Indian History Important Dates BC

2300 1750 From 1500 1200 800 600 563 483 540 468 362 321 327 326 322 305 273 232 261 145 101 58 Indus Valley Civilization. Coming of the Aryans. Expansion of the Aryans in the Ganga Valley. Age of the 16 Mahajanapadas of northern India. Buddhas Life-span. Mahavirs Life-span. Nanda dynasty. Alexanders invasion of India. It opened a land route between India and Europe. Accession of Chandragupta Maurya. Defeat of Seleucus at the hands of Chandragupta Maurya. Ashokas reign. Conquest of Kalinga. Regin of Elara, the Chola king of Sri Lanka. Beginning of Vikram era.

AD
78 78-101 319 320 380 405 411 415 455 606 647 Beginning of Saka era. Kanishkas reign. Commencement of Gupta era. Accession of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya Visit of Chinese traveller Fahien. Accession of Kumargupta I. Accession of Skandagupta. Harshavardhans reign.

II. Medieval
712 836 985 998 1001 1025 1191 1192 1206 1210 1221 1236 1240 1296 1316 1325 1327 1336 1351 1398 1469 1494 1497 98 1526 1527 1530 1539 1555 1556 1556 First invasion in Sindh by Arabs (Mohd. Bin Qasim). Accession of King Bhoja of Kannauj. Accession of Rajaraja, the Chola ruler. Accession of Sultan Mahmud Ghazni. First invasion of India by Mahmud Ghazni who defeated Jaipal, ruler of Punjab. Destruction of Somnath Temple by Mahmud Ghazni. First battle of Tarain. Second battle of Tarain. Accession of Qutubuddin Aibak to the throne of Delhi. Death of Qutubuddin Aibak. Chengiz Khan invaded India (Mongol invasion). Accession of Razia Sultana to the throne of Delhi. Death of Razia Sultana. Accession of Alauddin Khilji. Death of Alauddin Khilji. Accession of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. Transfer of capital from Delhi to Devagiri (Daulatabad) in Deccan by the Muhammad-binTughlaq. Foundation of Vijaynagar empire in the South. Accession of Firoz Shah Tughlaq. Timurs invasion of India. Birth of Guru Nanak. Accession of Babur in Farghana. First voyage of Vasco da Gama to India (discovery of sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope) First Battle of Panipat; Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi; foundation of Mughal dynasty by Babur. Battle of Khanwa-Babur defeated Rana Sanga. Death of Babur and accession of Humayun. Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun in the battle of Chausa and became Indias emperor. Humayun recaptured the throne of Delhi. Second Battle of Panipat (Bairam Khan defeated Hemu). Battle of Talikota (Rakshasa-Tangadi).

1576 1582 1600 1605 1606 1611 1615 1627 1628 1631 1634 1659 1665 1666 1675 1680 1707 1708 1739 1757 1761

Battle of Haldighati-Rana Pratap was defeated by Akbar. Din-i-Ilahi founded by Akbar. English East India Company established. Death of Akbar and accession of Jahangir. Execution of Guru Arjun Dev, the 5th Guru of Sikhs. Jahangir marries Nurjahan. Sir Thomas Roe visits Jahangir. Birth of Shivaji and death of Jahangir. Shahjahan becomes emperor of India. Death of Mumtazmahal. The English permitted to trade in India (in Bengal). Accession of Aurangzeb, Shahjahan imprisoned. Shivaji imprisoned by Aurangzeb. Death of Shahjahan. Execution of Guru Teg Bahadur, the 9th Guru of Sikhs. Death of Shivaji. Death of Aurangzeb. Death of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Guru of Sikhs. Nadir Shah invades India. Battle of Plassey, establishment of British political rule in India at the hands of Lord Clive. Third battle of Panipat.

III. Modern
1764 1765 1767 69 1780 Battle of Buxar. Clive appointed Companys Governor in India. First Angle-Mysore War. Birth of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

1780-84 Second Anglo-Mysore War. 1784 Pitts India Act.

