1. technology and computing
2. programming languages
3. java

General Knowledge
01 The first Prime minister of Bangladesh was – Mujibur Rehman
02 The longest river in the world is the – Nile
03 The longest highway in the world is the – Trans-Canada
04 The longest highway in the world has a length of About – 8000 km
05 The highest mountain in the world is the – Everest
06 The country that accounts for nearly one third of the total teak production of the world is –Myanmar
07 The biggest desert in the world is the – Sahara desert
08 The largest coffee growing country in the world is – Brazil
09 The country also known as “country of Copper” is – Zambia
10 The name given to the border which separates Pakistan and Afghanistan is – Durand line
11 The river Volga flows out into the – Capsian sea
12 The coldest place on the earth is Verkoyansk in – Siberia
13 The country which ranks second in terms of land area is – Canada
14 The largest Island in the Mediterranean sea is – Sicily
15 The river Jordan flows out into the – Dead sea
16 The biggest delta in the world is the – Sunderbans
17 The capital city that stands on the river Danube is – Belgrade
18 The Japanese call their country as – Nippon
19 The length of the English channel is – 564 kilometres
20 The world’s oldest known city is – Damascus
21 The city which is also known as the City of Canals is – Venice
22 The country in which river Wangchu flows is – Myanmar
23 The biggest island of the world is – Greenland
24 The city which is the biggest centre for manufacture of automobiles in the world is – Detroit, USA
25 The country which is the largest producer of manganese in the world is – China & South Africa
26 The country which is the largest producer of rubber in the world is – Malaysia
27 The country which is the largest producer of tin in the world is – China
28 The river which carries maximum quantity of water into the sea is the – Mississippi
29 The city which was once called the `Forbidden City’ was – Peking
30 The country called the Land of Rising Sun is – Japan
31 Mount Everest was named after Sir George – Everest
32 The volcano Vesuvius is located in – Italy
33 The country known as the Sugar Bowl of the world is – Cuba
34 The length of the Suez Canal is – 162.5 kilometers
35 The lowest point on earth is The coastal area of – Dead sea
36 The Gurkhas are the original inhabitants of – Nepal
37 The largest ocean of the world is the – Pacific ocean
38 The largest bell in the world is the – Tsar Kolkol at Kremlin, Moscow
39 The biggest stadium in the world is the – Strahov Stadium, Prague
40 The world’s largest diamond producing country is – South Africa
41 Australia was discovered by – James Cook
42 The first Governor General of Pakistan is – Mohammed Ali Jinnah
43 Dublin is situated at the mouth of river – Liffey
44 The earlier name of New York city was – New Amsterdam
45 The Eifel tower was built by – Alexander Eiffel
46 The Red Cross was founded by – Jean Henri Durant
47 The country which has the greatest population density is – Monaco
48 The national flower of Britain is – Rose
49 Niagara Falls was discovered by – Louis Hennepin
50 The national flower of Italy is – Lily
51 The national flower of China is – Narcissus
52 The permanent secretariat of the SAARC is located at – Kathmandu
53 The gateway to the Gulf of Iran is Strait of – Hormuz
54 The first Industrial Revolution took place in – England
55 World Environment Day is observed on – 5th June
56 The first Republican President of America was – Abraham Lincoln
57 The country famous for Samba dance is – Brazil
58 The name of Alexander’s horse was – Beucephalus
59 Singapore was founded by – Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles
60 The famous British one-eyed Admiral was – Nelson
61 The earlier name of Sri Lanka was – Ceylon
62 The UNO was formed in the year – 1945
63 UNO stands for – United Nations Organization
64 The independence day of South Korea is celebrated on – 15th August
65 `Last Judgement’ was the first painting of an Italian painter named – Michelangelo
66 Paradise Regained was written by – John Milton
67 The first President of Egypt was – Mohammed Nequib
68 The first man to reach North Pole was – Rear Peary
69 The most famous painting of Pablo Picasso was – Guermica
70 The primary producer of newsprint in the world is – Canada
71 The first explorer to reach the South Pole was – Cap. Ronald Amundson
72 The person who is called the father of modern Italy is – G.Garibaldi
73 World literacy day is celebrated on – 8th September
74 The founder of modern Germany is – Bismarck
75 The country known as the land of the midnight sun is – Norway
76 The place known as the Roof of the world is – Tibet
77 The founder of the Chinese Republic was – San Yat Sen
78 The first Pakistani to receive the Nobel Prize was – Abdul Salam
79 The first woman Prime Minister of Britain was – Margaret Thatcher
80 The first Secretary General of the UNO was – Trygve Lie
81 The sculptor of the statue of Liberty was – Frederick Auguste Bartholdi
82 The port of Banku is situated in – Azerbaijan
83 John F Kennedy was assassinated by – Lee Harry Oswald
84 The largest river in France is – Lore
85 The Queen of England who married her brother-in-law was – Catherine of Aragon
86 The first negro to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was – Ralph Johnson Bunche
87 The first British University to admit women for degree courses was – London University
88 The principal export of Jamaica is – Sugar
89 New York is popularly known as the – city of Skyscrapers
90 Madagascar is popularly known as the – Island of Cloves
91 The country known as the Land of White Elephant is – Thailand
92 The country known as the Land of Morning Calm is – Korea
93 The country known as the Land of Thunderbolts is – Bhutan
94 The highest waterfalls in the world is the – Salto Angel Falls(Venezuela)
95 The largest library in the world is the – United States Library of Congress Washington DC
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The largest museum in the world is the American Museum of Natural History.
The lowest mountain range in the world is the Buena Bhaile.
The country known as the Land of Cakes is Scotland.
The place known as the Garden of England is Kent.
The tallest tower in the world is the Burj Khalifa, Dubai.
The country famous for its fish catch is Japan.
The old name of Taiwan was Farmosa.
Montreal is situated on the bank of River Ottawa.
The city of Bonn is situated in Germany.
The literal meaning of Renaissance is Revival.
Julius Caesar was killed by Brutus.
The title of Desert Fox was given to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
The largest airport in the world is the King Khalid International Airport, Saudi Arabia.
The city in Russia which faced an earthquake in the year 1998 was Armenia.
The largest bay in the world is Hudson Bay, Canada.
The largest church in the world is Basilica of St. Peter, Vatican City, Rome.
The largest peninsula in the world is Arabia.
The largest gulf in the world is Gulf of Mexico.
The tallest statue in the world is the Motherland, Volgograd Russia.
The largest railway tunnel in the world is the Oshimizu Tunnel, Japan.
The world’s loneliest island is the Tristan da cunha.
The word ‘Quiz’ was coined by Jim Daly Irishman.
The original meaning of ‘Quiz’ was Trick.
The busiest shopping centre of London is Oxford Street.
The residence of the Queen in London is Buckingham Palace.
Adolf Hitler was born in Austria.
The country whose National Anthem has only music but no words is Bahrain.
The largest cinema in the world is the Fox theatre, Detroit, USA.
The country where there are no Cinema theatres is Saudi Arabia.
The world’s tallest office building is the Sears Tower, Chicago.
In the year 1811, Paraguay became independent from Spain.
The cross word puzzle was invented by Arthur Wynne.
The city which was the capital of the ancient Persian Empire was Persepolis.
WHO stands for World Health Organization.
WHO (World Health Organization) is located at Geneva.
FAO stands for Food and Agriculture Organization.
FAO is located at Rome and London.
UNIDO stands for United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
UNIDO is located at Vienna.
WMO stands for World Meteorological Organization.
WMO is located at Geneva.
International Civil Aviation Organization is located at Montreal.
The Angel Falls is located in Venezuela.
The Victoria Falls is located in Rhodesia.
Ice Cream was discovered by Gerald Tisyum.
The number regarded as lucky number in Italy is thirteen.
Napoleon suffered from alurophobia which means Fear of cats.
The aero planes were used in war for the first time by Italians. (14 Oct.1911)
Slavery in America was abolished by Abraham Lincoln.
The Headquarters of textile manufacturing in England is Manchester.
The famous Island located at the mouth of the Hudson River is Manhattan.
The founder of plastic industry was Leo Hendrik Baekeland.
The country where military service is compulsory for women is Israel.
The country which has more than 10,000 golf courses is USA.
The famous painting ‘Mona Lisa’ is displayed at Louvre museum, Paris.
The earlier name for tomato was Love apple.
The first President of USA was George Washington.
The famous words ‘Veni Vidi Vici’ were said by Julius Caesar.
The practice of sterilization of surgical instruments was introduced by Joseph Lister.
The number of countries which participated in the first Olympic Games held at Athens was nine.
Mercury is also known as Quick Silver.
Disneyland is located in California, USA.
The country which built the first powerful long range rockets is Germany.
Sewing Machine was invented by Isaac M. Singer.
65. Adding Machine was invented by Aldrin.
66. The national emblem of Spain is Eagle.
67. Archimedes was born in Sicily.
68. The total area of Vatican City is 0.272 square kilometers.
69. The largest temple in the world is Angkor Wat in Kampuchea.
70. The largest dome in the world is Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, USA.
71. The largest strait in the world is Tartar Strait.
72. The Mohenjo-Daro ruins are found in Larkand District of Sind, Pakistan.
73. The largest city of Africa is Cairo.
74. The founder of KODAK Company was Eastman.
75. The Cape of Good Hope is located in South Africa.
76. The Heathrow Airport is located in London.
77. The neon lamp was invented by Georges Claude.
78. The last letter of the Greek alphabet is Omega.
79. The place known as the land of Lincoln is Illinois.
80. The US state Utah is also known as Beehive state.
81. The Kalahari Desert is located in Africa.
82. The Patagonian desert is located in Argentina.
83. The person known as the father of aeronautics is Sir George Cayley.
84. The most densely populated Island in the world is Honshu.
85. The two nations Haiti and the Dominion Republic together form the Island of Hispaniola.
86. The largest auto producer in the USA is General Motors.
87. The largest auto producing nation is Japan.
88. The famous ?General Motors? company was founded by William Durant.
89. The country that brings out the FIAT is Italy.
90. The first actor to win an Oscar was Emil Jannings.
91. The first animated colour cartoon of full feature length was Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.
92. The first demonstration of a motion picture was held at Paris.
93. The first country to issue stamps was Britain.
94. The actor who is considered as the biggest cowboy star of the silent movies is Tom Mix.
95. The Pentagon is located at Washington DC.
96. The world’s largest car manufacturing company is General Motors, USA.
97. The world’s biggest manufacturer of bicycles is Hero cycles, Ludhiana.
98. The world’s oldest underground railway is at London.
99. The White House was painted white to hide fire damage.
100.
The largest oil producing nation in Africa is Nigeria.
101.
The longest river in Russia and Europe is Volga River.
102.
The first Emperor of Germany was Wilhelm.
103.
The last French Monarch was Louis Napoleon III.
104.
“History is Bunk” was said by Henry Ford.
105.
The term ‘astrology’ literally means Star Speech.
106.
Togo is situated in Africa.
107.
Coal is also known as Black Diamond.
108.
The first Boxer to win 3 gold medals in Olympics was Laszlo Papp.
109.
The first ruler who started war games for his soldiers was Genghis Khan.
110.
The first cross word puzzle in the world was published in 1924 by London Sunday
Express.
111.
The lightest known metal is Lithium.
112.
The Atacama Desert is located in North Chile.
113.
The oil used to preserve timber is Creosote oil.
114.
The founder of USA was George Washington.
115.
The first talkie feature film in USA was ‘The Jazz Singer’.
116.
The chemical name of laughing gas is Nitrous oxide.
117.
The US state Mississippi is also known as Tar Heel state.
118.
The US state Indiana is also known as Volunteer state.
119.
The US state Missouri is also known as Hoosier state.
120.
The US state West Virginia is also known as Blue Grass state.
121.
The US state known as ‘Pine Free State’ is Vermont.
122.
The US state known as ‘Mountain state’ is Pennsylvania.
123.
The US state known as ‘Land of 1000 Lakes’ is Arkansas.
124.
The popular detective character created by Agatha Christie is Hercule Poirot.
125.
The Pakistani President who died in an air crash was Zia-ul-Huq.
126.
Yoghurt means Fermented milk.
127.
Yankee is the nickname of American.
128.
The International court of Justice is located in Hague, Holland.
129.
The headquarters of World Bank is located at Washington DC.
130.
Victoria Falls was discovered by David Livingstone.
131.
The technique to produce the first test tube baby was evolved by Patrick Steptoe and
Robert Edwards.
132.
The oldest residential university of Britain is the Oxford University.
133.
The name of the large clock on the tower of the House of Parliament in London is called
Big Ben.
134.
Prado Museum is located in Madrid.
135.
The number of keys in an ordinary piano is Eighty eight.
136.
‘Man is a Tool Making Animal’ was said by Benjamin Franklin.
137.
The term ‘anesthesia’ was coined by Oliver Wendell Holmes.
138.
The first man to reach Antarctica was Fabian Gottlieb.
139.
The Kilimanjaro volcano is situated in Tanzania.
140.
The invention that is considered to have built America is Dynamite.
141.
Words that contains all the vowels: Authentication, Remuneration, Education,
Automobile, Miscellaneous and many more.
142.
Words that contain all the vowels in order: Facetious and Abstemious.
143.
Words that contain all the vowels in reverse order: Uncomplimentary, Unproprietary,
Unoriental and Subcontinental.
144.
Words with no vowel in them: Myth, Fly, Sky, Dry, Cry, Rhythm, Crypt.
145.
Which country declares independence on 18th Feb 2008? – Kosovo.
146.
Who was the founder of the kindergarten education system? – German educator
Friedrich Froebel.
147.
What is the scientific name of Vitamin C? – Ascorbic Acid
148.
What is the full form of GPRS? – General Packet Radio Service
149.
Which was the first university established in the world? – Nalanda University
150.
What is full form of CEO, CFO & CIO titles? Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial
Officer & Chief Information Officer.
151.
Shakespeare invented the word ‘ assassination’ and ‘bump’.
152.
Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.
153.
The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
154.
The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
155.
The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt
blood 30 feet.
156.
Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear By 700
times.
157.
Ants don’t sleep.
158.
Owls have eyeballs that are tubular in shape, because of this, they cannot move their
eyes.
159.
A bird requires more food in proportion to its size than a baby or a cat.
160.
The mouse is the most common mammal in the US.
161.
A newborn kangaroo is about 1 inch in length.
162.
A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.
163.
The Canary Islands were not named for a bird called a canary. They were named after a
breed of large dogs. The Latin name was Canariae insulae – “Island of Dogs.”
164.
There are 701 types of pure breed dogs.
165.
A polecat is not a cat. It is a nocturnal European weasel.
166.
The animal responsible for the most human deaths world-wide is the mosquito.
167.
The biggest pig in recorded history was Big Boy of Black Mountain, North Carolina, who
was weighed at 1,904 pounds in 1939.
168.
Cats respond most readily to names that end in an “ee” sound.
169.
A cat cannot see directly under its nose. This is why the cat cannot seem to find tidbits
on the floor.
170.
Pigs, walruses and light-colored horses can be sunburned.
171.
Snakes are immune to their own poison.
172.
An iguana can stay under water for 28 minutes.
173.
Cats have more than one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
174.
The biggest member of the cat family is the male lion, which weighs 528 pounds (240
kilograms).
175.
Most lipstick contains fish scales.
176.
Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million
descendants.
177.
Each day in the US, animal shelters are forced to destroy 30,000 dogs and cats.
178.
A shrimp’s heart is in their head.
179.
A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
180.
A cockroach will live nine days without its head, before it starves to death.
181.
The cat lover is an ailurophile, while a cat hater is an ailurophobe.
182.
A woodpecker can peck twenty times a second.
183.
It may take longer than two days for a chick to break out of its shell.
184.
Dragonflies are one of the fastest insects, flying 50 to 60 mph.
185.
Despite man’s fear and hatred of the wolf, it has not ever been proved that a non-rabid
wolf ever attacked a human.
186.
There are more than 100 million dogs and cats in the United States.
187.
Americans spend more than 5.4 billion dollars on their pets each year.
188.
Cat’s urine glows under a black light.
189.
The largest cockroach on record is one measured at 3.81 inches in length.
190.
It is estimated that a single toad may catch and eat as many as 10,000 insects in the
course of a summer.
191.
Amphibians eyes come in a variety shapes and sizes. Some even have square or heartshaped pupils.
192.
It would require an average of 18 hummingbirds to weigh in at 1 ounce.
193.
Dogs that do not tolerate small children well are the St. Bernard, the Old English sheep
dog, the Alaskan malamute, the bull terrier, and the toy poodle.
194.
Moles are able to tunnel through 300 feet of earth in a day.
195.
Howler monkeys are the noisiest land animals. Their calls can be heard over 2 miles
away.
196.
A quarter of the horses in the US died of a vast virus epidemic in 1872.
197.
The fastest bird is the Spine-tailed swift, clocked at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour.
198.
There is no single cat called the panther. The name is commonly applied to the leopard,
but it is also used to refer to the puma and the jaguar. A black panther is really a black leopard.
A capon is a castrated rooster.
199.
The world’s largest rodent is the Capybara. It is an Amazon water hog that looks like a
guinea pig; it can weigh more than 100 pounds.
200.
The poison-arrow frog has enough poison to kill about 2,200 people.
201.
The hummingbird, the loon, the swift, the kingfisher, and the grebe are all birds that
cannot walk.
202.
The poisonous copperhead snake smells like fresh cut cucumbers.
203.
A chameleon’s tongue is twice the length of its body.
204.
Worker ants may live seven years and the queen may live as long as 15 years.
205.
The blood of mammals is red, the blood of insects is yellow, and the blood of lobsters is
blue.
206.
Cheetahs make a chirping sound that is much like a bird’s chirp or a dog’s yelp. The
sound is so intense; it can be heard a mile away.
207.
The underside of a horse’s hoof is called a frog. The frog peels off several times a year
with new growth.
208.
The bloodhound is the only animal whose evidence is admissible in an American court.
98% of brown bears in the United States are in Alaska.
209.
Before air conditioning was invented, white cotton slipcovers were put on furniture to
keep the air cool.
210.
The Barbie doll has more than 80 careers.
211.
To make one pound of whole milk cheese, 10 pounds of whole milk is needed.
212.
99% of pumpkins are sold for decoration.
213.
Every 30 seconds a house fire doubles in size.
214.
The month of December is the most popular month for weddings in the Philippines.
215.
A one ounce milk chocolate bar has 6 mg of caffeine.
216.
Carbon monoxide can kill a person in less than 15 minutes.
217.
The largest ever hailstone weighed over 1kg and fell in Bangladesh in 1986.
218.
Ants can live up to 16 years.
219.
In Belgium, there is a museum that is just for strawberries.
220.
The sense of smell of an ant is just as good as a dog’s.
221.
Popped popcorn should be stored in the freezer or refrigerator as this way it can stay
crunchy for up to three weeks.
222.
Coca-Cola was originally green.
223.
The most common name in the world is Mohammed.
224.
The name of all the continents ends with the same letter that they start with.
225.
The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
226.
TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of
the keyboard.
227.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men!!
228.
You can’t kill yourself by holding your breath.
229.
It is impossible to lick your elbow.
230.
People say “Bless You? when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops
for a millisecond.
231.
It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
232.
The “sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick” is said to be the toughest tongue twister in
the English language.
233.
If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can
rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.
234.
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents great king from history. Spades – King
David, Clubs – Alexander the Great, Hearts ? Charlemagne, Diamonds – Julius Caesar.
235.
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
236.
If a statue of a person in the park on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person
died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds
received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural
causes.
237.
What do bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers all have in
common? Ans. – All invented by women.
238.
This is the only food that doesn’t spoil. What is this? Answer: Honey.
239.
A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
240.
A snail can sleep for three years.
241.
All polar bears are left handed.
242.
American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad
served in first-class.
243.
Butterflies taste with their feet.
244.
Elephants are the only animals that can’t jump.
245.
In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
246.
On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.
247.
The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
248.
Most lipstick contains fish scales.
249.
Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different.
250.
Tapeworms range in size from about 0.04 inch to more than 50 feet in length.
251.
A baby bat is called a pup.
252.
German Shepherds bite humans more than any other breed of dog.
253.
A female mackerel lays about 500,000 eggs at one time.
254.
It takes 35 to 65 minks to produce the average mink coat. The numbers for other types
of fur coats are: beaver – 15; fox – 15 to 25; ermine – 150; chinchilla – 60 to 100.
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Turtles have no teeth.
Prehistoric turtles may have weighed as much as 5,000 pounds.
Only one out of a thousand baby sea turtles survives after hatching.
Sea turtles absorb a lot of salt from the sea water in which they live. They excrete excess salt
from their eyes, so it often looks as though they’re crying.
Helium is a colorless, odorless, tasteless inert gas at room temperature and makes up about
0.0005% of the air we breathe.
Helium Balloon Gas makes balloons float. Helium is lighter than air and just as the heaviest
things will tend to fall to the bottom, the lightest things will rise to the top.
Helium Balloon Gas makes balloons float. Helium is lighter than air and just as the heaviest
things will tend to fall to the bottom, the lightest things will rise to the top.
Camels can spit.
An ostrich can run 43 miles per hour (70 kilometers per hour).
Pigs are the fourth most intelligent animal in the world.
Dinosaurs didn’t eat grass? There was no grass in the days of the dinosaurs.
Dolphins can swim 37 miles per hour (60 kilometers per hour).
A crocodile’s tongue is attached to the roof of its mouth? It cannot move. It cannot chew but its
Digestive juices are so strong that it can digest a steel nail, Glass pieces, etc.
Sharks are immune to disease i.e. they do not suffer from any Disease.
Animals are either right- or left-handed? Polar bears are always left-handed, and so is Kermit
the Frog.
Paris, France has more dogs than people.
New Zealand is home to 70 million sheep and only 40 million people.
Male polar bears weigh 1400 pounds and females only weight 550 pounds, on average.
Bison are excellent swimmers? Their head, hump and tail never go below the surface of the
water.
There are 6 to 14 frog?s species in the world that have no tongues. One of these is the African
dwarf frog.
A frog named Santjie, who was in a frog derby in South Africa jumped 33 feet 5.5 inches.
The longest life span of a frog was 40 years
The eyes of a frog flatten down when it swallows its prey
The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus
25. The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name `Hindustan’ combines Sindhu and Hindu
and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
26. Chess was invented in India.
27. The’ place value system’ and the ‘decimal system’ were developed in 100 BC in India.
28. The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was
originally called ‘Mokshapat.’ The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes
indicated vices.
29. India has the most post offices in the world
30. ‘Navigation’ is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH
31. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nou’.
32. Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world
33. The’ place value system’ and the ‘decimal system’ were developed in 100 BC in India.
34. A snail can sleep for 3 years.
35. The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start
36. Twenty-Four-Karat Gold is not pure gold since there is a small amount of copper in it. Absolutely
pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.
37. Electricity doesn’t move through a wire but through a field around the wire.
38. The first bicycle that was made in 1817 by Baron von Drais didn’t have any pedals? People
walked it along
39. The first steam powered train was invented by Robert Stephenson. It was called the Rocket.
40. A cheetah does not roar like a lion – it purrs like a cat (meow).
41. The original name for the butterfly was ‘flutterby’
42. An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.
43. Ants don’t sleep.
44. Dolphins usually live up to about twenty years, but have been known to live for about forty.
45. Dolphins sleep in a semi-alert state by resting one side of their brain at a time
46. A dolphin can hold its breath for 5 to 8 minutes at a time
47. Bats can detect warmth of an animal from about 16 cm away using its “nose-leaf”.
48. Bats can also find food up to 18 ft. away and get information about the type of insect using their
sense of echolocation.
49. The eyes of the chameleon can move independently & can see in two different directions at the
same time.
50. Cockroach: Can detect movement as small as 2,000 times the diameter of a hydrogen atom.
51. Dragonfly: Eye contains 30,000 lenses.
52. Pig’s Tongue contains 15,000 taste buds. For comparison, the human tongue has 9,000 taste
buds.
53. The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit
zero.
54. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
55. Earth weighs 5,972,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons
56. Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different.
57. A duck’s quack doesn’t echo anywhere
58. Man is the only animal who’ll eat with an enemy
59. The average woman uses about her height in lipstick every five years.
60. The first Christmas was celebrated on December 25, AD 336 in Rome.
61. A Cockroach will live nine days without its head, before it starves to death.
62. A chimpanzee can learn to recognize itself in a mirror, but monkeys can’t
63. A rat can last longer without water than a camel can
64. About 10% of the world’s population is left-handed
65. Dolphins sleep with one eye open
66. Snakes have no external ears. Therefore, they do not hear the music of a “snake charmer”.
Instead, they are probably responding to the movements of the snake charmer and the flute.
However, sound waves may travel through bones in their heads to the middle ear.
67. Many spiders have eight eyes.
68. The tongue of snakes has no taste buds. Instead, the tongue is used to bring smells and tastes
into the mouth. Smells and tastes are then detected in two pits, called “Jacobson’s organs”, on
the roof of their mouths. Receptors in the pits then transmit smell and taste information to the
brain.
69. Birds don’t sweat
70. The highest kangaroo leap recorded is 10 ft and the longest is 42 ft
71. Flamingo tongues were eaten common at Roman feasts
72. The smallest bird in the world is the Hummingbird. It weighs 1oz
73. The bird that can fly the fastest is called a White it can fly up to 95 miles per hour.
74. The oldest living thing on earth is 12,000 years old. It is the flowering shrubs called creosote
bushes in the Mojave Desert
75. Tea is said to have been discovered in 2737 BC by a Chinese emperor when some tea leaves
accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water.
76. A person can live without food for about a month, but only about a week without water. If the
amount of water in your body is reduced by just 1%, one will feel thirsty. If it’s reduced by
10%, one will die.
77. Along with its length neck, the giraffe has a very long tongue — more than a foot and a half
long. A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue
78. Ostriches can kick with tremendous force, but only forward. Don’t Mess with them
79. An elephant can smell water three miles away
80. If you were to remove your skin, it would weigh as much as 5 pounds
81. A hippopotamus can run faster than a man
82. India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history
83. The world’s known tallest man is Robert Pershing Wadlow. The giraffe is 5.49m (18 ft.), the man
is 2.55m (8ft. 11.1 in.).
84. The world’s tallest woman is Sandy Allen. She is 2.35m (7 ft. 7 in.).
85. The only 2 animals that can see behind themselves without turning its head are the rabbit and
the parrot.
86. The blue whale is the largest animal on earth. The heart of a blue whale is as big as a car, and
its tongue is as long as an elephant.
87. The largest bird egg in the world today is that of the ostrich. Ostrich eggs are from 6 to 8 inches
long. Because of their size and the thickness of their shells, they take 40 minutes to hard-boil.
The average adult male ostrich, the world’s largest living bird, weighs up to 345 pounds.
88. Every dolphin has its own signature whistle to distinguish it from other dolphins, much like a
human fingerprint
89. The world’s largest mammal, the blue whale, weighs 50 tons i.e. 50000 Kg at birth. Fully grown,
it weighs as much as 150 tons i.e. 150000 Kg.
90. 90 % of all the ice in the world in on Antarctica
91. Antarctica is DRIEST continent. Antarctica is a desert
92. Antarctica is COLDEST continent, averaging minus 76 degrees in the winter
93. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and it doesn’t have a moon. Its atmosphere is so thin
that during the day the temperature reaches 750 degrees, but at night it gets down to -300
degrees.
94. Jupiter is the largest planet. If Jupiter were hollow, you could fit 1000 earths inside! It is made
up of gas and is not solid. The most famous feature on Jupiter is its Red Spot, which is actually
an enormous hurricane that has been raging on Jupiter for hundreds of years! Sixteen moons
orbit Jupiter.
95. Saturn is a very windy place! Winds can reach up to 1,100 miles per hour. Saturn is also made
of gas. If you could find an ocean large enough, it would float. This planet is famous for its
beautiful rings, and has at least 18 moons.
96. Uranus is the third largest planet, and is also made of gas. It’s tilted on its side and spins northsouth rather than east-west. Uranus has 15 moons.
97. Neptune takes 165 Earth years to get around the sun. It appears blue because it is made of
methane gas. Neptune also has a big Spot like Jupiter. Winds on Neptune get up to 1,200 mile
per hour! Neptune has 8 moons.
98. Pluto is the farthest planet from the sun… usually. It has such an unusual orbit that it is
occasionally closer to the sun than Neptune. Pluto is made of rock and ice.
99. Just about everyone listens to the radio! 99% of homes in the United States have a least one
radio. Most families have several radios.
100.
Sound is sent from the radio station through the air to your radio by means of
electromagnetic waves. News, music, Bible teaching, baseball games, plays, advertisementsthese sounds are all converted into electromagnetic waves (radio waves) before they reach your
radio and your ears.
101.
At the radio station, the announcer speaks into a microphone. The microphone changes
the sound of his voice into an electrical signal. This signal is weak and can’t travel very far, so
it’s sent to a transmitter. The transmitter mixes the signal with some strong radio signals called
carrier waves. These waves are then sent out through a special antenna at the speed of light!
They reach the antenna of your radio. Your antenna “catches” the signal, and the radio’s
amplifier strengthens the signal and sends it to the speakers. The speakers vibrate, and your
ears pick up the vibrations and your brain translates them into the voice of the radio announcer
back at the station. When you consider all the places the announcer’s voice travels.
102.
Every radio station has its own frequency. When you turn the tuning knob on your
radio, you are choosing which frequency you want your antenna to “catch.”
103.
Mountain lions are known by more than 100 names, including panther, catamount,
cougar, painter and puma. Its scientific name is Felis concolor, which means “cat of one color.”
At one time, mountain lions were very common!
104.
The large cats of the world are divided into two groups- those that roar, like tigers and
African lions, and those that purr. Mountain lions purr, hiss, scream, and snarl, but they cannot
roar. They can jump a distance of 30 feet, and jump as high as 15 feet. It would take quite a
fence to keep a mountain lion out! Their favorite food is deer, but they’ll eat other critters as
well. They hunt alone, not in packs like wolves. They sneak up on their prey just like a house
cat sneaks up on a bird or toy- one slow step at a time. A lion can eat ten pounds of meat at
one time!
