to be partitioned into India and Pakistan.	New Delhi	British Raj (Crown Rule)
1948	Hyderabad integrated (Operation Polo) Political The Nizam of Hyderabad, the largest princely state, wanted independence and signed a Standstill Agreement with India in November 1947. As a people’s movement grew against his rule, he unleashed the razakars, a paramilitary force. In September 1948 the Indian army moved in; after a few days of fighting the Nizam surrendered and Hyderabad acceded to India. The Nizam surrendered and Hyderabad joined the Indian Union.	Hyderabad	Dominion of India
1948 📅 30 January	Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi Political On 30 January, during his evening prayer meeting in Delhi, Gandhiji was shot dead by Nathuram Vinayak Godse, an extremist.	Delhi	Dominion of India
1948	Ceylon becomes independent Founding / accession Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon, gained independence from British rule; it has kept a democratic system ever since.	Colombo	Dominion of Ceylon
1949 📅 26 November	Constitution of India adopted Political 26 November 1949.	New Delhi	Dominion of India
1950 📅 26 January	Constitution comes into force Founding / accession India becomes a Republic on 26 January 1950. India became a republic with Rajendra Prasad as its first President.	New Delhi	Republic of India
1951	Democracy restored in Nepal Political	Kathmandu	Kingdom of Nepal
1951	India's first general election (1951–52) Political Conducted by the Election Commission set up in January 1950 under Sukumar Sen, the first general election was the largest ever held: 17 crore eligible voters, only 15 per cent literate, elected about 3,200 MLAs and 489 Lok Sabha members. Over 3 lakh officials were trained; it was the first big test of democracy in a poor country.	New Delhi	Republic of India
1952	Bengali Language Movement Political In East Pakistan, people resented the domination of western Pakistan and the imposition of the Urdu language.	Dhaka	Pakistan (West & East)
1953	First ascent of Everest Cultural / religious Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.	Mount Everest	Kingdom of Nepal
1953	Andhra State formed Political The demand for a Telugu-speaking state grew strong. Potti Sriramulu, a veteran Gandhian, fasted from 19 October 1952 and died after 56 days; the unrest that followed led the Prime Minister to announce a separate Andhra state in December 1952. It became the first state formed on a linguistic basis.	Kurnool	Republic of India
1954	French settlements transferred to India Political	Puducherry	Republic of India
1954 📅 29 April	Panchsheel agreement with China Treaty On 29 April 1954 Prime Minister Nehru and Chinese premier Zhou Enlai jointly set out Panchsheel, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Through its clause on respecting each other’s territorial integrity, India conceded China’s claim over Tibet.		Republic of India
1956	States Reorganisation Act Political States reorganised on linguistic lines. States were reorganised largely on linguistic lines into 14 states and 6 union territories.		Republic of India
1956	Pakistan becomes an Islamic Republic Political	Karachi	Pakistan (West & East)
1956	Sinhala Only Act Political	Colombo	Dominion of Ceylon
1958	Ayub Khan's coup Political Soon after Pakistan framed its first constitution, General Ayub Khan took over the administration and got himself elected; popular dissatisfaction later forced him out, giving way to another military takeover under General Yahya Khan.	Karachi	Pakistan (West & East)
1959	The Dalai Lama takes refuge in India Political In 1959, after a popular uprising in Lhasa against Chinese rule, the 14th Dalai Lama fled across the Himalaya and was granted asylum in India. He lives in Dharamshala, where the Central Tibetan Administration functions as a government-in-exile.	Tawang	Republic of India
1960	Indus Waters Treaty Treaty After years of fierce argument over the rivers of the Indus basin, India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960 with the World Bank’s mediation; signed by Nehru and General Ayub Khan, it survived later military conflicts.	Karachi
1960	Bombay State split into Maharashtra and Gujarat Political The linguistic principle did not at once make every state linguistic: ‘bilingual’ Bombay state combined Gujarati- and Marathi-speaking people. After a popular agitation, the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were created in 1960.	Mumbai	Republic of India
1961	Goa liberated Political End of Portuguese rule in India. Portuguese rule ended and Goa, Daman and Diu joined India.	Goa	Republic of India
1962	Sino-Indian War Battle After China annexed Tibet in 1950 and border disputes grew, China launched a swift, massive invasion in October 1962 on both disputed regions — Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin in Ladakh. India suffered military reverses; Indian forces held the Chinese in Ladakh, but in the east they advanced nearly to Assam. Diplomatic relations were downgraded until 1976. China declared a ceasefire after advancing in the east and in Aksai Chin.	Tawang	Republic of India
1964	Death of Jawaharlal Nehru Political Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru died in May 1964 after more than a year of illness, raising the questions ‘after Nehru, who?’ and ‘after Nehru, what?’. The smooth succession proved critics wrong: Congress president K. Kamaraj found a consensus for Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was chosen unanimously.	New Delhi	Republic of India
