Master Timeline 1707 to 1947
This master timeline lists the key events of Modern Indian History in order, for last-week revision.
1707 to 1857
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1707 | Death of Aurangzeb; decline of the Mughals begins |
| 1717 | Farrukhsiyar's farman to the English Company |
| 1724 | Nizam-ul-Mulk founds Hyderabad |
| 1739 | Nadir Shah invades; Battle of Karnal |
| 1741 | Battle of Colachel (Marthanda Varma beats the Dutch) |
| 1746 to 1763 | Carnatic Wars |
| 1757 | Battle of Plassey |
| 1760 | Battle of Wandiwash |
| 1761 | Third Battle of Panipat |
| 1764 | Battle of Buxar |
| 1765 | Treaty of Allahabad; Diwani of Bengal; dual government (to 1772) |
| 1767 to 1799 | Four Anglo-Mysore Wars |
| 1773 | Regulating Act |
| 1775 to 1818 | Three Anglo-Maratha Wars |
| 1780 | Hicky's Bengal Gazette, the first Indian newspaper |
| 1784 | Pitt's India Act; Asiatic Society |
| 1793 | Permanent Settlement; Cornwallis Code |
| 1798 | Subsidiary Alliance (Hyderabad first) |
| 1799 | Fall of Tipu Sultan |
| 1806 | Vellore Mutiny |
| 1809 | Treaty of Amritsar (Ranjit Singh and the British) |
| 1813 | Charter Act: end of Company's trade monopoly |
| 1818 | End of the Peshwa; Marathas defeated |
| 1828 to 1830 | Brahmo Sabha and Samaj |
| 1829 | Abolition of sati |
| 1833 | Charter Act; Governor-General of India |
| 1835 | Macaulay's Minute; press freed |
| 1839 to 1842 | First Afghan War |
| 1843 | Annexation of Sindh |
| 1845 to 1849 | Anglo-Sikh Wars; Punjab annexed (1849) |
| 1848 to 1856 | Dalhousie; Doctrine of Lapse |
| 1853 | First railway; Charter Act 1853 |
| 1854 | Wood's Despatch; Post Office Act; telegraph |
| 1855 to 1856 | Santhal Hool |
| 1856 | Widow Remarriage Act; annexation of Awadh |
| 1857 | Revolt of 1857 (10 May at Meerut) |
1858 to 1918
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1858 | Government of India Act; Crown rule; Queen's Proclamation |
| 1859 to 1860 | Indigo Revolt |
| 1860 to 1861 | IPC; Police Act; Indian Councils Act 1861 |
| 1875 | Arya Samaj; MAO College; Theosophical Society (New York) |
| 1876 to 1878 | Great Famine |
| 1878 | Vernacular Press Act; Arms Act |
| 1882 | Hunter Commission; local self-government |
| 1883 | Ilbert Bill |
| 1885 | Indian National Congress founded |
| 1892 | Indian Councils Act |
| 1893 | Vivekananda at Chicago |
| 1897 | Ramakrishna Mission; Chapekar brothers; Tilak's sedition trial |
| 1899 to 1900 | Birsa Munda's Ulgulan |
| 1905 | Partition of Bengal; Swadeshi Movement |
| 1906 | Muslim League; Congress demands Swaraj (Calcutta) |
| 1907 | Surat Split |
| 1909 | Morley-Minto Reforms |
| 1911 | Delhi Durbar; partition annulled; capital to Delhi |
| 1913 | Ghadar Party |
| 1914 | Outbreak of First World War; Komagata Maru |
| 1915 | Gandhi returns to India (9 January) |
| 1916 | Home Rule Leagues; Lucknow Pact |
| 1917 | Champaran; Montagu Declaration (20 August) |
| 1918 | Ahmedabad and Kheda |
1919 to 1947
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1919 | Rowlatt Act; Jallianwala Bagh (13 April); GOI Act 1919 |
| 1920 | Non-Cooperation and Khilafat; AITUC; Tilak dies |
| 1922 | Chauri Chaura; movement withdrawn |
| 1923 | Swaraj Party |
| 1925 | Kakori; RSS and CPI founded |
| 1927 to 1928 | Simon Commission; Nehru Report; Bardoli |
| 1929 | Lahore Congress (Purna Swaraj); Irwin Declaration; Assembly bomb |
| 1930 | Dandi March; Civil Disobedience; First RTC |
| 1931 | Gandhi-Irwin Pact; Bhagat Singh hanged (23 March); Karachi; Second RTC |
| 1932 | Communal Award; Poona Pact |
| 1935 | Government of India Act |
| 1937 | Provincial elections; Congress ministries |
| 1939 | Second World War begins; ministries resign |
| 1940 | Lahore Resolution; August Offer |
| 1942 | Cripps Mission; Quit India (8 August) |
| 1943 | Azad Hind Government; Bengal famine |
| 1944 | Rajagopalachari Formula; Gandhi-Jinnah talks |
| 1945 | Simla Conference; INA trials |
| 1946 | RIN Mutiny; Cabinet Mission; Direct Action Day; Interim Government; Constituent Assembly meets |
| 1947 | Mountbatten Plan (3 June); Independence Act (18 July); Independence (15 August) |
Keep practising
Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.
Prepared for exam revision from standard sources such as NCERT, Bipan Chandra, Spectrum and official records. Historians differ on some dates, figures and interpretations, so check your exam syllabus and a standard textbook. Found a mistake? Tell us.