105.
Queen ants can live to be 30 years old
106.
Dragonflies can flap their wings 28 times per second and they can fly up to 60 miles per
hour
107.
As fast as dragonflies can flap their wings, bees are even faster… they can flap their
wings 435 times per second
108.
Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.
109.
You can’t kill yourself by holding your breath
110.
Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day
111.
Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people
112.
The elephant is the only mammal that can’t jump!
113.
Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails!
114.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men
115.
Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian
pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible
116.
Coca-Cola would be green if colouring weren’t added to it.
117.
More people are allergic to cow’s milk than any other food.
118.
Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand
119.
Earth is the only planet not named after a god.
120.
It?s against the law to burp, or sneeze in a church in Nebraska, USA.
121.
Some worms will eat themselves if they can’t find any food!
122.
It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open
123.
Queen Elizabeth I regarded herself as a paragon of cleanliness. She declared that she
bathed once every three months, whether she needed it or not
124.
Slugs have 4 noses.
125.
Owls are the only birds that can see the blue colour.
126.
Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end
127.
More than 1,000 different languages are spoken on the continent of Africa.
128.
There was once an undersea post office in the Bahamas.
129.
Abraham Lincoln’s mother died when she drank the milk of a cow that grazed on
poisonous snakeroot
130.
After the death of Albert Einstein his brain was removed by a pathologist and put in a
jar for future study.
131.
Penguins are not found in the North Pole
132.
A dentist invented the Electric Chair.
133.
A whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound
134.
Alexander Graham Bell’s wife and mother were both deaf
135.
Cockroaches break wind every 15 minutes.
136.
Fish scales are an ingredient in most lipsticks
137.
Canada” is an Indian word meaning “Big Village”.
138.
259200 people die every day.
139.
11% of the world is left-handed
140.
1.7 liters of saliva is produced each day
141.
The world?s oldest piece of chewing gum is 9000 years old!
142.
The largest beetle in the Americas is the Hercules beetle, which can be 4 to 6 inches in
length. That’s bigger than your hand!
143.
A full-grown male mountain lion may be 9 feet long, including his tail!
144.
There are two kinds of radio stations: AM and FM. That’s why there are two dials on
your radio. AM is used mostly for stations that specialize in talking, such as Christian stations at
have Bible stories and sermons; sports stations that broadcast live baseball and football games;
and stations that specialize in news programs and “talk shows,” where listeners call the station
and discuss various topics. FM is used mostly for stations that specialize in music.
145.
The average lead pencil can draw a line that is almost 35 miles long or you can write
almost 50,000 words in English with just one pencil
146.
The Wright Brothers invented one of the first airplanes. It was called the Kitty Hawk.
147.
The worst industrial disaster in India occurred in 1984 in Bhopal the capital of Madhya
Pradesh. A deadly chemical, methyl isocyanate leaked out of the Union Carbide factory killing
more than 2500 and leaving thousands sick. In fact the effects of this gas tragedy are being felt
even today.
148.
Mars is nicknamed the “Red Planet,” because it looks reddish in the night sky. Mars has
2 moons.
149.
Venus is nicknamed the “Jewel of the Sky.” Because of the greenhouse effect, it is
hotter than Mercury, even though it’s not as close to the sun. Venus does not have a moon but
it does have clouds of sulfuric acid! If you’re going to visit Venus, pack your gas mask!
150.
Tens of thousands of participants come from all over the world, fight in a harmless
battle where more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the
streets.
1. Who is the author of “The Kalam effect: My years with the president”?
(a) P.M.Nayar (b) Sonia Gandhi
(c) L.K.Adwani (d) Arun Shaurie
ANS (a)
2. Who is the author of the book “Superstar India : From Incredible to Unstopable”?
(a) L.K.Adwani (b) Arundhati Roy
(c) Shobha De (d) Vikram Seth
ANS (c)
3. The Sanskrit poet called as the Indian Shakespeare?
(a) Kalidasa (b) Thulasidas (c) Sudraka (d) Kautilya
ANS (a)
4. Mulk Raj Anand is the author of
(a) The Post Office (b) Gora
(c) India Wins Freedom (d) Coolie
ANS (Try Yourself)
5. Who is the author of the book ’My other two daughters’?
(a) Lalu Prasad Yadav (b) Surjit Singh Barnala
(c) E.M. Forster (d) Paul Kennedy
ANS (b)
6. Who is known as the Father of Detective Story
(a) Arthur Conan Doyle (b) Bram Stoker
(c) Edgar Allen Poe (d) None of the above
ANS (c)
7. Man-The Maker of His Own Destiny’ “ book was written by
(a) V.S. Naipaul (b) Mahatma Gandhi
(c) Guenter Grass (d) Swami Vivekananda
ANS (d)
8. Find out the odd one
(a) Louis Fischer (b) Ibsen(c) William Shakespeare (d) Sherlock HolmesANS (d) Others are writers.
Sherlock Holmes is a character 9.One among the following is not written by Kalidasa
(a) Saakunthalam (b) Raghu Vamsam
(c) Rith Samharam (d) Kaavyadooth
ANS (d)
10. ’Sonia, a Biography’ was written by
(a) Sonia Gandhi (b) Arundhathi Roy
(c) Rasheed Kidvai (d) V.K. Madhavan Kutty
ANS (c)
11. One among the following is not a Harry Potter story
(a) Chamber of secrets
(b) The philosopher’s stone
(c) Half blood prince (d) Naked Truth
ANS (d)
12. Jules Verne, a French science fiction writer wrote a book, which carried a more or less
accurate prediction of the launching of Apollo-8. Which is the book
(a) From the Earth to the moon
(b) All under Heaven
(c) A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(d) Past and Present
ANS (a)
13. Who is the author of “A Passage to England”?
(a) E.M. Forster (b) Nirad C. Chaudhari
(c) G.B. Shaw (d) Winston Churchill
ANS (b)
14. “Does IT matter” is a book written by
(a) Bill Gates (b) N. R. Narayanan (c) Nicholas Carr
(d) Thomas D. Harris (e) None of these
ANS (c)
15. ’Beyond time’ is the book written by
(a) Namita Gokhale (b) Ruskin Bond
(c) William Balrymple (d) Josef Korbel
(e) None of these
ANS (e)
16. The famous book ’Anandmath’ has been authorised by
(a) Rabindranath Tagore
(b) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya
(c) Sarojini Naidu
(d) Sri Aurobindo
ANS (b)
17.Who wrote a book describing the theory of economic drain of India during British rule?
(a) Dadabhai Naoroji (b) Lala Lajpat Rai
(c) Mahatma Gandhi (d) Jawaharlal Nehru
ANS (a)
18. The author of the book ’Waiting for Godot’ is:
(a) Ruth Harring (b) Susan Sontag
(c) Samuel Beckett (d) Ben Jonson
ANS (c) Waiting for the Mahatma – R. K. Narayanan
Waiting to Exhale – Terry Mc Millan
19. “The Vedas contain all the truth”, was interpreted by:
(a) Swami Vivekananda (b) Swami Dayanand
(c) Swami Shraddhanand (d) S. Radhakrishnan
ANS (b)
20. Sirr-i-Akbar was the Persian translation of fifty-two Upanishads by which son of shah
Jahan?
ANS – Dara Shikoh
21.In “The Travels of Gulliver”, what is the first things two Lilliputians discuss when they
meet in the morning?
ANS – The health of the sun
22.”The man who knew infinity” is the biography of
(a) Rene Descartes (b) Stephen Hawking
(c) Albert Einstein (d) S. Ramanujan
ANS (d)
23.What was the original name of ’Alice in Wonderland’ when Lewis Carroll first showed it to
novelist Henry Kingsley in 1863?
ANS – Alice’s Adventures Underground
24. The author of the book “Waiting for the Mahatma” is
(a) R.K Narayan (b) N.A Palkhiwala
(c) Amrita Pritam (d) M. Malgonkar
ANS (a)
25. Under the patronage of which ruler of the Javanese house of Mataram, was the epic poem
’Arjuna vivaha’ written?
ANS – King Airlangga
26. To whom, in his own words, did Rudyard Kipling dedicate his collection, ’Plain Tales From
the Hills’?
ANS – To the wittiest woman in India
27. ’Beyond the Last Blue Mountain’ is R.M Lala’s biography of which Indian?
ANS – J. R. D. Tata
28. Which of Agatha Christie’s books was the first to be serialised in the Evening News under
the title ’Anna the Adventure’?
ANS – The Man In The Brown Suit
29. Who has authored the book A Brief History of Time?
(a) Carl Sagan (b) Issac Asimov
(c) John Gribbin (d) Stephen Hawking
ANS (d)
30. The book ’Living with Honour’ is written by
(a) Arundhati Roy (b) Shiv Khera
(c) Pramod Batra (d) Vikram Seth
ANS (b)
31. The book ’Cricket My Style’ is written by
(a) Sunil Gavaskar (b) Sachin Tendulkar
(c) Kapil Dev (d) Mohinder Amarnath
ANS (c)
32. Who wrote the book ’The Book of Indian Birds’
ANS – Dr. Salim Ali
33. ’Economic History of India’ was written by
ANS – R. C. Dutt
34.The oldest of the vedic literature is
(a) Sama Veda (b) Yajur Veda
(c) Rig Veda (d) Atharva Veda
ANS (c)
35. ’Leelavathi’ the famous sanskrit grantha is a book on
ANS – Mathematics
36. Who is the author of ˜An Equal Musicâ (1999)
ANS – Vikram Seth
37. Who wrote the poem ˜Passage to India in 1871
ANS – Walt Whitman (American Poet)
38. Who is the author of the book ˜The Canterbury Tales
ANS – Geoffrey Chaucer
39. Who is the author of the book ˜Anna Karenin
ANS – Leo Tolstoy
40.Who is the author of the book ˜The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
ANS – Mark Twain
41. Who is the author of the book ˜The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes?
ANS – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
42.Who is the author of the book ˜The Comedy of Errors?
ANS – William Shakespeare
43. Who is the author of the book ˜Animal Farm
ANS – George Orwell
44. Who is the author of the book ˜The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
ANS – Samuel Taylor Coleridge
45. Who is the author of the book, ˜Through the Looking-Glass?
ANS – Lewis Carroll
46. Who is the author of the book, ˜Allâs Well That Ends Wellâ?
ANS – William Shakespeare
47. Who is the author of the book ˜Akbar-nama
ANS – Abul Fazl
48. Who is the author of the book ˜The Adventures of Huckleberry Finnâ?
ANS – Mark Twain
49. Who is the author of the book ˜Antony and Cleopatraâ?
ANS – William Shakespeare
50. Who is the author of the book , Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica
(Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1687)
ANS – Sir Isaac
51. Who is the author of the book “Jyoti Punj”?
(a) L.K.Adwani (b) Atal Bihari Vajpeyi
(c) Narendra Modi (d) Vikram Seth
ANS (c)
National Parks in India
This is the list of Important National Parks in India. this article definitely helpful in various
exams. state psc, RRB exams, Bank exams other competitive exams. so enjoy reading…
Bandhavgarh National Park
Check out the place where firstly and formostly the white Tigers of Rewa were discovered
Bandhavgarh. This park is some of the left out preserved wild pockets of Madhya Pradesh of what were
once splendid forests that extended across the whole of Central India.
Ranthambore National Park
A nearby attraction of Sawai Madhopur, in the state of Rajasthan, Ranthambore National Park is an
outstanding example of Project Tiger’s efforts at conservation in the India.
Kaziranga National Park
The land of Rhino is counted among the two major wild pockets, the only surviving habitats of this
prehistoric survivor in India.
Kanha National Park
Ever though what it feels like to visit a tiger country, then visit the state of Madhya Pardesh, check out
the wilds of Kanha and see for yourself why this place is called a wild hideout taken straight from the
famous “Jungle Book”.
Sundarbans National Park
Come to Sundarbans where adventure awaits you at every corner. Known as the largest estuarine delta
in the world, this Tigerland vibrates with countless forms of colourful life.
Manas National Park
Assam is the state of the Great One Horned Rhino. Beside the Kaziranga there’s Manas another habitat
of the Rhino’s, located in one of the remotest region among the foothills of Himalayas.
Bandipur National Park
Lies halfway down the Mysore-Ooty highway became one of the first of India’s Tiger Reserves and the
southernmost of the nine reserves specially established under Project Tiger.
Sultanpur National Park
Sultanpur national park was a stretch of marshy land that has been remodeled and converted into a
water body. The park is home to a large range of birds, both resident and migratory.
Royal Chitwan National Park (Nepal)
Established in 1973, provides a great wildlife experience with its rich flora and fauna. Short grass makes
the months of February-May the best game-viewing season, but the autumn months are perfect for
visiting, with Himalayan views, and in winter months of December-January, Chitwan has quiet a
pleasant climate compared to Kathmandu.
Royal Bardia National Park (Nepal)
Largest and most undisturbed wild area of the Terai region of the Nepal Himalayas. Simialar to Chitwan
park, but with a drier climate and a more remote location, Bardia encompasses 1,000-sq-kms of riverine
grassland and sal forests.
Rajaji National Park, Uttaranchal
Situated in the forested hills, east of Haridwar, is quiet known for its wild Elephants, which have an
approximate population of 150. Because of the pleasant climate this hideout becomes a pretty good
tourist destination and a perfect retreat for picnicking.
Dudhwa National Park, U.P.
Also popular as a Tiger Reserve, this national park is located in the district of Lakhimpur, along the IndoNepal border. Another major attraction of this wild reserve is the Barasingha or the Swamp Deer, found
in the southwest and southeast region of the park.
Bandipur & Nagarhole National Parks, Karnataka
Two of the most attractive national parks of Karnataka are Nagarhole and Bandipur. Even if separate
entities, they are a part of a large neighboring wildlife reserve that also includes Madumalai Sanctuary of
Tamil Nadu and Wynad Reserve of Kerala.
Bhalukpong, Arunachal
For the energetic visitor, keen to experience of faraway Arunachal Pradesh, Bhalukpong is a place to
visit. On the edge of the luxuriant forest of the Pakhui Game Sanctuary, along the Kameng river lies the
village settlement of Bhalukpong, also known as the gateway to Bomdila and the Tawang Monastery.
Simplipal National Park, Orissa
Simplipal is counted among the earliest Project tiger reserves of India and is located in the northern-
forested belt of Orissa. Beside the faunal attractions, the attractive terrain also includes numerous
waterfalls.
Nandankanan Zoo, Orissa
A combination of a beautiful botanical garden, a zoo and a sanctuary, Nandankanan, is situated 20-km
from Bhubaneshwar, and is popularly known as the “Garden of Pleasure” in Orissa. The zoo at
Nandankanan is world famous for its White Tigers.
Gahirmatha Turtle Sanctuary, Orissa
Aqua fauna is what going to attract you to this sanctuary, the breeding center of the Giant Olive Ridley
Turtles, who crossover the Pacific to come here and lay their eggs.
Namdhapha National Park, Arunachal
Tucked away in the northern most state of Arunachal, is the Namdhapa National Park, famous for the
extremely elusive snow and the clouded Leopard. The park is also a Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger.
Velvadhar Blackbuck Sanctuary, Gujarat
Popularly known as the home of the Indian Black Buck, has attracted worldwide attention for the
successful conservation of the fastest of the Indian Antelopes – Black Buck.
Wild Ass Sanctuary, Gujarat
Gujarat is an exciting place for wildlife enthusiasts, mainly because it resides some of the unique wild
attractions within its numerous sanctuaries. Wild Ass sanctuary is another of Gujarat’s wild surprises
famous for its large wild Ass herds.
Dachigam National Park, J&K
Of all the sanctuaries present in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, the one at Dachigam is the best known.
Once an exclusive hunting preserve of the Maharaja of Kashmir, it was declared a national park in 1951,
owing to a strictly enforced conservation programme, to preserve the or Hangul population or the
Kashmiri Stag.
The Great Himalayan National Park, H.P.
The National Park with an area of 620-sq-kms is caved out of the splendid mountain terrain of the Kullu
District and has the representative area of temperate and alpine forests of Himachal. It is also one of the
largest protected area of the state.
Dibru Saikhowa National Park, Assam
Located on the alluvial flood plains of Brahmaputra in Upper Assam neighboring Arunachal is a biosphere
reserve called Dibru Saikhowa National Park Its also an orchid paradise besides being a home to
numerous wild animals and birds.
Milroy or Pabha Sanctuary, Assam
This splendid wildlife reserve even if doesn’t have many faunal varieties to offer, still it possesses the
most coveted one, the Wild Water Buffalo.This sanctuary has been exclusively built for the protection of
the wild water buffalo.
Nameri National Park, Assam
Nameri is the second Tiger reserve of Assam, situated at the foothills of eastern Himalayas. The hilly
backdrop, deciduous and the river Jia Bhoroli have added a unique natural charm to it.
Pin Valley National Park, H.P.
Tucked in between the snow laden higher reaches and scree slopes covered with scanty tufted
vegetation, Pin Valley National Park forms the natural habitat of a number of endangered animals
including Himalayan Ibex, Snow Leopard, Bharal, Wooly Hare, Tibetan Wolf, and Snow Cock.
Hemis High Altitude National Park, J&K
Hemis is a high altitude protected area that was created in the year 1981, in the eastern part of the cold
desert of Ladakh, for the conservation and protection of its unique flora and fauna.
Metals found in India at Major Level
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aluminium is found in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh ,Chttishgarh , Maharastra ,Gujarat
Asbestos is found in Rajasthan, Karnataka
Coal is found in Jharkhand, West Bengal ,Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh ,Orissa, Andhra
Pradesh
Diamonds are found in Madhya Pradesh ,Chttishgarh
Marble is found in Rajasthan
Mica is found is Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan
Thorium is found in Kerala ,Tamil Nadu ,Andhra Pradesh
Uranium is found in Kerala , Jharkhand
Zinc is found in Rajasthan
The reserves of lignite have been estimated as little over 37.15 billion tones as on 1 April 2005
out of which the major contributors is the lignite basins of Tamil Nadu.
List of Cups And Trophies
(Associated with Sports and Games)
Sport: Hockey
Aga khan Cup ,Begam Rasul Torphy (woman’s), Maharaja Ranjit Singh Gold Cup, Lady
Ratan Tata Trophy (woman’s), Gurunanak Championship (woman’s) Dhyanchand Trophy,
Nehru Trophy, Sindhia Gold cup, Murugappa Gold Cup, Wellington Cup etc,
Sport: Football
Beghum Hazarat Mahal Cup, BILT Cup, Bordoloi Trophy Colombo Cup, Confederation cup,
DCM Trophy, Durand Cup, Rovers Cup, B.C. Raj Trophy (National Championship), FIFA
world Cup, Jules Rimet Trophy, Kalinga Cup, Santosh Trophy (National Championship),
IFA Shield, Scissor Cup, Subroto Mukherjee Cup, Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee Trophy, Todd
Memorial Trophy, Vittal Trophy, etc,
Sport: Cricket
Anthony D, Mellow Trophy, Ashes, Asia Cup, Benson and Hedges Cup, Bose Trophy,
Champions Trophy, Charminar Challender Cup, C.K Naidu Trophy, Cooch – Behar Trophy,
Deodhar Trophy, Duldeep Trophy, Gavaskar –Border Trophy, G.D. Birla Trophy, Gillette
Cup, Ghulam Ahmad Trophy, Hamkumat Rai Trophy, ICC World Cup, Irani Trophy
Interface Cup, Jawharlal Nehru Cup, Lomboard World Challenge Cup, Mc Dowells
Challenge Cup, Merchant Cup, Moin –ud –Dowla Cup, Net West Trophy, Prudential
Cup(World Cup), Rani Jhansi Trophy, Ranji Trophy, Rohinton
Barcia Trophy, Rothmans Cup, Sahara Cup, Sharjah Cup, Sheesh Mahal Trophy, Sheffield
Shield, Singer Cup, Sir Frank Worrel Trophy, Texaco Cup, Titan Cup, Vijay Hazare Trophy,
Vijay Merchant Trophy, Vizzy Trophy, Wisden Trophy, Wills Trophy, World Series Cup.
Sport: Table Tennis
Berna Bellack cup( Men), Cobillion Cup (women), Jai Laxmi cup(women),Rajkumari
Challenge Cup (women junior), Ramanuja Trophy (men Junior),
Travancore Cup (women), Swathling Cup (men) etc.
Sport: Badminton
Aggrawal Cup, Amrit Diwan Cup, Asia Cup, Australasia Cup, Chaddha Cup, European Cup,
Harilela Cup, Ibrahim Rahimatillah Challenger Cup, Konica Cup, Sophia Cup, Kitiakara
Cup, Thomas Cup Tunku Abdulrahman Cup, Uber Cup, Yonex Cup etc.
Sport: Basketball
Basalat Jha Trophy, B.C. Gupta Trophy, Federation Cup, S.M. Arjuna Raja Trophy, Todd
memorial Trophy, William jones Cup, Bangalore Bules Challenge Cup, Nehru Cup,
Federation Cup etc.
Sport: Bridge
Basalat Jha Trophy, Holkar Trophy, Ruia Gold Cup, Singhania Trophy. etc
Sport: Polo
Ezra Cup, Gold Cup, King’s Cup, Prithi Pal Singh Cup, Radha
Mohan Cup, Winchester Cup etc.
Sport: Athletics
Charminar Trophy, Federation Cup etc.
Sport: Air Racing
Jawaharlal Challenge Trophy, King’s Cup, Schneider Cup etc.
Sport: Billiards
Arthur Walker Trophy, Thomas Cup etc.
Sport: Boxing
Aspy Adjahia Trophy, Federations Cup,Val Baker Trophy etc.
Sport: Golf
Canada Cup, Eisenhower Trophy, Muthiah Gold Cup, Nomura Trophy, President ‘s Trophy,
Prince of wales Cup, Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup, Topolino Trophy, Walker Cup, World Cup
etc.
Sport: Chess
Naidu Trophy, Khaitan Torphy , Lin Are City Trophy, World Cup etc.
Sport: Horse Racing
Beresford Cup, Blue Riband Cup, Derby, Grand National Cup etc.
Sport: Netball
Anantrao Pawar Trophy etc.
Sport: Rugby Football
Bledisloe Cup, Calcutta Cup, Webb Ellis Trophy, etc.
Sport: Shooting
North Wales Cup, Welsh Grand Prix etc.
Sport: Volleyball
Centennial Cup, Federation Cup, and Indira Pradhan Trophy, Shivanthi Gold Cup, etc.
Sport: Yatch Racing
America Cup etc.
List of Abbreviation (India)
Sr.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
Abbreviation Stands For
AAFI
AAPSO
AASU
ABM
AC
Amateur Athletics Federation of India
Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organisation
All Assam Students Union
Anti Ballistic Missile
Alternate Current OR Air Conditioner
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
ACC
AD
ADB
AERE
AGOC
AICC
AICTE
AIDS
AIFE
AIIMS
AIL
AIMPLB
AIR
AITUE
AM
ANC
APEC
APSC
ASEAN
ASLV
ASI
ASSOCHAM
ASWAC
ATS
BAMS
BARC
BBC
BC
BCG
BCCI
BEL
BENELUX
BHEL
39
BIFR
40
BIMSTEC
41
42
43
44
BIS
B Pharma
BSF
CAD
Ancillary Cadet Core
Ano Domini (After the birth of Jesus)
Asian Development Bank.
Atomic Energy Research Establishment
Asian Games Organisation Committee
All India Congress Committee
All India Council of Technical Education
Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome
All India Football Federation
All India Institute of Medical Sciences
Aeronautics India Limited
All India Muslim Personal Law Board
All India Radio (Broadcasting)
All India Trade Union Congress
Anti Meridian (Before Noon)
African National Congress
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
Army Postal Services Core
Association of South East Asian Nations
Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle
Archaeological Survey of India
Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (India)
Airborne Surveillance Warning and Control
Anti Tetanus Serum
Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
British Broadcasting Corporation
Before Christ (Before the birth of Jesus)
Bacillus Calmette Guerin (Anti TB Vaccine)
Board of Control for Cricket in India
Bharat Electronics Limited
Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg
Bharat Heavy Electronics Limited
Board of Industrial Finance and Reconstruction (Formerly Industrial
Reconstruction Finance Board)
Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic
Cooperation
Bureau of Indian Standards
Bachelor of Pharmacy
Border Security Force
Command Area Development
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
82
83
84
85
86
CAG
CARE
CASE
CBI
CBSE
CCEA
CCS
C-DAC
CDMA
CDRI
CHOGM
CID
CIS
CISF
CITU
CLAT
CNG
COD
COFEPOSA
CPO
CPRI
CRPF
CRR
CSIR
CSO
CTS
CVC
DDT
DFDR
DIG
D. Lit.
DM
DMK
DNA
DPAP
DPC
DRDO
DTH
DVD
EAS
ECD
Comptroller and Auditor General
Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere
Commission for Alternative Sources of Energy
Central Bureau of Investigation
Central. Board of Secondary Education
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
Cabinet Committee on Security
Centre For Development of Advance Computing
Code Division Multiple Access
Central Drug Research Institute
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Criminal Investigation Department
Commonwealth of Independent States
Central Industrial Security Force
Centre of Indian Trade Unions
Common Law Admission Test (Started May 2008)
Compressed Natural Gas
Central Ordnance Depot
Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Act
Central Passport Organisation
Central Power Research Institute
Central Reserve Police Force
Cash Reserve Ratio
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
Central Statistical Organisation
Computerised Tomography Scanner
Central Vigilance Commission
Dichloro Diphenyle Tri-chloroethane
‘Digital Flight Data Recorder (Black box)’
Deputy Inspector General
Doctor of Literature
District Magistrate
Dravida Munetra Kazhagam
Di-oxyribo-Nucleic Acid
‘Drought Prone Area Programme
Dabhol Power Company
Defence Research and Development Organisation
Direct to Home
Digital Versatile Disk
Employment Assurance Scheme
European Central Bank
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
ECG
EEC
EEG
ELISA
EMF
EPABX
EPZ
ERDA
ESMA
EVM
EXIM Bank
FAO
FBI
FBTR
FCI
FDR
FERA
FEMA
FICCI
FIPB
FIR
FRS
FTII
FTZ
GAIL
GATT
GIC
GMT
GNLF
GNP
GPF
GPO
GPS
GSI
HAC
HAL
HCF
HDFC
HIV
HMT
HUDCO
Electro Cardiogram
European Economic Community
Electro Encephalogram
Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay
Electromotive Force
Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange
Export Processing Zone
Energy Research and Development Administration
Essential Services Maintenance Act
Electronic Voting Machine
Export-Import Bank of India
Food and Agriculture Organisation
Federal Bureau of Investigation (USA)
Fast Breeder Test Reactor
Food Corporation of India / Fertilizer Corporation of India
Flight Data Recorder (Black Box)
Foreign Exchange Regulation Act
Foreign Exchange Management Act
Federation of India Chambers of Commerce and Industry
Foreign Investment Promotion Board
First Information Report
Fellow of the Royal Society
Films and Television Institute of India
Free Trade Zone
Gas Authority of India Limited
General Agreement on Tariff and Trade
General Insurance Corporation
Greenwich Mean Time
Gorkha National Liberation Front
Gross National Product
General Provident Fund
General Post Office
Global Positioning System
Geological Survey of India
Hindustan Aluminium Corporation
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Highest Common Factor
Housing Development Finance Corporation
Human Immuno-deficiency Virus
Hindustan Machine Tools
Housing and Urban Development Corporation
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
HYVS
IAAI
lAC
IAEA
IARI
IBRD
ICAR
ICBM
ICC
ICFTU
ICICI
ICJ
ICMR
ICSI
IDA
IDBI
IDO
IDPL
IFA
IFCI
IFFI
IFFCO
IFTU
IIPA
IIS
IISCO
IIT
ILO
IMA
IMF
INGCA
INS
INSAT
INTELSAT
INTERPOL
INTUC
IOC
IPC
IPKF
IQ
IRBM
High Yield Variety Seeds
International Airport Authority of India
Indian Airlines Corporation
International Atomic Energy Agency
Indian Agricultural Research Institute
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)
Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Inter Continental Ballistic Missile
International Cricket Council
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited
International Court of Justice
Indian Council of Medical Research
Indian Company Secretaries Institute
International Development Agency
Industrial Development Bank of India
International Defence Organisation
Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited
Indian Football Association
Industrial Finance Corporation of India
International Film Festival of India
Indian Farmers Fertilizers Cooperative
International Federation of Trade Unions
Indian Institute of Public Administration
Indian Institute of Sciences
Indian Iron and Steel Company
Indian Institute of Technology
International Labour Organisation
Indian Military Academy
International Monetary Fund
Indira Gandhi Gallery for Culture and Art
Indian Naval Ship
Indian National Satellite
International Telecommunication Satellite
International Police Organisation
Indian National Trade Union Congress
International Olympic Committee / Indian Oil Corporation
Indian Penal Code
Indian Peace Keeping Force
Intelligence Quotient
Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
IRC
IRDA
IRDP
ISB
ISM
ISO
ISP
ISRO
IST
ITBP
ITDC
ITPO
ITO
IUCN
ITUC
JMM
KG
LASER
LIC
LLB
LLM
LMG
LoC
LoAC
LPG
LSD
LTTE
MA
MASER
MBA
MBBS
MBT
MCA
MCC
MD
MFN
MI
MISA
MIT
MLA
MLC
International Red Cross
Insurance Regulatory Development Authority
Integrated Rural Development Programme
Indian Standard Bureau
Indian School of Mines
International Organisation for Standardisation
Internet Services Provider
Indian Space Research Organisation
Indian Standard Time
Indo-Tibet Border Police
Indian Tourism Development Corporation
Indian Trade Promotion Organisation
International Trade Organisation
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resource
Indian Trade Union Congress
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
Kinder Garten
Light Amplification By Stimulated Emission of Radiation
Life Insurance Corporation of India
Bachelor of Law
Master of Law
Light Machine Gum
Line of Control (Pakistan)
Line of Actual Control (China)
Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Lysergic acid diethylamide
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam
Master of Arts
Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
Master of Business Administration
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
Main Battle Tank
Monetary Compensatory Allowance / Master of Computer Application
Melbourne Cricket Club
Doctor of Medicine
Most Favoured Nation
Military Intelligence
Maintenance of Internal Security Act
Mechachusates Institute of Technology (USA)
Member of Legislative Assembly
Member of Legislative Council
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
MNC
MRCP
MRCS
MRTPC
MODVAT
NABARD
NACO
NAEP
NAFED
NAFTA
NAPP
NASA
NASDAQ
NASSCOM
NATO
NCW
NCCR
NCERT
NDA
NDDB
NDF
NEERI
NEFA
NEPA
NFDC
NFL
NHRC
NICO
NIDC
NIIT
NIMHANS
NITIE
NMDS
NMEP
NOIDA
NPC
NPP
NPT
NRDC
NREP
NRI
Multi National Corporation
Member of Royal College of Physicians
Member of Royal College of Surgeons
Monopoly and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission
Modified Value Added Tax
National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development
National AIDS Control Organisation
National Adult Education Programme
National Agricultural and Marketing Federation
North American Free Trade Agreement
Narora Atomic Power Plant
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (USA)
National Association of Security Dealer’s Active Quotation
National Association of Software & Service Companies
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
National Commission for Women
National Council for Civil Right
National Council of Educational Research & Training
National Defence Academy
National Dairy Development Board
National Defence Fund.
