Popular history
India After Gandhi
The history of the Republic, from 1947 to the present.
Republic of India
1950 – present
Map layer: Independent India
The Constitution comes into force on 26 January 1950.
Who ruled when
Move along the chart to see which powers existed in any year; click a bar for its page, or empty space to open the map.
Main polities of this period
| Name | Type | Span | Region | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of India ★ | Modern state | 1950 – present | Pan-Indian | New Delhi |
| Republic of Maldives ★ | Modern state | 1968 – present | Islands | Malé |
| Islamic Republic of Pakistan ★ | Modern state | 1971 – present | Northwest | Islamabad |
| People's Republic of Bangladesh ★ | Modern state | 1971 – present | East | Dhaka |
| Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ★ | Modern state | 1972 – present | Sri Lanka | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte |
| Afghanistan ★ | Modern state | 1973 – present | Northwest | Kabul |
| Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ★ | Modern state | 2008 – present | Himalaya | Kathmandu |
Also existing during this period
Portuguese Estado da Índia
Coastal · 1505 – 1961
Portuguese Diu
Coastal · 1535 – 1961
Portuguese Daman
Coastal · 1559 – 1961
French India
Coastal · 1668 – 1954
Chandernagore
Coastal · 1673 – 1950
Pondichéry
Coastal · 1674 – 1954
Mahé
Coastal · 1721 – 1954
Yanam
Coastal · 1731 – 1954
Karaikal
Coastal · 1739 – 1954
Kingdom of Nepal
Himalaya · 1816 – 2008
Kingdom of Bhutan
Himalaya · 1907 – present
Sultanate of the Maldives
Islands · c. 1153 – 1968
Kingdom of Afghanistan
Northwest · 1926 – 1973
Pakistan (West & East)
Northwest · 1947 – 1971
Dominion of India
Pan-Indian · 1947 – 1950
Kingdom of Mysore
South · 1399 – 1950
Dominion of Ceylon
Sri Lanka · 1948 – 1972
Events
| Year | Event | Polity |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Constitution comes into force India became a republic with Rajendra Prasad as its first President. |
Republic of India |
| 1951 | Democracy restored in Nepal | Kingdom of Nepal |
| 1951 | India's first general election (1951–52) | Republic of India |
| 1952 | Bengali Language Movement | Pakistan (West & East) |
| 1953 | First ascent of Everest | Kingdom of Nepal |
| 1953 | Andhra State formed It became the first state formed on a linguistic basis. |
Republic of India |
| 1954 | French settlements transferred to India | Republic of India |
| 1954 | Panchsheel agreement with China | Republic of India |
| 1956 | States Reorganisation Act States were reorganised largely on linguistic lines into 14 states and 6 union territories. |
Republic of India |
| 1956 | Pakistan becomes an Islamic Republic | Pakistan (West & East) |
| 1956 | Sinhala Only Act | Dominion of Ceylon |
| 1958 | Ayub Khan's coup | Pakistan (West & East) |
| 1959 | The Dalai Lama takes refuge in India | Republic of India |
| 1960 | Indus Waters Treaty | |
| 1960 | Bombay State split into Maharashtra and Gujarat | Republic of India |
| 1961 | Goa liberated Portuguese rule ended and Goa, Daman and Diu joined India. |
Republic of India |
| 1962 | Sino-Indian War China declared a ceasefire after advancing in the east and in Aksai Chin. |
Republic of India |
| 1964 | Death of Jawaharlal Nehru | Republic of India |
| 1965 | Maldives becomes independent | Sultanate of the Maldives |
| 1965 | Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The war ended in a UN-backed ceasefire. |
Republic of India |
| 1966 | Tashkent Declaration India and Pakistan withdrew to pre-war positions. |
Republic of India |
| 1967 | Naxalbari uprising | Republic of India |
| 1968 | Maldives becomes a republic | Republic of Maldives |
| 1969 | ISRO founded | Republic of India |
| 1969 | Nationalisation of 14 major banks | Republic of India |
| 1971 | Bangladesh Liberation War Bangladesh became an independent nation. |
Republic of India |
| 1971 | Independence of Bangladesh | People's Republic of Bangladesh |
| 1971 | Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistan's Eastern Command surrendered on 16 December 1971. |
Republic of India |
| 1972 | Simla Agreement India and Pakistan agreed to settle disputes bilaterally and respect the Line of Control. |