1965	Maldives becomes independent Founding / accession	Malé	Sultanate of the Maldives
1965	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Battle In April 1965 Pakistan attacked in the Rann of Kutch, followed by a bigger offensive in Jammu and Kashmir in August–September. To ease the pressure, Prime Minister Shastri ordered a counter-offensive on the Punjab border, and the Indian army reached close to Lahore; the fighting ended with UN intervention. Shastri’s slogan was ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’. The war ended in a UN-backed ceasefire.	Lahore sector	Republic of India
1966	Tashkent Declaration Treaty Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistan’s General Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Agreement, brokered by the Soviet Union, in January 1966. Shastri died suddenly in Tashkent on 11 January 1966, ending his brief prime ministership. India and Pakistan withdrew to pre-war positions.		Republic of India
1967	Naxalbari uprising Political Groups that rejected parliamentary politics took to arms and insurgent methods to overthrow the established political system. Known as Marxist-Leninist (now Maoist) groups or Naxalites, they were particularly strong in West Bengal, where the state government suppressed them stringently.	Naxalbari	Republic of India
1968	Maldives becomes a republic Founding / accession The Maldives was a Sultanate until 1968, when it became a republic with a presidential form of government; in June 2005 its parliament voted unanimously for a multi-party system.	Malé	Republic of Maldives
1969 📅 15 August	ISRO founded Cultural / religious The Indian Space Research Organisation superseded INCOSPAR with an expanded role to harness space technology.	Bengaluru	Republic of India
1969	Nationalisation of 14 major banks Political Amid the Congress split of 1969, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced big popular measures — the nationalisation of fourteen leading private banks and the abolition of the ‘privy purse’ of former princes.		Republic of India
1971	Bangladesh Liberation War Battle When Pakistan’s rulers refused to accept the Awami League’s 1970 election victory in East Pakistan, the army arrested Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman and unleashed a reign of terror. India sheltered about 80 lakh refugees and backed the liberation struggle; in the December war the Pakistani army of about 90,000 surrendered at Dhaka, and Bangladesh became independent. Bangladesh became an independent nation.	Eastern front	Republic of India
1971	Independence of Bangladesh Founding / accession Leaders of Bangladesh proclaimed independence in March 1971; after the war with India that December, East Pakistan broke away as the independent country of Bangladesh.	Dhaka	People's Republic of Bangladesh
1971	Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Battle In December 1971 India and Pakistan went to war and Bangladesh was liberated; the two countries signed the Simla Agreement in July 1972. Pakistan's Eastern Command surrendered on 16 December 1971.	Dhaka	Republic of India
1972	Simla Agreement Treaty After Bangladesh’s liberation India declared a unilateral ceasefire; the Shimla Agreement, signed by Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on 3 July 1972, formalised the return of peace. India and Pakistan agreed to settle disputes bilaterally and respect the Line of Control.	Shimla	Republic of India
1972	Ceylon becomes the Republic of Sri Lanka Political	Colombo	Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
1973	Afghan monarchy ends Political	Kabul	Afghanistan
1974	Smiling Buddha nuclear test Political India carried out its first nuclear explosion in May 1974. Its nuclear programme had begun in the late 1940s under Homi J. Bhabha to generate atomic energy for peaceful purposes.	Pokhran	Republic of India
1975	Sikkim becomes a state of India Political At independence Sikkim was an Indian ‘protectorate’, its internal affairs under the Chogyal. Sikkim Congress, favouring integration with India, swept the first democratic assembly elections in 1974; in April 1975 the assembly asked for full integration, a referendum approved it, and Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union. The Chogyal monarchy was abolished after a referendum.	Gangtok	Republic of India
1975 📅 25 June	The Emergency declared in India Political On 25 June 1975, citing a threat of internal disturbances, the government invoked Article 352 and declared a state of emergency. Electricity to major newspaper offices was cut that night, and many opposition leaders and workers were arrested the next morning.	New Delhi	Republic of India
1977	Emergency lifted; Janata Party wins Political The Emergency ended as dramatically as it began, with the Congress defeated in the Lok Sabha elections of 1977. The Janata Party formed the government, and Morarji Desai became the first Prime Minister from a non-Congress party (1977–79). Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister.	New Delhi	Republic of India
1979	Soviet intervention in Afghanistan Battle The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 further weakened the Soviet system.	Kabul	Afghanistan