National Environment Engineering Research Institute
North-East Frontier Agency
National Environment Protection Authority
National Film Development Corporation
National Fertilizer Limited
National Human Rights Commission
New Information and Communication Order
National Industrial Development Corporation
National Institute of Information Technology
National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences
National Institute for Training in Industrial Engineering
National Missile Defence System (US)
National Malaria Eradication Programme
New Okhla Industrial Development Authority
National Productivity Council
National Population Policy
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
National Research and Development Corporation
National Rural Employment Programme
Non Resident Indian
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
NSC
NSSO
NTC
NTPC
OGL
OIL
OK
ONGC
OPEC
PCI
PCS
Ph. D
PIN
PLO
PM
POTA
PSLV
PTI
PRO
PTO
PVC
PVSM
PWD
PWG
QED
QEF
QEI
QMG
RADAR
RAW
R&D
RBI
RCC
RDX
RIMC
RMS
RLEGP
RNA
RPM
RSS
RTO
National Security Council
National Sample Survey Organisation
National Textile Corporation
National Thermal Power Corporation
Open General Licence
Oil India Limited
All Correct
Oil and Natural Gas Commission
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
Press Council of India
Provincial Civil Services
Doctor of ‘Philosophy
Postal lndex Number
Palestine Liberation Organisation
Post Meridian / Prime Minister
Prevention of Terrorism Act
Polar. Satellite Launch Vehicle
Press Trust of India
Public Relations Officer
Please Turn Over
Poly Vinyl Chloride / Paramvir Chakra
Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Public Work’s Department
People’s War Group
Quod Erat Demonstrandum (Which was to be proved)
Quod Erat Faciendum (Which was to be done)
Quod Erat Inveniendum (Which was to be found)
Quarter Master General
Radio Angle Direction and Range
Research and Analysis Wing
Research and Development
Reserve Bank of India
Reinforced Cement Concrete
Research Developed Explosive
Rashtriya Indian Military College
Railway Mail Service
Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme
Ribonucleic Acid
Revolutions Per Minute
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Regional Transport Officer
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
SAARC
SAC
SAFTA
SAI
SAIL
SAPTA
SARS
SC
SCI
SCOPE
SCRA
SDR
SEBI
SGPC
SHAR
SIDBI
SIS
SITA
SLV
SPCA
SPICMC
STARS
STD
STPI
SWAPO
TA
TELCO
TELEX
TISCO
TNT
TOEFL
TRAI
TRIPS
TTE
TTFI
TWA
UDC
UFO
UGC
UHT
ULFA
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
Space Application Centre
South Asian Free Trade Agreement
Sports Authority of India
Steel Authority of India Limited
South Asian Preferential Trade Arrangement
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Security Council/Supreme Court
Shipping Corporation of India
Standing Conference of Public Enterprises
Special Class Railway Apprentice
Special Drawing Rights
Security Exchange Board of India
Siromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee
Shri Harikota Range
Small Industries Development Bank of India
Secret Intelligence Service (U.K)
Suppression of .Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act
Satellite Launch Vehicle
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals
Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical music and culture
Satellite Tracking and Ranging Station
Subscribers Trunk Dialing
Software Technology Parks of India
South West African People’s Organisation
Travelling Aliowance / Territorial Anmy
Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company
Teleprinter Exchange
Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited
Tri-nitro-toluene
Test of English as a Foreign Language
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights
Travelling Ticket Examiner
Table Tennis Federation of India
Trans World Airlines (USA)
Upper Division Clerk
Unidentified Flying Object
University Grants Commission
Ultra High Temperature
United Liberation Front of Assam
333
UNASUR
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
UNCTAD
UNDP
UNEF
UNEP
UNESCO
UNFPA
UNHCR
UNI
UNICEF
UNO
UPS
UPSC
USSR
UTI
VAT
VDIS
VC
VIP
VPP
VRS
VSNL
VSSC
WEF
WHO
WILL
WMO
WWF
WPI
WTO
WWF
WWW
YMCA
YWCA
ZBB
ZSI
Union of South American Nations (Spanish: Unión de Naciones
Suramericanas)
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Emergency Force
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Economic Social and Cultural Organisation
United Nations for Population Activities
United Nations High Commission for Refugees
United News of India
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
United Nations Organisation
Uninterrupted Power Supply
Union Public Service Commission
Union of Soviet Socialist Republic
Unit Trust of India
Value Added Tax
Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme
Vice-Chancellor / Victoria Cross
Very Important Person
Value Payable Post
Voluntary Retirement Scheme
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
World Economic Forum
World Health Organisation
Wireless in Local Loop
World Meteorological Organisation
World Wild Life Fund
Wholesale Price Index
World Trade Organisation
World Wild Life Fund for Nature
World Wide Web
Young Men’s Christians Association
Young Women’s Christians Association
Zero Based Budgeting
Zoological Survey of India
Science Questions Answers
1. Question: A man with a load jumps from a high building. What will be the load experienced by him?
Answer: Zero, because while falling, both the man and the load are falling at the same acceleration i.e.
acceleration due to gravity.
2. Question: A piece of chalk when immersed in water emits bubbles. Why?
Answer: Chalk consists of pores forming capillaries. When it is immersed in water, the water begins to
rise in the capillaries and air present there is expelled in the form of bubbles.
3. Question: Why does a liquid remain hot or cold for a long time inside a thermos flask?
Answer: The presence of air, a poor conductor of heat, between the double glass wall of a thermos
flask, keeps the liquid hot or cold inside a flask for a long time.
4. Question: Why does a ball bounce upon falling?
Answer: When a ball falls, it is temporarily deformed. Because of elasticity, the ball tends to regain its
original shape for which it presses the ground and bounces up (Newton’s Third Law of Motion).
5 Question: Why is standing in boats or double decker buses not allowed, particularly in the upper deck
of buses?
Answer: On tilting the centre of gravity of the boat or bus is lowered and it is likely to overturn.
6. Question: Why is it recommended to add salt to water while boiling dal?
Answer: By addition of salt, the boiled point of water gets raised which helps in cooking the dal sooner.
7. Question: Why is it the boiling point of sea water more than that of pure water?
Answer: Sea water contains salt, and other impurities which cause an elevation in its boiling point.
8. Question: Why is it easier to spray water to which soap is added?
Answer: Addition of soap decreases the surface tension of water. The energy for spraying is directly
proportional to surface tension.
9. Question: Which is more elastic, rubber or steel?
Answer: Steel is more elastic for the same stress produced compared with rubber.
10. Question: Why is the sky blue?
Answer: Violet and blue light have short waves which are scattered more than red light waves. While
red light goes almost straight through the atmosphere, blue and violet light are scattered by particles in
the atmosphere. Thus, we see a blue sky.
11. Question: Why Does ink leak out of partially filled pen when taken to a higher altitude?
Answer: As we go up, the pressure and density of air goes on decreasing. A Partially filled pen leaks
when taken to a higher altitude because the pressure of air acting on the ink inside the tube of the pen
is greater than the pressure of the air outside.
12. Question: On the moon, will the weight of a man be less or more than his weight on the earth?
Answer: The gravity of the moon is one-sixth that of the earth; hence the weight of a person on the
surface of the moon will be one-sixth of his actual weight on earth.
13. Question: Why do some liquid burn while others do not?
Answer: A liquid burns if its molecules can combine with oxygen in the air with the production of heat.
Hence, oil burns but water does not.
14. Question: Why can we see ourselves in a mirror?
Answer: We see objects when light rays from them reach our eyes. As mirrors have a shiny surface,
the light rays are reflected back to us and enter our eyes.
15. Question: Why does a solid chunk of iron sink in water but float in mercury?
Answer: Because the density of iron is more than that of water bus less than that of mercury.
16. Question: Why is cooking quicker in a pressure cooker?
Answer: As the pressure inside the cooker increases, the boiling point of water is raised, hence, the
cooking process is quicker.
17. Question: When wood burns it crackles. Explain?
Answer: Wood contains a complex mixture of gases and tar forming vapors trapped under its surface.
These gases and tar vapors escape, making a cracking sound.
18. Question: Why do stars twinkle?
Answer: The light from a star reaches us after refraction as it passes through various layers of air. When
the light passes through the earth?s atmosphere, it is made to flicker by the hot and cold ripples of air
and it appears as if the stars are twinkling.
19. Question: Why is it easier to roll a barrel than to pull it?
Answer: Because the rolling force of friction is less than the dynamic force of sliding friction.
20. Question: If a feather, a wooden ball and a steel ball fall simultaneously in a vacuum, which one of
these would fall faster?
Answer: All will fall at the same speed in vacuum because there will be no air resistance and the earth?s
gravity will exert a similar gravitational pull on all.
21. Question: When a man fires a gun, he is pushed back slightly. Why?
Answer: As the bullet leaves the nozzle of the gun?s barrel with momentum in a forward direction, as
per Newton’s Third Law of Motion, the ejection imparts to the gun as equal momentum in a backward
direction.
22. Question: Ice wrapped in a blanket or saw dust does not melt quickly. Why?
Answer: Both wood and wool are bad conductors of heat. They do not permit heat rays to reach the ice
easily.
23. Question: Why do we perspire on a hot day?
Answer: When the body temperature rises, the sweat glands are stimulated to secrete perspiration. It is
nature’s way to keep the body cool. During the process of evaporation of sweat, body heat is taken
away, thus giving a sense of coolness.
24. Question: Why does ice float on water but sink in alcohol?
Answer: Because ice is lighter than water it floats on it. However, ice is heavier than alcohol and
therefore it sinks in alcohol.
25. Question: Why do we perspire before rains?
Answer: Before the rain falls, the atmosphere gets saturated with water vapors; as a result, the process
of evaporation of sweat is delayed.
26. Question: Why does a thermometer kept in boiling water show no change in reading after 1000C?
Answer: The boiling point of water is 1000C. Once water starts boiling at this temperature,
thermometer records no change in temperature. The quantity of heat supplied is being utilized as latent
heat of evaporation to convert the water at boiling point into vapour.
27. Question: Why do we bring our hands close to the mouth while shouting across to someone far
away?
Answer: By keeping hands close to mouth the sound is not allowed to spread (Phenomenon of
diffraction of sound) in all direction, but is directed to a particular direction and becomes louder.
28. Question: Why does a corked bottle filled with water burst if left out on a frosty night?
Answer: Because of low temperature the water inside the bottle freezes. On freezing it expands,
thereby its volume increases and pressure is exerted on the walls.
29. Question: Why is a small gap left at the joint between two rails?
Answer: To permit expansion of rails due to heat generated by friction of a moving train.
30. Question: Why cannot a copper wire be used to make elements in electric heater?
Answer: Copper melts at 108.30C and forms a black powder on reacting with atmospheric oxygen. For
heater elements a metal should have more resistance to produce heat.
31. Question: Why are water or mercury droplets always round when dropped on a clean glass?
Answer: The surface of a liquid is the seat of a special force as a result of which molecules on the
surface are bound together to form something like a stretched membrane. They tend to compress the
molecules below to the smallest possible volume, which causes the drop to take a round shape as for a
given mass he sphere has minimum volume.
32. Question: Why does a balloon filled with hydrogen rise in the air?
Answer: Weight of hydrogen is less than the weight of air displaced by it. In balloons hydrogen is
normally filled because it is lighter than air.
33. Question: Why do we lean forward while climbing a hill?
Answer: In order to keeps the vertical line passing through our centre of gravity always between our
feet, which is essential to attain equilibrium or stability.
34. Question: Why does smoke curl up in the air?
Answer: Smoke contains hot gases which being lighter in weight, follows a curved path because of the
eddy currents that are set up in the air.
35. Question: Why does an electric bulb explode when it is broken?
Answer: The bulb encompasses partial vacuum and as it breaks, air rushes in causing a small
explosion.
36. Question: Why does a man fall forward when he jumps out of a running train or bus?
Answer: He is in motion while in the train or bus. When he jumps out, his feet comes to rest while
touching the ground but his upper portion which is still in motion propels him forward.
37. Question: Why does an ordinary glass tumbler crack when very hot tea or milk is poured in it?
Answer: When a hot liquid is poured into a tumbler, the inner layer of the tumbler gets heated, it
expands before the outer layer and an unequal expansion of both layers causes the tumbler to crack.
38. Question: Why is a compass used as an indicator of direction?
Answer: The magnetic needles of a compass under the influence f the earth?s magnetic field lie in a
north-south direction. Hence, we can identify direction.
39. Question: Why is water from a hand pump warm in winter and cold in summer?
Answer: In winter, the outside temperature is lower than that of water flowing out of the pump, and
therefore, the water is warm. Whereas in summer, the outside temperature is higher than the water of
the pump, and therefore, it feels cold.
41. Question: Why is a rainbow seen after a shower?
Answer: After a shower, the clouds containing water droplets act like a prism through which the white
light is dispersed producing a spectrum.
42. Question: Why does a swimming pool appear less deep than is actually is?
Answer: The rays of light coming from the bottom of the pool pass from a denser medium (water) to a
rarer medium (air) and are refracted (bend away from the normal). When the rays return to the surface,
they form an image of the bottom of the pool at a point, which is little above the real position.
43. Question: Why is one?s breath visible in winter but not in summer?
Answer: In winter, water vapor contained in the breath condenses into small droplets, which become
visible but in summer they are quickly evaporated and not seen.
44. Question: Why doesn?t the electric filament in an electric bulb burn up?
Answer: Firstly, because is made of tungsten which has a very high melting point (34100C) whereas the
temperature of the filament required to glow is only 2700oC. Secondly, oxygen is absent since the bulb
is filled with an inert gas which does not help in burning.
45. Question: Why does blotting paper absorb ink?
Answer: Blotting paper has fine pores, which act like capillaries. When a portion of blotting paper is
brought in contact with ink, ink enters the pores due to surface tension (capillary action f liquids) and is
absorbed.
46. Question: Why does a small iron sink in water but a large ship float?
Answer: The weight of water displaced by an iron ball is less than its own weight, whereas water
displaced by the immersed portion of a ship is equal to its weight (Archimedes? Principle).
47. Question: Why does ice float on water?
Answer: The weight of the ice block is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced by the immersed
portion of the ice.
48. Question: Why does moisture gather outside a tumbler containing cold water?
Answer: The water vapour in the air condenses on cooling and appears as droplets of water.
49. Question: Why does kerosene float on water?
Answer: Because the density of kerosene is less than that of water. For the same reason cream rises in
milk and floats at the top.
50. Question: Why is the water in an open pond cool even on a hot summer day?
Answer: As the water evaporates from the open surface of a pond, heat is taken away in the process,
leaving the surface cool.
51. Question: Why is it less difficult to cook rice or potatoes at higher altitudes?
Answer: Atmospheric pressure at higher altitudes is low and boils water below 1000C. The boiling point
of water is directly proportional to the pressure on its surface.
52. Question: Why is it difficult to breathe at higher altitudes?
Answer: Because of low air pressure at higher altitudes the quantity of air is less, and so that of
oxygen.
53. Question: Why are winter nights and summer nights warmer during cloudy weather than when the
sky is clear?
Answer: Clouds being bad conductors of heat do not permit radiation of heat from land to escape into
the sky. As this heat remains in the atmosphere, the cloudy nights are warmer.
54. Question: Why is a metal tyre heated before it is fixed on wooden wheels?
Answer: On heating, the metal tyre expands by which its circumference also increases. This makes
fixing the wheel easier and therefore cooling down shrinks it; thus fixing the tyre tightly.
55. Question: Why is it easier to swim in the sea than in a river?
Answer: The density of sea water is higher; hence the up thrust is more than that of river water.
56. Question: Who will possibly learn swimming faster-a fat person or a thin person?
Answer: The fat person displaces more water which will help him float much more freely compared to a
thin person.
57. Question: Why is a flash of lightening seen before thunder?
Answer: Because light travels faster than sound, it reaches the earth before the sound of thunder.
58. Question: Why cannot a petrol fire be extinguished by water?
Answer: Water, which is heavier than petrol, slips down permitting the petrol to rise to the surface and
continue to burn. Besides, the existing temperature is so high that the water poured on the fire
evaporates even before it can extinguish the fire. The latter is true if a small quantity of water is poured.
59. Question: Why does water remain cold in an earthen pot?
Answer: There are pores in an earthen pot which allow water to percolate to the outer surface. Here
evaporation of water takes place thereby producing a cooling effect.
60. Question: Why do we place a wet cloth on the forehead of a patient suffering from high
temperature?
Answer: Because of body?s temperature, water evaporating from the wet cloth produces a cooling
effect and brings the temperature down.
61. Question: When a needle is placed on a small piece of blotting paper which is place on the surface
of clean water, the blotting paper sinks after a few minutes but the needle floats. However, in a soap
solution the needle sinks. Why?
Answer: The surface tension of clean water being higher than that of a soap solution, it cans support
the weight of a needle due to its surface tension. By addition of soap, the surface tension of water
reduces, thereby resulting in the sinking of the needle.
62. Question: To prevent multiplication of mosquitoes, it is recommended to sprinkle oil in the ponds
with stagnant water. Why?
Answer: Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water. The larvae of mosquitoes keep floating on the surface of
water due to surface tension. However, when oil is sprinkled, the surface tension is lowered resulting in
drowning and death of the larvae.
63. Question: Why does oil rise on a cloth tape of an oil lamp?
Answer: The pores in the cloth tape suck oil due to the capillary action of oil.
64. Question: Why are ventilators in a room always made near the roof?
Answer: The hot air being lighter in weight tends to rise above and escape from the ventilators at the
top. This allows the cool air to come in the room to take its place.
65. Question: How does ink get filled in a fountain pen?
Answer: When the rubber tube of a fountain pen immersed in ink is pressed, the air inside the tube
comes out and when the pressure is released the ink rushes in to fill the air space in the tube.
66. Question: Why are air coolers less effective during the rainy season?
Answer: During the rainy reason, the atmosphere air is saturated with moisture. Therefore, the process
of evaporation of water from the moist pads of the cooler slows down thereby not cooling the air blown
out from the cooler.
67. Question: Why does grass gather more dew in nights than metallic objects such as stones?
Answer: Grass being a good radiator enables water vapour in the air to condense on it. Moreover, grass
gives out water constantly (transpiration) which appears in the form of dew because the air near grass is
saturated with water vapour and slows evaporation. Dew is formed on objects which are good radiations
and bad conductors.
68. Question: If a lighted paper is introduced in a jar of carbon dioxide, its flame extinguishes. Why?
Answer: Because carbon dioxide does not help in burning. For burning, oxygen is required.
69. Question: Why does the mass of an iron increase on rusting?
Answer: Because rust is hydrated ferric oxide which adds to the mass of the iron rod. The process of
rusting involves addition of hydrogen and oxygen elements to iron.
70. Question: Why does milk curdle?
Answer: Lactose (milk sugar) content of milk undergoes fermentation and changes into lactic acid
which on reacting with milk protein (casein) form curd.
71. Question: Why does hard water not lather soap profusely?
Answer: Hard water contains sulphates and chlorides of magnesium and calcium which forms an
insoluble compound with soap. Therefore, soap does not lather with hard water.
72. Question: Why is it dangerous to have charcoal fire burning in a closed room?
Answer: When charcoal burns it produces carbon monoxide which is suffocating and can cause death.
73. Question: Why is it dangerous to sleep under trees at night?
Answer: Plants respire at night and give out carbon dioxide which reduces the oxygen content of air
required for breathing.
74. Question: Why does ENO’s salt effervesce on addition of water?
Answer: It contains tartaric acid and sodium bicarbonate. On adding water, carbon dioxide is produced
which when released into water causes effervescence.
75. Question: Why does milk turn sour?
Answer: The microbes react with milk and grow. They turn lactose into lactic acid which is sour in taste.
76. Question: Why is a new quilt warmer than an old one?
Answer: In a new quilt the cotton is not compressed and as such it encloses more air which is bad
conductor of heat. Therefore, it does not allow heat to pass.
77. Question: Curved rail tracks or curved roads are banked or raised on one side. Why?
Answer: Because a fast moving train or vehicle leans inwards while taking turn and the banked or
raised track provides required centripetal force to enable it to move round the curve.
78. Question: How do bats fly in dark?
Answer: When bats fly they produce ultrasonic sound waves which are reflected back to them from the
obstacles in their way and hence they can fly without difficulty.
79. Question: Water pipes often burst at hill stations on cold frosty nights. Why?
Answer: The temperature may fall below 00C during cold frosty nights which converts the water inside
the pipes into ice, resulting in an increase in volume. This exerts great force on the pipes and as a
result, they burst.
80. Question: Why are white clothes more comfortable in summer than dark or black ones?
Answer: White clothes are good reflectors and bad absorbers of heat, whereas dark or black clothes are
good absorbers of heat. Therefore, white clothes are more comfortable because they do not absorb heat
from the sun rays.
81. Question: Why does a rose appear red grass green in daylight?
Answer: Rose absorbs all the constituent colors of white light except red which is reflected to us.
Similarly, grass absorbs all colors except green which is reflected t us.
82. Question: Why does a ship rise as it enters the sea from a river?
Answer: The density of sea water is high due to impurities and salts compared to river water as a
result; the upthurst produced by the sea water on the ship is more than that of river water.
83. Question: Why are fuse provided in electric installations?
Answer: A safety fuse is made of a wire of metal having a very low melting point. When excess current
flows in, the wire gets heated, melts and breaks the circuit. By breaking the circuit it saves electric
equipment or installations from damage by excessive flow of current.
84. Question: Why is it easier to lift a heavy object under water than in air?
Answer: Because when a body is immersed in water, it experiences an upward thrust (Archimedes?
Principle) and loses weight equal to the weight of the water displaced by its immersed potion, and
hence, is easier to lift objects.
85. Question: If a highly pumped up bicycle tyre is left in the hot sunlight, it bursts. Why?
Answer: The air inside the tube increases in volume when heated up. As sufficient space for the
expansion of the air is not available because the tube is already highly pumped, it may result in bursting
of the tyre.
86. Question: What will be the color of green in blue light?
Answer: Grass will appear dark in color because it absorbs all other colors of the light except its own
green color. The blue light falling on grass will be absorbed by it, and hence, it will appear dark in color.
87. Question: Why do two eyes give better vision than one?
Answer: Because two eyes do not form exactly similar images and he fusion of these two dissimilar
images in the brain gives three dimensions of the stereoscopic vision.
DISCOVERY / INVENTION IN MEDICAL SCIENCE
SNo Discovery / Invention
1 Adrenaline
2 Anesthesia, Local
3 Anesthesia, Spinal
Anti-toxins (Science of
4
Immunity)
5 Aspirin
6
Ayurveda
7
Bacteria
Year
1894
1885
1898
Discoverer / Inventor
Schafer and Oliver
Koller
Bier
Country
Britain
Austria
Germany
1890
Behring and Kitasato
Germany, Japan
1889
Dreser
2000-1000
BC
1683
Leeuwenhock
Germany
India
Netherlands
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
Bacteriology
Biochemistry
Blood Plasma storage (Blood
bank)
Blood Transfusion
Cardiac Pacemaker
CAT Scanner
Chemotherapy
Chloroform as anaesthetic
Chloromycetin
Cholera T.B germs
Circulation of blood
Cryo-Surgery
Diphtheria germs
Electro-Cardiograph
Electro-encephalogram
Embryology
Endocrinology
First Test Tube Baby
Gene Therapy on humans
1872
1648
Ferdinand Cohn
Germany
Jan Baptista Van Helmont Belgium
1940
Drew
1625
1932
1968
1493-1541
1847
1947
1877
1628
1953
1883-84
1903
1929
1792-1896
1902
1978
1980
Jean-Baptiste Denys
A.S Hyman
Godfrey Hounsfield
Paracelsus
James Simpson
Burkholder
Robert Koch
William Harvey
Henry Swan
Klebs and Loffler
Willem Einthoven
Hand Berger
Kari Ernest Van Baer
Bayliss and Starling
Steptoe and Edwards
Martin Clive
Robert Weinberg and
Genes associated with cancer 1982
others
Heart Transplant Surgery
1967
Christian Barnard
Histology
1771-1802 Marie Bichat
Hypodermic syringe
1853
Alexander wood
Kidney Machine
1944
Kolf
Leprosy Bacillus
1873
Hansen
LSD (Lysergic acid
1943
Hoffman
diethylamide)
Malaria Germs
1880
Laveran
Morphine
1805
Friderich Sertumer
Neurology
1758-1828 Franz Joseph Gall
Nuclear magnetic resonance
1971
Raymond Damadian
imaging
Open Heart Surgery
1953
Walton Lillehel
Oral Contraceptive Pills
1955
Gregory Pincus, Rock
Penicillin
1928
Alexander Fleming
Physiology
1757-66
Albrecht Von Haller
Positron emission
1978
Louis Sokoloff
Tomography
Rabies Vaccine
1860
Louis Pasteur
Recombinant-DNA
Paul Berg, H.W. Boyer,S
1972-73
technology
Cohen
Reserpine
1949
Jal Vakil
Rh-factor
1940
Karl Landsteiner
Serology
1884-1915 Paul Ehrlich
U.S.A
France
U.S.A
Britain
Switzerland
Britain
U.S.A
Germany
Britain
U.S.A
Germany
Netherlands
Germany
Estonia
Britain
Britain
U.S.A
U.S.A
S. Africa
France
Britain
Netherlands
Norway
Switzerland
France
Germany
Germany
U.S.A
U.S.A
U.S.A
Britain
Switzerland
U.S.A
France
U.S.A
India
U.S.A
Germany
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
Sex hormones
Small Pox eradicated
Stethoscope
Streptomycin
Synthetic Antigens
Terramycin
Thyroxin
Typhus Vaccine
Vaccination
Vaccine, Measles
1910
1980
1819
1944
1917
1950
1919
1909
1796
1963
58 Vaccine, Meningitis
1987
59
60
61
62
1954
1960
1885
1776
Vaccine, Polio
Vaccine, Polio-orai
Vaccine, Rabies
Vaccine, Smallpox
63 Virology
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
Vitamin A
Vitamin B1
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vitamin K
Western Scientific Therapy
Yoga
Eugen Steinach
W.H.O Declaration
Rene Laennec
Selman Waksmann
Landsteiner
Finlay and Others
Edward Calvin-Kendall
J. Nicolle
Edward Jenner
Enders
Gardon, et al. Connaught
Lab
Jonas Salk
Albert Sabin
Louis Pasteur
Jenner
Australia
UN
France
U.S.A
U.S.A
U.S.A
U.S.A
France
Britain
U.S.A
U.S.A
U.S.A
U.S.A
France
Britain
USSR,
1892
Ivanovski and Bajernick
Netherlands
1913
Mc Collum and M. Davis U.S.A
1936
Minot and Murphy
U.S.A
1919
Froelich Holst
Norway
1925
Mc Collum
U.S.A
1938
Doisy Dam
U.S.A
460-370 BC Hippocrates
Greece
200-100 BC Patanjali
India
Some Quick Sciecnce GK
No.
