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Graduate Level intermediate Important Years Indian History Quick Reference Timeline
200+ Important Years in Indian History — Quick Reference Table
Over 200 important years paired with events in Indian history for rapid recall and Kerala PSC exam preparation.
Relevant for: Graduate Level Prelims, Secretariat Assistant, LDC, University Assistant
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📋 At a glance
— Over 200 important years paired with events in Indian history for rapid recall and Kerala PSC exam preparation.
#Important Years
#Indian History
#Quick Reference
#Timeline
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“In which year…” questions are guaranteed in every PSC paper. This pure reference gives you 200+ year-event pairs for instant recall.
Ancient and Medieval Period
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 563 BCE | Birth of Gautama Buddha |
| 540 BCE | Birth of Mahavira |
| 327 BCE | Alexander invades India |
| 326 BCE | Battle of Hydaspes (Alexander vs. Porus) |
| 321 BCE | Chandragupta Maurya establishes Maurya Empire |
| 305 BCE | Chandragupta defeats Seleucus Nicator |
| 261 BCE | Battle of Kalinga (Ashoka embraces Buddhism) |
| 78 CE | Kanishka’s accession; Saka Era begins |
| 320 CE | Gupta Empire established by Chandragupta I |
| 405-411 CE | Fa-Hien visits India |
| 606 CE | Harshavardhan ascends throne |
| 629 CE | Cheraman Juma Masjid built (Kodungallur) |
| 712 CE | Arab invasion of Sindh (Muhammad bin Qasim) |
| 788 CE | Birth of Adi Shankaracharya (Kalady, Kerala) |
| 1001 | Mahmud of Ghazni’s first raid on India |
| 1025 | Ghazni raids Somnath Temple |
| 1191 | First Battle of Tarain (Prithviraj defeats Ghori) |
| 1192 | Second Battle of Tarain (Ghori defeats Prithviraj) |
| 1206 | Slave Dynasty established (Delhi Sultanate begins) |
| 1236 | Razia Sultana becomes Sultan |
| 1336 | Vijayanagara Empire founded |
| 1347 | Bahmani Kingdom established |
| 1398 | Timur invades Delhi |
| 1469 | Birth of Guru Nanak |
| 1498 | Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut |
| 1510 | Portuguese capture Goa |
| 1526 | First Battle of Panipat — Mughal Empire established by Babur |
| 1527 | Battle of Khanwa (Babur defeats Rana Sanga) |
| 1556 | Second Battle of Panipat (Akbar defeats Hemu) |
| 1565 | Battle of Talikota (Vijayanagara destroyed) |
| 1571 | Akbar builds Fatehpur Sikri |
| 1576 | Battle of Haldighati (Akbar vs. Rana Pratap) |
| 1600 | British East India Company established |
| 1605 | Death of Akbar; Jahangir’s accession |
| 1627 | Shah Jahan becomes emperor |
| 1632 | Construction of Taj Mahal begins |
| 1658 | Aurangzeb becomes emperor |
| 1674 | Shivaji crowned Chhatrapati |
| 1707 | Death of Aurangzeb |
| 1739 | Nadir Shah invades Delhi |
| 1741 | Battle of Colachel (Marthanda Varma defeats Dutch) |
| 1757 | Battle of Plassey |
| 1761 | Third Battle of Panipat |
| 1764 | Battle of Buxar |
British India — Key Years
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1765 | Diwani of Bengal granted to Clive |
| 1772 | Warren Hastings becomes Governor-General of Bengal |
| 1784 | Pitt’s India Act |
| 1793 | Permanent Settlement (Cornwallis) |
| 1799 | Tipu Sultan killed at Seringapatam |
| 1817 | CMS College Kottayam founded (oldest in South Asia) |
| 1828 | Brahmo Samaj founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy |
| 1829 | Sati abolished (Bentinck) |
| 1835 | English as medium of instruction (Macaulay’s Minute) |
| 1844 | First telegraph experiment in India |
| 1848 | Doctrine of Lapse (Dalhousie) |
| 1853 | First railway: Mumbai to Thane (April 16) |
| 1856 | Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act |
| 1857 | First War of Independence (Sepoy Mutiny) |
| 1858 | Government of India Act; Crown takes over |
| 1872 | First Census of India |
| 1875 | Arya Samaj founded (Swami Dayanand) |
| 1878 | Vernacular Press Act (Lytton) |
| 1882 | Hunter Commission |
| 1885 | Indian National Congress founded (Bombay, A.O. Hume) |
| 1889 | Kottayam becomes first 100% literate district |
| 1893 | Vivekananda’s Chicago speech |
| 1897 | Chapekar Brothers assassinate Rand; plague epidemic |
| 1903 | SNDP Yogam founded |
| 1905 | Partition of Bengal (Curzon); Swadeshi Movement |
| 1906 | Muslim League founded (Dhaka) |
| 1907 | Surat Split (Congress) |
| 1909 | Morley-Minto Reforms |
| 1911 | Partition of Bengal revoked; capital shifts to Delhi |
| 1916 | Lucknow Pact; Home Rule Movement |
| 1917 | Champaran Satyagraha (Gandhi’s first in India) |
| 1919 | Rowlatt Act; Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (April 13) |