1790-92 Third Anglo-Mysore War. 1793 1799 1802 The Permanent Settlement of Bengal. Fourth Anglo-Mysore War;Death of Tipu Sultan. Treaty of Bassein.

1809 1829 1830 1833 1839 1839 42 1845 46 1852 1853 1857 1861 1869 1885 1889 1897 1903 1905 1906 1911 1914 1916 1918 1919 1920 1922 1925 1927 1928 1929 1930

Treaty of Amritsar. Practice of Sati prohibited. Raja Rammohan Roy visits England. Death of Raja Rammohan Roy at Bristol, England. Death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. First Anglo-Afghan War. First Anglo-Sikh War. Second Anglo-Burmese War. First Railway line opened between Bombay and Thane and a Telegraph line in Calcutta. The Sepoy Mutiny or First War of Independence. Birth of Rabindranath Tagore. Birth of Mahatma Gandhi. Foundation of Indian National Congress. Birth of Jawaharlal Nehru. Birth of Subhash Chandra Bose. Tibet Expedition. Partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon. Foundation of Muslim League. Delhi Darbar, King George V and Queen visit India; Delhi becomes the capital of India. World War I begins. Lucknow Pact signed by Muslim League and Congress, Foundation of BHU, Home Rule League founded. World War I ends. Montague-Chelmsford Reforms introduced, Jallianwala Bagh massacre at Amritsar. Khilafat Movement launched, first meeting of All-India Trade Union Congress, Hunter Commission Report on Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Published First Non-cooperation movement launched by Gandhi. Violent incidents at Chaura Chauri Gandhi calls of Non-cooperation movement. Communist Party of India organised at Kanpur. Boycott of Simon Commission, Broadcasting started in India. Death of Lala Lajpat Rai, Nehru Report. Resolution of Poorna Swaraj (complete independence) passed at Lahore Session of INC. Civil disobedience movement launched, Dandhi March by Mahatma Gandhi (April 6, 1930) First round table conference held in London.

1931 1932 1935 1937 1938 1939 1941 1942 1943 44 1945 1946 1947

Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Civil Disobedience movement suspended Second round table conference held. MacDonald announces communal award (modified by Poona Pact, September 24). Government of India Act. Provincial Autonomy, Congress forms ministries. All India Kishan Sabha formed. World War II begins (September 3), Resignation of Congress Ministries in Provinces. Escape of Subhash Chandra Bose from India and death of Rabindranath Tagore. Arrival of Cripps Mission in India, Quit India movement launched (August 8). SC Bose forms Provisional Government of Free India and Indian National Army in Singapore; Bengal famine. Trial of Indian National Army at Red Fort, Shimla Conference; World War II ends. British Cabinet Mission visits India; Interim government formed at the Centre. The Muslim league decides on Direct Action for winning Pakistan. Division of India; India and Pakistan form separate independent dominions.

Important Foreign Travellers / Envoys

Megasthenes (302-298 BC) : An ambassador of Selecus Nikator, who visited the court of Chandragupta Maurya and wrote an interesting book Indica in which he gave a vivid account of Chandragupta Mauryas reign. Fa-Hien (405-411 AD) : He came to India during the reign of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya. He was the first Chinese pilgrim to visit India to collect Buddhist texts and relics Hiuen-Tsang (630-645 AD) : He visited India during the reign of Harshavardhana. I-tsing (671-695 AD) : A Chinese traveller, he visited India in connection with Buddhism. Al-Masudi (957 AD) : An Arab traveller, he has given an extensive account of India in his work Muruj-ul-Zehab. Al-beruni (1024-1030 AD) : He came to India along with Mahmud of Ghazni during one of his Indian raids. He travelled all over India and wrote a book Tahqiq-i-Hind. Macro Polo (1292-1294 AD) : A Venetian traveller, visited South India in 1294 A.D. His work The Book of Sir Marco Polo gives an account of the economic history of India. Ibn Batuta (1333-1347 AD) : A Morrish traveller, his book Rehla (the Travelogue) throws a lot of light on the reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq and the geographical, economic and social conditions of that time. Shihabuddin al-Umari (1348 AD) : He came from Damascus and he gives a vivid account of India in his book, Masalik albsar fi-mamalik al-amsar. Nicolo Conti (1420-1421 AD) : A Venetian traveller, gives a comprehensive account of the Hindu kingdom of Vijaynagar. Abdur Razzaq (1443-1444 AD) : He was a Persian traveller, came to India and stayed at the court of the Zamorin at Calicut. He has given a vivid account of the Vijaynagar empire. Athanasius Nikitin (1470-1474 AD) : He was a Russian merchant, describes the condition of the Bahmani kingdom under Muhammad III (1463-82). Durate Barbosa (1500-1516 AD) : He was a Portuguese traveller, has given a valuable narrative of the government and the people of the Vijaynagar empire.