Question
Answer
01
The theory of relativity was propounded by
Albert Einstein
02
The principal metal used in manufacturing steel is
Iron
03
An alimeter is used for measuring
Altitude
04
Oology is the study of
Birds eggs
05
Radioactivity was discovered by
Henry Bacquerel
06
The metal used in storage batteries is
Lead
07
The instrument used to measure the relative humidity
Hygrometer
of air is
08
Barometer was invented by
Torricelli
09
The unit of power is
Watt
10
Radium was discovered by
Marie and Pierrie Curie
11
The existence of isotopes was discovered by
Frederick Soddy
12
Dynamo was invented by
Michael Faraday
13
The nuclear reactor was invented by
Enrico Ferni
14
The law of gravitation was propounded by
Sir Isaac Newton
15
Crescograph was invented by
J.C.Bose
16
Crescograph is used to measure the
Rate of growth of a plant
17
Galileo’s first scientific discovery was
Pendulum
18
Microscope was invented by
Aaton Van Leewen Hock
19
The scientist who is known as father of modern
biology is
Aristotle
20
The first person to see a cell under microscope was
Robert Hooke
21
The smallest flowering plant is
Worffia
22
The four blood groups were discovered by
Karl Landsteiner
23
Sodium was discovered by
Sir Humphry Davy
24
The atomic number of oxygen is
Eight
25
The basic building blocks of proteins are
Amino acids
26
The botanical name of the cotton plant is
Gossipium Hirsutum
27
An Electroscope is used to
Detect charges on a body
28
The unit of loudness is
Phon
29
An ammeter is used to measure
Electric current
30
Plant that eat insects are called
Insectivorous plants
31
Fruits that are formed without fertilization are called Parthenocarpic
32
Plants that flower only once in their lifetime are
called
Mono carpic
33
The botanical name for rice is
Oryza Sativa
34
Penicillin is obtained from
Mould
35
The largest tree in the world is
Seguoia Gigantica
36
Herpetology is the study of
Reptiles
37
Entomology is the study of
Insects
38
Ornithology is the study of
Birds
39
Ichtyology is the study of
Fishes
40
Osteology is the study of
Bones
41
The botanical name for brinjal is
Solanum melongenal
42
The botanical name for onion is
Allium Cepa
43
The study of sound is called
Acoustics
44
The study of heavenly bodies is called
Astronomy
45
The study of tissues is called
Histology
46
Electric Lamp was invented by
Thomas alva Edison
47
The fear of crowd is called
Ochlophobia
48
The fear of books is called
Bibliophobia
49
The fear of going to bed is called
Clinophobia
50
The symbol of gold is
Au
51
The symbol of sodium is
Na
52
The symbol of Sr stands for
Strontium
53
The symbol Rb stands for
Rubidium
54
The symbol Md stands for
Mendelevium
55
Calcium sulphate is commonly called
Plaster of Paris
56
Sodium carbonate is commonly called
Washing Soda
57
Sodium chloride is commonly known as
Common Salt
58
The chemical name of Chloroform is
Trichloromethane
59
The chemical name of baking powder is
Sodium bicarbonate
60
The chemical name of bleaching powder is
Calcium hypochlorite
61
The formula HCL stands for
Hydrochloric Acid
62
The formula H2SO4 stands for
Sulphuric Acid
63
The formula CHCI3 stands for
Trichloromethane
64
The formula H2O2 stands for
Hydrogen peroxide
65
A fungus which can only survive on other living
organisms is called
Obligate Parasite
66
A plant which lives in the dark is called
Scotophyte
67
A plant adapted to live in dry places is called a
Xerophyte
68
A plant adapted for growth in water is called a
Hydrophyte
69
Bifocal lens was invented by
Benjamin Franklin
70
Cement was invented by
Joseph Aspdin
71
Laser was invented by
Dr.Charles H.Townes
72
Electromagnet was invented by
William Sturgeon
73
Rayon was invented by
Sir Joseph Swann
74
Thermostat is an instrument used for regulating
Constant temperature
75
The science of organic forms and structures is known
Morphology
as
76
Phycology is the study of
Algae
77
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research was
established in
1945
78
CSIR stands for
Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research
79
ISRO stands for
Indian Space Research
Organisation
80
The first human being to land on moon was
Neil Armstrong
81
The first Indian in space was
Rakesh Sharma
82
ISAC stands for
ISRO Satellite Centre
83
VSSC stands for
Vikram Sarabhai space Centre
84
The headquarters of ISRO is located at
Bangalore
85
VSSC is located at
Thiruvananthapuram
86
ISAC is located at
Bangalore
87
National Science Centre is located at
New Delhi
88
Central Tobacco Research Institute is located at
Rajahmundry
89
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research is located
at
Bangalore
90
The Atomic Energy Commission was set up in
August 1948
91
The first Indian Satellite was
Aryabhatta
92
The first Indian Satellite was launched in the year
1975
93
ASLV stands for
Augmented Satellite Launch
Vehicle
94
INSAT stands for
Indian National Satellite
95
The fear of women is known as
Gynophobia
96
The fear of men is known as
Androphobia
97
The scientist who developed the Quantum theory was Max Plonck
98
The steam engine was invented by
James Watt
99
The botanical name of tea is
Camellia Sinensis
100 Logarithms were devised by
John Napier
101 The acid used in a car battery is
Sulphuric acid
102
The system for writing by blind people was invented
Louis Braille
by
103 The parachute was used for the first time by
J.P.Blanchard
104
The German physicit who first demonstrated the
existence of Radio waves was
Henrich Hertz
105
The instrument that records the intensity of
earthquakes is
Seismograph
106 The laws of floating bodies was discovered by
Archimedes
107 The density of milk is measured by a
Lactometer
108 Fountain pen was invented by
109
The instrument used to measure the pressure of gases
Monometer
is the
110 Bhaskara I was a famous
111
The first atomic power station established in India
was the
112 The role of heredity was demonstrated by
113
L.E.Waterman
Astronomer
Tarapore Atomic Power Station
Mendel
The instrument used to measure the concentration of
Salinometer
salt water is the
114 Spectroscopy is the study of
Anders John Angstrom
115 Dactylography is the study of
Finger Prints
116 A tangent galvanometer is used to study the
Strength of direct current
117 The fruit of Oak is called
Acron
118 ZETA stands for
Zero Energy Thermonuclear
Assembly
119 The formula C6H5OH stands for
Phenol
120
Michael Faraday worked as an assistant under
another scientist whose name was
Sir Humphry Davy
121 Vulcanised rubber was invented by
Charles Goodyear
122 The symbol Zn stands for
Zinc
123 The symbol He stands for
Helium
124 Celluloid was invented by
A.Parker
125 Glider was invented by
Sir George Caley
126 Safety matches was invented by
J.E.Lundstrom
127 Radio valve was invented by
Sir J.A.Fleming
128 Space Applications Centre is located at
Ahmedabad
129 Atomic Energy Commission is located at
Mumbai
130 Dynamics is the study of
Movements of bodies
131 Statics is the study of
Forces acting on bodies at rest
132 Mechanics is the study of
Forces acting on bodies
133 Zoology is the study of
Animal life
134 Botany is the study of
Plant life
135 Psychology is the study of
Human mind
136 The first American to orbit earth was
John H.Glen
137 The electro-cardiograph was invented by
William Einthoven
138 The molecular formula of cane sugar is
C12H22O11
139
A compound which contains only hydrogen and
Carbon is called a
Hydrocarbon
140
The liquid used to preserve specimens of plans and
animals is
Formalin
141 The law of segregaton was propounded by
Mendel
142 Auriscope is used to detect
Ear disorders
143 The three states of matter are
Solid,liquid and gas
144 The scientific name for blood platelets is
Thrombocytes
145 The response of a plant to heat is called
Thermotropism
146 The response of a plant to touch is called
Trigmotropism
147 The symbol Zr stands for
Zirconium
148 Nickel was discovered by
Cronstledt
149 Manganese was discovered by
Gahn
150 The common name for pottasium carbonate is
Potash
151 Bismuth was discovered by
Valentine
152 The biggest plant seed is
Cocodemer
153 Toxicology is the study of
Poisons
154 Virology is the study of
Viruses
155 Paleontology is the study of
Fossils
156 Calorimeter is used to measure
Quantity of heat
157 Chronometer was invented by
John Harrison
158 Stethoscope was invented by
William Stockes
159 Spinning frame was invented by
Sir Richard Arkwright
160 Al stands for
Aluminium
161 Gd stands for
Gadolinium
162 Ir stands for
Iridium
163 Bi stands for
Bismuth
164 The Chemical formula of sodium bicarbonate is
NaHCO3
165 The chemical formula of common salt is
Nacl
166 The chemical formula of washing soda is
Na2CO3,IOH2O
167 The chemical formula of lime soda is
CaCO3
168 The chemical formula of chloroform is
CHcl3
169 The study of grasses is known as
Agrostology
170 The study of antiquities is known as
Archaeology
171 The study of the duration of life is known as
Chronobiology
172 The study of bacteria is known as
Bacteriology
173 Nylon was invented by
Dr.Wallace H.Carothers
174 Electric razor was invented by
Jacob Schick
175 The symbol of silver is
Ag
176 The symbol of silicon is
Si
177 The symbol of titanium is
Ti
178 Calcium oxide is commonly known as
Quick lime
179
A deviation of light passing from one medium to
another is known as
Refraction
180
An apparatus for generation of atomic energy is
called a
Reactor
181
A machine used for converting mechanical energy
into electrical energy is called a
Generator
182 The first Indian woman in space was
Kalpana Chawla
183 The revolver was invented by
Samuel Colt
184 The refrigerator was invented by
J.Perkins
Indian History
Famous Birthdays
1483-02-15 – Babur, founder of Mughal dynasty in India (1526-30)
1506-04-07 – Francis Xavier, saint/Jesuit missionary to India, Malaya, & Japan
1542-10-14 – Abul-Fath Djalal-ud-Din, 3rd Mogol emperor of India (1556-1605)
1542-10-15 – Djalalud-Din Mohammed Akbar, emperor of India (1556-1605)
1569-08-31 – Djehangir/Jahangir, great mogol of India
1592-01-05 – Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor of India (1628-58), built Taj Mahal
1592-01-14 – Sjihab al-Din Sultan Choerram Sjah Djahan, leader of India
1618-11-03 – Aurangzeb, [Alamgir], Emperor of India (1658-1707)
1643-10-14 – Bahadur Shah I, Mughal Emperor of India (d. 1712)
1682-07-10 – Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, German Lutheran missionary to India (d. 1719)
1685-01-07 – Gerard George Clifford, Dutch director of East India Company
1725-09-29 – Robert Clive, English explorer/founder (British empire in India)
1725-09-29 – Robert Clive, founder (British empire in India)
1732-12-06 – Warren Hastings, England, 1st governor-General of India (1773-84)
1750-11-20 – Tipu Sultan, Indian ruler (d. 1799)
1767-05-04 – Tyagaraja, Composer of Indian classical Carnatic music (d. 1847)
1787-06-28 – Henry G W Smith, leader of British-Indian forces
1796-12-27 – Mirza Ghalib, Indian poet (d. 1869)
1809-01-23 – Veer Surendra Sai, Indian Freedom Fighter
1809-12-24 – Christopher “Kit” Carson, KY, Union brig-general/indian fighter
1817-05-15 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian religious reformer (d. 1905)
1817-10-17 – Sajjid Ahmad Chan, Indian moslem leader/co-founder (Pakistan)
1823-06-30 – Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, Indian industrialist (d. 1901)
1824-02-12 – Arya Samaj Maha Rishi Dayanand Sarsvati, Indian hindu leader
1825-05-08 – George Bruce Malleson, Indian officer (d. 1898)
1825-09-04 – Dadabhai Naoroji, 1st Indian in British parliament
1827-07-19 – Mangal Pandey, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1857)
1831-11-08 – Edward R L Bulwer-Lytton, English under king of India
1832-06-10 – Edwin Arnold, English writer (Light of India)
1833-11-02 – Mahendralal Sarkar, Indian doctor (d. 1904)
1835-11-19 – Rani Lakshmi Bai, Indian Queen (d. 1858)
1836-02-18 – Swami Ramakrishna [Gadadhar Chatterji], Indian mystic/hindu leader
1839-03-03 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian industrialist (d. 1904)
1845-11-04 – Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, The First Indian Revolutionary (d. 1883)
1848-04-16 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Social Reformer of Andhra Pradesh, India (d. 1919)
1849-09-21 – Maurice Barrymore, Indian-born patriarch of the Barrymore family (d. 1905)
1850-09-09 – Harishchandra, India, poet/dramatist/father of modern Hindi
1853-12-06 – Haraprasad Shastri, Indian academic, Sanskrit scholar, archivist and historian of Bengali
literature (d. 1931)
1856-04-01 – Acacio Gabriel Viegas, Indian physician (d. 1933)
1856-04-11 – Constantly Lievens, Flemish missionary in India
1856-07-23 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, British-Indian Hindi leader
1858-10-21 – Ramabai Dongre’ Medhavi, India, social reformer
1858-11-07 – Bipin Chandra Pal, Indian freedom fighter, (d. 1932)
1858-11-30 – Jagdish Chandra Bose, Indian physicist (d. 1937)
1860-08-10 – Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, Indian musician (d. 1936)
1860-09-15 – Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya, Indian engineer (d. 1962)
1861-05-06 – Motilal Nehru, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1931)
1861-05-07 – Rabindranath Tagore, First Indian to win Nobel Prize for Liturature. (d. 1941)
1861-12-25 – Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian founder of Banaras Hindu University (d. 1946)
1865-01-28 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1928)
1865-01-31 – Shastriji Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1951)
1866-05-09 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Leader of Indian Independence Movement (d. 1915)
1867-12-16 – Amy Carmichael, missionary in Dohnavur, India (d. 1951)
1868-08-12 – Frederick JNT lord Chelmsford, viceroy of British-India (1916-21)
1869-10-02 – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Porbandar Kathiawad India, pacifist and spiritual leader
1872-04-14 – Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Indian-born Islamic scholar and translator (d. 1953)
1873-11-22 – Leopold CMS Amery, British minister of Colonies (India)
1875-10-31 – Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian freedom fighter and statesman (d. 1950)
1876-09-15 – Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian novelist (d. 1938)
1877-11-24 – Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara, Indian CID Commissioner of Police (d. 1941)
1878-02-21 – The Mother, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1973)
1878-11-27 – Jatindramohan Bagchi, Indian (Bengali) poet (d.1948).
1878-12-10 – Rajaji, India’s freedom fighter and the first Governor General of independent India
(d.1972)
1879-02-13 – Sarojini Naidu, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1949)
1879-09-17 – Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, Indian Social Reformer (d. 1973)
1880-07-31 – Munshi Premchand, Indian Author (d. 1936)
1880-10-08 – Ernest F E Douwes Dekker, Dutch founder (National-India Party)
1882-07-05 – Inayat Khan, Indian sufi (d. 1927).
1882-12-11 – Subramanya Bharathy, Indian poet (d. 1921)
1883-05-28 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian activist (d. 1966)
1884-12-03 – Rajendra Prasad, first President of India (d. 1963)
1885-02-14 – Syed Zafarul Hasan, Prominent Muslim Indian/Pakistani philosopher (d. 1949)
1886-05-25 – Rash Behari Bose, leader against the British Raj in India (d. 1945)
1886-11-02 – Philip Merivale, Rehutia India, actor (Nothing But Trouble)
1887-02-26 – Benegal Narsing Rau, India, pres of UN Security Council (1950)
1887-06-07 – William Walraven, Dutch journalist/writer (Indian Daily)
1887-12-22 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (d. 1920)
1888-09-05 – Sarvepalli Radhakrishan, president (India)/philosopher
1888-11-07 – Chandrasekhara Raman, India, physicist (Nobel 1930)
1888-11-11 – Maulana Azad, 1st minister of education in independent India
1889-11-14 – Jawaharlal Nehru, 1st Indian PM (1947-64)
1891-04-14 – B. R. Ambedkar, Indian jurist (d.1956)
1893-01-05 – Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru (d. 1952)
1894-01-01 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian mathematician (d. 1974)
1894-02-25 – Meher Baba, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1969)
1894-04-10 – Shri Ghanshyam Das Birla, Indian industrialist (d. 1983)
1894-05-20 – Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian Hindu sage, Jivanmukta (d. 1994)
1894-06-23 – Edward VIII, King of Great Brit/N-Ireland/emperor of India (1936)
1894-08-10 – Varahagiri Venkata Giri, Fourth President of India (d. 1980)
1895-05-12 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, India, philosopher (Songs of Life) [NS=May 22]
1895-05-22 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, India, philosopher (Songs of Life) [OS=May 12]
1895-06-03 – Kavalam Madhava Panikkar, India, diplomat (Asia & Western Dominance)
1895-09-01 – Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Indian musician (d. 1974)
1896-02-29 – Ranchhodji Morarji Desai, premier of India (1977-79)
1896-09-01 – A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Indian theologian (d. 1977)
1896-11-12 – Salim Ali, Indian ornithologist (d. 1987)
1897-01-23 – Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian politician
1897-04-19 – Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1970)
1897-05-03 – V K Krishna Menon, India, minister of defense
1897-11-23 – Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Indian writer (d. 1999)
1898-12-02 – Indra Lal Roy, Indian pilot (d. 1918)
1898-12-05 – Josh Malihabadi, Urdu poet of India and Pakistan (d. 1982)
1902-06-04 – Richard Allen, India, field hockey goal tender (Olympic-gold-1928)
1902-10-11 – Jayaprakash Narayan, Indian freedom fighter and political leader (d. 1979)
1903-07-15 – Kumaraswami Kamaraj, Indian politician (d. 1975)
1904-02-29 – Rukmini Devi Arundale, Indian dancer and founder of Kalakshetra (d. 1986)
1904-03-04 – Chief Tahachee, American-born Old Settler Cherokee Indian stage and film actor (d.
1978)
1904-07-29 – J. R. D. Tata, Indian industrialist (d. 1993)
1904-10-01 – A.K. Gopalan, Indian communist leader (d. 1977)
1904-10-02 – Shi Lal Bahadur Shastri, India premier (1964-66)
1905-09-09 – Hussain Sha – Indian Saint, Philosopher ,Pithapuram
1906-05-05 – Ursula Jeans, Simla India. actress (I Lived With You, Over the Moon)
1906-05-29 – Terence Hanbury White, Bombay India, novelist (England Have My Bones)
1906-07-23 – Chandrasekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (d. 1931)
1906-10-10 – R.K. Narayan, Indian novelist (d. 2001)
1907-05-15 – Sukhdev Thapar, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1931)
1907-09-27 – Bhagat Singh, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1931)
1907-09-28 – Bhagat Singh, Indian activist (d. 1931)
1908-04-05 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian politician (d. 1986)
1908-06-24 – Guru Gopinath, Indian classical dancer (d 1987)
1908-07-25 – Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Indian musician (d. 2003)
1908-10-22 – John Sutton, Rawalpindi India, actor (Tower of London, Return of Fly)
1909-10-30 – Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist (d. 1966)
1909-12-20 – Vakkom Majeed, Indian politician (d. 2000)
1910-01-30 – C Subramaniam, Indian politician (d. 2000)
1910-07-03 – Eric Franklin, Indian civil servant
1910-10-19 – Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, India, astrophysicist (Nobel 1983)
1910-12-04 – Ramaswamy Venkataraman, president of India (1987-92)
1911-02-19 – Merle Oberon, Calcutta India, actress (Assignment Foreign Legion)
1911-09-20 – Shriram Sharma Acharya, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1991)
1911-10-13 – Ashok Kumar, Indian actor (d. 2001)
1912-01-27 – Lawrence Durrell, Darjeeling, Indian/British writer (Private Country, Alexandria Quartet)
1912-02-27 – Kusumagraj, Indian writer (d. 1999)
1913-05-13 – Sanjiva Reddy, president (India)
1913-05-19 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, president of India
1914-01-01 – Noor Inayat Khan, Indian princess and SOE agent (d. 1944)
1914-07-08 – Jyoti Basu, Indian politician
1916-01-22 – Harilal Upadhyay, Gujarati Author, Poet, Astrologist (Gujarat is a State of India) (d.
1994)
1916-05-05 – Zail Singh, President of India (d. 1994)
1916-05-08 – Swami Chinmayananda, Indian spiritualist (d. 1993)
1916-08-03 – Shakeel Badayuni, Indian poet and lyricist (d. 1970)
1916-09-15 – Margaret Lockwood, Karachi India, actress (Lady Vanishes)
1916-09-16 – M.S. Subbulakshmi, Indian singer (d. 2004)
1917-01-12 – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian spiritualist (d. 2008)
1917-01-17 – Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran, (MGR), Indian film star, politician
1917-02-11 – T. Nagi Reddy, Indian revolutionary (d. 1976)
1917-03-12 – Googie Withers, Karachi India, actress (1 of Our Aircraft is Missing)
1917-11-05 – Banarsi Das Gupta, Indian former Chief Minister of Haryana (d. 2007)
1917-11-19 – Indira Gandhi, Allahabad India, Indian PM (1966-77, 1980-84)
1918-04-16 – Spike Milligan, India, actor/comedian (Digby, 3 Musketeers)
1918-12-14 – B.K.S. Iyengar, Indian yoga advocate
1918-12-23 – Kumar Pallana, Indian-born American actor
1919-01-19 – Dharam Singh, India, field hockey player (Olympic-gold-1964)
1919-08-12 – Vikram Sarabhai, Indian physicist (d. 1971)
1919-08-31 – Amrita Preetam, Indian poet and author (d. 2005)
1919-11-08 – P. L. Deshpande, Indian author (d. 2000)
1919-12-25 – Naushad Ali, Indian music director (d. 2006)
1920-02-12 – Pran, Indian actor
1920-03-15 – Ranganandhan Francis, India, field hockey (Olympic-gold-1948, 52, 56)
1920-04-05 – Rafique Zakaria, Indian author (d. 2005)
1920-04-07 – Ravi Shankar, Benares India, sitar player (Sounds of India)
1920-10-19 – Pandurang Shastri Athavale, Indian philosopher (d. 2003)
1920-10-27 – K. R. Narayanan, 10th President of India
1920-10-29 – Catholicos Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I, Indian Catholic
1920-12-04 – Michael Bates, Jhansi India, actor (Clockwork Orange, Patton)
1921-01-20 – Telmo Zarraonaindía, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
1921-02-15 – Radha Krishna Choudhary, Indian historian and writer (d. 1985)
1921-05-02 – Satyajit Ray, Calcutta India, director (Goddess, Adversary)
1921-06-28 – P V Narasimha Rao, premier of India (1991- )
1921-08-08 – Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, Indian medical scientist (d. 2001)
1921-12-07 – Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader
1922-01-09 – Har G Khorana, India/Canada bio-chemist (Nobel 1968)
1922-02-04 – Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Indian Classical Singer
1922-12-11 – Dilip Kumar, Indian actor
1923-04-17 – Lindsay Anderson, Bangalore India, director (Thursday’s Children)
1923-05-15 – Johnny Walker, Indian actor (d. 2003)
1923-05-28 – Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, India, film star (Patala Bhairavi)
1923-07-10 – G. A. Kulkarni, Indian (Marathi) writer (d. 1987)
1923-07-22 – Mukesh, Indian singer (d. 1976)
1923-09-26 – Dev Anand, Indian actor and film producer
1924-01-04 – Sebastian Kappen, Indian theologian (d. 1993)
1924-01-27 – Sabu, [Dastagir], India, actor (Elephant Boy, Drum)
1924-12-14 – Raj Kapoor, Indian actor (d. 1988)
1925-08-07 – M. S. Swaminathan, Indian scientist
1925-09-24 – Autar Singh Paintal, Indian medical scientist (d. 2004)
1925-12-24 – Mohd. Rafi, Indian actor and playback singer (d. 1980)
1926-01-08 – Kelucharan Mohapatra, Indian Odissi dancer (d. 2004)
1926-05-19 – Swami Kriyananda, Indian teacher and author
1926-11-23 – Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philosopher
1927-01-18 – Sundaram Balachander, Indian veena player (d. 1990)
1927-01-27 – Michael Craig, Poona India, actor (Escape 2000, Vault of Horror)
1927-03-25 – Leslie Claudius, India, field hockey (Olympic-gold-1948, 52, 56)
1927-05-10 – Nayantara Sahgal, Indian author
1927-07-27 – Sat Mahajan, Indian politician
1927-08-26 – B. V. Doshi, Indian architect
1928-08-04 – Udham Singh, India, field hockey player (Olympic-gold-1952, 56, 64)
1929-01-08 – Saeed Jaffrey, Indian actor
1929-03-29 – Utpal Dutt, Indian actor (d. 1993)
1929-05-20 – Andre Carolus Cirino, Suriname/Indian poet
1929-06-06 – Sunil Dutt, Indian actor and politician (d. 2005)
1929-07-20 – Rajendra Kumar, Indian actor (d. 1999)
1929-07-25 – Somnath Chatterjee, Indian communist leader
1929-08-04 – Kishore Kumar, Indian singer and actor (d. 1987)
1929-09-28 – Lata Mangeshkar, Indian playback singer
1929-10-19 – Balbir Singh, India, field hockey player (Olympic-gold-1948-56)
1930-07-21 – Anand Bakshi, Indian lyricist (d. 2002)
1930-09-17 – Lalgudi Jayaraman, Indian violinist
1931-02-18 – Swraj Paul, Indian/British industrial/multi-millionaire (Caparo)
1931-05-16 – Natwar Singh, Indian politician
1931-06-30 – June Thorburn, Kashmir India, actress (Touch & Go, Children Galore)
1931-08-27 – Sri Chinmoy, Indian guru (d. 2007)
1931-10-14 – Nikhil Banerjee, Indian classical musician (d. 1986)
1931-10-15 – Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, Eleventh President of India
1932-06-22 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor (d. 2005)
1932-08-01 – Meena Kumari, Indian film actress (d. 1972)
1932-09-27 – Yash Chopra, Indian director
1932-09-29 – Mehmood, Indian actor (d. 2004)
1932-10-26 – Chinadorai Deshmutu, India, field hockey player (1952)
1932-10-30 – Barun De, Indian historian
1932-12-28 – Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman (d. 2002)
1933-02-14 – Madhubala, Indian actress (d. 1969)
1933-09-08 – Asha Bhonsle, Indian singer
1933-11-03 – Amartya Sen, Indian economist, Nobel Prize laureate
1933-12-02 – K. Veeramani, Indian anti-caste activist
1934-03-15 – Kanshi Ram, Indian dalit leader
1934-05-19 – Ruskin Bond, Indian author
1934-10-15 – N. Ramani, Indian flutist
1935-12-08 – Dharmendra, Indian actor
1935-12-11 – Pranab Mukherjee, Indian politician
1936-02-09 – Clive Swift, Liverpool, actor (Frenzy, Passage to India)
1936-04-29 – Zubin Mehta, Bombay India, conductor (NY Philharmonic)
1936-05-03 – Engelbert Humperdinck, [Arnolde Dorsey], India, singer (EH Show)
1936-09-25 – Juliet Prowse, Bombay India, actress/dancer (Who Killed Teddy Bear)
1936-12-25 – Ismail Merchant, Bombay India, producer (Householder)
1937-01-14 – Shoban Babu, Indian actor
1937-12-03 – Binod Bihari Verma, Indian linguist
1937-12-28 – Ratan Tata, Indian industrialist
1938-02-07 – S. Ramachandran Pillai, Indian communist leader
1938-03-18 – Shashi Kapoor, Calcutta India, actor (Shalimar, Heat & Dust)
1938-07-19 – Jayant Narlikar, Indian astrophysicist
1939-01-20 – Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe, Indian astronomer
1939-06-27 – Rahul Dev Burman, Indian composer and actor (d. 1994)
1939-09-25 – Feroz Khan, Indian actor
1939-11-21 – Mulayam Singh Yadav, Indian politician
1939-11-22 – Mulayam Singh Yadav, Indian politician
1940-01-02 – S. R. S. Varadhan, Indian-American mathematician
1940-01-20 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
1940-10-14 – Cliff Richards, [Harry Webb], Lucknow India, rock voclist (Suddenly)
1940-11-01 – Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, Chief Justice of India
1940-12-12 – Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
1941-02-27 – Paddy Ashton, New Delhi India, British MP (Soc/Lib Democrat)
1941-04-14 – Julie Christie, Assam India, actress (Dr Zhivago)
1941-07-31 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician
1941-09-04 – Sushilkumar Shinde, Indian politician
1941-11-25 – Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi, Indian Muslim Sufi, author, spiritual leader (d. 2001)
1942-04-02 – Roshan Seth, Indian actor
1942-04-07 – Jeetendra, Indian actor
1942-05-23 – K. Raghavendra Rao, Indian film director
1942-12-29 – Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor
1943-01-01 – Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, Indian scientist
1943-01-24 – Subhash Ghai, Indian film director
1943-06-02 – Ilaiyaraaja, Indian composer
1943-12-25 – Ravish Malhotra, India cosmonaut (Soyuz T-11 backup)
1944-01-11 – Shibu Soren, Indian politician
1944-02-13 – Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Indian actor (d. 2006)
1944-05-01 – Suresh Kalmadi, Indian politician
1944-08-20 – Rajiv Gandhi, PM of India (1984-89)
1945-01-17 – Javed Akhtar, Indian lyricist, poet and scriptwriter
1945-02-20 – Annu Kapoor, Indian actor
1945-05-04 – Narasimhan Ram, Indian journalist
1945-05-23 – Padmarajan, Indian film director (d. 1991)
1945-07-24 – Azim Premji, Indian businessman
1945-12-06 – Shekhar Kapur, Indian filmmaker
1946-05-01 – Joanna Lumley, Kashmir India, actress (Abs Fab, OHM’s Secret Service)
1946-05-28 – Satchidanandan, Indian poet
1946-08-20 – N.R. Narayana Murthy, Indian businessman
1946-10-06 – Vinod Khanna, Indian actor
1946-10-15 – Victor Banerjee, Calcutta India, actor (A Passage to India)
1946-12-08 – Sharmila Tagore, Indian Actress
1946-12-09 – Sonia Gandhi, Italian-born Indian politician
1946-12-09 – Shatrughan Sinha, Indian actor
1947-01-07 – Shobha De, Indian writer
1947-02-12 – Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Indian leader of Damdami Taksal (d. 1984)
1947-06-11 – Laloo Prasad Yadav, Indian politician
1947-08-15 – Raakhee Gulzar, Indian actress
1948-02-24 – J. Jayalalithaa, Indian politician
1948-02-25 – Danny Denzongpa, Indian actor
1948-04-09 – Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress
1948-10-16 – Hema Malini, Indian Actress
1949-01-13 – Rakesh Sharma, India, cosmonaut (Soyuz T-11)
1949-03-07 – Ghulam Nabi Azad, Indian politician
1949-04-28 – Indian Larry, American stuntsman (d. 2004)
1949-09-01 – P.A. Sangma, Indian politician
1949-12-18 – Joni Flynn, Assam India, actress (Octopussy)
1950-01-07 – Johnny Lever, Indian actor
1950-04-20 – Chandra Babu Naidu, Indian politician
1950-05-30 – Paresh Rawal, Indian actor
1950-06-15 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist
1950-07-20 – Naseeruddin Shah, Indian actor
1950-09-17 – Narendra Modi, Indian politician
1950-09-18 – Shabana Azmi, Indian actress
1950-10-02 – Persis Khambatta, Bombay India, actress (Star Trek, Megaforce)
1950-10-18 – Om Puri, Indian actor
1950-12-12 – Rajnikanth, Indian actor
1951-01-01 – Nana Patekar, Indian film and stage actor
1951-11-19 – Zeenat Aman, Indian actress
1952-03-20 – Anand Armitraj, India, tennis player (Brother of ViJay)
1952-04-13 – Erick Avari, British-Indian actor
1952-06-20 – Vikram Seth, Indian poet
1952-09-04 – Rishi Kapoor, Indian actor
1952-11-05 – Vandana Shiva, Indian physicist
1952-12-28 – Arun Jaitley, Indian Politician
1953-09-27 – Mata Amritanandamayi, Indian religious leader
1953-12-14 – Vijay Amritraj, India, tennis player/actor (Octopussy)
1954-03-19 – Indu Shahani, Indian educationist and Sheriff of Mumbai
1954-07-27 – G. S. Bali, Indian politician
1954-11-07 – Kamal Haasan, Indian actor
1955-05-17 – Bill Paxton, actor (Brain Dead, Next of Kin, Indian Summer, True Lies)
1955-11-05 – Karan Thapar, Foremost Indian Journalist, Political Analyst & Commentator
1955-12-31 – Dawood Ibrahim, Indian crime boss
1956-01-15 – Mayawati, Indian politician
1956-02-01 – Brahmanandam, Indian film actor
1956-03-09 – Shashi Tharoor, Indian author & United Nations Under-Secretary General
1956-04-18 – Poonam Dhillon, Indian actress
1956-06-02 – Mani Ratnam, Indian dire
1956-08-14 – Johnny Lever, Indian actor
1956-10-19 – Sunny Deol, Indian actor
1957-01-07 – Reena Roy, Indian actress
1957-04-19 – Mukesh Ambani, Indian businessman
1957-08-03 – Mani Shankar, Indian film maker
1957-09-23 – Kumar Sanu, Indian playback singer
1957-10-15 – Mira Nair, Indian director
1957-12-10 – Prem Rawat, known also as Guru Maharaj Ji and Maharaji, American Indian spiritual
leader and speaker
1958-02-01 – Jackie Shroff, Indian actor
1958-04-03 – Jaya Prada, Indian Actress
1959-05-03 – Uma Bharati, Indian politician
1959-07-29 – Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor
1959-08-26 – Jim Rutledge, Victoria, Canadian Tour golfer (1995 Indian Open)
1959-08-29 – Akkineni Nagarjuna, Indian Telugu actor
1959-12-24 – Anil Kapoor, Indian actor
1960-01-03 – Sandeep Marwah Founder of Film City, Noida, India
1960-05-21 – Mohanlal, Indian actor
1960-06-10 – Balakrishna Nandamuri, Indian actor
1960-12-13 – Daggubati Venkatesh, Indian actor
1961-01-07 – Supriya Pathak, Indian actress
1961-04-18 – Pamella Bordes, New Dehli India, Brit parliament prostitute
1961-05-04 – Ishita Bhaduri, Indian (Bengali) Poet
1961-05-26 – Tarsem Singh, Indian film director
1961-06-05 – Ramesh Krishnan, Indian tennis star
1961-06-27 – Meera Syal, British-Indian comedienne and actress
1961-07-01 – Kalpana Chawla, Karnal India, astronaut (STS 87)
1961-08-13 – Sunil Shetty, Indian Actor, Producer
1961-11-24 – Arundhati Roy, Indian writer
1962-02-14 – Sakina Jaffrey, Indian actress
1962-09-30 – Shaan, Indian singer
1963-08-10 – Phoolan Devi, Indian bandit and revolutionary (d. 2001)
1963-08-13 – Sridevi, Indian actress
1963-08-17 – S. Shankar, Indian film director.
