about 3500 BC
Civilization sprang up in the Indus River valley.
about 1700 BC
Aryan tribes invaded India and settled mainly in the Punjab
region of India. Their arrival set off a series of wars.
326 BC
Alexander the Great began to conquer India before his own
troops forced him to turn back.
about AD 150-450
Sanskrit culture thrived under the Kushan Empire, and later
under the Gupta Empire. Trade with the Middle East and the Roman Empire
greatly enriched India.
520
Invading Huns under Mihirakula destroyed Gupta power in India.
1175-about 1200
Islamic invaders from Afghanistan overran much of northern
India. They founded the Delhi Sultanate.
1398
The Mongol conqueror Tamerlane sacked Delhi. The Delhi
Sultanate split into small warring kingdoms.
1498
The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama arrived at Calicut.
Portugal soon dominated Indian Ocean trade.
1600
The English East India Company was founded.
1757
English East India Company forces under Robert Clive won
control of Bengal at the Battle of Plassey. The company soon began expanding
its control.
1857
The Sepoy Mutiny erupted. Indian forces massacred British
residents at Delhi, Lucknow, and many other places. The revolt was later
crushed by British forces, and the British government assumed full control of
India.
1885
The Indian National Congress was founded.
1919
British forces killed more than 400 Indians and wounded over
1200 in the Amritsar Massacre.
1920-1921
Mohandas Gandhi introduced nonviolent tactics that transformed
the Indian independence movement into a popular campaign.
1947
British India was divided into the independent states of India
and Pakistan. Jawaharlal Nehru became India’s first prime minister.
1948
Mohandas Gandhi was assassinated.
1974
India exploded an atomic bomb, altering the balance of power
in South Asia.
1984
Prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh members
of her security guard.
1990s
Tensions increased between India and Pakistan over the
continuing conflict in Jammu and Kashmr.
1996
Elections swept the Congress Party from power and awarded the
Bharatiya Janata Party the highest number of parliament seats. No party won a
majority, making a coalition government necessary.
