Chronology of Important Events in Indian History

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In this article, we are providing you with chronology in Indian History in a tabular form. Here you can check major events in Indian history as it is a very important topic and direct questions have been asked from this in PCS exams.

Chronology of Important Events in Indian History

Ancient India

Year	Event	Importance
2 Million BC to 10,00 BC 2 Million BC to 50,000 BC 50,000 BC to 40,000 BC 40,000 BC to 10,000 BC	Palaeolithic Period Lower Palaeolithic Middle Palaeolithic Upper Palaeolithic	Fire was discovered Tools made of limestones were used. They are found in Chotanagpur plateau and Kurnool district
From 10,000 BC	The Mesolithic Age	Hunters and Herders Microlith tools were used
7000 BC	The Neolithic age	Food producers Use of polished tools
Pre-Harappan Phase – 3000 BC	Chalcolithic Age	Use of Copper – first metal
2500 BC	Harappan Phase	Bronze age civilization, development of Urban culture
1500 BC-1000 BC	Early Vedic period	Rig Veda period
1000BC-500BC	Later Vedic period	Growth of 2nd Urban phase with the establishment of Mahajanapadhas
600 BC – 325 BC	Mahajanapadhas	16 kingdoms with certain republics established
544 BC – 412 BC	Haryanka Dynasty	Bimbisara, Ajatshatru and Udayin
412 BC – 342 BC	Shisunga Dynasty	Shisunga and Kalashoka
344BC – 323 BC	Nanda Dynasty	Mahapadmananda
563 BC	Birth of Gautama Buddha	Buddhism established
540 BC	Birth of Mahavira	24th Tirthankara of Jainism
518 BC	Persian Invasion	Darius
483 BC	1st Buddhist council	Rajgir
383 BC	2nd Buddhist Council	Vaishali
326 BC	Macedonian Invasion	Direct contact between Greek and India
250 BC	3rd Buddhist council	Pataliputra
322 BC – 185 BC 322 BC – 298 BC 298 BC – 273 BC 273 BC – 232 BC 232 BC – 185 BC	Mauryan Period Chandragupta Maurya Bindusara Ashoka Later Mauryans	The political unification of India, Dhamma policy of Ashoka, the growth of art and architecture
185 BC – 73 BC	Sunga Dynasty	Pushyamitra Sunga
73 BC – 28 BC	Kanva dynasty	Vasudeva founded the dynasty
60 BC – 225 AD	Sathavahana dynasty	Capital at Paithan, MH
2nd BC	Indo-Greeks	Menander(165-145AD)
1st BC – 4th AD	The Shakas	Rudradaman (130 AD – 150 AD)
1st BC – 1st AD	The Parthians	St Thomas arrived in India during the reign of Gondophernes
1st AD -4th AD	The Kushans	Kanishka (78 AD – 101 AD)
72 AD	4th Buddhist Council	Kashmir
3rd BC – 3rd AD	Sangam age	Convene of Sangam Commune, Rule of Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas
319 AD – 540 AD 319 – 334 AD 335 – 380 AD 380 – 414 AD 415 – 455 AD 455 – 467 AD	The Gupta Age Chandragupta I Samudragupta Chandragupta II Kumaragupta Skandagupta	319 AD – Gupta Age The golden age of India Development of numerous art and literature. Nagara style of Temple Building
550 AD – 647 AD	Vardhana Dynasty	Harsha (606-647 AD) Kannauj assembly and Prayag assembly held Huan-Tsang visited Harsha’s assembly
543 – 755 AD	Chalukyas of Vatapi	Development of Vesera style
575 - 897 AD	Pallavas of Kanchi	Structural temples in Dravida style started to develop

Medieval India

Early Medieval Period (650 – 1206 AD)

Year	Event	Importance
750 – 1150 AD	Rule of the Palas	Capital at Munger, Bihar
752 – 973 AD	The Rasthrakutas	Capital at Malkhed
730 – 1036 AD	The Pratiharas	Ruled western India
712 AD	First Muslim Invasion	Mahmud Bin Qasim invaded India
850 – 1279 AD	The Cholas	Capital at Tanjore, epitome moment for Dravidian Architecture
998 – 1030 AD	First Turk invasion	Mahmud of Ghazni
1175 – 1206 AD	Second Turk invasion	Mahmud of Ghori
1178 – 1192 AD	Prithviraj Chauhan	The first battle of Tarain in 1191 between Prithviraj and Mahmud of Ghori 1192, Second battle of Tarain

The Sultanate Period (1206 – 1526 AD)

