| 2700 BC |
Harappa Civilisation |
| 1000 BC |
Aryans expand into the Ganga valley |
| 900 BC |
Mahabharata War |
| 800 BC |
Aryans expand into Bengal; Beginning of the Epic Age: Mahabharata composed, first version of Ramayana |
| 550 BC |
Composition of the Upanishads |
| 544 BC |
Buddha's Nirvana |
| 327 BC |
Alexander's Invasion |
| 325 BC |
Alexander marches ahead |
| 324 BC |
Chandragupta Maurya defeats Seleacus Nicator |
| 322 BC |
Rise of the Mauryas; Chandragupta establishes first Indian Empire |
| 298 BC |
Bindusara coronated |
| 272 BC |
Ashoka reigns |
| 180 BC |
Fall of the Mauryas ; Rise of the Sungas |
| 145 BC : |
Chola king Erata conquers Ceylon |
| 58 BC |
Epoch of the Krita-Malava-Vikram Era |
| 30 BC |
Rise of the Satvahana Dynasty in the Deccan |
| 40 AD |
Sakas in power in Indus Valley and Western India |
| 50 AD |
The Kushans and Kanishkas |
| 78 AD |
Saka Era begins |
| 320 AD |
Chandragupta I establishes the Gupta dynasty |
| 360 AD |
Samudragupta conquers the North and most of the Deccan |
| 380 AD |
Chandragupta II comes to power; Golden Age of Gupta Literary Renaissance |
| 405 AD |
Fa-hein begins his travels through the Gupta Empire |
| 415 AD |
Accession of Kumara Gupta I |
| 467 AD |
Skanda Gupta assumes power |
| 476 AD |
Birth of astronomer Aryabhatta |
| 606 AD |
Accession of Harshavardhan Gupta |
| 622 AD |
Era of the Hejira begins |
| 711 AD |
Invasion of Sind by Muhammad Bin Qasim |
| 892 AD |
Rise of the Eastern Chalukyas |
| 985 AD | The Chola Dynasty: Accession of Rajaraja, the Great |
| 1001 AD | Defeat of Jaipal by Sultan Mahumd |
| 1026 | Mahmud Ghazni sacks Somnath Temple |
| 1191 | Prithviraj Chauhan routs Muhammad Ghori: the first battle of Tarain |
| 1192 | Ghori defeats Prithviraj Chauhan: the second battle of Tarain |
| 1206 | Qutbuddin establishes the Slave Dynasty |
| 1221 | Mongol invasion under Genghis Khan |
| 1232 | Foundation of the Qutub Minar |
| 1288 | Marco Polo visits India |
| 1290 | Jalaludin Firuz Khalji establishes the Khalji dynasty |
| 1320 | Ghiyasuddin Tughluk founds the Tughluk dynasty |
| 1325 | Accession of Muhammad-bin-Tughluk |
| 1336 | Foundation of Vijayanagar (Deccan) |
| 1398 | Timur invades India |
| 1424 | Rise of the Bahmani dynasty (Deccan) |
| 1451 | The Lodi dynasty established in Delhi |
| 1489 | Adil Shah establishes dynasty at Bijapur |
| 1490 | Nizam Shahi dynasty at Ahmednagar starts |
| 1498 | Vasco da Gama lands in India |
| 1510 | The Portuguese capture Goa |
| 1518 | Kutub Shahi dynasty established at Golconda |
| 1526 | The beginning of the Mughul Dynasty with the First Battle of Panipat and Babur defeating the Lodis |
| 1526-1530 | Reign of Babur |
| 1530 | Humayun succeeds Babur |
| 1538 | Death of Guru Nanak |
| 1539 | Sher Shah Suri defeats Humayan and becomes Emperor of Delhi |
| 1555 | Humayun recovers the throne of Delhi |
| 1556 | Death of Humayun leads to accession of Akbar. |
| 1564 | Akbar abolishes poll tax on Hindus |
| 1565 | Battle of Talikota where Muslim rulers in Deccan overcome the Vijaynagar Empire |
| 1568 | Fall of Chittaur |
| 1571 | Foundation of Fatehpur Sikri by Akbar |
| 1572 | Akbar annexes Gujarat |
| 1573 | Surat surrenders to Akbar |
| 1575 | Battle of Tukaroi |
| 1576 | Battle of Haldighat: Akbar defeats Rana Pratap; Subjugation of Bengal |
| 1577 | Akbar invades Khandesh |
| 1580 | Accession of Ibrahim Adil Shah II in Bengal. Rebellion in Bihar and Bengal |
| 1581 | Akbar's march against Muhammad Hakim and reconciliation with him |
| 1586 | Annexation of Kashmir |
| 1591 | Mughul conquest of Sind |
| 1592 | Annexation of Orissa |