Dominigo Paes (1520-1522 AD) : He was Portuguese traveller, visited the court of Krishnadeva Raya of the Vijaynagar Empire. Fernao Nuniz (1535-1537 AD) : A Portuguese merchant, He wrote the history of the empire from its earliest times of the closing years of Achyutdeva Rayas reign. John Hughen Von Linschotten (1583 AD) : He was a Dutch traveller, has given a valuable account of the social and economic life of South India. William Hawkins (1608-1611 AD) : He was an English ambassador of British King James I to the court of Jahangir (1609). Sir Thomas Roe (1615-1619 AD) : He was an ambassador of James I, King of England, at the court of Jahangir, (the Mughal Emperor). Fransciso Palsaert (1620-1627 AD) : He was a Dutch traveller, stayed at Agra and gave a vivid account of flourishing trade at Surat, Ahmedabad, Broach Cambay, Lahore, Multan, etc. Peter Mundy (1630-34 AD) : He was an Italian traveller to the Mughal empire in the reign of Shahjahan, he gives valuable information about the living standard of the common people in the Mughal Empire. John Albert de Mandesto (1638 AD) : He was German traveller, who reached Surat in 1638. Jeen Baptiste Travernier (1638-1663 AD) : He was a French traveller, his account covers the reign of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb. Nicolao Manucci (1653-1708 AD) : He was an Italian traveller, got service at the court of Dara Shikoh. Francois Bernier (1656-1717 AD) : He was French physician and philosopher. Danishamand Khan, a noble of Aurangzeb, was his patron. Jean de Thevenot (1666 AD) : He was French traveller, has given a good account of cities like Ahmedabad, Cambay, Aurangabad and Goloconda. John Fryer (1672-1681 AD) : He was an English traveller, has given a vivid account of Surat and Bombay. Gemelli Careri (1693 AD) : He was an Italian traveller, his remarks on the Mughal emperors military organisation and administration are important.

The Gandhian Era (1917-47) Facts about Gandhi

Birth : October 2, 1869 at Porbandar, Gujarat. [Note: UNO declared October. 2 as International Non-violence Day (Antarrashtriy Ahimsa Diswas)] Father : Karamchand Gandhi, Mother: Putali Bai, Political Guru: Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Private Secretary: Mahadev Desai. Literary Influence on Gandhi: John Ruskins Unto the Last, Emerson, Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, the Bible and the Gita. Literary Works : Hind Swaraj (1909), My Experiments with Truth (Autobiography, 1927)reveals events of Gandhis life upto 1922. As an Editor : Indian Opinion: 190315 (in English & Gujarati, for a short period in Hindi & Tamil), Harijan: 1919-31 (in English, Gujarati and Hindi), Young India: 193342 (in English gujarati-named Navjeevan). Other Names : Mahatma (Saint) - by Rabindranath Tagore, 1917; Malang Baba/Nanga Faqir (Naked Saint) - by Kabailis of Noth-West Frontier, 1930; Indian Faqir/Traitor Faqir-by Winston Churchill, 1931; Half-naked Saint by- Franq Mores, 1931; Rashtrapita (the Father of the Nation)- by Subhash Chandra Bose, 1944.