| 1920 | Non-Cooperation Movement; Khilafat Movement |
| 1922 | Chauri Chaura incident |
| 1924 | Vaikom Satyagraha begins |
| 1927 | Simon Commission (boycotted) |
| 1928 | Nehru Report; Lala Lajpat Rai dies |
| 1929 | Purna Swaraj resolution (Lahore Session, December 31) |
| 1930 | Salt March / Dandi March (March 12); Civil Disobedience |
| 1931 | Gandhi-Irwin Pact |
| 1932 | Communal Award; Poona Pact |
| 1935 | Government of India Act |
| 1936 | Temple Entry Proclamation (Travancore) |
| 1937 | Provincial elections under 1935 Act |
| 1940 | Pakistan Resolution (Lahore, Muslim League) |
| 1942 | Quit India Movement (August 8) |
| 1943 | INA formed by Bose; Bengal Famine |
| 1946 | Cabinet Mission; Direct Action Day; RIN Mutiny |
| 1947 | Independence (August 15); Partition |
Post-Independence India
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1948 | Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi (January 30) |
| 1949 | Constituent Assembly adopts Constitution (November 26) |
| 1950 | Constitution comes into force (January 26, Republic Day) |
| 1951 | First Five Year Plan; First General Elections begin |
| 1952 | First Lok Sabha constituted |
| 1953 | Andhra Pradesh formed (first linguistic state) |
| 1955 | Imperial Bank nationalised as SBI |
| 1956 | States Reorganisation Act; Kerala formed (November 1) |
| 1957 | First elected communist government (Kerala, EMS) |
| 1961 | Goa liberated from Portuguese |
| 1962 | India-China War |
| 1963 | Nagaland becomes a state |
| 1964 | Death of Jawaharlal Nehru (May 27) |
| 1965 | India-Pakistan War |
| 1966 | Indira Gandhi becomes PM; Tashkent Declaration |
| 1967 | Kerala State Lottery started (first in India) |
| 1969 | Bank nationalisation (14 banks) |
| 1971 | India-Pakistan War; Bangladesh liberation |
| 1972 | Simla Agreement; Project Tiger launched |
| 1974 | Pokhran-I (first nuclear test, “Smiling Buddha”) |
| 1975 | Emergency declared (June 25) by Indira Gandhi |
| 1977 | Emergency ends; Janata Party wins elections |
| 1980 | Bank nationalisation (6 more banks) |
| 1984 | Operation Blue Star; Indira Gandhi assassinated (October 31); Bhopal Gas Tragedy (December 3) |
| 1986 | New Education Policy; Consumer Protection Act |
| 1988 | SEBI established (statutory powers 1992) |
| 1989 | Voting age reduced to 18 (61st Amendment) |
| 1990 | Mandal Commission recommendations implemented |
| 1991 | LPG reforms (Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation); Rajiv Gandhi assassinated (May 21) |
| 1992 | Babri Masjid demolition (December 6); 73rd and 74th Amendments (Panchayat/Municipality) |
| 1993 | Mumbai bomb blasts (March 12) |
| 1996 | Kudumbashree launched (Kerala) |
| 1998 | Pokhran-II (nuclear tests under Vajpayee) |
| 1999 | Kargil War |
| 2000 | Three new states: Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand |
| 2001 | Gujarat earthquake; Parliament attack (December 13) |
| 2002 | Gujarat riots; Abdul Kalam becomes President |
| 2004 | Indian Ocean Tsunami (December 26) |
| 2005 | RTI Act enacted; MGNREGA passed |
| 2008 | Mumbai terror attacks (November 26, 26/11) |
| 2009 | Right to Education Act |
| 2011 | Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement; Jan Lokpal Bill agitation |
| 2012 | Nirbhaya case (December 16) |
| 2013 | National Food Security Act |
| 2014 | PMJDY, Make in India, Swachh Bharat launched |
| 2015 | CIAL becomes world’s first solar airport |
| 2016 | Demonetisation (November 8); Surgical Strikes |
| 2017 | GST implemented (July 1); Kochi Metro starts |
| 2018 | Ayushman Bharat launched; Kerala floods |
| 2019 | Article 370 abrogated; Balakot air strikes; CAA passed; 10% EWS reservation |
| 2020 | COVID-19 pandemic; NEP 2020; Atmanirbhar Bharat |
| 2021 | India’s vaccination drive begins (January 16); 105th Amendment (state OBC list power) |
| 2022 | India hosts G20 presidency; Agnipath scheme |
| 2023 | Chandrayaan-3 lands on Moon’s south pole (August 23); Women’s Reservation Act (106th Amendment); India renamed “Bharat” for G20 |
| 2024 | New criminal laws (BNS, BNSS, BSA) replace IPC, CrPC, Evidence Act (July 1) |
Important Days and Their Years
| Date | Event | Year Established |
|---|---|---|
| January 26 | Republic Day | 1950 |
| August 15 | Independence Day | 1947 |
| October 2 | Gandhi Jayanti | 1869 (birth year) |
| November 1 | Kerala Piravi | 1956 |
| November 14 | Children’s Day (Nehru’s birthday) | 1889 (birth year) |
| November 26 | Constitution Day | 1949 (adopted) |
| January 30 | Martyrs’ Day (Gandhi’s assassination) | 1948 |
| April 14 | Ambedkar Jayanti | 1891 (birth year) |
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