1964-01-31 – Remi Bouchard, Lasalle Que, Canadian Tour golfer (1989 India Open)
1964-02-19 – Sonu Walia, Indian actress
1964-12-25 – Anil Kaul, Amritsar India, Canadian badminton player (Olympics-96)
1965-03-14 – Aamir Khan, Indian actor
1965-06-01 – India Allen, Portsmouth Va, playmate of the year (Dec, 1987)
1965-09-02 – Partho Sen-Gupta, Indian filmmaker
1965-11-02 – Shahrukh Khan, Indian actor
1965-12-27 – Salman Khan, Indian actor
1966-01-06 – A. R. Rahman, Indian composer
1966-03-05 – Aasif Mandvi, Indian-born American actor and comedian
1966-03-20 – Alka Yagnik, Indian singer
1966-04-17 – Vikram, Indian actor
1966-05-03 – Firdous Bamji, Indian-American actor
1966-08-28 – Priya Dutt, Indian social worker and politician
1966-09-28 – Puri Jagannadh, Indian film director
1967-01-26 – Pradip Somasundaran, Indian playback singer
1967-01-27 – Bobby Deol, Indian actor
1967-02-01 – Patle Shishupal Natthu, Indian politician
1967-02-12 – Chitravina N. Ravikiran, Indian composer and musician
1967-05-15 – Madhuri Dixit, Indian actress
1967-08-18 – Daler Mehndi, Indian bhangra/pop singer
1967-09-09 – Akshay Kumar, Indian Actor
1967-11-13 – Juhi Chawla, Indian actress
1968-02-09 – Rahul Roy, Indian actor
1968-03-16 – Ananya Khare, Indian actress and teacher
1968-04-19 – Arshad Warsi, Indian actor
1968-09-29 – Samir Soni, Indian film actor
1968-12-15 – Javid Hussain, Indian film producer
1969-12-11 – Vishwanathan Anand, Indian chess grandmaster
1970-05-30 – Ness Wadia, Indian industrialist
1970-06-01 – R. Madhavan, Indian actor
1970-06-19 – Rahul Gandhi, Indian politician
1970-08-06 – M. Night Shyamalan, Indian/American film director
1970-08-16 – Manisha Koirala, Indian actress
1970-08-16 – Saif Ali Khan, Indian actor
1970-09-01 – Padma Lakshmi, Indian actress
1970-10-26 – Raveena Tandon, Indian actress
1971-04-16 – Natasha Zvereva, Minsk Belarus, tennis ace (finals 1995 Indian Wells)
1971-05-01 – Ajith Kumar, Indian film actor
1971-09-02 – Pawan Kalyan, Indian actor
1971-11-01 – Vikram Chatwal, Indian hotelier
1971-12-18 – Barkha Dutt, Indian journalist
1972-04-16 – Conchita Martinez, Monzon Spain, tennis star (1996 final Indian Wells)
1972-08-27 – Dalip Singh, Indian professional wrestler
1972-11-04 – Tabassum Hashmi, Indian actress
1972-11-09 – Laxmi Poruri, Guntur India, tennis star (1994 Futures-College Park)
1972-11-26 – Arjun Rampal, Indian actor
1972-12-17 – John Abraham, Indian actor
1973-06-17 – Leander Paes, Indian tennis player
1973-07-23 – Himesh Reshammiya, Indian Bollywood composer, singer and actor.
1973-07-30 – Sonu Nigam, Indian singer/actor
1973-08-10 – Lisa Raymond, Norristown Penn, tennis star (1995 Indian Wells doubles)
1973-08-23 – Malaika Arora Khan, Indian actress and model
1973-09-01 – Ram Kapoor, Indian actor
1973-11-01 – Aishwarya Rai, Indian actress
1974-01-09 – Farhan Akhtar, Indian Bollywood Director, Actor, Producer, Singer.
1974-01-10 – Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
1974-05-15 – Shiney Ahuja, Indian actor
1974-06-07 – Mahesh Bhupathi, India, tennis pro
1974-06-22 – Joseph Vijay, Indian actor
1974-06-25 – Karisma Kapoor, Indian actress
1974-09-09 – Vikram Batra, Officer of the Indian Army
1974-12-25 – Nagma, Indian actress
1975-01-01 – Sonali Bendre, Indian model and actress
1975-01-08 – Harris Jayaraj, Indian music composer
1975-01-31 – Preity Zinta, Indian actress
1975-03-08 – Fardeen Khan, Indian actor
1975-06-08 – Shilpa Shetty, Indian actress
1975-06-22 – Laila Rouass, Moroccan-Indian actress
1975-08-05 – Kajol Mukherjee, Indian actress
1975-10-03 – India.Arie, American singer
1976-02-05 – Abhishek Bachchan, Indian actor
1976-02-20 – Rohan Gavaskar, Left-handed batsman, India ODI 2004 (son of Sunil Gavaskar)
1976-06-29 – Sandhya Chib, Miss Universe-India (1996)
1976-09-03 – Vivek Oberoi, Indian actor
1976-12-15 – Baichung Bhutia, Indian footballer
1977-06-09 – Roopa Mishra, Indian civil servant
1977-06-09 – Amisha Patel, Indian actress
1977-07-17 – Lehmber Hussainpuri, Famous Indian Singer
1977-09-01 – Aamir Ali, Indian television actor
1978-01-01 – Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda, Indian spiritualist
1978-03-21 – Rani Mukherjee, Indian actress
1978-03-28 – Nafisa Joseph, Miss India Universe (1997)
1978-04-16 – Lara Dutta, Indian actress
1978-06-11 – Ujjwala Raut, Indian supermodel
1978-11-01 – Manju Warrier, Indian actress
1978-12-17 – Riteish Deshmukh, Indian actor
1979-01-07 – Bipasha Basu, Indian model
1979-02-02 – Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
1979-03-23 – Emraan Hashmi, Indian actor
1979-03-24 – Emraan Hashmi, Indian actor
1979-03-31 – Amey Date, Indian playback singer
1979-04-17 – Siddharth Narayan, Indian actor
1979-04-23 – Yana Gupta, Indian actress & model
1980-02-21 – Parthiva Sureshwaren, Indian racing driver
1980-08-18 – Preeti Jhangiani, Indian actress
1980-09-21 – Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
1980-12-11 – Arya, Indian actor
1981-02-25 – Shahid Kapoor, Indian actor
1981-03-29 – Jlloyd Samuel, WestIndian-born footballer
1981-06-07 – Amrita Rao, Indian model and actress
1981-06-25 – Pooja Umashankar, Indian actress
1981-09-21 – Rimi Sen, Indian actress
1981-10-12 – Sneha, Indian actress
1981-10-24 – Mallika Sherawat, Indian actress
1981-10-29 – Reema Sen, Indian actress
1981-12-09 – Diya Mirza, Indian actress
1982-02-23 – Karan Singh Grover, Indian Television Actor
1982-03-28 – Sonia Agarwal, Indian actress
1982-04-07 – Sonjay Dutt, Indian American professional wrestler
1982-07-03 – Kanika, Indian actress
1982-07-18 – Priyanka Chopra, Indian actress and beauty queen
1982-09-11 – Shriya Saran, South Indian actress
1982-09-28 – Abhinav Bindra, Indian shooter
1982-09-28 – Ranbir Kapoor, Indian Actor
1982-12-10 – Shilpa Anand, Indian film and television actress
1983-02-03 – Silambarasan Rajendar,famous south Indian actor
1983-02-23 – Aziz Ansari, Indian American Comedian
1983-04-08 – Allu Arjun, Indian film actor
1983-05-04 – Trisha Krishnan, Indian actress
1983-05-20 – Jr. NTR, Indian film actor
1983-05-25 – Kunal Khemu, Indian actor
1984-01-19 – Karun Chandhok, Indian racing driver
1984-02-15 – Meera Jasmine, Indian actress
1984-02-29 – Adam Sinclair, Indian field hockey player
1984-03-12 – Shreya Ghoshal, Indian singer
1984-03-19 – Tanushree Dutta, Indian actress
1984-07-16 – Katrina Kaif, Indian Actress
1984-08-03 – Sunil Chetri, Indian Footballer
1985-01-18 – Minnisha Lamba, Indian Actress and Model
1985-01-30 – Aaadietya Pandey, Indian astrologer
1985-06-09 – Sonam Kapoor, Indian actress
1985-10-26 – Asin Thottumkal, Indian actress
1986-01-01 – Vidya Balan, Indian actress
1986-01-05 – Deepika Padukone, Indian model and actress
1986-01-28 – Shruti Haasan, Indian actress
1986-03-27 – Ramani, Indian Girl
1986-04-10 – Ayesha Takia, Indian actress
1986-10-20 – Priyanka Sharma, Indian actress
1986-11-15 – Sania Mirza, Indian tennis player
1987-03-31 – Humpy Koneru, Indian chess grandmaster
1987-08-05 – Genelia D’Souza, Indian actress
1987-08-19 – Ileana D’Cruz, Indian actress
1988-01-04 – Nabila Jamshed, Indian writer
1988-11-22 – Suresh Guptara and Jyoti Guptara, British-Indian novelists
1988-12-02 – Soniya Mehra, Indian Actress
1989-09-02 – Ishmeet Singh Sodhi, Indian Playback Singer (d. 2008)
1991-08-09 – Hansika Motwani, Indian actress
1996-03-09 – Darsheel Safary, Youngest Indian actor to win filmfare award for best performance.
Famous Deaths
1351-03-20 – Mohammed ibn-Tughluq, sultan of Delhi India, dies
1510-03-01 – Francisco d’Almeida, viceroy of India, dies in battle at about 59
1539-03-05 – Nuno da Cunha, Portuguese governor in India (b. 1487)
1605-10-15 – Abul-Fath Djalal-ud-Din, Mogol keizer of India (1556-1605), dies at 63
1627-10-28 – Djehangir/Jahangir, great mogol of India, dies
1629-04-19 – Sigismondo d’India, Italian composer
1631-06-07 – Mumtax Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan of India, her tomb (Taj Mahal)
1666-02-01 – Sjihab al-Din Sultan C Shah Djahan, mogol of India (Taj-Mahal), dies
1680-04-03 – Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire, India (b. 1630)
1680-04-17 – Kateri Tekakwitha, first American Indian to receive beatification (b. 1656)
1699-06-22 – Josiah Child, English Governor of the East India Company (b. 1630)
1707-02-20 – Aurangzeb, Mogul emperor of India (1658-1707), dies
1707-03-03 – Aurangzeb, Emperor of India (1658-1707), dies at 88
1713-02-11 – Jahandar Shah, Mughal emperor of India (b. 1664)
1754-10-04 – Tanacharison, Catawba Indian chief
1755-07-09 – E Braddock, British Gen, mortally wounded during French & Indian War
1760-04-10 – Gerard George Clifford, head of East-Indian Company, dies at 75
1773-11-22 – Robert Clive, English occupier (India), dies at about 48
1781-05-18 – Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian Indian revolutionary, a descendant of the last Inca ruler,
Túpac Amaru (b. 1742)
1799-05-04 – Tipu Sultan, Indian military leader (b. 1750)
1815-09-24 – John Sevier, indian fighter (Gov/Rep-Tn), dies at 70
1818-08-22 – Warren Hastings, 1st governor-general of India (1773-84), dies at 85
1843-12-18 – Thomas Graham, Lord Lynedoch, British Viceroy of India (b. 1748)
1856-09-24 – Henry, 1st viscount Hardinge of Lahore, gov-gen of India, dies
1857-04-08 – Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier (b. 1827)
1858-06-17 – Rani Lakshmibai, queen of Jhansi in North India, one of the leading figures of the Indian
rebellion of 1857 (b. 1828)
1860-10-12 – Henry G W Smith, leader of British-Indian forces, dies at 73
1868-05-23 – Kit Carson, American trapper, scout, and Indian agent (b. 1809)
1869-02-15 – Mirza Ghalib, Indian poet (b. 1796)
1871-03-18 – Augustus De Morgan, Indian-born British mathematician and logician (b. 1806)
1871-06-08 – Satank, Kiowa indian chief, shot to death
1881-07-17 – Jim Bridger, American mountain man, Indian fighter, and explorer (b. 1804)
1883-02-17 – Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, Indian revolutionary (b. 1845)
1890-12-10 – Ludolf AJW Sloet van de Beele, gov-gen (Net India 1861-66), dies at 84
1893-11-07 – Constantly Lievens, Flemish missionaries in India, dies at 37
1898-03-01 – George Bruce Malleson, English officer in India, author (b. 1825)
1898-03-27 – Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian Muslim intellectual (b. 1817)
1902-07-04 – Swami Vivekananda, Indian spiritual leader (b. 1863)
1905-01-19 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher (b. 1817)
1908-08-11 – Khudiram Bose, Indian freedom fighter (b. 1889)
1915-02-19 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, India’s social reformer/politician, dies
1918-07-22 – Indra Lal Roy, Indian pilot (b. 1898)
1918-10-15 – Sai Baba of Shirdi, Indian saint (b. circa 1838)
1919-05-27 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian social activist (b. 1848)
1920-04-26 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (b. 1887)
1920-08-01 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, British-Indian hindu leader, dies
1925-06-16 – Chittaranjan Das, Indian patriot and freedom fighter (b. 1870)
1927-02-05 – Inayat Khan, Indian sufi
1927-06-13 – Henry CK “Clan” Petty-Fitzmaurice, gov of India (1888-94), dies at 82
1928-11-17 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian author, politician, & freedom fighter (b. 1865)
1931-03-23 – Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev Indian freedom fighters
1936-09-19 – Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, Indian musician (b. 1860)
1937-11-23 – Jagdish Chandra Bose, Indian physicist (b. 1858)
1938-04-21 – Allama Iqbal, Indian philosopher and poet (b. 1877)
1940-01-01 – Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian writer and essayist (b. 1865)
1941-03-28 – Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara, Indian Police Commissioner (b. 1877)
1941-08-07 – Radindranath Tagore, Indian philosopher/poet/writer, dies at 80
1948-01-30 – Mahatma Gandhi, India’s political and spiritual leader, assassinated in New Delhi
1948-01-30 – Mahatma Ghandi, murdered by Hindu extremists in India
1950-04-14 – Sri Ramana Maharshi, Indian philosopher (b. 1879)
1950-08-08 – Ernest F E Douwes Dekker, founder National-India Party, dies
1950-12-05 – Shri Aurobindo, Indian guru (b. 1872)
1950-12-15 – Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian political leader, Iron Man of India (b. 1875)
1951-12-05 – Abanindranath Tagore, Indian writer (b. 1871)
1952-01-05 – Victor Alexander John Hope, viceroy of India (1936-43), dies at 64
1952-03-07 – Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru (b. 1893)
1953-12-10 – Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Indian-born scholar and translator (b. 1872)
1955-09-16 – Leopold C M S Amery, Brit minister of Colonies (India), dies at 81
1956-12-06 – Dr. Bhimji Ramji Ambedkar, Indian Minister of Law and architect of The Constitution of
India (b. 1891)
1958-06-27 – Robert Greig, actor (Devil Doll, Indian Love Call), dies at 78
1959-12-23 – Edward FLW Halifax, English viscount/viceroy of India, dies at 78
1962-04-12 – Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, Indian politician and engineer (b. 1861)
1963-02-28 – Rajendra Prasad, First President of India (b. 1884)
1964-05-27 – Jawaharial Nehru, Independent India’s 1st PM, dies at 74
1966-01-11 – Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indian premier (1964-66), dies at 61
1966-01-24 – Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist (b. 1909)
1966-02-26 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian freedom fighter and writer (b. 1883)
1967-10-12 – Ram Manohar Lohia, Indian Socialist politician leader
1969-01-31 – Meher Baba, Indian guru (b. 1894)
1969-05-03 – Zakir Hussain, 3rd President of India, (b. 1897)
1969-06-24 – Ted Hecht, actor (Time to Kill, Song of India, Gangster), dies
1970-06-07 – Edward M Forster, Brit writer (Maurice, passage to India), dies at 91
1970-07-24 – Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman (b. 1897)
1970-11-21 – Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, Indian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1888)
1971-12-31 – Vikram Sarabhai, Indian physicist (b. 1919)
1972-03-31 – Meena Kumari, Indian actress (b. 1932)
1972-05-28 – Edward VIII, King of Gr Brit/N Ireld/emperor (India 1936), dies at 77
1972-07-28 – Charu Majumdar, Indian revolutionary leader (b. 1918)
1972-09-27 – S. R. Ranganathan, Indian mathematician (b. 1892)
1973-09-11 – Neem Karoli Baba, Indian guru
1974-02-04 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist (b. 1894)
1975-04-17 – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher (b. 1888)
1975-10-02 – Kumaraswami Kamaraj, Indian political leader, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (b. 1903)
1975-10-31 – SD Burman, Indian musician (b. 1906)
1976-08-27 – Mukesh, Indian playback singer (b. 1923)
1977-03-22 – A.K. Gopalan, Indian communist leader (b. 1904)
1979-12-03 – Dhyan Chand, Indian field hockey player (b. 1905)
1980-06-23 – Sanjay Gandhi, Indian politician, dies
1980-06-23 – Varahagiri Venkata Giri, Fourth President of India (b. 1894)
1980-07-24 – Uttam Kumar, Indian actor (b. 1926)
1980-07-31 – Mohd. Rafi, Indian playback singer (b. 1924)
1981-02-05 – Kuda Bux, Indian mystic (I’d Like to See), dies at 75
1981-12-26 – Savithri, Indian actress (b. 1937)
1982-02-22 – Josh Malihabadi, Urdu poet of India and Pakistan (b. 1898)
1983-01-11 – Shri Ghanshyam Das Birla, Indian industrialist and educator (b. 1894)
1984-02-03 – Ravindara Mhatrem, Indian diplomat, killed in England
1984-02-09 – Balasaraswathi, Indian classical dancer, dies in Madras
1984-10-31 – Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, assassinated by two of her bodyguards at 66
1984-11-27 – Percy Norris, deputy high commissioner of India, shot dead
1985-03-15 – Radha Krishna Choudhary, Indian historian and writer (b. 1921)
1986-02-17 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (Kingdom Happiness), dies at 90
1986-06-06 – Bhavana Balachandran, Indian actress
1986-07-06 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian politician (b. 1908)
1987-10-09 – Guru Gopinath, Indian classical dancer (b. 1908)
1987-10-13 – Kishore Kumar, Indian Singer (b.1929)
1987-12-11 – G. A. Kulkarni, Indian (Marathi) writer (b. 1923)
1990-01-19 – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, indian guru, dies at 58
1990-05-21 – Moelvi Mohammed Farouk, Indian spiritual leader, murdered
1990-11-07 – Lawrence Durrell, Indian/English author (Alexandria Quartet, Mount Olive), dies at 78
1991-03-23 – Parkash Singh, Indian soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1913)
1991-05-21 – Rajiv Gandhi, Indian Prime Minster (1984-91), assassinated at 46
1991-06-14 – Peggy Ashcroft, British actress (A passage to India), dies at 83
1992-04-23 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director (Distant Thunder/Agantuk), dies at 70
1993-04-06 – Divya Bharati, “Baby Doll” Indian Bollywood actress (Diwana), dies at 19 by
mysteriously falling from her husband’s apartment
1993-11-29 – JRD Tata, Indies industrialist (Air-India), dies at 89
1993-11-30 – Sebastian Kappen, Indian theologian (b. 1924)
1994-01-04 – RD Burman, Indian musician (b. 1939)
1994-12-25 – Zail Singh, president of India (1982-87), dies at 78
1995-04-10 – Morarji Desai, PM of India (1977-79), dies
1995-08-31 – Beant Singh, PM of Punjab province of India, assassinated at 73
1996-01-18 – N T Rama Rao, PM of Andhra Pradesh India (1983-84, 84-89, 94-95), dies
1996-01-18 – Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, Indian actor (b. 1923)
1996-04-22 – Hiteshwar Saikia, PM of Indian state of Assam (1991-96), dies
1996-05-20 – Janaki Ramachandran, PM of Indian state of Tamil Nadu (1988), dies
1996-05-31 – Neela Sanjiva Reddy, president of India (1977-82), dies
1996-06-01 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, president of India, dies at 83
1998-01-15 – Gulzarilal Nanda, temporary PM of India (1964, 66), dies
1998-08-18 – Persis Khambatta, Indian actress (b. 1950)
1999-07-07 – Captain Vikram Batra, Indian Army officer, awarded Param Vir Chakra (September
9,1974)
1999-08-01 – Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Indian-born writer (b. 1897)
1999-08-10 – Padma Bhushan Acharya Baldev Upadhyaya, Eminent Sanskrit Scholar in India (b. 1899)
1999-12-26 – Shankar Dayal Sharma, President of India (b. 1918)
2000-07-10 – Vakkom Majeed, Indian Freedom fighter, Travancore-Cochin Legislative member (b.
1909)
2000-11-07 – Chidambaram Subramaniam, Indian politician (b. 1910)
2000-12-23 – Noor Jehan, Indian singer and actress (b. 1926)
2001-05-13 – R.K. Narayan, Indian novelist (b. 1906)
2001-07-21 – Sivaji Ganesan, South Indian Tamil actor (b. 1927)
2001-12-01 – Ellis R Dungan, American born Indian film director (b. 1909)
2001-12-10 – Ashok Kumar, Indian actor (b. 1911)
2002-07-06 – Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman (b. 1932)
2002-07-07 – Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian business tycoon (b. 1933)
2002-10-11 – Dina Pathak, Indian Actress (b. 1922)
2003-10-31 – Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Indian singer (b. 1908)
2003-11-09 – Binod Bihari Verma, Indian Maithili literateur (b.1937)
2004-02-23 – Vijay Anand, Indian film director (b. 1934)
2004-02-26 – Shankarrao Chavan, Indian politician (b. 1920)
2004-04-17 – Soundarya, Indian actress (b. 1971)
2004-06-26 – Yash Johar, Indian film producer (b. 1929)
2004-07-23 – Mehmood, Indian actor (b. 1932)
2004-08-15 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician (b. 1941)
2004-08-30 – Indian Larry, American motorcycle builder and stuntman (b. 1949)
2004-10-18 – Veerappan, Indian bandit and smuggler (b. 1945)
2004-12-11 – M.S. Subbulakshmi, Indian singer (b. 1916)
2004-12-21 – Autar Singh Paintal, Indian medical scientist (b. 1925)
2004-12-23 – P. V. Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister of India (b. 1921)
2005-01-03 – JN Dixit, Indian government official (b. 1936)
2005-01-12 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
2005-01-21 – Parveen Babi, Indian actress (b. 1955)
2005-03-30 – O. V. Vijayan, Indian author and cartoonist (b. 1930)
2005-04-25 – Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk (b. 1908)
2005-05-25 – Sunil Dutt, Indian actor and politician (b. 1929)
2005-07-27 – Swami Shantanand, Mahasamadhi Day, Indian Saint, Philosopher (b. 1934)
2005-10-30 – Shamsher Singh Sheri, Indian communist leader (b. 1942)
2005-11-09 – K. R. Narayanan, President of India (b. 1921)
2006-02-09 – Nadira, Indian actress (b. 1932)
2006-02-23 – Telmo Zarraonaindía, Spanish footballer (b. 1921)
2006-03-26 – Anil Biswas, Indian politician (b. 1944)
2006-04-12 – Dr. Rajkumar, Kannada language film actor/singer (India)(b. 1929)
2006-04-21 – T.K. Ramakrishnan, Indian politician (b. 1922)
2006-05-03 – Pramod Mahajan, Indian politician (b. 1949)
2006-05-05 – Naushad Ali, Indian composer (b. 1919)
2006-05-27 – Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Indian actor (b. 1944)
2006-08-21 – Ustad Bismillah Khan, Indian musician (b. 1916)
2006-08-27 – Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian film director (b. 1922)
2007-02-02 – Vijay Arora, Indian film and television actor (b. 1944)
2007-03-04 – Sunil Kumar Mahato, Indian parliamentarian (b. 1966)
2007-03-22 – Uppaluri Gopala Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (b. 1918)
2007-04-16 – G. V. Loganathan, Indian American professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (b.
1954)
2007-06-30 – Sahib Singh Verma, Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Delhi (b. 1943)
2007-10-03 – M.N. Vijayan, Indian writer, orator, and academic
2008-01-01 – Pratap Chandra Chunder, union minister of India (b. 1919)
2008-02-05 – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian guru, founder of Transcendental Meditation (b. ca. 1917)
2008-02-25 – Hans Raj Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India (b. 1912)
2008-03-20 – Shoban Babu, Indian actor (b. 1937)
2008-05-19 – Vijay Tendulkar, Indian playwright, (b. 1928)
2008-06-27 – Sam Manekshaw, Indian Field Marshal (b. 1914)
2008-07-29 – Ishmeet Singh Sodhi, Indian Playback Singer (b. 1989)
2008-08-01 – Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Indian politician (b. 1916)
2008-09-27 – Mahendra Kapoor, Indian singer (b. 1934)
2009-01-27 – R. Venkataraman, 8th President of India (b. 1910)
2009-01-31 – Nagesh, Indian comedian actor in Kollywood (b. 1933)
2009-04-27 – Feroz Khan, Indian actor (b. 1939)
2009-05-03 – Ram Shewalkar, Indian Marathi writer, cardiac arrest.(b.1931)
2009-06-28 – A. K. Lohithadas, Indian screenwriter, director, and producer (b. 1955)
2009-07-29 – Gayatri Devi, Ex-Maharani of Indian state Jaipur. (b. 1919)
2009-09-02 – Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, India (b. 1949)
2009-11-11 – Dhanpat Rai Nahar, Indian labour leader (b. 1919)
2010-01-17 – Jyoti Basu, Indian politician (b. 1914)
Historical Events
1311-04-24 – Gen Malik Kafur returns to Delhi after campaign in South India
1329-08-09 – Quilon the first Indian Diocese was erected by Pope John XXII and Jordanus was
appointed the first Bishop
1459-05-12 – Sun City India founded by Rao Jodhpur
1497-07-08 – Vasco da Gama departs for trip to India
1498-05-20 – Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calcutta India
1500-03-09 – Pedro Cabral departs with 13 ships to India
1502-02-12 – Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal on his second voyage to India.
