Textbook
History of Modern India
The old-NCERT modern India classic, from the decline of the Mughals to independence.
Meghnad Saha
Scientist / mathematician
British Raj (Crown Rule)
1893 – 1956
Astrophysicist of the Saha ionization equation.
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 British Raj (Crown Rule) 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
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
| 1893 | Durand Line agreed The frontier between British India and Afghanistan was fixed. |
| 1899 | Birsa Munda's Ulgulan Birsa died in custody in 1900; the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act followed in 1908. |
| 1905 | Swadeshi movement launched Boycott of British goods and promotion of Indian industry. |
| 1905 | Partition of Bengal It triggered the Swadeshi movement and was annulled in 1911. |
| 1906 | All-India Muslim League founded |
| 1907 | Ugyen Wangchuck becomes first King of Bhutan |
| 1907 | Surat split of the Congress The Congress divided into Moderates and Extremists. |
| 1908 | Khudiram Bose executed |
| 1909 | Morley-Minto Reforms Separate electorates for Muslims were introduced. |
| 1911 | Capital moved from Calcutta to Delhi |
| 1911 | Delhi Durbar annuls the Partition of Bengal Bengal was reunited and the capital moved to Delhi. |
| 1913 | Rabindranath Tagore wins the Nobel Prize |
| 1913 | Ghadar Party founded |
| 1916 | Lucknow Pact The Congress and the Muslim League agreed on joint constitutional demands. |
| 1919 | Third Anglo-Afghan War; Afghan independence The Treaty of Rawalpindi recognised Afghanistan's control of its foreign affairs. |
| 1919 | Jallianwala Bagh massacre Nationwide outrage followed and Tagore renounced his knighthood. |
| 1919 | Rowlatt Act Gandhi called a nationwide Rowlatt Satyagraha. |
| 1928 | Simon Commission boycotted Lala Lajpat Rai died after a police lathi-charge. |
| 1930 | Salt March to Dandi Gandhi broke the salt law, launching the Civil Disobedience Movement. |
| 1931 | Execution of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru |
| 1942 | Quit India Movement Congress leaders were jailed, but the movement showed British rule was untenable. |
| 1943 | Bengal famine |
| 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. |
Contemporaries
Sorted by how long their lives overlapped. The bar shows when, within Meghnad Saha’s life.
M. Visvesvaraya
Scientist / mathematician · 1861 – 1962
Engineer and Diwan of Mysore whose birthday is Engineers' Day
Overlap: 63 years
Sir John Marshall
Scholar / historian · 1876 – 1958
ASI Director-General who announced the Indus civilization in 1924
Overlap: 63 years
E. V. Ramasamy (Periyar)
Social reformer · 1879 – 1973
Founder of the Self-Respect Movement
Overlap: 63 years
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Freedom fighter · 1883 – 1966
Author of 'The Indian War of Independence, 1857'
Overlap: 63 years
Rajendra Prasad
Statesman / administrator · 1884 – 1963
First President of India
Overlap: 63 years
C. V. Raman
Scientist / mathematician · 1888 – 1970
Physics Nobel laureate (1930) for the Raman effect
Overlap: 63 years
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Freedom fighter · 1888 – 1958
Congress president and independent India's first Education Minister
Overlap: 63 years
Jawaharlal Nehru
Statesman / administrator · 1889 – 1964
First Prime Minister of India
Overlap: 63 years
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Freedom fighter · 1890 – 1988
'Frontier Gandhi' who led the Khudai Khidmatgars
Overlap: 63 years
B. R. Ambedkar
Statesman / administrator · 1891 – 1956
Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution
Overlap: 63 years
Satyendra Nath Bose
Scientist / mathematician · 1894 – 1974
Physicist of Bose-Einstein statistics
Overlap: 62 years
Vinoba Bhave
Social reformer · 1895 – 1982
Founder of the Bhoodan (land gift) movement
Overlap: 61 years
Sri Aurobindo
Philosopher · 1872 – 1950
Revolutionary turned yogi-philosopher of Pondicherry
Overlap: 57 years
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Statesman / administrator · 1875 – 1950
'Iron Man of India' who integrated the princely states
Overlap: 57 years
Kazi Nazrul Islam
Poet / writer · 1899 – 1976
The 'Rebel Poet', national poet of Bangladesh
Overlap: 57 years
Sarojini Naidu
Freedom fighter · 1879 – 1949
The 'Nightingale of India' and first woman governor of an Indian state
Overlap: 56 years
Mahatma Gandhi
Freedom fighter · 1869 – 1948
Leader of non-violent satyagraha against British rule
Overlap: 55 years
Jayaprakash Narayan
Freedom fighter · 1902 – 1979
Leader of the 'Total Revolution' movement of 1974
Overlap: 54 years
Madan Mohan Malaviya
Freedom fighter · 1861 – 1946
Founder of Banaras Hindu University
Overlap: 53 years
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
Social reformer · 1903 – 1988
Freedom fighter who revived Indian handicrafts
Overlap: 53 years
Rash Behari Bose
Freedom fighter · 1886 – 1945
Revolutionary who founded the Indian Independence League in Japan
Overlap: 52 years
Syama Prasad Mookerjee
Statesman / administrator · 1901 – 1953
Founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh
Overlap: 52 years
J. R. D. Tata
Statesman / administrator · 1904 – 1993
Founded Tata Airlines, India's first airline, in 1932
Overlap: 52 years
Prafulla Chandra Ray
Scientist / mathematician · 1861 – 1944
Chemist who founded Bengal Chemicals
Overlap: 51 years
📚 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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