Textbook
History of Modern India
The old-NCERT modern India classic, from the decline of the Mughals to independence.
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Poet / writer
British Raj (Crown Rule)
1838 – 1894
Author of Anandamath, which contains Vande Mataram.
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
Huvishka
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 150 CE – c. 190 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
Events in their lifetime
| 1839 | First Anglo-Afghan War begins Shah Shuja was installed in Kabul, but British forces were destroyed in 1842. |
| 1839 | Death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh |
| 1842 | British retreat from Kabul Almost the entire retreating British column was annihilated. |
| 1843 | Annexation of Sindh Sindh was annexed after the Battle of Miani. |
| 1845 | First Anglo-Sikh War The Sikhs ceded the Jullundur Doab and paid an indemnity. |
| 1846 | Jammu & Kashmir granted to Gulab Singh The Dogra-ruled princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was created. |
| 1846 | Kot massacre; Rana rule begins in Nepal Jung Bahadur Rana seized power and Rana prime ministers ruled for 104 years. |
| 1848 | Doctrine of Lapse applied to Satara Satara was annexed because its ruler died without a natural heir. |
| 1849 | Punjab annexed The Sikh Empire ended and Maharaja Duleep Singh was pensioned off. |
| 1853 | First passenger railway: Bombay to Thane |
| 1855 | Santhal Hul (rebellion) Suppressed in 1856; the Santhal Parganas district was created. |
| 1856 | Awadh annexed Wajid Ali Shah was deposed on the charge of misgovernance. |
| 1856 | Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act Remarriage of Hindu widows was legalised. |
| 1857 | Revolt of 1857 begins at Meerut The revolt was suppressed by 1858 and Company rule was ended. |
| 1857 | Mangal Pandey's attack at Barrackpore Mangal Pandey was hanged; his regiment was disbanded. |
| 1857 | Rebels proclaim Bahadur Shah Zafar emperor Delhi became the centre of the revolt until retaken in September 1857. |
| 1858 | Government of India Act — Crown rule begins The Crown took over India, governed by a Viceroy and a Secretary of State. |
| 1858 | Rani Lakshmibai falls at Gwalior |
| 1859 | Indigo revolt in Bengal The Indigo Commission of 1860 ended forced indigo cultivation. |
| 1869 | Birth of Mahatma Gandhi |
| 1872 | First census of British India |
| 1875 | Arya Samaj and Aligarh (MAO) College founded |
| 1876 | Indian Association founded |
| 1877 | Delhi Durbar: Victoria proclaimed Empress of India |
| 1878 | Second Anglo-Afghan War |
| 1878 | Vernacular Press Act Indian-language newspapers were curbed; repealed in 1881. |
| 1883 | Ilbert Bill controversy European opposition forced the bill to be diluted, stirring Indian nationalism. |
| 1885 | Indian National Congress founded It became the principal organisation of the freedom movement. |
| 1887 | Maldives becomes a British protectorate |
| 1893 | Durand Line agreed The frontier between British India and Afghanistan was fixed. |
Contemporaries
Lalon Fakir
c. 1774 – c. 1890
Baul mystic poet of Bengal
Kunwar Singh
1777 – 1858
Octogenarian leader of the 1857 revolt in Bihar
Mirza Ghalib
1797 – 1869
Urdu and Persian poet of Delhi
Thomas Babington Macaulay
1800 – 1859
Author of the 1835 Minute on Indian Education
Tantia Tope
1814 – 1859
Guerrilla commander of the 1857 revolt
Bhanubhakta Acharya
1814 – 1868
Adikavi of Nepali who translated the Ramayana
Alexander Cunningham
1814 – 1893
Founder of the Archaeological Survey of India
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
1817 – 1898
Founder of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
1820 – 1891
Campaigned for the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856
Begum Hazrat Mahal
1820 – 1879
Led the 1857 revolt in Lucknow
Nana Sahib
born 1824
Adopted heir of Baji Rao II who led the 1857 revolt at Kanpur
Swami Dayananda Saraswati
1824 – 1883
Founder of the Arya Samaj
Dadabhai Naoroji
1825 – 1917
The 'Grand Old Man of India' who formulated the drain theory
Mangal Pandey
1827 – 1857
Sepoy whose attack at Barrackpore heralded the 1857 revolt
Jyotirao Phule
1827 – 1890
Founder of the Satyashodhak Samaj
Rani Lakshmibai
c. 1828 – c. 1858
Rani of Jhansi and heroine of the 1857 revolt
Allan Octavian Hume
1829 – 1912
Retired civil servant who helped found the Indian National Congress
Savitribai Phule
1831 – 1897
Pioneer of women's education who opened a girls' school in Pune
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
1836 – 1886
Mystic of Dakshineswar and guru of Vivekananda
Jamsetji Tata
1839 – 1904
Founder of the Tata Group
W. C. Bonnerjee
1844 – 1906
First President of the Indian National Congress
Annie Besant
1847 – 1933
Theosophist who launched a Home Rule League in 1916
Surendranath Banerjea
1848 – 1925
Founder of the Indian Association in 1876
Raja Ravi Varma
1848 – 1906
Painter of Indian mythological subjects in oils
📚 Recommended reading
Textbook
A Brief History of Modern India
The most-used exam book for modern India; dense, well organised and revision-friendly.
Reference
India's Struggle for Independence
The standard narrative of the national movement from 1857 to 1947.
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