1509-02-02 – The Battle of Diu takes place near Diu, India, between Portugal and Turkey.
1509-02-03 – The Battle of Diu, between Portugal and the Ottoman Empire takes place in Diu, India.
1542-05-06 – Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time.
1556-03-28 – Origin of Fasli Era (India)
1565-01-25 – Battle at Talikota India: Moslems destroy Vijayanagar’s army
1575-03-03 – Indian Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Bengali army at the Battle of Tukaroi.
1597-08-20 – 1st Dutch East India Company ships returned from Far East
1600-12-31 – British East India Company chartered
1601-02-13 – John Lancaster leads 1st East India Company voyage from London
1602-03-20 – United Dutch East Indian Company (VOC) forms
1608-08-24 – 1st English convoy lands at Surat India
1609-03-25 – Henry Hudson embarks on an exploration for Dutch East India Co
1612-08-29 – Battle at Surat India: English fleet beats Portuguese
1614-04-05 – American Indian princess Pocahontas, daughter of chief Powhatan marries English
colonist John Rolfe
1621-06-03 – Dutch West India Company receives charter for “New Netherlands” (NY)
1622-03-22 – 1st American Indian (Powhattan) massacre of whites Jamestown Virginia, 347 slain
1633-10-22 – Ming dynasty fight with Dutch East India Company that Battle of southern Fujian sea
(1633), Ming dynasty won great victory.
1639-08-22 – Madras (now Chennai), India, is founded by the British East India Company on a sliver of
land bought from local Nayak rulers.
1641-01-14 – United East Indian Company conquerors city of Malakka, 7,000 killed
1641-08-26 – West India Company conquerors Sao Paulo de Loanda, Angola
1643-12-25 – Christmas Island founded and named by Captain William Mynors of the East India Ship
Company vessel, the Royal Mary.
1658-12-09 – Dutch troops occupy harbor city Quilon (Coilan) India
1668-03-26 – England takes control of Bombay India
1668-03-27 – English king Charles II gives Bombay to East India Company
1690-02-08 – French & Indian troops set Schenectady settlement NY on fire
1690-08-24 – Job Charnock founds Calcutta India
1692-02-29 – Sarah Good & Tituba, an Indian servant, accused of witchcraft, Salem
1699-04-14 – Khalsa: Birth of Khalsa, the brotherhood of the Sikh religion, in Northern India in
accordance with the Nanakshahi calendar.
1733-05-29 – The right of Canadians to keep Indian slaves is upheld at Quebec City.
1737-10-07 – 40 foot waves sink 20,000 small craft & kill 300,000 (Bengal, India)
1737-10-11 – Earthquake kills 300,000 and destroys half of Calcutta India
1739-02-24 – Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nadir Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal
emperor of India, Muhammad Shah.
1739-03-20 – Nadir Shah occupies Delhi in India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock
Throne.
1751-08-31 – English troops under sir Robert Clive occupy Arcot India
1752-06-09 – French army surrenders to the English in Trichinopoly India
1755-04-02 – Commodore William James captures the pirate fortress of Suvarnadurg on west coast of
India.
1755-07-09 – Brit Gen E Braddock mortally wounded during French & Indian War
1756-05-17 – Britain declares war on France (7 Years’ or French & Indian War)
1756-06-20 – 146 Brit soldiers imprisoned in India-Black Hole of Calcutta-most die
1756-06-20 – India rebels defeat Calcutta on British army
1756-09-08 – French and Indian War: Kittanning Expedition.
1756-12-06 – British troops under Robert Clive occupy Fulta India
1757-01-02 – British troops occupy Calcutta India
1757-11-05 – Battle at Rossbach (7 year war/French & Indian War)
1758-05-21 – Mary Campbell is abducted from her home in Pennsylvania by Lenape during the French
and Indian War.
1759-04-08 – British troops chase French out of Masulipatam India
1760-01-22 – Battle at Wandewash India: British troops beat French
1761-01-07 – Battle at Panipat India: Afghan army beats Mahratten
1761-01-16 – The British capture Pondicherry, India from the French.
1764-11-09 – Mary Campbell, a captive of the Lenape during the French and Indian War, is turned
over to forces commanded by Colonel Henry Bouquet.
1767-09-28 – Gentlemen 17 forbid private slave transport India to Cape of Good Hope
1772-02-12 – Yves de Kerguelen of France discovers Kerguelen Archipelago, India
1773-10-14 – American Revolutionary War: The United Kingdom’s East India Company tea ships’ cargo
are burned at Annapolis, Maryland.
1783-04-09 – Tippu Sahib drives out English from Bednore India
1786-02-24 – Charles Cornwallis appointed governor-general of India
1795-03-11 – Battle at Kurdla India: Mahratten beat Mogols
1796-04-13 – 1st elephant arrives in US from India
1798-09-01 – England signs treaty with nizam of Hyderabad, India
1800-07-10 – The British Indian Government establishes the Fort William College to promote Urdu,
Hindi and other vernaculars of sub continent.
1803-02-27 – Great fire in Bombay, India
1803-09-23 – Battle of Assaye-British-Indian forces beat Maratha Army
1806-07-10 – The Vellore Mutiny is the first instance of a mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British
East India Company.
1818-06-03 – Maratha Wars between British & Maratha Confederacy in India ends
1829-12-04 – Britain abolished “suttee” in India (widow burning herself to death on her husband’s
funeral pyre
1835-02-24 – Siwinowe Kesibwi (Shawnee Sun) is 1st Indian lang monthly mag
1838-11-03 – The Times of India, the world’s largest circulated English language daily broadsheet
newspaper is founded as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce.
1839-01-10 – Tea from India 1st arrives in UK
1839-01-19 – Aden conquered by British East India Company
1839-11-25 – A cyclone slams India with high winds and a 40 foot storm surge, destroying the port
city of Coringa (never to be entirely rebuilt again). The storm wave sweeps inland, taking with it 20,000
ships and thousands of people. An estimated 300,000 deaths result from the disaster.
1842-01-06 – 4,500 British & Indian troops leave Kabul, massacred before India
1846-01-28 – Battle of Allwal, Brits beat Sikhs in Punjab (India)
1846-02-10 – British defeat Sikhs in battle of Sobraon, India
1846-02-16 – Battle of Sobraon ends 1st Sikh War in India
1849-03-29 – Britain formally annexs Punjab after defeat of Sikhs in India
1851-12-22 – The first freight train is operated in Roorkee, India.
1853-04-16 – The first passenger rail opens in India, from Bori Bunder, Bombay to Thane.
1857-05-10 – Indian Mutiny begins with revolt of Sepoys of Meerut
1858-07-28 – William Herschel of the Indian Civil Service in India
1858-08-02 – Govt of India transferred from East India Company to Crown
1859-02-10 – Gen Horsford defeats Begum of Oude & Nana Sahib in Indian mutiny
1865-11-11 – Treaty of Sinchula is signed in which Bhutan ceded the areas east of the Teesta River to
the British East India Company.
1866-06-11 – The Allahabad High Court (then Agra High Court) is established in India.
1868-04-13 – Abyssinian War ends as British and Indian troops capture Magdala.
1870-09-08 – Neth & Engl sign “Koelietraktaat” Br-Indian contract work in Suriname
1876-10-31 – A monster cyclone ravages India, resulting in over 200,000 human deaths.
1877-01-01 – England’s Queen Victoria proclaimed empress of India
1879-05-14 – The first group of 463 Indian indentured labourers arrive in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.
1882-06-06 – Cyclone in Arabian Sea (Bombay India) drowns 100,000
1884-09-26 – Suriname army shoots on British-Indian contract workers, 7 killed
1888-04-20 – 246 reported killed by hail in Moradabad, India
1888-12-18 – Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discover the ancient Indian ruins of Mesa Verde.
1889-03-23 – The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was established by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in
Qadian India.
1891-09-18 – Harriet Maxwell Converse is 1st white woman to become an Indian chief
1892-07-06 – Dadabhai Naoroji elected as first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain.
1897-06-12 – Possibly most severe quake in history strikes Assam India, shock waves felt over an area
size of Europe (negligible death toll)
1905-04-04 – Earthquake in Kangra India, kills 20,000
1905-10-16 – The Partition of Bengal (India) occurred.
1906-12-30 – The All India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India Empire,
which later laid down the foundations of Pakistan.
1907-05-01 – Indian Mine Laws passes (concessions from Neth-Indies)
1911-02-18 – The first official flight with air mail takes place in Allahabad, British India, when Henri
Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 km away.
1911-03-25 – L D Swamikannu publishes “Manual of Indian Chronology” in Bombay
1911-12-12 – Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.
1913-11-06 – Mohandas K Gandhi arrested for leading Indian miners march in S Afr
1914-06-30 – Mahatma Gandhi’s 1st arrest, campaigning for Indian rights in S Africa
1916-05-13 – 1st observance of Indian (Native American) Day
1916-05-24 – Last British-Indian contract workers arrive in Suriname
1917-03-11 – World War I: Baghdad falls to the Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Stanley
Maude.
1918-05-18 – Neth Indian Volksraad installed in Batavia
1919-04-13 – Amritsar Massacre-British Army fires on nationalist rioters in India
1919-04-13 – British forces kill 100s of Indian Nationalists (Amritsar Massacre)
1919-08-13 – British troops fire on Amritsar India demonstrators; killing 350
1919-09-10 – Indian’s Ray Caldwell no-hits Yankees 3-0
1920-03-23 – Perserikatan Communist of India (PKI) political party forms
1920-10-10 – Indian Bill Wambsganns makes 1st unassisted World Series triple play
1920-10-10 – Indian’s Elmer Smith hits 1st World Series grand slam
1922-03-18 – Brit magistrates in India sentence Gandhi to 6 years for disobedience
1925-12-26 – The Communist Party of India is founded.
1926-08-28 – Indian Emil Levsen pitches complete doubleheader victory (Red Sox)
1926-12-28 – Imperial Airways begins England-India mail & passenger service
1928-08-30 – Jawaharlal Nehru requests independence of India
1929-01-06 – Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India’s poorest and
diseased people.
1929-01-26 – Indian National Congress proclaims goal for India’s independence
1929-04-08 – Indian Independence Movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and
Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
1929-04-24 – 1st non-stop England to India flight takes-off
1929-04-26 – 1st non-stop England to India flight lands
1930-03-08 – Mahatma Gandhi starts civil disobedience in India
1931-02-10 – New Delhi becomes capital of India
1931-03-23 – Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev embrace the gallows during the Indian struggle for
independence. Their request to be shot by a firing squad is refused.
1932-10-08 – The Indian Air Force is established.
1932-10-15 – Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight.
1933-01-28 – The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan and is accepted by the
Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
1933-05-08 – Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast in protest against British oppression in India.
1934-01-15 – 8.4 earthquake in India/Nepal, 10,700 die
1934-04-07 – In India, Mahatma Gandhi suspended his campaign of civil disobedience
1934-08-02 – William Franks twirls an indian club overhead 17,280 times in 1 hour
1936-02-08 – Pandit Jawaharlal follows Gandhi as chairman of India Congress Party
1936-04-01 – Orissa constituted a province of British India
1938-10-02 – Indian Bob Feller strikes out record 18 Tigers (Chester Laabs 5 times)
1938-11-16 – K B Regiment refuses round-table conference in East-India
1939-03-03 – In Mumbai, Mohandas Gandhi begins to fast in protest of the autocratic rule in India.
1939-03-10 – 17 villages damaged by hailstones in Hyderabad India
1939-04-13 – In India, the Hindustani Lal Sena (Indian Red Army) is formed and vows to engage in
armed struggle against the British.
1939-05-03 – The All India Forward Bloc is formed by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
1940-03-23 – All-India-Moslem League calls for a Moslem homeland
1940-03-23 – The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or the then Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put
forward at the Annual General Convention of the All India Muslim League.
1940-07-02 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta.
1941-05-25 – 5,000 drown in a storm at Ganges Delta region in India
1941-11-24 – Indian infantry attacks German tanks at Sidi Omar
1942-08-09 – Mahatma Gandhi & 50 others arrested in Bombay after passing of a “quit India”
campaign by the All-India Congress
1942-10-16 – Cyclone in Bay of Bengal kills some 40,000 south of Calcutta India
1943-12-30 – Subhash Chandra Bose raises the flag of Indian independence at Port Blair.
1944-04-01 – Japanese troops conquer Jessami, East-India
1944-04-14 – Freighter “Fort Stikene” explodes in Bombay India, killing 1,376
1944-08-19 – Last Japanese troops driven out of India
1945-11-13 – Australian Services draw 1st Victory Test against India
1946-03-15 – British premier Attlee agrees with India’s right to independence
1946-08-08 – India agrees to give Bhutan 32 sq miles
1946-09-02 – Nehru forms govt in India
1946-12-01 – Australia compile 645 v India at the Gabba (Bradman 187)
1947-02-20 – Lord Mountbatten appointed as last viceroy of India
1947-06-03 – British viceroy of India lord Mountbatten visits Pakistan
1947-07-18 – King George VI signs Indian Independence Bill
1947-08-14 – India granted independence within British Commonwealth
1947-08-15 – India declares independence from UK, Islamic part becomes Pakistan
1947-08-17 – The Radcliffe Line, the border between Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan is
revealed.
1947-10-26 – Maharajah of Jammu & Kashmir accedes to India
1948-01-01 – Bradman scores 132 in the 1st innings of the 3rd Test v India
1948-01-01 – Orissa province accedes to India
1948-01-01 – After partition, India declines to pay the agreed share of Rs.550 million in cash balances
to Pakistan.
1948-01-03 – Bradman completes dual Test tons (132 & 127*) v India MCG
1948-01-23 – Bradman scores 201 in 272 mins v India, 21 fours 1 six
1948-01-23 – Test debut of Neil Harvey, v India at Adelaide
1948-01-24 – Australia all out 674 v India (Bradman 201, Hassett 198*)
1948-04-15 – Indian territory of Himachal Pradesh created
1948-06-21 – Lord Mountbatten resigns as gov-gen of India
1948-09-12 – Invasion of the State of Hyderabad by the Indian Army on the day after the Pakistani
leader Jinnah’s death.
1949-01-14 – Black/Indian race rebellion in Durban, South Africa; 142 die
1949-02-19 – Mass arrests of communists in India
1949-03-05 – The Jharkhand Party is founded in India.
1949-05-12 – 1st foreign woman ambassador received in US (S V L Pandit India)
1949-09-23 – Indian owner Bill Veeck holds funeral services to bury 1948 pennant
1949-10-15 – Administration of territory of Manipur taken over by Indian govt
1949-10-15 – Tripura accedes to Indian union
1949-11-26 – India adopts a constitution as a British Commonwealth Republic
1949-12-30 – India recognizes People’s Republic of China
1950-01-01 – The state of Ajaigarh is ceded to the Government of India.
1950-01-26 – India becomes a republic ceaseing to be a British dominion
1950-07-02 – Indian Bob Feller, wins his 200th game, 5-3 over Detroit
1950-08-15 – 8.6 earthquake in India kills 20,000 to 30,000
1950-08-15 – Srikakulam district is formed in Andhra Pradesh, India.
1950-10-26 – Mother Teresa found her Mission of Charity in Calcutta, India
1950-11-06 – King Tribhuvana of Nepal flees to India
1950-12-05 – Sikkim becomes a protectorate of India
1952-01-21 – Nehru’s Congress party wins general election in India
1952-05-13 – Pandit Nehru becomes premier of India
1952-05-13 – The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting.
1952-07-19 – Freddie Trueman takes 8-31, India all out 58 at Old Trafford
1952-07-19 – India all out 82 in 2nd innings after making 52 earlier in the day
1952-10-16 – Pakistan’s 1st Test starts, v India at Delhi
1952-10-18 – Vinoo Mankad takes 13 Pakistan wkts to win 1st India-Pak clash
1952-10-25 – Nazar Mohammad scores Pakistan’s 1st Test century 124* v India
1953-04-01 – Walcott Worrell & Weekes all make centuries in innings v India
1953-10-01 – Indian state of Andhra Pradesh partitioned from Madras
1954-11-01 – India takes over administration of 4 French Indian settlements
1955-04-11 – The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt
on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.
1955-04-30 – Imperial Bank of India nationalized
1955-05-02 – India poses discrimination “onaanraakbaren” punishable
1955-06-07 – India premier Nehru visit USSR
1956-09-01 – Indian state of Tripura becomes a territory
1956-09-02 – Collapse of a RR bridge under a train kills 120 (India)
1956-11-01 – Delhi becomes a territory of Indian union
1956-11-01 – Indian state of Madhya Pradesh forms
1956-11-01 – Indian states of Punjab, Patiala & PEPSU merge as Punjab protection
1956-11-01 – Formation of Kerala state in India.
1957-01-26 – India annexes Kashmir
1957-03-22 – Republic of India adopts Saka calendar along with Gregorian
1959-01-01 – Rohan Kanhai completes 256 v India at Calcutta
1959-03-17 – Dalai Lama flees Tibet for India
1959-03-31 – Dalai Lama fled China & was granted political asylum in India
1959-07-27 – Abbas Ali Baig scores 112 for India v England on debut
1959-08-24 – England complete 5-0 series drubbing of India
1959-09-21 – 600 Indian Dutch emigrate to US
1959-10-23 – Chinese troops move into India, 17 die
1959-12-20 – Jasu Patel takes 9-69, India v Australia at Kanpur
1960-02-12 – Chinese army kills 12 Indian soldiers
1960-05-01 – India’s Bombay state split into Gujarat & Maharashtra states
1961-11-05 – India’s premier Nehru arrives in NY
1961-12-17 – India seizes Goa & 2 other Portuguese colonies
1961-12-18 – India annexes Portuguese colonies of Goa, Damao & Diu
1962-02-25 – India Congress Party wins elections
1962-05-30 – 69 killed in bus crash (Ahmedabad India)
1962-09-08 – Chinese troops exceed Mac-Mahon-line (Tibet-India boundary)
1962-10-10 – Indies assault up Chinese positions in North-India attack
1962-10-20 – Chinese army lands in India
1962-11-21 – The Chinese People’s Liberation Army declares a unilateral cease-fire in the Sino-Indian
War.
1963-05-28 – Estimated 22,000 die in another cyclone in Bay of Bengal (India)
1963-12-01 – Nagaland becomes a state of Indian union
1964-01-13 – Hindu-Muslim rioting breaks out in the Indian city of Calcutta – now Kolkata – resulting
in the deaths of more than 100 people.
1964-02-09 – Hanumant Singh scores 105 India v England on debut at Delhi
1964-06-02 – Lal Bahadur Sjastri elected premier of India
1964-10-29 – Star of India & other jewels are stolen in NY
1964-12-23 – India & Ceylon hit by cyclone, about 4,850 killed
1965-01-08 – Star of India returned to American Museum of Natural History
1965-04-09 – India & Pakistan engage in border fight
1965-05-11 – 1st of 2 cyclones in less than a month kills 35,000 (India)
1965-05-25 – India & Pakistan border fights
1965-05-28 – Fire & explosion at Dhori mine in Dhanbad India kills 400
1965-06-02 – 2nd of 2 cyclones in less than a month kills 35,000 (Ganges R India)
1965-08-06 – Indian troops invade Pakistan
1965-09-01 – India & Pakistan border fights
1965-09-06 – India invades West Pakistan
1965-09-07 – China announces that it will reinforce its troops in the Indian border.
1965-09-22 – India & Pakistan ceases-fire goes into effect
1966-01-10 – India & Pakistan sign peace accord
1966-01-19 – Indira Gandhi elected India’s 3rd prime minister
1966-04-06 – Mihir Sen swims Palk Strait between Sri Lanka & India
1966-06-24 – Bombay-NY Air India flight crashes into Mont Blanc (Switz), 117 die
1966-11-01 – Indian Haryana state created from Punjab; Chandigarh terr created
1966-12-13 – Test debut of Clive Lloyd, v India Bombay, 82 & 78
1967-05-06 – Zakir Hussain elected 1st Moslem president of India
1967-06-09 – Boycott scores 246* v India, Leeds, 573 minutes, 29 fours 1 six
1967-09-04 – 6.5 earthquake of Kolya Dam India, kills 200
1967-09-11 – Indian/Chinese border fights
1967-12-11 – 6.5 earthquake in West India, 170 killed
1968-01-31 – Bobby Simpson takes 5-59 v India in his last Test for ten years
1968-02-16 – Beatles George Harrison & John Lennon & wives fly to India for transcendental
meditation study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
1968-12-25 – 42 Dalits are burned alive in Kilavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, India, a retaliation for a
campaign for higher wages by Dalit labourers.
1969-12-25 – India all out for 163 at Madras v Aust, Ashley Mallett 5-91
1970-04-02 – Meghalaya becomes autonomous state within India’s Assam state
1971-01-25 – Himachal Pradesh becomes 18th Indian state
1971-03-09 – J M Noreiga takes 9-95 WI v India at Port-of-Spain
1971-08-24 – India beat England by 4 wickets, their win against the Poms
1971-11-21 – Indian troops partly aided by Mukti Bahini (Bengali guerrillas) defeat the Pakistan army
in the Battle of Garibpur.
1971-12-03 – Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: India invades West Pakistan and a full scale war begins
claiming hundreds of lives.
1971-12-04 – The UN Security Council calls an emergency session to consider the deteriorating
situation between India and Pakistan.
1971-12-04 – The Indian Navy attacks the Pakistan Navy and Karachi.
1971-12-16 – India’s army occupies Dacca, West Pakistani troops surrenders
1971-12-17 – Cease fire between India & Pakistan in Kashmir
1972-01-21 – Manipur, Meghalaya & Tripura become separate states of Indian union
1972-01-21 – Mizoram, formerly part of Assam, creates an Indian union territory
1972-01-21 – Tripura becomes a full-fledged state in India.
1972-03-19 – India & Bangladesh sign friendship treaty
1972-07-02 – India & Pakistan sign peace accord
1972-07-10 – Herd of stampeding elephants kills 24, Chandka Forest India
1972-12-17 – New line of control agreed to in Kashmir between India & Pakistan
1972-12-23 – Chandrasekhar takes 8-79 India v England at Delhi
1973-02-09 – Biju Patnaik of the Pragati Legislature Party elected leader of opposition in the state
assembly in Orissa, India.
1973-02-27 – American Indian Movement occupy Wounded Knee in South Dakota
1973-02-27 – Members of American Indian Movement begin occupation of Wounded Knee
1973-07-07 – 78 drown as flash flood sweeps a bus into a river (India)
1973-08-28 – India & Pakistan sign POW accord
1973-11-01 – The Indian state of Mysore was renamed as Karnataka to represent all the regions within
Karunadu .
1974-05-18 – India becomes 6th nation to explode an atomic bomb
1974-07-13 – India’s 1st one-day international (v England, Headingley)
1974-11-07 – 63rd Davis Cup: South Africa beats India in (w/o)
1975-01-29 – W I win Fifth Test against India to take exciting series 3-2
1975-04-19 – India launches 1st satellite with help of USSR
1975-05-16 – India annexes Principality of Sikkim
1975-05-19 – Farm truck packed with wedding party struck by a train, killing 66 in truck, 40 miles
south of Poona, India
1975-06-26 – Indian PM Indira Gandhi declares a state of emergency
1975-06-26 – Two FBI agents and a member of the American Indian Movement are killed in a shootout
on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota; Leonard Peltier is later convicted of the murders
in a controversial trial.
1975-07-20 – India expels three reporters from The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and Newsweek
because they refused to sign a pledge to abide by government censorship.
1975-12-27 – Explosion at Chasnala Colliery collapses drowning 350 (Dhanbad India)
1976-02-17 – Richard Hadlee takes 7-23 v India, his 1st match-winning spell
1976-04-12 – India set 403 to win by WI They get them, 6 wkts 7 overs spare
1976-04-25 – India all out for 97 v West Indies
1977-01-19 – World’s largest crowd-12.7 million-for Indian religious festival
1977-03-20 – Premier Indira Gandhi loses election in India
1977-03-22 – Indira Gandhi resigns as PM of India
1977-03-28 – Morarji Desai forms govt in India
1977-12-17 – Bobby Simpson scores 176 Australia v India at the WACA, aged 41
1978-01-01 – Air India B747 explodes near Bombay killing 213
1978-01-03 – Chandrasekar takes 6-52 & 6-52 at MCG in Indian innings win
1978-02-03 – Australia beat India 3-2 on 6th day of final test
1978-02-03 – India needing 493 to beat Australia at Adelaide, all out 445
1978-10-16 – Test debut of Kapil Dev, India v Pakistan at Faisalabad
1978-12-19 – Indira Gandhi ambushed in India
1978-12-26 – India’s former PM, Indira Gandhi, released from jail
1979-01-02 – Gavaskar gets twin tons for India for the third time (v WI)
1979-02-07 – Faoud Bacchus scores 250 for WI v India at Kanpur
1979-06-01 – Vizianagaram district is formed in Andhra Pradesh, India.
1979-06-07 – Bhaskara 1, Indian Earth resources/meteorology satellite, launched
1979-07-15 – Morarji Desai resigns as premier of India
1979-07-17 – David Gower 200* in England score of 5-633 v India at Edgbaston
1979-08-20 – India premier Charan Singh resigns
1979-09-04 – India need 438 to win v England, game ends at 8-429
1979-09-20 – The Punjab wing of the Unity Centre of Communist Revolutionaries of India (MarxistLeninist) formally splits and constitutes a parallel UCCRI(ML).
1979-10-17 – Mother Teresa of India, awarded Nobel Peace Prize
1980-01-06 – Indira Gandhi’s Congress Party wins elections in India
1980-07-18 – Rohini 1, 1st Indian satellite, launches into orbit
1981-01-03 – Greg Chappell scores 204 v India at the SCG
1981-01-08 – India all out 63 in one-day international v Australia
1981-01-24 – Kim Hughes scores 213 v India at Adelaide
1981-02-11 – Australia all out 83 v India at MCG chasing 143 to win
1981-06-06 – A passenger train travelling between Mansi and Saharsa, India, jumps the tracks at a
bridge crossing the Bagmati river. The government places the official death toll at 268 plus another 300
missing; however, it is generally believed that the actual figure is closer to 1,000 killed.
1981-06-19 – India’s APPLE satellite, 1st to be stabilized on 3 axes, launched
1981-07-16 – India performs nuclear Test
1981-10-14 – Citing official misconduct in the investigation and trial, Amnesty International charges
the U.S. government with holding Richard Marshall of the American Indian Movement as a political
prisoner.
1982-07-09 – Botham scores 208 in 225 balls, England v India at The Oval
1982-07-27 – Indian PM Indira Gandhi 1st visit to US in almost 11 years
1982-12-27 – Imran Khan 8-60 to bring innings victory v India at Karachi
1983-01-15 – Javed Miandad & Mudassar Nazar make 451 stand v India
1983-02-22 – Hindus kill 3000 Moslems in Assam, India
1983-04-17 – India entered space age launching SLV-3 rocket
1983-11-16 – Kapil Dev takes 9-83 v WI at Ahmedabad, but India still lose
1983-11-27 – Desmond Haynes out handled the ball v India
1984-02-01 – Ravindara Mhatrem, Indian diplomat, kidnapped in England (killed 0203)
1984-04-03 – Soyuz T-11 carries 3 cosmonauts (1 Indian-Rakesh Sharma) to Salyut 7
1984-04-15 – Extremist Sikhs plunder 40 stations in Punjab India
1984-06-06 – 1,200 die in Sikh “Golden Temple” uprising India
1984-08-03 – Bomb attack on Madras India airport, 32 killed
1984-09-28 – 1st floodlit ODI outside of Australia (India v Aust, New Delhi)
1984-11-03 – 3,000 die in 3 day anti-Sikh riot in India
1984-11-03 – Body of assassinated Indian PM Indira Gandhi cremated
1984-12-03 – 2,000 die from Union Carbide poison gas emission in Bhopal, India
1984-12-28 – Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress party wins election in India
1984-12-29 – Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi claims victory in parlimetary elections
1984-12-31 – Rajiv Gandhi takes office as India’s 6th PM succeeds his mom, Indira
1985-01-15 – Mike Gatting & Graeme Fowler both scores 200′s v India
1985-04-08 – India files suit against Union Carbide over Bhopal disaster
1985-05-11 – Booby trap bomb kills 86 people in India
1985-06-23 – Bomb destroys Air India Boeing 747 in air near Ireland, 329 die
1985-08-17 – Rajiv Gandhi announces Punjab state elections in India
1985-09-25 – Akali Dal wins Punjab State election in India
1985-12-13 – David Boon’s 1st Test century, 123 v India at Adelaide
1985-12-13 – Test debut of Merv Hughes, Geoff Marsh & Bruce Reid (v India)
1986-01-04 – David Boon’s second Test century, 131 v India at Adelaide
1986-02-02 – Dalai Lama meets Pope John Paul II in India
1986-02-11 – Australia beat India 2-0 to win the World Series Cup
1986-03-28 – Extremist Sikhs kill 13 hindus in Ludhiana India
1986-07-25 – Sikhs extremist kill 16 hindus in Muhktsar India
1986-09-19 – Dean Jones scores 210 v India at Madras
1986-10-02 – Failed assassination attempt on India premier Rajiv Gandhi
1986-10-02 – Sikhs attempt to assassinate Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
1986-10-19 – Allan Border scores the 1,000,000th run in Tests (v India, Bombay)
1987-07-06 – 1st of 3 massacres by Sikh extremists takes place in India
1987-11-25 – India all out for 75 v West Indies at Delhi, Patterson 5-24
1987-12-11 – Test debut of Carl Hooper, WI v India at Bombay
1987-12-20 – 76th Davis Cup: Sweden beats India in Gothenburg (5-0)
1988-01-11 – Test debut of Phil Simmons, WI v India, Madras
1988-07-21 – ESA’s Ariane-3 launches 2 communications satellites (1 Indian)
1988-08-20 – 6.5 earthquake strikes India/Nepal, 1,000s killed
1988-11-30 – Cyclone lashes Bangladesh, Eastern India; 317 killed
1989-10-20 – Pakistan win Sharjah Trophy over India & WI on round-robin
1989-11-29 – India president Rajiv Gandhi, resigns
1989-12-02 – Vishwanath Pratap Singh sworn in as president of India
1990-02-23 – Ian Smith 173* NZ v India, 136 balls, world record for no 9 bat
1990-03-24 – Indian troops leave Sri Lanka
1990-03-27 – Bus accidentally touches high voltage wire in Karagpur India; 21 die
1990-04-17 – Gas explodes on passenger train in Kumrahar India, 80 die
1990-07-27 – Graham Gooch scores 333 v India at Lord’s
1990-07-30 – Graham Gooch scores 123 v India to follow up 1st innings 333
1990-12-10 – Hindu-Muslim rebellion in Hyderabad-Aligargh India, 140 die
1991-10-16 – Jharkhand Chhatra Yuva Morcha is founded at a conference in Ranchi, India.