| 1595 | Siege of Ahmednagar; Annexation of Baluchistan |
| 1597 | Akbar completes his conquests |
| 1600 | Charter of the English East India Company |
| 1602 | Formation of the United East India Company of Netherlands |
| 1605 | Death of Akbar follwed by Jahangir suucceding to the throne |
| 1606 | Rebellion of Khusrav; Execution of the Fifth Sikh Guru, Arjan |
| 1612 | The Mughul Governor of Bengal defeats the rebellious Afghans and the Mughuls annex Kuch Hajo |
| 1615 | Submission of Mewar to the Mughuls; Arrival of Sir Thomas Roe in India |
| 1620 | Capture of Kangra Fort; Malik Ambar revolts in the Deccan |
| 1622 | Shah Abbas of Persia beseiges and takes Qandahar |
| 1623 | Shah Jahan revolts against Jahangir |
| 1624 | Suppression of Shah Jahan's rebellion |
| 1627 | Death of Jahangir, followed by Shah Jahan succeeding |
| 1628 | Shah Jahan proclaimed Emperor |
| 1631 | Death of Shah Jahan's wife Mumtaz Mahal and the construction of Taj Mahal |
| 1632 | Mughul invasion of Bijapur; Grant of the "Golden Firman" to the English Company by the Sultan of Golkunda |
| 1633 | End of Ahmednagar Dynasty |
| 1636 | Aurangzeb appointed Viceroy of Deccan |
| 1639 | Foundation of Fort St. George at Madras by the English |
| 1646 | Shivaji captures Torna |
| 1656 | The Mughuls attack Hyderabad and Golkunda; Annexation of Javli by Shivaji |
| 1657 | Invasion of Bijapur by Aurangzeb; Aurangzeb captures Bidar and Kalyani |
| 1658 | Coronation of Aurangzeb |
| 1659 | Battles of Khajwah and Deorai |
| 1661 | Cession of Bombay to the English; Mughul capture Cooch Bihar |
| 1664 | Shivaji sacks Surat and assumes royal title |
| 1666 | Death of Shah Jahan; Shivaji's visit to Agra and escape |
| 1674 | Shivaji assumes the title of Chhatrapati |
| 1678 | Marwar occupied by the Mughuls |
| 1680 | Death of Shivaji |
| 1686 | Fall of Bijapur |
| 1689 | Execution of Sambhaji |
| 1698 | The new English company trading to the East Indies |
| 1699 | First Maratha raid on Malwa |
| 1707 | Death of Aurangzeb and the Battle of Jajau |
| 1714 | Husain Ali appointed Viceroy of the Deccan. Treaty of Marathas with Husain Ali |
| 1739 | Nadir Shah conquers Delhi |
| 1740 | Accession of Balaji Rao Peshwa. The Marathas invade Arcot |
| 1742 | Marathas invade Bengal |
| 1750 | War of the Deccan and Carnatic Succession; Death of Nasir Jang |
| 1751 | Treaty of Alivadi with the Marathas |
| 1756 | Siraj-ud-daulah captures Calcutta |
| 1757 | Battle of Plassey: The British defeat Siraj-ud-daulah |
| 1760 | Battle of Wandiwash: The British defeat the French |
| 1761 | Third battle of Panipat: Ahmed Shah Abdali defeats the Marathas; Accession of Madhava Rao Peshwa; Rise of Hyder Ali |
| 1764 | Battle of Buxar: The British defeat Mir Kasim |
| 1765 | The British get Diwani Rights in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa |
| 1767-1769 | First Mysore War: The British conclude a humiliating peace pact with Hyder Ali |
| 1772 | Death of Madhava Rao Peshwa; Warren Hastings appointed as Governor of Bengal |
| 1773 | The Regulating Act passed by the British Parliament |
| 1774 | Warren Hastings appointed as Governor-General |
| 1775-1782 | The First Anglo-Maratha war |
| 1780-Second Mysore War : | The British defeat Hyder Ali |
| 1784 | Pitt's India Act |
| 1790-1792 | Third Mysore War between the British and Tipu |
| 1793 | Permanent Settlement of Bengal |
| 1794 | Death of Mahadaji Sindhia |
| 1799 Fourth Mysore War: | The British defeat Tipu; Death of Tipu; Partition of Mysore |
| 1802 | Treaty of Bassein |
| 1803-1805 | The Second Anglo-Maratha war: The British defeat the Marathas at Assaye:Treaty of Amritsar |
| 1814-1816 | The Anglo-Gurkha war |
