Republic of India

Modern state Level 2 ★ Major power

1950 – present

Sovereign, democratic republic under the Constitution of 26 January 1950.

🗺 See on map in 1988

Capital: New Delhi
Region: Pan-Indian
Duration: 76 years (continuing)
Main period: Republic of India

Approximate extent.

At a glance

Move along the chart to read any year; click a ruler or event to open the map there.

Rulers

Jawaharlal Nehru Prime Minister
1950 – 1964
Lal Bahadur Shastri Prime Minister
1964 – 1966
Indira Gandhi Prime Minister
1966 – 1977
Morarji Desai Prime Minister
1977 – 1979
Charan Singh Prime Minister
1979 – 1980
Indira Gandhi Prime Minister
1980 – 1984
Rajiv Gandhi Prime Minister
1984 – 1989
V. P. Singh Prime Minister
1989 – 1990
Chandra Shekhar Prime Minister
1990 – 1991
P. V. Narasimha Rao Prime Minister
1991 – 1996
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Prime Minister
1996
H. D. Deve Gowda Prime Minister
1996 – 1997
I. K. Gujral Prime Minister
1997 – 1998
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Prime Minister
1998 – 2004
Manmohan Singh Prime Minister
2004 – 2014
Narendra Modi Prime Minister
2014 – present

Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.

Key events

Year	Event	Place
1950	Constitution comes into force India becomes a Republic on 26 January 1950. India became a republic with Rajendra Prasad as its first President.	New Delhi
1951	India's first general election (1951–52)	New Delhi
1953	Andhra State formed It became the first state formed on a linguistic basis.	Kurnool
1954	French settlements transferred to India	Puducherry
1954	Panchsheel agreement with China
1956	States Reorganisation Act States reorganised on linguistic lines. States were reorganised largely on linguistic lines into 14 states and 6 union territories.
1959	The Dalai Lama takes refuge in India	Tawang
1960	Bombay State split into Maharashtra and Gujarat	Mumbai
1961	Goa liberated End of Portuguese rule in India. Portuguese rule ended and Goa, Daman and Diu joined India.	Goa
1962	Sino-Indian War China declared a ceasefire after advancing in the east and in Aksai Chin.	Tawang
1964	Death of Jawaharlal Nehru	New Delhi
1965	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The war ended in a UN-backed ceasefire.	Lahore sector
1966	Tashkent Declaration India and Pakistan withdrew to pre-war positions.
1967	Naxalbari uprising	Naxalbari
1969	ISRO founded	Bengaluru
1969	Nationalisation of 14 major banks
1971	Bangladesh Liberation War Bangladesh became an independent nation.	Eastern front
1971	Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistan's Eastern Command surrendered on 16 December 1971.	Dhaka
1972	Simla Agreement India and Pakistan agreed to settle disputes bilaterally and respect the Line of Control.	Shimla
1974	Smiling Buddha nuclear test	Pokhran
1975	The Emergency declared in India	New Delhi
1975	Sikkim becomes a state of India The Chogyal monarchy was abolished after a referendum.	Gangtok
1977	Emergency lifted; Janata Party wins Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister.	New Delhi
1984	Bhopal gas tragedy	Bhopal
1984	Operation Blue Star	Amritsar
1984	Assassination of Indira Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister.	New Delhi
1984	Rakesh Sharma flies to space
1987	Indo-Sri Lanka Accord The IPKF was sent to Sri Lanka and provincial councils were created.	Colombo
1991	Economic liberalisation The licence raj was dismantled and India opened to foreign investment.
1991	Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi	Sriperumbudur
1992	Panchayati Raj amendments (73rd and 74th) Constitutional status for panchayats and municipalities.
1998	Pokhran-II nuclear tests India declared itself a nuclear-weapons state.	Pokhran
1999	Kargil War India recaptured the heights that had been occupied.	Kargil
2000	Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand created
2001	Attack on the Indian Parliament	New Delhi
2005	Right to Information Act
2008	Mumbai terror attacks	Mumbai
2008	Chandrayaan-1 launched It helped confirm water molecules on the Moon.	Sriharikota
2014	Mangalyaan reaches Mars orbit	Bengaluru
2014	Telangana becomes India's 29th state	Hyderabad
2016	Demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee notes
2017	Goods and Services Tax introduced
2019	Article 370 revoked	Srinagar
2023	Chandrayaan-3 lands near the lunar south pole India became the first country to land near the Moon's south pole.	Sriharikota (launch)
2023	G20 summit in New Delhi The African Union became a permanent G20 member.	New Delhi