1983	Sri Lankan civil war begins Battle The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fought an armed struggle against the Sri Lankan army for a separate Tamil state; at one point they controlled the north-east of the island.	Jaffna	Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
1984	Bhopal gas tragedy Decline / collapse	Bhopal	Republic of India
1984	Operation Blue Star Battle In June 1984 the government carried out ‘Operation Blue Star’, army action against militants who had turned the Golden Temple in Amritsar into an armed fortress. The militants were flushed out, but the historic temple was damaged and Sikh sentiments deeply hurt; on 31 October 1984 Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards.	Amritsar	Republic of India
1984 📅 31 October	Assassination of Indira Gandhi Political Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated outside her residence on 31 October by her bodyguards, after Operation Blue Star; violence broke out in Delhi and many parts of northern India. Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister.	New Delhi	Republic of India
1984	Rakesh Sharma flies to space Cultural / religious Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to go into space in 1984. Asked by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi how India looked from space, he replied, “Sāre jahān se achchha” — better than the whole world.		Republic of India
1985	SAARC founded at Dhaka Founding / accession Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; Afghanistan joined in 2007.	Dhaka
1987	Indo-Sri Lanka Accord Treaty Under the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) went to Sri Lanka. The Indian army ended up fighting the LTTE, and many Sri Lankans resented the presence of Indian troops; the IPKF pulled out in 1989 without attaining its objective. The IPKF was sent to Sri Lanka and provincial councils were created.	Colombo	Republic of India
1988	Benazir Bhutto becomes Prime Minister Political General Zia-ul-Haq, who had removed the Bhutto government in 1977, faced a pro-democracy movement from 1982; an elected democratic government was established again in 1988 under Benazir Bhutto, whose Pakistan People’s Party then competed with the Muslim League.	Islamabad	Islamic Republic of Pakistan
1989	Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan Political The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 weakened the Soviet system further. Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader (1985–91), withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan and eastern Europe and ended the Cold War.	Kabul	Afghanistan
1990	Jana Andolan restores democracy in Nepal Political Nepal’s king, backed by the army, had long restricted democracy. In 1990, in the wake of a strong pro-democracy movement, the king accepted the demand for a new democratic constitution — though the democratic governments that followed had short and troubled careers.	Kathmandu	Kingdom of Nepal
1991	Economic liberalisation Political Responding to a financial crisis and seeking faster growth, India began economic reforms that increasingly deregulated sectors including trade and foreign investment. The licence raj was dismantled and India opened to foreign investment.		Republic of India
1991	Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi Political Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in May 1991 by a Sri Lankan Tamil linked to the LTTE while campaigning in Tamil Nadu. The Congress emerged as the single largest party in the 1991 elections and chose P.V. Narasimha Rao as Prime Minister.	Sriperumbudur	Republic of India
1992	Panchayati Raj amendments (73rd and 74th) Political The Panchayati Raj system was not part of the original Constitution; it was integrated into it in 1992 by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act. Constitutional status for panchayats and municipalities.		Republic of India
1996	Civil war begins in Nepal Battle During the 1990s the Maoists of Nepal spread their influence through armed insurrection against the monarch and the ruling elite, leading to violent conflict with the king’s forces and a three-way struggle among monarchists, democrats and Maoists.	Rolpa	Kingdom of Nepal
1998 📅 11 May	Pokhran-II nuclear tests Political In May 1998 India conducted nuclear explosions at Pokhran, a decision the government justified as safeguarding national security; India had first tested a nuclear device in 1974. India declared itself a nuclear-weapons state.	Pokhran	Republic of India
1998	Chagai nuclear tests Political After India’s nuclear tests at Pokhran in May 1998, Pakistan responded within a few days with nuclear tests in the Chagai Hills.	Chagai	Islamic Republic of Pakistan
1999	Kargil War Battle In early 1999 forces claiming to be Mujahideen occupied several points on the Indian side of the LoC in the Mashkoh, Dras, Kaksar and Batalik areas. Suspecting the Pakistan Army’s involvement, Indian forces responded, leading to the Kargil conflict of June–July 1999. India recaptured the heights that had been occupied.	Kargil	Republic of India
2000	Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand created Political In later years sub-regions demanded separate states on the basis of regional culture or uneven development; three such states — Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand — were created in 2000.		Republic of India