| 1817-1818 | The Pindari war |
| 1817-1819 | The last Anglo-Maratha war: Marathas finally crushed by the British |
| 1824-1826 | The First Burmese war |
| 1829 | Prohibition of Sati |
| 1829-1837 | Suppression of Thuggee |
| 1831 | Raja of Mysore deposed and its administration taken over by East India Company |
| 1833 | Renewal of Company's Charter and the abolition of company's trading rights |
| 1838 | Tripartite treaty between Shah Shuja, Ranjit Singh and the British |
| 1839-1842 | First Afghan war |
| 1843 | Gwalior war |
| 1845-1846 | First Anglo-Sikh war |
| 1848 | Lord Dalhousie becomes the Governor-General |
| 1848-1849 | Second Anglo-Sikh war with the rise of the Sikhs followed by the British annexing Punjab as Sikhs are defeated |
| 1852 | Second Anglo-Burmese war |
| 1853 | Railway opened from Bombay to Thane, telegraph line from Calcutta to Agra |
| 1857 | First War of Indian Independence |
| 1858 | British Crown takes over the Indian Government |
| 1861 | Indian Councils Act, Indian High Courts Act, Introduction of the Penal Code |
| 1868 | Punjab Tenancy Act, Railway opened from Ambala to Delhi |
| 1874 | The Bihar Famine |
| 1877 | Delhi Durbar: The Queen of England proclaimed Empress of India |
| 1878 | Vernacular Press Act |
| 1885 | First meeting of the Indian National Congress; Bengal Tenancy Act |
| 1897 | Plague in Bombay. Famine Commission |
| 1899 | Lord Curzon becomes Governor-General and Viceroy |
| 1905 | The First Partition of Bengal |
| 1906 | Formation of Muslim League; Congress declaration regarding Swaraj |
| 1911 | Delhi Durbar; Partition of Bengal modified to create the Presidency of Bengal |
| 1912 | The Imperial capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi |
| 1916 | Home Rule League founded, Jalianwalla Bagh massacre |
| 1920 | Mahatma Gandhi leads the Congress, non-co-operation movement started |
| 1921 | First Census of India |
| 1922 | Civil Disobedience Movement, followed by violence at Chauri-Chaura which leads Gandhi to suspend movement |
| 1923 | Inclusion of Swarajis in Indian Councils, certification of Salt Tax; Hindu-Muslim riots |
| 1927 | Simon Commission Appointed |
| 1928 | Simon Commission comes to India, boycotted by all parties. |
| 1929 | Lord Irwin promises Dominion status for India, Jawaharlal Nehru hoists the National Flag at Lahore |
| 1930 | Civil Disobedience movement continues, salt satyagraha, Gandhiji's Dandi March, First Round Table Conference |
| 1931 | Second Round Table Conference; Irwin-Gandhi Pact; Census of India |
| 1932 | Third Round Table Conference |
| 1933 | Publication of White Paper on Indian reforms |
| 1934 | Civil Disobedience Movement called off; Bihar Earthquake |
| 1935 | Government of India Act |
| 1937 | Inauguration of Provincial Autonomy; Congress ministries formed in a majority of Indian provinces |
| 1939 | Political deadlock in India as Congress ministries resign |
| 1942 | Cripps Mission to India, Congress adopts Quit India Resolution, Congress leaders arrested, Subhash Chandra Bose forms Indian National Army |
| 1944 | Gandhi-Jinnah talks break down on Pakistan issue |
| 1945 | First trial of Indian Army men opened |
| 1946 | Mutiny in Royal Indian Navy, Cabinet Mission's plan announced, Muslim League decides to participate in the Interim Government, Interim Government formed, Constituent Assembly's first meeting |
| 15 Aug 1947 | Indian Independence, Jawaharlal Nehru becomes the first Indian Prime Minister |
| 1948 | Reserve Bank of India nationalized, Mahatma Gandhi assassinated, B.R.Ambedkar presents first Draft Constitution to Constituent Assembly |
