Timeline of Indian History ......

• 2800 BC    Indus Valley Civilization begins in the northwestern region of India

• 2600 BC     Mohenjo-daro and Harappa phase of the Indus Valley Civilization  

                      begins, in Punjab and Sindh. Other cities like Lothal, Mehrgarh                           also emerged during this period.

• 1600 BC     India is invaded by the Aryans from the westGautam Budha

• 1400 BC     The Vedas, the Hindu scripture, was written

• 600 BC       The Upanishads written

• 599 BC       Mahavira, 24th Tirthankar of Jainism is born

• 563 BC      Gautam Buddha, founder of Buddhism is born in Lumbini

• 527 BC      Nirvana of Mahavira

• 492 BC       Bimbisara dies and is succeeded by Ajatashatru in Magadha                                 Empire

• 483 BC       Death of Gautama Buddha in Kushinagar

• 326 BC       Alexander the Great moved into India, King Porus who ruled parts                       of the Punjab, fought Alexander at the Battle of the Hydaspes                              River.

• 321 BC      Chandragupta Maurya established Mauryan dynasty defeating                            Dhana Nanda

• 305 BC     Chandragupta Maurya defeats Seleucus Nicator of the Seleucid                           Empire.

• 300 BC     Chola dynasty establishes his kingdom over southern India with                           capital in Thanjavur

• 269 BC       Ashoka the Great, grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, becomes                         the emperor of India

• 261 BC        Kalinga War takes place between Magadha Empire and the                                  kingdom of Kalinga.

• 232 BC        Death of King Ashoka

. 185 BC         The Mauryan Empire, collapsed after its emperor Brihadrata                              was assassinated by his general Pusyamitra Sunga who then                                established the Sunga dynasty

• 50 AD          Establishment of the Kushan empire by Kujula Kadphises, first                            Buddhist stupa is constructed at Sanchi

• 300               The Pallava dynasty is established in Kanchi

• 320              The Gupta dynasty founded by Maharaja Sri Gupta, reunited                                northern India initiating the "golden Age" of India

• 335            King Samudragupta ascends the Gupta throne and expands the                           empire.

• 380            Chandragupta II, Samudragupta's son becomes the Gupta                                   Emperor.

• 450           Invasions by the Huna.

• 606           Harshavardhana crowned Monarch.

• 712           First Muslim, Md. Bin Qasim defeats Raja Dahir Guru Nanak

• 1021         Mahmud Ghazni defeats Tarnochalpal and annexes Punjab

• 1206          Qutb ub-din Aybak establishes the Delhi Sultanate

• 1221 Genghis Khan invades Punjab

• 1236 Razia Sultana, only lady ruler of Delhi

• 1290 Jalal ud-Din Firuz establishes the Khilji sultanate at Delhi

• 1298 Marco Polo visits India

• 1336 Vijayanagara Empire established by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I

• 1398 Timur conquered India resulting in the decline of the Delhi Sultanate

• 1469 Birth of Guru Nanak Dev

• 1497 Vasco de Gama's first voyage from Europe to India and back (to 1499)

• 1526 Babur established the Mughal Empire

• 1555 Mughal king Humayun comes to fight Sher Shah and regains India

• 1556 Humayun dies, and is succeeded by Akbar

• 1600 Queen Elizabeth I granted a charter to the East India Company established trading posts in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras

• 1605 Akbar dies, and is succeeded by his son Jehangir.

• 1612 British arrives India

• 1632 Taj Mahal construction initiated by Mughal ruler Shah Jahan

• 1653 Shah Jahan completes Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan dies, and is succeeded by his son Aurangzeb.

• 1675 Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhs is executed in Delhi. Guru Gobind Singh becomes tenth Guru of Sikhs.

• 1680 Shivaji dies at Raigad, Sambhaji became 2nd Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire

• 1707 Death of Aurangzeb the Mughal emperor.

• 1757 In Battle of Plassey, Robert Clive, leads British forces which defeated the Mughal governor of Bengal Mir Jafar

• 1774 Warren Hastings appointed the first governor general of India by the East India Company

• 1775 First Anglo-Maratha War

• 1799 Death of Tipu Sultan

• 1853 Started Post Service

• 1853 First Railway established between Bombay and Thane

• 1857 Indian Mutiny Rebellion of 1857(10th May)

• 1857 Establishment of University of Mumbai, University of Madras and University of Calcutta in India

• 1858 The British government ruled India, Lord Dalhousie becomes the Governor-General of India

• 1862 Death of Bahadur Shah Zafar

• 1869 "Arya Samaj" Established

• 1876 Queen Victoria was given the title Empress of India by the British Parliament

• 1885 Burma became an Indian province

• 1885 The Indian National Congress was formed (28th December)

• 1905 The British government divided Bengal into separate Hindu and Muslim sections

• 1909 Morley-Minto Reforms Mahatma Gandhi

• 1914 World War 1

• 1915 Mahatma Gandhi returns back to India

• 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13th April)

• 1920 Mahatma Gandhi became president of Indian National Congress, Non-cooperation movement Khilafat Movement

• 1927 Simon Commission

• 1929 Central Assembly Bombed by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt.

• 1930 Purna Swaraj resolution in Lahore, Salt Satyagraha started

• 1931 Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev Martyred (23rd March)

• 1935 Government of India Act

• 1939 World War 2 began

• 1940 Muhammad Ali Jinnah demanded that a new country be formed from India for the Muslims, which would be called Pakistan

• 1942 Quit India Movement

• 1942 Indian National Army Established by Subhas Chandra Bose

• 1945 World War II ended when United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August)

• 1946 Royal Indian Navy Mutiny

• 1946 The British government agreed to grant India independence

• 1947 British and Indian leaders agreed to divide the country into India and Pakistan

• 1947 India became independent (15th August)

• 1948 Mahatma Gandhi assassinated Nathuram Godse (30th January)

• 1950 Constitution of India came into effect and Jawaharlal Nehru became the Indian first prime minister (26th January)