2001	Bamiyan Buddhas destroyed Decline / collapse The gigantic Buddhas of Bamiyan, carved into Afghan cliffs, were powerful symbols of Mahayana Buddhism’s reach from India and of the civilisational ties between the two regions; they were destroyed in 2001.	Bamiyan	Afghanistan
2001	Attack on the Indian Parliament Political	New Delhi	Republic of India
2004 📅 26 December	Indian Ocean tsunami Decline / collapse Devastated coasts of Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives.	Galle
2005	Right to Information Act Political The Right to Information Act lets citizens ask the government for information on its policies and actions — for example, how much was spent on local roads or who benefited from a scheme. NCERT notes the right to information was granted through a new law.		Republic of India
2006	Comprehensive Peace Accord in Nepal Treaty In 2002 Nepal’s king abolished parliament. Massive, largely non-violent pro-democracy protests in April 2006, led by the Seven Party Alliance, the Maoists and social activists, forced him to restore the House of Representatives; in 2008 the monarchy was abolished and Nepal became a democratic republic.	Kathmandu	Kingdom of Nepal
2007	Afghanistan joins SAARC Political	New Delhi	Afghanistan
2008	Bhutan becomes a constitutional monarchy Political Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy in 2008 and, under the leadership of its king, emerged as a multi-party democracy. The same year the India-supported Tala Hydroelectric Project was dedicated to the peoples of both countries.	Thimphu	Kingdom of Bhutan
2008	Nepal becomes a republic Founding / accession The monarchy was abolished and Nepal became a democratic republic; it adopted a new constitution in 2015.	Kathmandu	Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
2008	Mumbai terror attacks Political	Mumbai	Republic of India
2008 📅 22 October	Chandrayaan-1 launched Cultural / religious India's first mission to the Moon, launched from Sriharikota. It helped confirm water molecules on the Moon.	Sriharikota	Republic of India
2009	End of the Sri Lankan civil war Treaty Countries such as Norway and Iceland had tried to bring the warring sides back to talks; the armed conflict finally ended when the LTTE was vanquished. The LTTE was militarily defeated.	Mullaitivu	Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
2014	Mangalyaan reaches Mars orbit Cultural / religious India’s Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission), launched by ISRO in 2013, took 298 days to reach Mars. It carried instruments to study the planet’s atmosphere, surface and signs of past water.	Bengaluru	Republic of India
2014 📅 2 June	Telangana becomes India's 29th state Political Telangana emerged as a new state on 2 June 2014 — part of a continuing story of state reorganisation, with movements still demanding smaller states in several regions.	Hyderabad	Republic of India
2015	Gorkha earthquake Decline / collapse	Gorkha	Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
2016	Demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee notes Political		Republic of India
2017	Goods and Services Tax introduced Political		Republic of India
2019 📅 5 August	Article 370 revoked Political On 5 August 2019 Article 370, which had given Jammu and Kashmir a special status, was abolished; under the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 the state was reconstituted as two Union Territories, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.	Srinagar	Republic of India
2021	Taliban take control of Kabul Political	Kabul	Afghanistan
2022	Sri Lankan economic crisis and Aragalaya protests Political	Colombo	Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
2023 📅 23 August	Chandrayaan-3 lands near the lunar south pole Cultural / religious A successful soft landing, followed by the rover rolling out onto the lunar surface. India became the first country to land near the Moon's south pole.	Sriharikota (launch)	Republic of India
2023	G20 summit in New Delhi Political The African Union became a permanent G20 member.	New Delhi	Republic of India
2024	Student-led uprising; Sheikh Hasina resigns Political	Dhaka	People's Republic of Bangladesh

70th century BCE · 1

55th century BCE · 1

50th century BCE · 1

40th century BCE · 1

33rd century BCE · 1

30th century BCE · 1

29th century BCE · 1

26th century BCE · 1

25th century BCE · 1

24th century BCE · 1

23rd century BCE · 1

20th century BCE · 1

19th century BCE · 1

18th century BCE · 1

17th century BCE · 1

15th century BCE · 1

14th century BCE · 1

13th century BCE · 1

12th century BCE · 1

11th century BCE · 1

10th century BCE · 2

9th century BCE · 1

8th century BCE · 1

7th century BCE · 1

6th century BCE · 7

5th century BCE · 6

4th century BCE · 11

3rd century BCE · 8

2nd century BCE · 7

1st century BCE · 4

1st century CE · 6

2nd century CE · 3

3rd century CE · 4

4th century CE · 7

5th century CE · 10

6th century CE · 5

7th century CE · 9

8th century CE · 8

9th century CE · 3

10th century CE · 6

11th century CE · 13

12th century CE · 13

13th century CE · 17

14th century CE · 18

15th century CE · 15

16th century CE · 32

17th century CE · 33

18th century CE · 38

19th century CE · 47

20th century CE · 114

21st century CE · 22