A to Z of A free Nation: Chronicling India’s ups and downs through seven decades
A to Z of A free Nation: Chronicling India’s ups and downs through seven decades
1. Aryabhata launched: 1975
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Aryabhata launched: 1975
Named after the famous Indian astronomer, the 360-kg first Indian satellite is built by India’s space agency, ISRO, to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, aeronomics, and solar physics. It is launched by Russia from its Kapustin Yar rocket launch and development site. It re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere 17 years later.
Agra Summit: 2001
PM AB Vajpayee meets with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to resolve long-standing issues between the two countries. Various rounds of one-to-one talks were held with hopefulness and in a spirit of good will. But the historic event fails to achieve a breakthrough because of differences over Kashmir.
2. Bangladesh War: 1971
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Bangladesh War: 1971
India intervenes on Bangladesh's behalf and achieves its greatest military victory. About 90,000 Pakistani soldiers surrender before the Indian Army. A new country, Bangladesh, is born. India and Pakistan had already fought in 1948 and 1965.
Bofors scandal: 1987
The Bofors scandal shook the nation because it exposed large-scale corruption that accompanies defence deals. The then PM, Rajiv Gandhi, is accused of receiving kickbacks on artillery contracts from Swedish company, Bofors. He loses power in 1989.
3. Constitution: 1950
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Constitution: 1950
India becomes a sovereign democratic republic after its constitution comes into effect. Dr Rajendra Prasad becomes India’s first President. Three words — socialist, secular and integrity — added much later to the Preamble in 1976.
China war: 1962
India, China fight a brief but bloody border war. India’s defeat comes as a setback to the relatively new country. It’s back in the news over the Doklam stand-off.
4. Delhi gang rape: 2012
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Doordarshan beams: 1959
By 1975, DD was in seven Indian cities, and in 1982, it officially became the National Broadcaster. After that, Doordarshan reached every nook and corners of the country.
Durga, first test-tube baby: 1986
Harsha Chawda, to be known as Durga, is India’s first test tube baby, a feat that makes IVF specialist Dr Indira Hinduja a household name in the country.
Delhi gang rape: 2012
A physiotherapy student is gang-raped on a moving bus in south Delhi. She later dies. Large-scale street protests force the government to enact stricter laws against sexual violence. In 2017, all convicts, barring the minor, are sentenced to death.
5. Emergency imposed: 1975
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Emergency imposed: 1975
Following public unrest after a court order finds Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral corruption, she declares a state of internal Emergency, during which the Press is gagged and 1,00,000 are jailed.
Economic liberalisation: 1991
PM PV Narasimha Rao and FM Manmohan Singh launch reforms to end the Licence Raj.
6. First general polls: 1951
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First general polls: 1951
First Lok Sabha is elected. Congress wins a landslide. Nehru becomes India’s first democratically-elected PM.
5-year plan effective: 1951
Indian economy is planned, developed, and monitored by the Planning Commission till 2014. After that, Niti Aayog comes into being.
7. Gandhi first woman PM: 1966
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Gandhi first woman PM: 1966
Assassinated in 1984 after her move to launch a military operation inside Golden Temple. Indira Gandhi is succeeded by son Rajiv Gandhi as PM. Anti-Sikh riots break out.
Goods and Services Tax: 2017
The ‘one nation one tax’ rolls out as the biggest tax reform in India. GST is expected to reshape India’s business landscape, making the world’s fastest growing economy an easier place to do business with.
8. Hockey Olympic gold: 1948
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Hockey Olympic gold: 1948
India defeats UK to win the country’s first Olympic gold medal since it became independent.
Harit Kranti: 1961
Through Green Revolution, India increases its yields due to improved agronomic technology.
9. India gets Independence: 1947
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India gets Independence: 1947
India wins independence from Britain after being divided into two separate nations, India and Pakistan. Jawaharlal Nehru is appointed the first PM. Hundreds of thousands die in widespread communal violence in the wake of Partition. Indian Airlines is formed in 1953. ISRO is set up in 1969. Internet comes to India in 1995.
10. Jana Gana Mana adopted: 1950
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Janata government: 1977
Amid massive unpopularity because of her decision to impose Emergency, Indira Gandhi is voted out of power. India has its first non-Congress government with Morarji Desai as PM.
Jana Gana Mana adopted: 1950
Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s song becomes India's National Anthem.
11. Kargil war: 1999
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Kargil war: 1999
Guns fired and a battle raged between India and Pakistan high on the icy mountains of Kargil. After three months, Indian jawans recapture the lost territory.
Kalpana Chawla: 1997
First woman of Indian origin travels to space. Her first flight in 1997 was on Space Shuttle Columbia as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. In 2003, she dies in an accident when her shuttle develops a snag.