| 26 Jan 1950 | Republic of India declared with the Constitution of India in force |
| 1951 | First Five year plan set in motion |
| '51- Feb'52 | First General Election |
| 1956 | Second Five year Plan |
| 1957 | Second General Election held |
| 1959 | Dalai Lama flees from Tibet to India, military confrontation with China in Aksai Chin |
| 1961 | Liberation of Goa |
| 1962 | Third General election |
| 1962 | Indo-China war |
| 1964 | Jawaharlal Nehru dies, Lal Bahadur Shastri becomes Prime Minister |
| 1965 | Indo-Pak war |
| 1966 | Lal Bahadur Shastri dies, Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister |
| 1967 | Fourth General Election |
| 1969 | Morarji Desai resigns from cabinet, fourteen Banks nationalized, Indira Gandhi expelled from Congress party for indiscipline |
| 1970 | Supreme court holds nationalisation of banks illegal, Privy Purses and special privileges of former Indian rulers abolished |
| 971 | Fifth General Election, Indo-Pakistan War |
| 1973 | Coal mines nationalised; Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) passed |
| 1974 | Underground nuclear explosion at Pokhran |
| 1975 | Indian satellite Aryabhatta launched, Sikkim joins India, Emergency declared Indira Gandhi announces 20-point economic programme |
| 1976 | Private Oil companies nationalized, Urban Land Ceiling Regulation Act passed |
| 1977 | Sixth General Election: first Non-Congress Govt, led by Morarji Desai |
| 1979 | Morarji Desai resigns after split in Janata Party, Seventh General Election, Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister again |
| 1982 | The Ninth Asian games held in Delhi |
| 1983 | Indira Gandhi imposes President's rule on Punjab |
| 1984 | Operation Blue Star where Indian army storms Golden Temple in Amritsar, killing hundreds of people. Indira Gandhi assassinated in Delhi and Rajiv Gandhi sworn in as Prime Minister. India's biggest industrial disaster: Bhopal gas tragedy, Eighth General Election: Congress wins with Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister |
| 1985 | Narmada Bachao Andolan |
| 1988 | Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) comes into existence, Insat-IC launched |
| 1989 | Ninth General Election: Congress loses; V.P. Singh becomes Prime Minister |
| 1990 | Mandal Commission Report |
| 1991 | Rajiv Gandhi assassinated by LTTE , tenth General Election in which Congress wins and Narasimha Rao becomes Prime Minister. Liberalisation initiated by Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh |
| 1992 | Demolition of Babri Masjid |
| 1993 | Hindu-Muslim riots in Bombay, Rupee made convertible on trade account, over 300 people killed in bomb blasts, Latur earthquake |
| 1994 | Telecom services sector opened to private companies |
| 1996 | Eleventh General Election; BJP's Atal Behari Vajpayee becomes Prime Minister, BJP loses confidence vote; Deve Gowda takes over as Prime Minister of United Front coalition government |
| 1997 | Congress withdraws support to UF government, I.K.Gujral appointed Prime Minister, nation celebrates 50 years of Independence, Gujral government falls as Congress withdraws support, Sonia Gandhi steps into active politics |
| 1998 | BJP-led alliance government is sworn in. Atal Behari Vajpayee becomes the Prime Minister of India, India conducts three underground nuclear tests at Pokhran in Rajasthan. |
| 1999 | Lok Sabha elections lead to National Democratic Alliance forming a coalition government with Atal Behari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. Pakistan backed insurgents infiltrate Kargil valley, deep in Indian territory, and are successfully pushed back. |