Republic of India |
| 1972 | Ceylon becomes the Republic of Sri Lanka | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
| 1973 | Afghan monarchy ends | Afghanistan |
| 1974 | Smiling Buddha nuclear test | Republic of India |
| 1975 | Sikkim becomes a state of India The Chogyal monarchy was abolished after a referendum. |
Republic of India |
| 1975 | The Emergency declared in India | Republic of India |
| 1977 | Emergency lifted; Janata Party wins Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister. |
Republic of India |
| 1979 | Soviet intervention in Afghanistan | Afghanistan |
| 1983 | Sri Lankan civil war begins | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
| 1984 | Bhopal gas tragedy | Republic of India |
| 1984 | Operation Blue Star | Republic of India |
| 1984 | Assassination of Indira Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister. |
Republic of India |
| 1984 | Rakesh Sharma flies to space | Republic of India |
| 1985 | SAARC founded at Dhaka | |
| 1987 | Indo-Sri Lanka Accord The IPKF was sent to Sri Lanka and provincial councils were created. |
Republic of India |
| 1988 | Benazir Bhutto becomes Prime Minister | Islamic Republic of Pakistan |
| 1989 | Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan | Afghanistan |
| 1990 | Jana Andolan restores democracy in Nepal | Kingdom of Nepal |
| 1991 | Economic liberalisation The licence raj was dismantled and India opened to foreign investment. |
Republic of India |
| 1991 | Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi | Republic of India |
| 1992 | Panchayati Raj amendments (73rd and 74th) Constitutional status for panchayats and municipalities. |
Republic of India |
| 1996 | Civil war begins in Nepal | Kingdom of Nepal |
| 1998 | Pokhran-II nuclear tests India declared itself a nuclear-weapons state. |
Republic of India |
| 1998 | Chagai nuclear tests | Islamic Republic of Pakistan |
| 1999 | Kargil War India recaptured the heights that had been occupied. |
Republic of India |
| 2000 | Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand created | Republic of India |
| 2001 | Bamiyan Buddhas destroyed | Afghanistan |
| 2001 | Attack on the Indian Parliament | Republic of India |
| 2004 | Indian Ocean tsunami | |
| 2005 | Right to Information Act | Republic of India |
| 2006 | Comprehensive Peace Accord in Nepal | Kingdom of Nepal |
| 2007 | Afghanistan joins SAARC | Afghanistan |
| 2008 | Bhutan becomes a constitutional monarchy | Kingdom of Bhutan |
| 2008 | Nepal becomes a republic | Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal |
| 2008 | Mumbai terror attacks | Republic of India |
| 2008 | Chandrayaan-1 launched It helped confirm water molecules on the Moon. |
Republic of India |
| 2009 | End of the Sri Lankan civil war The LTTE was militarily defeated. |
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
| 2014 | Mangalyaan reaches Mars orbit | Republic of India |
| 2014 | Telangana becomes India's 29th state | Republic of India |
| 2015 | Gorkha earthquake | Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal |
| 2016 | Demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee notes | Republic of India |
| 2017 | Goods and Services Tax introduced | Republic of India |
| 2019 | Article 370 revoked | Republic of India |
| 2021 | Taliban take control of Kabul | Afghanistan |
| 2022 | Sri Lankan economic crisis and Aragalaya protests | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
| 2023 | Chandrayaan-3 lands near the lunar south pole India became the first country to land near the Moon's south pole. |
Republic of India |
| 2023 | G20 summit in New Delhi The African Union became a permanent G20 member. |
Republic of India |
| 2024 | Student-led uprising; Sheikh Hasina resigns | People's Republic of Bangladesh |
📚 Recommended reading for this era
Reference
A History of Sri Lanka
The standard history of Sri Lanka from Anuradhapura to independence.
Reference
A History of Nepal
A concise, reliable history of Nepal from the Gorkha unification to the republic.
Reference
A History of Bangladesh
The land, people and politics of Bangladesh, from ancient Bengal to today.
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