The Slave Dynasty
Year	Event	Importance
1206 – 1210 AD	Qutbuddin Aibak	Known as Lal Bakhsh, began the construction of Qutb Minar
1211 – 1236 AD	Shamsuddin Iltumish	The real founder of Delhi sultanate
1236 – 1240 AD	Razia Sultana	First and only Muslim lady who ever ruled India
1240 – 1266 AD	Weak successors
1266 – 1287 AD	Ghiyasuddin Balban	Established Diwan-i-Arz

 

The Khalji Dynasty
Year	Events	Importance
1290 – 1296 AD	Jalaluddin Khalji	Founder of Khalji dynasty
1296 – 1316 AD	Allaudin Khalji	Did many administrative reforms, introduced the Dagh and Chehra system

 

The Tuglaq dynasty
Year	Events	Importance
1320 – 1325 AD	Ghiyasuddin Tuglaq	Founder
1325 – 1351 AD	Mohammed-Bin-Tuglaq	Introduction of administrative reforms and certain ambitious projects
1351 – 1388 AD	Firoz Shah Tuglaq	Built great cities
1398 – 1399 AD	Taimur Invasion	Taimur, the descendant of Chengiz Khan, invaded during the reign of Muhammad Shah Tuglaq

The Sayyid dynasty 1414 – 1451 AD

The Lodhi Dynasty (1451 – 1526 AD)
Year	Events	Importance
1451 – 1488 AD	Bahlol Lodhi	Founder of Lodhi dynasty
1489 – 1517 AD	Sikander Lodhi	Founded the city of Agra
1517 – 1526 AD	Ibrahim Lodhi	Babur defeated Lodhi in the first battle of Panipat

Vijaynagar and Bahmani Kingdoms

Vijaynagar Kingdom
Year	Events	Importance
1336 – 1485 AD	Sangama Dynasty	Founded by Harihara and Bukka
1485 – 1505 AD	Saluva Dynasty	Saluva Narasimha
1505 – 1570 AD	Tuluva Dynasty	Veer Narashima
1509 – 1529 AD	Krishna Deva Raya	A gifted Scholar, contemporary of Babur
1570 – 1650 AD	Aravidu Dynasty	Founded by Tirumala

 

Bahmani Kingdom
Year	Events	Importance
1347 – 1358 AD	Alaudin Hasan Bahman Shah	Founded the Bahmani Kingdom at Gulbarga
1397 – 1422 AD	Tajuddin Firoz Shah
1422 – 1435 AD	Ahmad Shah Wali

Mughal Empire

Yera	Event	Importance
1526 – 1530 AD	Babur	Founder of Mughal empire after the 1st Battle of Panipat
1530 – 1540 AD 1555 – 1556 AD	Humayun	He was defeated by Sher Shah
1540 – 1555 AD	Sur Empire	Sher Shah defeated Humayun and ruled from 1540-45 AD
1556	2nd Battle of Panipat	Akbar Vs. Hemu
1556 – 1605 AD	Akbar	Established Din-i-illahi, expanded Mughal empire
1605 – 1627 AD	Jehangir	Captain William Hawkins and Sir Thomas Roe visited the Mughal court
1628 -1658 AD	Shahjahan	The pinnacle of Mughal empire and art and architecture
1658 – 1707 AD	Aurangazeb	Beginning of the decline of Mughal empire
1707 – 1857 AD	Later Mughals	Decline and disintegration of Mughal empire with gaining strength of the British

Maratha State and Maratha Confederacy

Maratha state 1674 – 1720 AD
Year	Events	Importance
1674 – 1680 AD	Shivaji	Contemporary of Aurangazeb and the biggest challenge for the Mughals in Deccan
1680 – 1689 AD	Sambhaji
1689 – 1700 AD	Rajaram
1700 – 1707 AD	Tarabai
1707 – 1749 AD	Shahu	The rise of Peshwas
1713 – 1720 AD	Balaji Vishwanath	The first Peshwa

Maratha Confederacy 1720 – 1818 AD

Year	Event	Importance
1720 – 1740 AD	Baji Rao I
1740 – 1761 AD	Balaji Baji Rao
1761 AD	The third battle of Panipat	The defeat of Marathas by Ahmad Shah Abdali
1761 – 1818 AD	Later successors

Anglo Maratha Wars

Year	Event	Importance
1775 – 1782 AD	1st Anglo Maratha War	British were defeated
1803 – 1806 AD	2nd War	Marathas were defeated and they signed the Subsidiary Alliance
1817 – 1818 AD	3rd War	Marathas were decisively defeated

Modern India

Bengal
Year	Events	Importance
1717 – 1727 AD	Murshid Quli Khan	Capital of Bengal transferred to Murshidabad
1727 – 1739 AD	Shujauddin
1739 – 1740 AD	Sarfaraj khan
1740 – 1756 AD	Alivardi Khan
1756 – 1757 AD	Sirajuddaulah	Battle of Plassey
1757 – 1760 AD	Mir Jafar
1760 – 1764 AD	Mir Qasim	Battle of Buxar