1991-10-20 – 6.1-7.1 earthquake in Uttar Kashi, India, about 670 die
1991-10-25 – Aaqib Javed takes 7-37 in 10 overs v India in cric 1-dayer at Sharjah
1991-12-26 – Militant Sikhs kill 55 & wound 70 in India
1992-01-02 – Test debut of Shane Warne, v India at Sydney
1992-01-20 – Australia beat India 2-0 to win the World Series Cup
1992-01-28 – Boon completes twelfth Test century, 135 v India at Adelaide
1992-05-20 – India launches its 1st satellite independently
1992-05-22 – India launches its Agni rocket
1992-06-23 – “Tin Bigha Day” protest in India of corridor opening to Bangladesh
1992-06-26 – India leases Tin Bigha corridor to Bangladesh
1992-10-18 – Start of Zimbabwe’s 1st Test match, v India at Harare
1992-10-20 – David Houghton gets Zimbabwe’s 1st Test ton (121 v India, debut)
1992-12-06 – 300,000 hindus destroy mosque of Babri India, 4 die
1993-01-23 – Indian Airlines B737 crashes art Aurangabad, 61 die
1993-01-29 – Test debut of Vinod Kambli, prolific Indian batsman
1993-02-23 – India complete a 3-0 series drubbing of England
1993-09-30 – 6.4 earthquake at Latur, India, 28,000 killed
1994-01-25 – Mine fire at Asansol India, kills 55
1994-03-15 – Experts from AL certify Indian’s Jacobs Field is properly lit
1994-04-13 – United Arab Emirates’ 1st official ODI, losing to India
1994-05-20 – Miss India (Sushmita Sen) selected Miss Universe
1994-05-21 – Sushmita Sen, 18, of India, crowned 43rd Miss Universe
1994-07-24 – Bodo kills 37 Moslems in Bashbari NE India
1994-07-29 – India army kills 27 Moslem militants
1994-10-29 – National Museum of American Indian opens (NYC)
1994-11-19 – Aishwarya Rai, 21, of India, crowned 44th Miss World
1995-02-25 – Bomb attack on train in Assam India (27 soldiers killed)
1995-03-12 – Congress party loses India national election
1996-03-09 – Javed Miandad’s last international in Pak’s WC QF loss to India
1996-03-13 – Sri Lanka beat India in World Cup semi as riots stop play
1996-08-20 – India defeat Pakistan in Under-15 World Challenge Final at Lord’s
1996-09-16 – 1st one-day international in Canada, India v Pakistan at Toronto
1997-03-13 – India’s Missionaries of Charity chooses Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as its
leader.
1997-07-25 – K.R. Narayanan is sworn-in as India’s 10th president and the first Dalit— formerly called
“untouchable”— to hold this office.
1998-03-24 – A tornado sweeps through Dantan in India killing 250 people and injuring 3000 others.
1998-04-06 – Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of hitting India.
1998-05-11 – India conducts three underground nuclear tests in Pokhran, including a thermonuclear
device.
1998-05-13 – India carries out two nuclear tests at Pokhran, in addition to the three conducted on May
11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
1998-05-28 – Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of Indian nuclear tests with five of its own,
prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions.
1999-01-22 – Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons are burned alive by radical
Hindus while sleeping in their car in Eastern India.
1999-03-11 – Infosys becomes the first Indian company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
1999-04-08 – Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the
Indian National Congress.
1999-08-11 – Total solar eclipse in India-North -France (2m23s)
2000-02-15 – Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York State vents a small amount of
radioactive steam when a steam generator fails.
2000-11-15 – A chartered Antonov AN-24 crashes after takeoff from Luanda, Angola killing more than
40 people. New Jharkhand state came into existence in India.
2001-01-26 – An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than 20,000 deaths.
2001-06-18 – Protests occur in Manipur over the extension of the ceasefire between Naga insurgents
and the government of India.
2001-09-21 – University of Roorkee, becomes India’s 7th Indian Institute of Technology, rechristened
as IIT Roorkee
2001-12-13 – the Indian Parliament Sansad is attacked by terrorists. 15 people are killed, including all
the terrorists.
2002-05-03 – A military MiG-21 aircraft crashes into the Bank of Rajasthan in India, killing eight.
2003-06-05 – A severe heat wave across Pakistan and India reaches its peak, as temperatures exceed
50°C (122°F) in the region.
2003-10-17 – Eunuchs in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh float the political party Jiti Jitayi Politics.
2003-11-18 – The congress of the Communist Party of Indian Union (Marxist-Leninist) decides to
merge the party into Kanu Sanyal’s CPI(ML).
2004-03-23 – Andhra Pradesh Federation of Trade Unions holds its first conference in Hyderabad,
India.
2004-06-06 – Tamil is established as a Classical language by the President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam in a joint sitting of the two houses of the Indian Parliament.
2004-09-17 – Tamil is declared the first classical language in India.
2004-09-21 – The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War and the Maoist Communist
Centre of India merge to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
2005-01-25 – A stampede at the Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi in India kills at least 258.
2005-07-26 – Mumbai, India receives 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, bringing the city
to a halt for over 2 days.
2006-07-06 – The Nathula Pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens
for trade after 44 years.
2006-07-11 – 209 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India.
2007-07-25 – Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India’s first woman president
2008-10-22 – India launches its first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1.
2008-11-26 – Terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India: Ten coordinated attacks by Pakistan-based terrorists
kill 164 and injure more than 250 people in Mumbai, India.
2010-02-13 – A bombing at the German Bakery in Pune, India, kills 10 and injures 60 more.
Indian Railway History
The first trains in India
Q. When did the first train run in India?
The customary answer to this question is 3:35pm on April 16th, 1853, when a train with 14 railway
carriages and 400 guests left Bombay’s Bori Bunder for Thane, with a 21-gun salute. It was hauled by
three locomotives: Sindh, Sultan, and Sahib. The journey took an hour and fifteen minutes.
That, however, was just the first commercial passenger service in India. In fact, a steam loco,
Thomason, had been used for hauling construction material in Roorkee for the Solani viaduct in 1851 (it
began working there on 22nd December 1851, to be exact). The Solani viaduct construction was a part
of the Ganges Canal project, started in 1845. The viaduct had 15 arches and spanned the 4km-wide
Solani valley (about 145km north-east of New Delhi). Earth for the approach embankments was
transported along light rail lines about 5 to 10 km long from Piran Kaliyar to Roorkee. Standard gauge
wagons were used, built from parts brought over from England, and hauled by men and later horses. In
late 1851, the locomotive Thomason (named for the engineer on the project) was assembled on the spot
from parts transported from Calcutta. It hauled two wagons at a time, at a speed of about 6km/h. It did
not last very long, and after about 9 months India’s first steam locomotive died a spectacular death with
a boiler explosion, reportedly to the delight of the construction workers who had viewed it more as a
hindrance than help. Hughes’ book states that this was a six-wheeled tank engine, probably a 2-2-2WT
built by E. B. Wilson, and of standard gauge. Some details of the wagons and the use of the locomotive
are in Sir Proby T Cautley’s “Report on the Ganges Canal Works” (3 volumes, 1860).
“[The railway is] a triumph, to which, in comparison, all our victories in the East seem tame and
commonplace. The opening of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway will be remembered by the natives of
India when the battlefields of Plassey, Assaye, Meanee, and Goojerat have become landmarks of
history.” (The Overland Telegraph and Courier, April 1853)
The second locomotive to arrive in India was Falkland (named for a governor of Bombay), used by the
contractors of the GIPR for shunting operations on the first line out of Bombay that was being built. It
began work on February 23, 1852. Hughes’ book suggests that this was also built by E. B. Wilson, and
was probably a four-wheeled tank engine (0-4-0T?) with dummy crankshaft. It later became GIPR loco
#9. A third locomotive, Vulcan, is said to have been used by the GIPR for material hauling and shunting
duties in 1852 as well.
There were also eight more locos from Vulcan Foundry imported by GIPR in 1852 and 1853.
On November 18, 1852, a locomotive hauled some coaches on a trial run from Bori Bunder to Thana.
This probably counts as the first “real” train to run in India.
Q. What was the Guarantee System? What were Guaranteed Railways?
In the 1840s, when the first proposals for railways in India were being debated in Great Britain, there
was intense lobbying in support of these proposals by banks, traders, shipping companies, and others
who had a strong interest in seeing railways be formed in India. These supporters prevailed upon the
British Parliament to create the Guarantee System, whereby any company that constructed railways in
India was guaranteed a certain rate of interest on its capital investment. This guarantee was honoured
by the East India Company which then controlled large parts of India. The railways that were formed
with such agreements governing them were called guaranteed railways. Typically, the guarantee was for
a return of 5% annually, and the right for the railway company to pull out of the venture and get
compensation from the government at any time.
Chronology of railways in India, Part 1 (1832 – 1865)
Note: This chronology is intended as a general overview for non-specialists to give them a feel for some
of the interesting and complex events that shaped the development of railways in India. Many line
openings are mentioned to give an idea of the geographic spread of railway services. Dates in most
cases are those for when the completed lines were open to traffic; usually sections of the line may have
been opened years earlier, and might even have supported revenue traffic in parts. Dates are often
somewhat uncertain because of varying reports in different sources, or lack of documentation, hence in
many cases they may be off by a couple of years. Anyone seeking reliable and specific information and
more detail is strongly urged to consult the reference works listed in the guide to historical research and
the section on books about IR history
•
1832
First proposal for a railway in India, in Madras. This remained a dream on paper.
•
1840s
Various proposals for railways in India, especially around Calcutta (EIR) and Bombay (GIPR).
•
1844
R MacDonald Stephenson’s “Report upon the Practicability and Advantages of the Introduction of
Railways into British India” is published.
•
1845
Survey work carried out for Bombay-Kalyan line and an extension up the Malay Ghat for proposed
connections to Khandwa and Pune.
May 8: Madras Railway Company is formed.
East India Railway company is formed.
•
1848
Governor-General Lord Dalhousie while advocating railway construction in India also says, “No one can
safely say whether railways in this country will earn or not”.
•
1849
August 1: Great Indian Peninsular Railway incorporated by an Act of Parliament.
“Old Guarantee System” providing free land and guaranteed rates of return (5%) to the private English
companies willing to work on building railways. Agreed upon in March, finalized on August 17.
•
1851
Locomotive Thomason is used for construction work in Roorkee, beginning on December 22.
Construction begins of an “experimental” section of track (Howrah-Rajmahal) for the proposed CalcuttaDelhi link via Mirzapur (EIR).
•
1852
Construction of a line out of Bombay begins, and a locomotive, Falkland, begins shunting operations on
February 23. The line is ready by November, and on the 18th of November, a trial run of the BombayThane trip (35 km) is held. (Some accounts suggest another locomotive, Vulcan might have also been
used for shunting operations here.)
The Madras Guaranteed Railway Company is formed.
•
1853
On April 16th, at 3:35pm, the first train in India leaves Bombay for Thane (see above for details). Initial
scheduled services consist of two trains each way between Bombay and Thane and later Bombay and
Mahim via Dadar.
Madras Railway incorporated; work begins on Madras-Arcot line.
Lord Dalhousie’s famous Railway Minute of April 20 lays down the policy that private enterprise would be
allowed to build railways in India, but that their operation would be closely supervised by the
government.
•
1854
On August 15th, the first passenger train in the eastern section is operated, from Howrah to Hoogly (24
miles). The section is soon extended to Pundooah. Howrah station at the time is simply a tin shed with a
small booking office, and a single narrow platform.
By May, GIPR Bombay-Thane line is extended to Kalyan and is a double tracked line; inaugurated by
Lord Elphinstone. Dapoorie viaduct is completed.
GIPR opens its first workshops at Byculla.
Stations are classified into 4 groups on some railways, according to traffic and the proportion of
European and Indian passengers.
•
1855
BB&CI Railway incorporated, and begins work on a Surat-Baroda line.
Thane-Kalyan line extended to Vasind on the north-east.
February 3: EIR’s “experimental” track for a Calcutta-Delhi route now consists of a Howrah to
Raneegunje (Raniganj, collieries near Asansol) section of 121 miles.
August: EIR 21 and 22 (“Express” and “Fairy Queen”) begin work. The Fairy Queen is still working!
•
1855-1856
HMS Goodwin carrying railway carriages for East Indian Railway Co. sinks. Another ship carrying a
locomotive is mis-routed to Australia.
•
1856
May 28: Royapuram – Wallajah Road line constructed by the Madras Railway Company
Jul 1: The first train service in the south begins, from Royapuram / Veyasarapady (Madras) to Wallajah
Road (Arcot) (approx. 100km) by the Madras Railway Company.
A combined Loco, Carriage and Wagon Workshop is set up by the Madras Guaranteed Rly. (later part of
the MSMR) at Perambur, near Madras, later to become the Carriage and Wagon Workshops of SR (and
the Loco Workshops at Perambur).
Sind (later Sind, Punjab and Delhi) Railway is formed, a guaranteed railway.
GIPR line extended to Khopoli via Palasdhari on the south-east. Regular services are now run from
Mumbai to Vasind and from Mumbai to Khopoli. Stations opened at Dadar, Kurla, Titwala, Badlapur, and
Neral.
•
1858
Eastern Bengal Railway and the Great Southern of India formed (guaranteed railways).
June 14: Khandala-Pune section of GIPR open to traffic. The 21km gap over the Bhore ghat (Karjat –
Khandala) is crossed by palanquin, horses, or on foot. In some cases the passenger cars were also
carried over each way.
•
1859
On March 3rd, the first train in the north was operated, from Allahabad to Kanpur (180km).
BBCI Railway obtains permission to extend its lines southwards from Surat, and opens its Grant Road
terminus for its proposed line from Surat.
Eastern Bengal Railway begins construction on Calcutta-Kushtia line (175km).
Calcutta and South-Eastern Railway formed, with 5% guarantee from the government.
•
1855-1870
Several (about a dozen) railway companies are incorporated.
Early 1860s
Various early experiments with providing passenger amenities such as toilets, lights, etc. These naturally
tended to be introduced first in the First Class carriages and only later in the lower classes of
accommodation.
Sind and Punjab Railway is engaged in construction of a northward line from Karachi, a Lahore-Multan
line, and a Lahore-Delhi line.
Kanpur-Etawah section opened.
•
1860
Bhusawal station set up by GIPR.
Vasind-Asangaon line opened.
•
1861
Madras Railway’s trunk route from Madras extended to Beypur / Kadalundi (near Calicut). Work begins
on a north-western branch out of Arakkonam.
Great Southern Railway of India completes 125km BG line between Nagapatnam and Trichinopoly. (?
Some sources suggest the line was till Tanjore, and extended to Trichinopoly by March 1862.)
Churchgate station opened by BBCI Railway as its new terminus for Bombay.
January 1: GIPR’s Kasara line opens (extended from Asangaon).
May 13: Karachi-Kotri section of the Scinde Rly. opens to public traffic, the first section in the region
that would later become Pakistan.
•
1862
Feb. 8: Jamalpur Loco Works established.
Khanderao, the Gaekwar of Baroda, opens 8 miles of an NG railway line from Dabhoi towards Miyagam.
Oxen were used as the motive power!
EIR’s Delhi-Calcutta route progresses as far as the west bank of the Yamuna, via Mughalsarai. Sahibganj
Loop.
Sealdah station commissioned.
Bhore ghat incline constructed, connecting Palasdhari to Khandala.
November: EBR’s Calcutta-Kushtia line open for traffic.
Calcutta and South-Eastern Railway’s 45km line from Calcutta to Port Canning is constructed.
Amritsar-Attari section completed on the route to Lahore.
The Indian Branch Railway Co. formed to construct short branches and feeder lines in northern India,
with a 20-year subsidy but no guarantee.
The Indian Tramway Co. is formed for building short lines around Madras, also with a 20-year subsidy.
This suffered losses later, was reorganized to become the Carnatic Railway and finally was taken over by
the South Indian Railway.
Two-tier seating is introduced in Third Class (on EIR, GIPR, etc.) as a measure to alleviate overcrowding.
A typical coach carries 50 passengers on the lower seats, and 70 on the upper level, nearly doubling the
capacity of the already overcrowded third-class coaches. These were the first double-decker coaches to
be used in India, and perhaps in the world (?).
Madras Railway extends its lines to Renigunta.
GSIR’s Nagapatnam – Trichinopoly line opened to traffic.
•
1863
May 14: GIPR line from Bombay across the Bhore Ghat to Pune constructed.
BB&CI Railway completes Surat-Baroda-Ahmedabad line.
EIR completes Arrah bridge over the Sone.
Port Canning – Mutlah line opened by the Calcutta & South-Eastern R Railway.
Nalhati – Azimganj 4′ gauge line built by the Indian Branch Railway Co.
First luxury carriage in India is built for the Governor of Bombay.
•
1864
August 1: First train into Delhi. Through trains run between Delhi and Calcutta; coaches are ferried on
boats across the river at Allahabad.
Bombay-Surat line completed by BB&CI Railway.
Jolarpettai – Bangalore Cantt. branch added by Madras Railway; Bangalore Mail begins running.
First proposals for (horse-drawn) trams in Bombay.
•
1865
Sind and Punjab Railway’s Multan-Lahore-Amritsar line is completed. Works begins on line from Delhi to
Amritsar.
BB&CI completes Bombay-Ahmedabad rail link.
Yamuna bridge at Allahabad opened, allowing EIR trains to cross over without using ferries.
Arakkonam-Conjeevaram 3’6″ line built by the Indian Tramways Co.
Kasara line extended to Igatpuri over the Thull (Thall) ghat.
GIPR timetables show ‘local trains’ separately for the first time. These are in the sections to Mahim and
Kalyan.
Alambagh Workshops set up by the Oudh and Rohilkhand Rly. (formerly the Indian Branch Rly. Co.).
Howrah station gets a second platform.
•
1866
Railway Branch formed in Central Public Works Department.
Delhi and Calcutta are linked directly by rail as the completion of the Yamuna bridge (road and rail) in
Delhi allows the trains to reach what later became Delhi Junction. The 1 Dn / 2 Up Mail begins running —
this is the predecessor of the Howrah – Kalka Mail.
Bhusawal-Khandwa section opened.
W. Newman & Co. begins publishing the “Newman’s Indian Bradshaw” for train timetables in India.
Indian Branch Rly. Co. begins construction of Lucknow-Kanpur light MG line.
•
1867
Virar – Bombay Backbay suburban service commences (BB&CI); one train in each direction each day.
Some Indian locos are sent overseas for the Abyssinian expedition.
GIPR branch line extended to Nagpur; Bhusawal-Badnera section opened.
EIR branch line extends from Allahabad to Jubbulpore (Jabalpur).
Lucknow-Kanpur line opened by the Indian Branch Railway Co.
•
1868
Madras Railway extends its network (with a new terminus at Royapuram) to Salem, and also finishes the
Jolarpettai – Bangalore Cantonment branch.
November: Sind, Punjab, and Delhi Railway’s line towards Amritsar from Delhi (Ghaziabad) is open for
traffic up to Ambala.
Calcutta and South-Eastern Railway, having suffered extensive losses on their Sealdah-Canning line
because of floods and other problems, decide to transfer the line to the government in return for capital
costs, becoming the first railway to be taken over by the state.
GSIR’s line reaches Erode, connecting to the Madras State Rly.
Charbagh workshops set up by the Oudh and Rohilkhand Rly
•
1869
Governor-General Lord Lawrence suggests that the Government of India itself undertake all future
construction of railway lines. But GIPR’s guarantees and leases are extended, and also those of the
Bombay, Baroda, and Madras Railway Companies. Still, this year marks a turning point in government
policy away from the guarantee system.
GIPR locals extended from Mahim to Bandra.
Jan. 25: Runaway train on the Bhore Ghat derails and crashes after failing to be stopped by a catch
siding, and is made (in)famous by pictures in the Illustrated London News.
Total trackage in India is about 4000 miles.
Chronology of railways in India, Part 2 (1870 – 1899)
•
1870
March 7: GIPR connection over the Thull Ghat reaches Jubbulpore (Jabalpur) from Itarsi, linking up with
EIR track there from Allahabad, and establishing connectivity between Bombay and Calcutta.
BBCI Railway runs direct trains between Ahmedabad and Bombay.
October: Sind, Punjab, and Delhi Railway completes Amritsar-Saharanpur-Ghaziabad line, linking Punjab
Railway with the EIR and providing connectivity between Multan and Delhi.
Mughalsarai – Lahore main line is also completed.
Lord Mayo introduces meter gauge as a compromise between proposals for narrow gauges less thand 3′
and broad gauge, for use in areas with limited traffic.
Mobile post-office services in trains on EIR.
The Nizam of Hyderabad pays for the construction of a railway linking Hyderabad to the GIPR.
Jamalpur workshop gets a rolling mill of its own.
•
1871
South-east of Kalyan, the GIPR line extended over the Bhore Ghat to reach Raichur, connecting with the
Madras Railway, whose branch line out of Arakkonam reaches Raichur by now.
BB&CI line to Viramgam.
The ‘Shorter Main Line’ on the Delhi-Calcutta route (via Jhajha, Patna) is in place with the completion of
the section from Raniganj to Kiul.
EBR line from Calcutta to Goalundo opens.
EIR trackage totals 1350 miles; other railways: GIPR — 875, Madras Railway — 680, Sind and Punjab —
400, BBCI — 300, East Bengal — 115, and Great Southern — 170.
•
1872
Bombay suburban services extended to Arthur Bunder in Colaba.
First (??) MG line from Delhi to Farukh Nagar is built.
The Saunders system of air-cooling first-class coaches is introduced on the GIPR.
BB&CI line to Wadhwan (Surendranagar)
GSIR merged with with the MG Carnatic Rly.
Oudh & Rohilkund Rly. opens line from Benares (Varanasi) to Lucknow.
•
1873
Colaba Terminus commissioned, envisioned as a temporary station pending completion of a permanent
line between Marine Lines and Churchgate, making Marine Lines the new terminus.
The world’s first commercial MG sevice runs from Delhi to Rewari.
Dabhoi-Miyagam line (the first 2’6″ line) is re-laid with stronger rails to allow locomotives to be used
(earlier oxen were the motive power) although locomotives were not used regularly on this until 1880.
This later becomes part of the Gaekwar’s Baroda State Railway.
Early attempts to set up a horse-drawn tram system in Calcutta, between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat
Street (3.8km). This service opened on Feb. 24 and closed by Nov. 20 for lack of patronage.
Stearnes and Kittredge get contract for horse-drawn tram system in Bombay.
•
1874-1880
Famines in several areas of India result in more railway lines being bulit for relief.
•
1874
Wadi-Secunderabad railway line built with financing from the Nizam of Hyderabad, and later becomes
part of the Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway. Secunderabad railway station built by this railway.
Delhi-Bandikui, Bandikui-Agra lines of Rajputana State Railway opened, and Alwar line is under
construction (all MG).
Fourth Class accommodation is introduced on several railways, consisting of coaches with no seats in
them, or just a few benches, as a way of alleviating overcrowding.
Lord Salisbury, Secretary of State for India, stipulates the use of BG to settle the gauge debate, and
work begins on relaying many MG lines to BG.
“F” class 0-6-0 MG locomotives are introduced, soon to be among the most widely-used in India for just
about all kinds of duties. Dubs & co. of Glasgow built the first few.
GSIR and Carnatic Rly. merger is now renamed the South Indian Railway.
ORR extends line from Lucknow to Moradabad.
Tirhoot State Rly. opens MG lines to Samastipur and Darbhanga.
SIR on July 1 takes over GSIR (BG) and Carnatic Rly. (MG).
May 9: Horse-drawn tram system begins operation in Bombay, betwen Parel and Colaba. Operated by
Stearnes and Kittredge with a stable of 900 horses.
•
1875
Hathras Road – Mathura Cantt. section opened to traffic. The first train runs here on Oct. 19.
Rajputana State Railway MG line reaches Ajmer.
Special train built for the Prince of Wales on his visit to India; this train is later used as the vice-regal
train for the next 3 decades.
Former GSIR Nagapatnam – Trichinopoly BG line converted to MG.
•
1877
Indian Railway Conference Association (IRCA) formed.
•
1877
Construction work begins on the Ajmer workshops of the Rajputana-Malwa State Rly.
Masjid, Parel, Ghatkopar, Diva, and Chinchpokli stations opened for Mumbai local services.
(Possibly 1876?) Emile Moreau, a French author, and T K Bannerjee, an Indian businessman, start the
bookstore chain ‘A H Wheeler & Co.’, which later spread to have its book stalls in a great many small
and big railway stations in India, especially in the north. The company was also the one that published
Rudyard Kipling in 1988 when he was all but unknown. The company’s name was borrowed from a thensuccessful London bookstore, Arthur Henry Wheeler’s.
•
1878
Punjab Northern State Railway builds the Lahore-Jhelum line (parts that opened as MG in 1876 are
converted to BG).
Railway line laid across the Bolan Pass to help move men and materiel during hostilities in Afghanistan.
Indus Valley State Rly. opens Multan-Kotri line.
Khandwa-Indore MG line of Holkar State Railway under construction, passing the Mhow ghat section by
1878.
Construction of Victoria Terminus begins in Bombay.
Construction of the Siliguri-Darjeeling line, the first hill railway in India (not counting the ghat sections
near Bombay).
•
1879
In a reversal of the broad-gauge policy instituted under Lord Salisbury, the Rajputana-Malwa Railway is
authorized to build its lines to meter-gauge.
Continuous vacuum brakes are brought into use for passenger rakes.
BB&CI extends BG network to Wadhwan (Surendranagar) in Kathiawar.
Ahmedabad-Palanpur MG section opened.
All of the former GSIR lines (now in SIR) are converted to MG from BG.
The state takes over the Nizam’s Railway.
North Bengal State Rly. opens Parbatipur-Kaunia MG line.
(1877?) Following an agreement between the British and the French, an MG line is laid between
Pondicherry and Villupuram.
Parel workshops established.
•
1880
About 9,000 miles of railways in India, of which 2,175 miles are state-owned. Famine Commission
suggests creating another 5,000 miles of railways, and private construction of railways is resumed.
EIR taken over by the state (1879?), but the construction and operation of the railway are handed back
to the company.
The Kandahar State Railway from Ruk to Sibi is formed; 133.5 miles of track are laid in 101 days!
The Darjeeling Steam Tramway (later the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway) starts services on its first
section, the Siliguri-Darjeeling line.
The durable ‘L’ class 4-6-0 tender locos make their appearance.
GIPR runs about 14 local services in each direction in Mumbai, including five terminating at Kurla. It is
believed that at this time Currey Road station is used for loading and unloading horses for the races at
Mahalaxmi.
Bhavnagar-Wadhwan (Surendranagar) line opened by Kathiawar State Rly. (later part of Bhavnagar
State Rly.). (MG)
Kanpur-Farukhabad section is operational.
Dec. 22 : Calcutta Tramways Co. incorporated.
•
Early 1880′s
Bengal and North Western, Bengal Central, Rohilkhand-Kumaon, and Indian Midland Railways formed
without guarantees; Southern Mahratta Railways formed with guarantees.
•
1881
Ajmer-Ahmedabad line (MG) opens, and becomes part of the Rajputana State Railway.
September: Darjeeling Steam Tramway becomes the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
The Maharaja Sindia of Gwalior opens the Agra-Gwalior line of what became the Sindia State Rly.
Jan.: Horse-drawn trams begin regular operation in Calcutta.
•
1882
BB&CI trunk route reaches Godhra.
Khandwa-Indore line extended to Ajmer.
Rajputana State Rly. merged into Rajputana Malwa Rly.
Bangalore-Mysore MG line opened by the Mysore State Rly. (this line later went to the Southern
Mahratta Railway Co. which was chartered in 1882 to operate some famine-relief lines opened by the
state).
Marwar-Pali section opened on June 24 as part of the new Jodhpur Railway.
Bangalore City linked to Bangalore Cantonment by Madras Railway.
Assam Rly. and Trading Co. opens Dibrugarh/Amlapatty – Dinjan Stream MG section as part of the
Dibru-Sadia Railway (section operational on Aug. 15).
Railway Watch and Ward, the predecessor of the RPF, constituted.
Post of Director General of Railways is created in the Central Public Works Department.
Jan 1: Victoria Terminus, still under construction, is opened to the public.
First ‘A’ class tank locomotives built for the DHR.
Nagpur-Rajnandgaon MG line opened.
Steam tramway system begins operating in Calcutta.
•
1883
Punjab Northern State Railway line extended from Jhelum to Peshawar.
Attock bridge across the Indus is constructed.
•
1884
Bengal-Nagpur Railway (a private company) sanctioned, with guarantees.
A Select Committee in the House of Commons recommends continuing the policy of using MG for local
and secondary lines only, and suggests that feeder lines to BG should also be BG.
Amlapatty – Dinjan route extended to Tinsukia and Margherita.
Pali-Luni section of Jodhpur Railway opens on June 17.
Delhi-Mathura line opened
Calcutta-Khulna line opened by Bengal Central Rly.
