Popular history
India After Gandhi
The history of the Republic, from 1947 to the present.
Their world
Move along the chart to see their age in any year, who ruled and what happened; click anything to open it.
The map shows Republic of India around their lifetime and where the events of their lifetime took place.
Hover a dot for the event; click it to open the full map in that year.
Rulers of the time
Kujula Kadphises
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 30 CE – c. 80 CE
Vima Taktu
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 80 CE – c. 95 CE
Yajna Sri Satakarni
King, Satavahana Empire · c. 170 CE – c. 199 CE
Vasudeva I
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 190 CE – c. 230 CE
Sri Gupta
Maharaja, Gupta Empire · c. 240 CE – c. 280 CE
Mahasena
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 274 CE – c. 301 CE
Ghatotkacha
Maharaja, Gupta Empire · c. 280 CE – c. 319 CE
Chandragupta I
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 319 CE – c. 335 CE
Samudragupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 335 CE – c. 375 CE
Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya)
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 375 CE – c. 415 CE
Kumaragupta I
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 415 CE – c. 455 CE
Skandagupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 455 CE – c. 467 CE
Dhatusena
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 455 CE – c. 473 CE
Budhagupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 477 CE – c. 495 CE
Kashyapa I
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 477 CE – c. 495 CE
Pulakeshin I
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 543 CE – c. 566 CE
Kirtivarman I
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 566 CE – c. 597 CE
Simhavishnu
King, Pallava Dynasty · c. 575 CE – c. 600 CE
Prabhakaravardhana
King, Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty · c. 580 CE – c. 605 CE
Mangalesha
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 597 CE – c. 609 CE
Mahendravarman I
King, Pallava Dynasty · c. 600 CE – c. 630 CE
Rajyavardhana
King, Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty · 605 CE – 606 CE
Harshavardhana
Emperor, Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty · 606 CE – 647 CE
Pulakeshin II
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 610 CE – c. 642 CE
Events in their lifetime
| 1935 | Government of India Act 1935 |
| 1937 | Provincial elections under the 1935 Act The Congress formed ministries in most provinces. |
| 1939 | Congress ministries resign Protest at India being declared at war without consultation. |
| 1940 | Lahore Resolution |
| 1942 | Quit India Movement Congress leaders were jailed, but the movement showed British rule was untenable. |
| 1942 | Cripps Mission Its offer of post-war dominion status was rejected. |
| 1943 | Bengal famine |
| 1944 | Battles of Imphal and Kohima Allied victory; the Japanese and INA were forced to retreat. |
| 1945 | INA trials at the Red Fort Public outrage led to the sentences being remitted. |
| 1947 | Pakistan comes into being |
| 1947 | Independence and Partition India and Pakistan became independent dominions amid mass migration and violence. |
| 1947 | Mountbatten Plan British India was to be partitioned into India and Pakistan. |
| 1948 | Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi |
| 1948 | Ceylon becomes independent |
| 1950 | Constitution comes into force India became a republic with Rajendra Prasad as its first President. |
| 1952 | Bengali Language Movement |
| 1956 | States Reorganisation Act States were reorganised largely on linguistic lines into 14 states and 6 union territories. |
| 1961 | Goa liberated Portuguese rule ended and Goa, Daman and Diu joined India. |
| 1965 | Maldives becomes independent |
| 1971 | Independence of Bangladesh |
| 1971 | Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistan's Eastern Command surrendered on 16 December 1971. |
| 1979 | Soviet intervention in Afghanistan |
| 1983 | Sri Lankan civil war begins |
| 1984 | Assassination of Indira Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister. |
| 1985 | SAARC founded at Dhaka |
| 1991 | Economic liberalisation The licence raj was dismantled and India opened to foreign investment. |
| 2004 | Indian Ocean tsunami |
| 2008 | Nepal becomes a republic |
| 2009 | End of the Sri Lankan civil war The LTTE was militarily defeated. |
| 2023 | Chandrayaan-3 lands near the lunar south pole India became the first country to land near the Moon's south pole. |
Contemporaries
Sorted by how long their lives overlapped. The bar shows when, within Amartya Sen’s life.
M. S. Swaminathan
Scientist / mathematician · 1925 – 2023
Agricultural scientist who led India's Green Revolution
Overlap: 90 years
Lata Mangeshkar
Artist / musician · 1929 – 2022
Legendary playback singer awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001
Overlap: 89 years
Milkha Singh
Sportsperson / mountaineer · 1929 – 2021
Sprinter known as the 'Flying Sikh'
Overlap: 88 years
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Scientist / mathematician · 1931 – 2015
'Missile Man' and 11th President of India
Overlap: 82 years
Pandit Ravi Shankar
Artist / musician · 1920 – 2012
Sitar maestro who took Indian classical music to the world
Overlap: 79 years
Verghese Kurien
Scientist / mathematician · 1921 – 2012
Father of the White Revolution (Operation Flood)
Overlap: 79 years
Rakesh Sharma
Scientist / mathematician · born 1949
First Indian citizen in space (1984)
Overlap: 77 years
Ustad Bismillah Khan
Artist / musician · 1916 – 2006
Shehnai maestro of Varanasi
Overlap: 73 years
M. S. Subbulakshmi
Artist / musician · 1916 – 2004
Carnatic vocalist, the first musician awarded the Bharat Ratna
Overlap: 71 years
Mother Teresa
Saint / religious leader · 1910 – 1997
Nobel Peace laureate who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata
Overlap: 64 years
Aruna Asaf Ali
Freedom fighter · 1909 – 1996
Hoisted the Congress flag at Gowalia Tank on 9 August 1942
Overlap: 63 years
J. R. D. Tata
Statesman / administrator · 1904 – 1993
Founded Tata Airlines, India's first airline, in 1932
Overlap: 60 years
Rani Gaidinliu
Freedom fighter · 1915 – 1993
Naga spiritual and political leader who resisted British rule
Overlap: 60 years
Satyajit Ray
Artist / musician · 1921 – 1992
Film director of Pather Panchali
Overlap: 59 years
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Freedom fighter · 1890 – 1988
'Frontier Gandhi' who led the Khudai Khidmatgars
Overlap: 55 years
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
Social reformer · 1903 – 1988
Freedom fighter who revived Indian handicrafts
Overlap: 55 years
Tenzing Norgay
Sportsperson / mountaineer · 1914 – 1986
Summited Everest with Edmund Hillary in 1953
Overlap: 53 years
Faiz Ahmad Faiz
Poet / writer · 1911 – 1984
Urdu poet of 'Hum Dekhenge'
Overlap: 51 years
Vinoba Bhave
Social reformer · 1895 – 1982
Founder of the Bhoodan (land gift) movement
Overlap: 49 years
Jayaprakash Narayan
Freedom fighter · 1902 – 1979
Leader of the 'Total Revolution' movement of 1974
Overlap: 46 years
Major Dhyan Chand
Sportsperson / mountaineer · 1905 – 1979
Hockey wizard who won three Olympic gold medals
Overlap: 46 years
Kazi Nazrul Islam
Poet / writer · 1899 – 1976
The 'Rebel Poet', national poet of Bangladesh
Overlap: 43 years
Satyendra Nath Bose
Scientist / mathematician · 1894 – 1974
Physicist of Bose-Einstein statistics
Overlap: 41 years
Kalpana Chawla
Scientist / mathematician · 1962 – 2003
First woman of Indian origin in space
Overlap: 41 years
📚 Recommended reading
Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
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