 

Mysore
Year	Events	Importance
1761 – 1782 AD	Haider Ali	Establishment of Modern Mysore state
1766 – 1769 AD	1st Anglo – Mysore war	Haider Ali defeated the British
1780 – 1784 AD	2nd Anglo – Mysore war	Haider Ali was defeated by Sir Eyrecoot
1782 – 1799 AD	Tippu Sultan	Continued the 2nd war
1790 – 1792 AD	3rd Anglo – Mysore war	Tipu ceded half of his territory
1799	4th Anglo – Mysore war	Tipu sultan died

 

Punjab
1792 – 1839 AD	Maharaja Ranjit Singh	Founder of Sikh rule
1845 – 1846 AD	1st Anglo – Sikh war	Sikhs were defeated
1848 – 1849 AD	2nd Anglo – Sikh war	Dalhousie annexed Punjab

The advent of Europeans in India

Year	Company
1498	Portuguese East India company	Headquarters at Cochin and Goa
1600	English East India company	Madras, Calcutta and Bombay
1602	Dutch East India company	Pulicat, Nagapattinam
1616	Danish East India company	Serampore
1664	French East India company	Pondicherry

Carnatic wars

1746-48	1st Anglo-French war	Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
1749-54	2nd Anglo-French war	Treaty of Pondicherry
1758-63	3rd Anglo-French war	Treaty of Paris

Freedom Struggle

Year	Event
1857	The First war of Indian independence	Revolt due to socio-religious and economic causes
1885	Formation of Indian National Congress	A.O. Hume
1885 – 1905	Moderate phase	Dominated by Dadabai Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjea
1905 – 1917	Extremists Phase	Dominated by Lal-Bal-Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh
1905	Bengal Partition	Curzon announced the partition
1905 – 1908	Swadeshi movement	Boycott of foreign products
1906	Muslim league formation
1906	Calcutta Session of INC	Swaraj as the goal
1907	Surat split	Question on extending the movement to the rest of India
1909	Morley – Minto reforms	The separate electorate for Muslims
1915 – 1916	Home rule movement	BG Tilak and Annie Besant
1916	Lucknow Pact	The pact between Congress and League
1916	Lucknow session	Extremists admitted in Congress

Gandhian Era

Early life
1893 – 1914	Gandhi in South Africa	Foundation of Natal Indian Congress, Sathyagraha and CDM against British excesses
1915 – 1948	Gandhi in India
1915	Arrived in Bombay. First two years to tour India and not to participate in any political movement
1917	Champaran Campaign	Against the Indigo cultivators
1918	Ahmedabad	First hunger strike
1918	Kheda	First non-cooperation movement
1919	Rowlatt Sathyagraha	Against the Rowlatt act and Jallianwala massacre
1920-22	Non-cooperation and Khilafat movement
1924	Belgaum session	Gandhi elected as Congress president
1930 -34	Civil disobedience movement	Dandi March Gandhi – Irwin Pact 2nd Roundtable conference Resuming the Civil disobedience movement
1940-41	Individual satyagraha
1942	Quit India movement	Do or die

Important Events during this period

Year	Event
1919	Rowlatt act	Gandhi gave a call for Rowlatt satyagraha
1919	Jallianwala Massacre
1920-22	Khilafat and Non-cooperation movement	Hindu Muslim unity
1922	Chauri Chaura incident	Gandhi called off NCM
1923	Congress Khilafat Swaraj Party	Enter legislative councils
1927	Simon commission	All white commission to review the 1919 act
1928	Nehru committee report	To determine the principles of the constitution
1929	Jinnah’s 14 points
1929	Lahore session	Purna Swaraj
1930	Civil disobedience movement	Dandi March
1931	Gandhi Irwin Pact	To ask Gandhi participate in the 2nd RTC
1931	2nd RTC held in London
1932	Communal award
1932	Poona Pact
1935	Government of India act	Provisional autonomy
1937	18 months rule of Congress begins
1939-45	World War II begins
1939	Congress ministries resign
1940	August offer	Linlithgow proposed to seek India’s cooperation in the World War
1941	Individual Satyagraha
1942	Cripps mission
1942	Quit India movement
1943	Gandhi’s 21 days fast
1944	C R Formula
1945	Wavell Plan and Shimla Conference
1945	INA Trails
1946	RIN Ratings Mutiny
1946	Cabinet mission plan
1946	Formation of Interim government
1946	Formation of the constituent assembly
1947	Atlee’s announcement
1947	Mountbatten Plan
1947	Indian independence act, 1947

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