In South Africa (1893-1914)

1893 1894 1899 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1913 1914 1915 Departure of Gandhi to South Africa. Foundation of Natal Indian Congress. Foundation of Indian Ambulance Core during Boer Wars. Foundation of Indian Opinion (magazine) and Phoenix Farm, at Phoenix, near Durban. First Civil Disobedience Movement (Satyagaraha) against Asiatic Ordiannce in Transvaal. Satyagraha against Compulsory Registration and Passes for Asians (The Black Act) in Transvaal. Trial and imprisonment-Johanesburg Jail (First Jail Term). Foundation of Tolstoy Farm (Later-Gandhi Ashrama), near Johannesburg. Satyagraha against derecognition of non-Christian marraiges in Cape Town. Awarded Kaisar-i-Hind for raising an Indian Ambulance Core during Boer wars Arrived in Bombay (India) on 9 January 1915; Foundation of Satyagraha Ashrama at Kocharab near Ahmedabad (20 May). In 1917, Ashrama shifted at the banks of Sabarmati; Abstain from active politics (though he attended Lucknow session of INC held in 26 30 December, 1916, where Raj Kumar Shukla, a cultivator from Bihar, requested him to come to Champaran.) Gandhi entered active politics with Champaran campaign to redress grievances of the cultivators oppressed by Indigo planter of Bihar (April 1917). Champaran Satyagraha was his first Civil Disobedience Movement in India. cooperation Movement. In Febuary 1918, Gandhi launched the struggle in Ahmedabad which involved industrial workers. Hunger strike as a weapon was used for the first time by Gandhi during Ahmedabad struggle. In March 1918, Gandhi worked for peasants of Kheda in Gujarat who were facing difficulties in paying the rent owing to failure of crops. Kheda Satyagraha was his first Non

1916

1917

1918

1919

Gandhi gave a call for Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act on April 6, 1919 and took the command of the nationalist movement for the first time (First all-India Political Movement), Gandhi returns Kaisar-i-Hind gold medal as a protest against Jallianwala Bagh massacre-April 13, 1919; The All India Khilafat Conference elected Gandhi as its president (November 1919, Delhi). Gandhi leads the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement (August 1, 1920Febuary 1922), Gandhi calls off Movement (Feb. 12, 1922), after the violent incident at Chauri-Chaura on Febuary 5, 1922. Non-Co-operation Movement was the First mass based politics under Gandhi. Belgaum (Karnataka) session of INCfor the first and the last time Gandhi was elected the president of the Congress.

192022

1924

1925 Gandhi retires from active politics for the first time and devotes himself to constructive 27 programme of the Congress; Gandhi resumes active politics in 1927. Gandhi launches the Civil Disobedience Movement with his Dandhi march/Salt Satyagraha 1930 (First Phase: March 12, 1930March 5, 1931; Gandhi-Irwin Pact: March 5, 1931; Gandhi 34 attends the Second Round Table Conference in London as sole representative of the Congress: September 7-December. 1, 1931; Second Phase: January 3, 1932-April 17, 1934). 1934 Sets up Sevagram (Vardha Ashram). 39 1940 Gandhi launches Individual Satyagraha Movement. 41 1942 Call to Quit India Movement for which Gandhi raised the slogan, Do or Die (Either free India or die in the attempt), Gandhi and all Congress leaders arrested (August 9, 1942).

Gandhi kept in detention at the Aga Khan Palace, near Pune (August 9, 1942-May, 1944). 1942 Gandhi lost his wife Kasturba (Febuary 22, 1944) and private secretary Mahadev Desai; this 44 was Gandhis last prison term. 1946 Deeply distressed by theory of communal violence, as a result Muslim Leagues Direct Action call, Gandhi travelled to Noakhali (East Bengal-now Bangladesh) and later on to Calcutta to restore communal peace. Gandhi, deeply distressed by the Mountbatten Plan/Partition Plan (June 3, 1947), while staying in Calcutta to restore communal violence, observes complete silence on the dawn of Indias Independence (August, 15, 1947). Gandhi returns to Delhi (Septem ber 1947). Gandhi was shot dead by Nathu Ram Godse, a member of RSS, while on his way to the evening prayer meeting at Birla House, New Delhi (January 30, 1948).

1947

1948