12. LK Advani’s Rath Yatra: 1990
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LK Advani’s Rath Yatra: 1990
His trip to mobilise public support for Ram Mandir at Ayodhya leads to BJP’s resurgence. It also leads to the fall of VP Singh’s government at the Centre.
Lahore Bus Yatra: 1999
PM AB Vajpayee makes a historic bus trip to Pakistan to meet PM Nawaz Sharif and to sign the Lahore Declaration.
13. Mumbai terror attacks: 2008
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Mahatma assassinated: 1948
The killing of the Father of the Nation in New Delhi shocks India and the world. Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte are hanged the next year for the crime.
Mumbai terror attacks: 2008
Pak-backed outfit LeT kills 166 people during three days of carnage in Mumbai.
Mandal controversy: 1990
PM VP Singh implements the recommendations of Mandal Commission, sparks widespread protests in India.
Mother Teresa’s Nobel: 1979
The first woman from India to win the Prize, it was in recognition of her untiring efforts to help the poor after she settled in Kolkata.
14. Nuclear tests: 1974 & 1998
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Nuclear tests: 1974 & 1998
India becomes the sixth nation to explode a nuclear device in Pokhran when Indira Gandhi is in power. In 1998, PM Vajpayee stuns the world by conducting underground nuclear tests again in Pokhran. International outrage and sanctions follow.
15. Operation Blue Star: 1984
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Operation Blue Star: 1984
PM Indira Gandhi dispatches troops into Amritsar’s Harimandir Sahib, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs. More than 1,000 people are killed in that operation to oust separatist militants.
Olympic gold medal: 2008
Abhinav Bindra wins India’s first individual Olympic gold medal.
16. Parliament attack: 2001
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Parliament attack: 2001
Five terrorists, six cops, two Parliament security personnel and a gardener killed, pushing India, Pak close to war. In 2013, Kashmiri separatist Afzal Guru was hanged in Delhi’s Tihar jail for his role in the attack.
17. Quit India stir anniversary: 2017
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Quit India stir anniversary: 2017
India celebrates the 75th anniversary of the 1942 Quit India Movement. Parliament resolves to create a New India of the dreams of freedom fighters by 2022.
18. Rajiv’s assassination: 1991
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Rajiv’s assassination: 1991
The ex-PM is killed in a bomb attack at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. The attack was blamed on LTTE. At that time India had just ended its involvement, through the Indian Peace Keeping Force, in the Sri Lankan civil war.
Rakesh Sharma in space: 1984
He becomes the first Indian to do so when he flew aboard the Soviet rocket Soyuz T-11, launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.
19. Shah Bano case: 1985
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Shah Bano case: 1985
Following a Supreme Court order granting the Muslim woman’s right to alimony from her husband, the Rajiv Gandhi government reverses the judgment in Parliament under pressure from orthodox Muslims. It was part of the balancing act undertaken by the then PM when he allowed the unlocking of the Babri Masjid in 1986 for Ram Mandir shilanyas (groundbreaking) ceremony.
20. Tsunami: 2004
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Tsunami: 2004
Devastation hits India’s southern coast. A series of tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean kill 230,000–280,000 people in 14 countries.
21. Uttarakhand tragedy: 2013
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Uttarakhand tragedy: 2013
Cloudbursts in Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath and other areas cause devastating floods and landslides. More than 5,700 people are feared dead.
22. Vemula’s suicide: 2016
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Vajpayee is PM: 1996
This also marks the 1st BJP government at Centre. It lasts only 13 days. AB Vajpayee loses the trust vote in Parliament but his popularity soars. His government returns to power in 1998, 1999.
Vemula’s suicide: 2016
The PhD student at the University of Hyderabad took his own life due to alleged caste discrimination. It sparked student protests across campuses in the country.
23. World Cup win: 1983
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World Cup win: 1983
Led by legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, India wins its first Cricket World Cup by defeating West Indies in the finals. Under MS Dhoni, India wins its first T20 World Cup in 2007 and second 50-over World title in 2011.
24. Xenophobia: 2017
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X-rated entertainment: 2015
In its effort to ban child pornography, the Centre seeks a ban on all pornographic sites. It later revises its decision, reaffirming its commitment to freedom of communication and expression.
Xenophobia: 2017
Groups in Greater Noida near Delhi thrash Africans, and give India a bad name. It snowballed into a diplomatic crisis as African envoys call the attacks racist and threaten action.
25. Yogi is CM: 2017
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Yogi is CM: 2017
Priest-politician Yogi Adityanath is chosen to helm UP.
26. Zamindari abolition: 1956
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Zamindari abolition: 1956
As part of one of the major reforms, most states in India pass the Zamindari Abolition Act after the nod from Parliament to the first amendment that was passed in 1951.