Bhopal-Itarsi line opened by the Begum of Bhopal.
Southern Mahratta Rly. Co. opens Hospet-Bellary and Gadag-Hotgi lines.
April: Bengal & North-Western Rly. opens Nawabganz-Gonda-Bahraich line (MG).
MG lines: Assam Behar State Rly. builds to Parbatipur; Bangalore-Tumkur-Gubbi (Mysore State Rly.);
Rohilkund-Kumaon Rly. builds line to Kathgodam.
Budni-Burkhera ghat section opened.
NG lines: Two lines from Kaunia to Dharlla river (part of the East Bengal State Rly.)
Meridian Conference in Washington, DC, sets the foundation for worldwide standard time zones from
which, eventually, Indian Standard Time emerged in the 20th century.
•
1885
Jodhpur is connected (via Luni) to the Rajputana Malwa Railway network (first train on March 9) (MG).
This line later becomes part of the Jodhpur Bikaner Rly.
Seats are provided in Fourth Class accommodation. Simultaneously, accommodation classes are
reorganized so that the Fourth Class becomes Third Class, Third Class is renamed Second Class, and
Second Class is transformed to “Inter” Class.
First coaches (wooden-bodied) with steel underframes introduced.
Assam Rlys. & Trading Co. builds Dibru-Sadiya Rly. (MG)
Narayangang-Mymensingh MG line opened by Dacca State Rly.
DHR line extended to Darjeeling Bazaar.
April 20: A steam tramway opens in Karachi.
Victoria Terminus – Byculla track is doubled.
•
1886
ORR line extended to Saharanpur.
NG lines: Cherra-Companyganj Rly. (Cherrapunjee Mountain Rly.) builds line from Companyganj to
Therria Ghat and across it to Cherrapunji with 7 gradients worked by rope mechanisms.
Miraj-Pune MG line opened.
Karachi’s steam tramway is replaced by a horse-drawn system.
•
1887
Dufferin Bridge constructed over the Ganga at Varanasi, allowing EIR trains to go from Mughalsarai to
Varanasi.
Victoria Terminus named after Queen Victoria on Jubilee Day.
•
1888
Madras Railway trunk route from Madras extended along the west coast to Calicut.
Construction of Bombay’s Victoria Terminus building is completed. The cost was estimated at Rs
1,640,000
Landsdowne bridge over the Indus (at Sukkur).
Kushtia-Siliguri line (MG) of North Bengal State Railway.
A. H. Wheeler and Co. introduce their Indian Railway Library series of publications.
Southern Mahratta Rly.’s main eastward route connects with other lines going until Bezwada
(Vijayawada), which were later taken over by the SMR. The section in Goa worked by SMR for West of
India Portuguese Rly. terminating at Marmagoa opens.
•
1889
Nizam’s State Railway’s main line is extended to Bezwada (Vijayawada).
Delhi-Ambala-Kalka line laid.
A Select Committee in the House of Commons recommends against laying any new MG lines outside
areas where MG was dominant.
Jamshedpur workshops work on putting together some locos (but the first complete loco is not built in
India until 1895 at Ajmer).
EIR appoints the first Signal Engineer in India (Mr S T Dutton).
Jodhpur Bikaner Railway formed.
First ‘B’ class locomotives of the DHR built.
Indian Midland Rly. opens lines from Jhansi to Gwalior, Kanpur, Manikpur, and Bhopal.
Assam Behar State Rly.’s Parbatipur MG line is extended to Katihar.
Jamlpur-Jagannathganj Rly. open to traffic.
Gubbi-Birur-Harihar MG line opened by Mysore State Rly.
Six platforms constructed at Bombay Victoria Terminus.
•
1890
Goa-Guntakal MG line completed by the Southern Mahratta Rly Co., with branches from Londa to Poona
(connecting to Mysore via Bangalore, and also with Gadag-Hotgi), and Bezwada (Vijayawada) to
Marmagoa.
East Coast State Railway (government-owned) sanctioned.
SIR taken over by the state, but working of lines is by a reconstituted SIR company (1891?).
NG lines: Wadhwan-Morvi-Rajkot line opened (later converted to BG); Shahjahanpur-Powayan (Powayan
Steam Tramways).
(Approximate date) Some time in the 1890s third class passengers are allowed on the prestigious Mail
trains.
Railways Act passed by the government defining the framework for railway construction and operation.
•
1891
Jodhpur connected to Bikaner by MG (Jodhpur – Merta Road opened April 8, Merta Road – Nagaur on
Oct. 16, and Nagaur-Bikaner on Dec. 9).
Following political and passenger demands, toilet facilities are introduced on a large scale in first class
carriages.
Khojak tunnel opens, the westernmost point of the Kandahar State Rly. (Chaman Extension Rly.) which
was to reach Afghanistan but which in fact never crossed the frontier from British India beyond Chaman.
At the time, this was the longest railway tunnel in the subcontinent.
Construction begins for the Nilgiri railway.
Delhi-Ambala-Kalka line opened.
Rope-worked section over Therria Ghat of Cherra-Companyganj Rly. dismantled.
Dec. 1: Mysore – Nanjangud line (24km, MG) opened.
•
1892
Assam Bengal Railway incorporated (MG).
Early use of simple mechnanical interlocking devices (List and List & Morse systems) at six single line
crossings of NWR.
BB&CI line to Godhra
Yeshwantpur-Dodballapur MG line by Mysore State Rly.
•
1893
The government-built Godhra-Nagda link is handed over to the BB&CI Railway for operation.
Cabin interlocking introduced in some places by the GIPR on the Bombay-Delhi route. (Equipment
supplied by Saxby and Farmer.)
First railway foundry set up at Jamalpur Workshops
Merta – Kuchaman section opened to carry salt traffic from the Rajputana areas.
Bengal Dooars Rly. opens (MG).
Cuttack – Khurda Road – Puri line opened by the East Coast Rly.
MG line from Yeshwantpur extended to Mysore frontier by Mysore State Rly.
•
1894
List & Morse interlocking system introduced for 29 single line crossings between Lahore and Ghaziabad.
NG lines: Powayan Steam Tramways extended to Mailani on the Rohilkund-Kumaon Rly.
•
1895
First locomotive built in India at the Ajmer works, an ‘F’ class 0-6-0 MG loco for the Rajputana Malwa
Railway (F-734). This is now preserved at the National Rail Museum.
Udaipur-Chittorgarh MG line built by the Mewar Darbar.
NG lines: Tezpore-Balipara; Tarakeshwar-Howrah (Bengal Provincial Rly. Co.)
Madras trams begin operating, with a conduit system. (This is replaced in 1905 with electric traction.)
Howrah station gets its third platform.
•
1896
Indian railway staff and some MG locos are sent overseas to help build the Uganda Railway.
BB&CI line to Nagda and Ujjain.
•
1897
The first section of the NG Barsi Light Railway is built from Barsi Road Junction to Barsi Town.
(Late 1890′s) Lighting in passenger coaches introduced by many railway companies. Lower classes
tended to get gas lamps, whereas upper classes sometimes got electric lights, but often gas or oil lamps.
First Godavari bridge built near Rajahmundry, helping Chennai-Howrah traffic.
Hoogly (Hooghly) bridge built.
Strategic considerations from the War Department force all new narrow-gauge lines to be laid to 2’6″
gauge instead of 2′ gauge from 1897 onwards. 2’6″ was the narrow-gauge standard for all the imperial
colonies.
Rajkot – Jamnagar MG section opened by Jamnagar Rly.
Mettupalayam-Coonoor rail line constructed.
Delhi – Bhatinda – Samasatta line opened by Southern Punjab Railway Co.
•
1898
August: Mettupalayam-Coonoor rail line opens, but is soon closed after heavy rains cause severe
damage to the track.
NG lines: Howrah-Amta, Howrah-Sheakhala (2′ gauge, Martin & Co.).
•
1899
Maharaj Scindia of Gwalior opens NG (2′) railway lines from Gwalior to Bhind and Shivpuri. These later
become part of the Gwalior Light Railways.
Jamalpur Workshops officially begin producing steam locomotives (earlier they were putting together
locomotives with parts from other locomotives, etc.). The first engine is CA 764, Lady Curzon.
July 12: Mysore-Nanjangud extended to Nanjangud Town station.
Nov. 1 : Through BG connection between Bezwada (Vijayawada) and Madras (Chennai) opens.
Mettupalaiyam-Coonoor section of the Nilgiri Mountain Rly. re-opens after repair and restoration.
Bina-Baran line opened.
South Indian Railway begins Madras – Tuticorin service connecting with the boat to Ceylon, using
vestibuled coaches for both First and Second class. The trip takes nearly 22 hours for the 443 mile
route.
Electric traction for trams introduced in Calcutta.
Chronology of railways in India, Part 3 (1900 – 1947)
•
1900
GIPR network becomes state property on July 1, but the company is allowed to continue operating the
services.
Upper Sone bridge built, the longest in India at 10,052 feet.
Balotra-Hyderabad section of Jodhpur Bikaner Rly. opens.
Doon Railway opens (Haridwar-Dehradun).
Tapti Valley Railway opened.
Connection to Gaya added on the Calcutta Delhi route
Assam Bengal Rly. opens branch line to Guwahati.
Bengal Dooars Rly. open link to EBR at Lalmonirhat.
Rajputana Malway Rly. becomes part of the BB&CI Rly.
Bengal-Nagpur Railway lays a line to Howrah.
Brahmaputra-Sultanpur Branch Rly. opens MG line from Santahar east (with a ferry section) to
Mymensingh.
Manmad-Secunderabad MG line opened by the Hyderabad Godavary Valley Rly.
Calcutta tramways’ electrification and conversion to standard gauge from meter gauge begins. Total
system size is at 30km.
NG lines opened: Parlakimedi Light Rly. from Navpada (BNR); Rajpur-Dhamtari (BNR). Planning begun
for Matheran Light Railway.
•
1901
Sir Thomas Robertson Committee submits recommendations on administration and working of the
railways.An early version of the railway board is constituted, with three members serving on it at first.
Railway mileage now at about 24,750 miles in India, of which 14,000 miles are BG, and most of the rest
MG (with only a few hundred miles of 2′ and 2’6″ gauge lines).
The railways also start returning some modest profits; for the last 40 years they had been making large
losses.
Indian Midland Railway merged into BBCI Railway.
EIR’s “Grand Chord” section finished connecting Sitarampur – Gaya – Mughalsarai.
BB&CI line to Cambay.
East Coast Rly. line to Waltair becomes part of the Madras Railway.
MG lines: Kaunia-Dharlla Rly. lines converted to MG; Jodhpur – Hyderabad (by Jodhpur Bikaner Rly.,
after a section near Hyderabad is converted from BG to MG).
NG lines: Gitaldaha-Jainti (Cooch Behar State Rly.); Nawshera-Dargai State Rly. (later NWR).
Burn & Co. sets up a workshop at Howrah.
•
1902
Shoranur-Cochin line is built, owned by the state but operated by the SIR.
A monorail of the Ewing system (double-flanged wheels and an outrigger wheel for balance) powered by
ponies is installed for transporting tea and other light goods at the High Range near Keranganie.
The Luni-Shadipalli line is completed in the Thar desert. The Shadipalli-Hyderabad (now Pakistan) line is
regauged to MG.
BNR takes over part of the East Coast Rly. lines (Cuttack – Vizianagaram, branch line to Puri).
NG lines: Khushalgarh-Kohat (later NWR).
Mar. 27: Electric trams begin operating in Calcutta.
The Jodhpur Railway becomes the first to introduce electric lights as standard fixtures. (Electric lighting
had been tried by other railways starting in the 1890s.)
•
1903
BESA standards for new loco types are formulated.
The Robertson Report recommends re-laying all BG and MG lines to standard gauge, but this report
seems to have been completely ignored.
Nov. 9: Kalka-Shimla Railway line opened, built at 2’0″ gauge (but relaid later, see below).
The first bogie-mounted coaches appear, including bogie dining cars on some railways.
Assam-Bengal Rly. joins Dibru-Sadiya Rly. at Tinsukia from Chittagong via Lumding (MG).
GIPR appoints its first Signal Engineer (following belatedly in EIR’s footsteps), Mr I W Stokes.
Interlocking introduced for 9 stations (3 on Bombay-Thane section, 6 on Thane-Kalyan section) —
including Bombay VT.
NG lines: Gondia-Nainpur (BNR); Kohat-Thal (later NWR).
•
1904
The Moghulpura workshops near Lahore build six 0-6-2T “ST” class locos by using parts from other
locos, making them the only works other than Ajmer to build locomotives in (British) India.
The Kharagpur Locomotive and Carriage and Wagon Workshop is set up.
Railway Board expanded, given more powers.
Agra-Delhi chord line opened.
NG lines: Nainpur-Chhindwara (BNR); Howrah-Tribeni (Bengal Provincial Rly. Co., connecting to Katwa
line); Gwalior light railway sections: Gwalior – Jora Alapur (Jan. 1), Jora Alapur – Sabalgarh (Dec. 1).
Construction begun on Matheran Light Railway.1905
Powers of the Railway Board are formalized under Lord Curzon. The Board is under the Department of
Commerce and Industry, and has government railway official serving as chairman, and a railway
manager from England and an agent of one of the company railways as the other two members.
The visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales gives EIR a chance to build a special train with coaches
rivalling the luxury saloons used by nobility in Europe.
A petrol-driven 0-4-0 loco from Kerr Stuart is in use by the Morvi Railway and Tramways company.
Kalka-Shimla Railway regauged to 2’6″ gauge under guidelines from the War Department seeking to
ensure uniformity in all imperial narrow gauge systems.
“F” class 0-6-0 MG locomotives are introduced, soon to be among the most widely-used in India for just
about all kinds of duties. Dubs & co. of Glasgow built the first few.
Railway Board decides that lavatories will be provided in all lower class carriages for trains running more
than 50 miles.
BNR’s Satpura Railway complete’s Gondia-Nainpur-Jabalpur link.
Surendranagar – Rajkot MG section opened.
A short MG spur is built into Afghanistan along the Kabul river.
NG lines: Wadhwan-Rajkot line of Morvi Rly. converted to BG; Rupsa-Barapada line of Mourbhang
(Mayurbhanj) Rly. opens (BNR); Tirupattur-Krishnagiri; Gondia-Nainpur line extended to Jabalpur
(BNR); Tuna-Anjar by the Maharaja of Cutch, later part of the Cutch State Rly.
GIPR line quadrupled up to Currey Road.
The first electric trams run in Madras with overhead electrification.
Entire Calcutta tram network is now electrified and converted to standard gauge. The Howrah Station to
Bandhaghat line opens in June.
Construction begins on a new, larger Howrah Terminus station with six platforms and provision for four
more, to replace the older Howrah station in use from 1854.
•
1906
The ‘General Rules’ are framed, governing operation of railways.
Howrah Terminus rebuilt and inaugurated, the largest railway station in India.
Madras Rly. builds Morappur-Dharmapuri MG line for famine relief.
Barsi Road Jn. – Pandharpur section of Barsi Light Railway opens.
Kalka-Shimla Rly. taken over by the state.
Rajputana-Malwa Rly. taken over by state and made part of BB&CI Rly.
BB&CI Rly. starts a Weekend Special from Bombay to Surat, the forerunner of the Flying Ranee.
Kasganj-Kathgodam section opens to passenger rail traffic.
Kurla-Chembur single line built for garbage trains.
Dec. 6: The Grand Chord via Gaya, which significantly shortens the distance between Delhi and Calcutta,
opens on the EIR’s Calcutta-Delhi trunk route (inaugurated by the Earl of Minto, the Viceroy and
Governor-General of India.
Indian Standard Time (IST) comes into force for timekeeping in British India (except for Calcutta and
some other regions).
•
1907
The government purchases all major lines and re-leases them to private operators, with the exception of
Rohilkhund & Kumaon Rly. and Bengal & North-Western Rly.
Sirhind-Morinda section of the Patiala State Monorail is opened, powered by oxen and army mules from
1907 until 1927.
By now, toilets are standard in most lower class carriages, except for short suburban lines.
Railway Mail Service (RMS) is established.
22 March: Matheran Light Railway opens, with 4 articulated 0-6-0T locomotives.
Madras Railway trunk route extended from Calicut to Mangalore.
Jaipur – Sawai Madhopur MG line opened by the Jaipur State Rly.
NG lines: Purulia-Ranchi (BNR); Tuna-Anjar extended to Bhuj (Cutch State Rly.); Shahdara-Saharanpur
Light Rly. (Martin & Co.).
The Sir James Mackay Committee suggests further enhancements to financial and administrative
procedures.
May 7: Electric trams begin operating in Bombay.
June: Kanpur’s electric tram system begins operation.
•
1908
Kaunia-Dharlla MG line of East Bengal Railway extended to Amingaon, where a ferry across the
Brahmaputra connected to the rail system of the Assam Bengal Railway through Guwahati.
BB&CI Railway constructs a line from Baroda to Mathura.
India’s first internal combustion locomotive, a petrol-driven MG loco, is delivered to the Assam Oil Co. by
McEwan Pratt & Co. of Wickford, Essex.
Patiala State Monorail obtains the four famed Orenstein and Koppel monorail locomotives for some of its
lines.
Inward-opening doors are introduced on passenger coaches.
The spur from the north-west territories into Afghanistan, the only railway line in Afghanistan at this
time, is dismantled.
NG lines: Gwalior – Sheopur Kalan (2′ gauge, Gwalior Light Rly.), Sabalgarh – Birpur (Nov. 1).
Karachi’s horse-drawn trams are replaced by petrol trams.
Calcutta tram network extended to Sibpur via G.T. Road.
•
1909
India’s first electric locos (two of them) are delivered to the Mysore Gold Fields by Bagnalls (Stafford)
with overhead electrical equipment by Siemens. Also among the earliest electric vehicles, electrically
operated rail trolleys (” White’s patented rail motor trolleys”) are brought into use (by EIR’s Carriage &
Wagon workshops, by the Oudh and Rohilkhund Rly., by the Eastern Bengal State Rly., etc.).
A petrol-driven 0-4-9 loco is supplied to Morvi Railway and Tramways by Nasmyth Wilson. A couple of
Thornycroft petrol-driven parcel delivery vehicles are also in use by the EIR.
Saharanpur marshalling yard under construction by the North Western State Rly. and the Oudh and
Rohilkhund Rly.
23-ton BG bogie hopper wagons brought into use by Bengal Nagpur Rly. for transporting iron to the Tata
Iron and Steel Works.
South India Rly.’s contract is renewed despite widespread support for appropriation by the state among
local interests.
South India Rly. is engaged in ultimately abandoned attempt to build a direct railway between India and
Ceylon with a viaduct over the Panban viaduct.
The Harbour Line opens from Kurla to Reay Road as the terminus (double track).
Syke’s Lock and Block system of interlocking introduced on the BB&CI Rly. and other railways.
NG lines: Gwalior Light Rly. : Birpur – Sheopur (Jun. 15)
•
1911
Kanpur – Chachran line opened by princely state of Bahawalpur (now in Pakistan, closed in the 1980s).
NG lines: Barsi Light Railway extended until Latur; Champaner-Shivrajpuri Light Rly. (later part of
BB&CI); Dehri-on-Sone – Rohtas (Dehri-Rohtas Light Rly.); Bukhtiarpur-Bihar Rly. (Martin & Co.).
•
1912
June 1: Punjab Mail (GIPR) makes its inaugural run.
Cabin interlocking completed for the entire length of the Bombay-Delhi route (GIPR).
Work begins on Mysore-Arsikere link.
•
1913
Bowringpet-Kolar 2’6″ line (part of the Kolar District Rly.) opened by the Mysore State Railways.
Madras Rly. extends MG line from Dharmapuri to Hosur.
NG lines: BB&CI lines to Godhra, Nadiad; Jessore-Jhenidah (McLeod’s).
NG lines: Kalabagh-Bannu (Trans-Indus Rly.; later NWR).
In the Mumbai area, suburban terminals are opened at Kurla, Kalyan, Thane, and one at the BB&CI
station at Bandra for GIPR trains.
•
1914-1919
World War I places heavy strain on the railways. Railway production is diverted to meet the needs of
British forces outside India. At the end of the war Indian railways are in a total state of dilapidation and
disrepair. All services are downgraded or restricted.
•
1914
Ceylon Government Railway extends the line from Polgahawela to Talaimannar at the northern tip of
Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), to enable connecting services with SIR trains with a ferry crossing across the
Palk Strait. Steamer services from Dhanushkodi (India) to Talaimannar (Ceylon) start on March 1.
RBS standards for rails adopted (90lb/yd for BG, 60lb/yd for MG).
Double line between Ravli Cabin and Mahim on Harbour Branch.
NG lines: Dholpur-Bari line extended to Tantpur; Dhond-Baramati (Central Provinces Rly.; later GIPR);
Murtazapur-Achalpur/Yavatmal; Arrah-Sasaram, Baraset-Basirhat (Martin & Co.); Larkana – Jacobabad
and Jacobabad-Kashmore (NWR, now in Pakistan after conversion to BG).
•
1915
Two new branches of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway opened to traffic. The Kalimpong Road (now
Gelkhola) branch followed the Teesta valley (hence known as the Teesta Valley Line) and the Kishanganj
branch (built in the preceding year, 1914) ran west – southwest of Siliguri.
Lower Ganges Bridge (Hardinge Bridge) opened on the trunk route to Siliguri on the EIR.
Burdwan-Katwa line opened.
Mandra – Bhaun and Sialkot – Narowal lines opened (both now in Pakistan; the former was closed in the
1990s).
First ever diesel locomotive in India, a 2’6″ gauge unit from Avonside (Bristol) is supplied to the India
Office for use on a tea plantation (in Assam??).
Currey Road – Thane line is quadrupled.
Calcutta-Santahar MG line of East Bengal State Rly. opens.
NG lines: Yeshwantpur-Devanahalli-Chikaballapur section of what would become the Bangalore
Chikaballapur Light Rly. opens (2’6″); Ellichpur-Yeotmal (Central Provinces Rly.; later GIPR); BurdwanKatwa (McLeod’s).
•
1916
Bowringpet-Kolar 2’6″ line extended to Chintamani / Chikkaballapur (forming the Kolar District Rly.) by
the Mysore State Railway.
Kacheguda station built by the Nizam of Hyderabad.
Parsik tunnel (1.3km) opened to traffic.
NG lines: BB&CI lines to Pani mines.
•
1917
Ahmadpur-Katwa line opened.
Thane-Kalyan line is quadrupled.
Yeshwantpur-Yelahanka MG line is made mixed gauge to allow NG 2’6″ traffic.
NG lines: Pulgaon-Arvi (Central Provinces Rly., later GIPR); Khanai-Hindubagh (Zhob Valley Rly.; later
NWR); Bankura-Damodar, Kalighat-Falta, and Ahmadpur-Katwa (McLeod’s).
Nushki Extension Rly. towards Iran opened till Dalbandin, from Spezand on the Sibi-Quetta line.
•
1918
Bangalore-Chikkaballapur Light Railway (2’6″) opens the Bangalore-Yeshwantpur section.
Mysore-Arsikere MG line opened by the Mysore Darbar.
Nushki Extension Rly. is completed until Zahidan (Duzdap) in Iran.
•
1919
Wagon pooling comes into wide use among the various regional railways as a result of war-time
necessities.
Oct. 1: Mysore Darbar takes over Nanjangud-Mysore-Bangalore and Birur-Shimoga lines.
NG lines: Pachora-Jamner (Central Provinces Rly.; later GIPR).
Batasia Loop constructed on the DHR.
Bhusawal loco shed set up by GIPR; at the time the largest loco shed in Asia and the third largest in the
world.
•
Early 1920′s
Vacuum braking comes into wide use.
Track-circuiting introduced on WR suburban lines.
Telephones are brought into use for train control purposes in some suburban sections.
•
1920
Total trackage at 37,000 miles (about 15% privately-held). The East India Railway Committee (chaired
by Sir William Acworth, hence also known as the Acworth Committee) points out the need for unified
management of the entire railway system. On the recommendations of this committee, the government
takes over the actual management of all railways, and also separates railway finances from the general
governmental finances (the latter step led to the practice, followed to this day, of presenting the Railway
Budget separately from the General Budget every year).
Superheating makes its appearance in India.
Electric lighting of signals is introduced between Dadar and Currey Road.
A 2′ gauge diesel loco is delivered to Bengal by Baugleys of Burton-on-Trent. (1921?)
Sep.: Double-decker electric trams are introduced in Bombay.
•
1921
The Peninsular Locomotive Company is founded at Jamshedpur for the purpose of building locomotives;
this would have been the third loco manufacturing plant in India after Ajmer and Jamlpur, but
unfortunately it failed even before it manufactured a single loco.
July 1: Chikjajur-Chitradurg line opened by MSMR.
Total trackage stands at 61,220 route km.
The Railway Board is reorganized with a Chief Commissioner of Railways having overriding powers on
technical matters. (1921?)
Nanjangud – Chamarajanagar railway line construction begins but stops because of financial difficulties.
•
1922
Retrenchment Committee under Lord Inchcape recommends drastic cuts in working expenses and other
measures designed to produce a fixed annual profit for the state.
An electric loco with overhead power collection is delivered to the Naysmyth Patent Press Co. at
Calcutta, by British Electric Vehicles.
Jamnagar-Khambaliya-Gorinja-Okha MG section opened.
Locomotive Standards Committee publishes a paper with details of proposed standardization of
locomotive classes.
Jamnagar-Kuranga MG line opened by the Jamnagar & Dwarka Rly., and the Kuranga-Okha MG line by
the Okhamandal Rly.
NG lines: Larkana-Jacobabad (NWR); Futwah-Islampur (Martin & Co.).
•
1923
Two diesel locos delivered to Barsi Light Railway by Ruton Proctor of Lincoln.
Total trackage at 60,540 route-km.
•
1924
Railway finances separated from general finances in the general government budget after the first
Railway ‘Convention’. Railway board expanded to have a Financial Commissioner, a member in charge of
ways, works, stores and projects, and a member in charge of administration, staff, and traffic.
Uniform system of loco classification codes based on an initial letter for the gauge comes into use.
Jodhpur Bikaner Rly. split into Jodhpur State Rly. and Bikaner State Rly.
Kurla-Chembur line open for passenger traffic.
Rajkot-Morvi 2’6″ line of Morvi Rly. converted to BG.
Rupsa-Barapada NG line extended to Talband.
•
1925
February 3: First electric railway operates on Harbour branch of the GIPR from Victoria Terminus to
Kurla (16 km), using 1500V DC overhead traction. The section is designated as a suburban section.
EMUs from Cammell Laird and Uerdingenwagonfabrik are used. In the same year electrification of VTBandra is also completed and EMU services begin there as well, with an elevated platform at Sandhurst
Road. The GIPR suburban line is later electrified up to Kalyan.
Feb. 3: The EF/1 (later WCG-1) “crocodile” loco is introduced.
VT-Kurla section is also completely track-circuited.
Oudh and Rohilkhund Rly. amalgamated with EIR.
Locomotive Standards Committee adopts several IRS loco classes as standards.
First Railway Budget.
East Indian Railway Company taken over by the state on January 1; Great Indian Peninsular Railway
taken over on June 30.
Khyber Railway opened from Peshawar Cantt. to Landi Kotal.
IRCA reviews experiments with wagon pooling and establishes it as a policy for all BG railways.
•
1926
Ex-GIPR suburban line is electrified up to Kalyan. Main line electrified up to Poona and Igatpuri over the
Bhore and Thal Ghats (1500 V DC).
Order placed with Vulcan Foundry for the new classes of locos (XA, XB, XC, etc.).
Lucknow’s Charbagh Station built.
East Bengal State Rly.’s line to Siliguri is converted to BG.
Khyber Railway’s last section from Landi Kotal to Landi Khana, 2km short of the frontier with
Afghanistan, is opened.
NG lines: Bhavnagar-Talaja section of Bhavnagar Tramways.
Aug. 27: Nanjangud-Chamarajanagar section opened, completing the link from Mysore.
•
1927
The BB&CI suburban lines extended to Borivili and Virar. In the Bombay area tracks in some places are
doubled and even tripled or quadrupled (e.g., between Bandra and Borivili).
Patiala State Monorail stops operations.
NG lines: line from Barsi Road Jn. to Pandharpur is extended to Miraj; Dehri-Rohtas extended to Rohtas
Fort. In Nepal, the Raxaul-Amlekhganj line is opened (Martin & Co.).
8-coach EMU rakes are introduced on the main line in Mumbai and 4-coach rakes on the Harbour line.
•
1928
Work begun on Madras suburban line.
Jan 5: Colaba-Borivili section electrification completed by BB&CI Rly.
Two suburban tracks of the Bombay-Borivli section are electrified, but the two mainline tracks are left
for steam traction. The first batch of electric EMUs for Bombay arrive (made by British Thompson
Houston / Cammell Laird).
Sep. 1: The Frontier Mail is flagged off from Colaba Terminus, with Peshawar as its destination.
First automatic colour-light signals in India, on GIPR’s lines between Bombay VT and Byculla.
Kanpur Central and Lucknow stations inaugurated.
Golden Rock workshops near Trichy set up by the South Indian Railway.
Bahawalnagar – Fort Abbas line opened by princely state of Bahawalpur (now in Pakistan, closed in the
1990s).
•
1924-1929
Railways build more than 1,000 miles of tracks each year. General period of prosperity for the railways–
generous provisions are made for passenger amenities (waiting rooms, etc.).
•
1929-1937
Railways (like everything else!) hit by the 1929 Wall Street Crash and the ensuing global depression;
severe economy measures undertaken.
•
1929
Kazipet-Balharshah link completed, connecting Delhi and Madras directly.
The Grand Trunk Express begins running between Peshawar and Mangalore.
Kalyan-Igatpuri-Pune section is now completely electrified, and the quadruple line between Bombay and
Kalyan is also electrified.
A 2′ gauge diesel loco from Maffei is supplied to C K Andrew and Co. (Probably used on a plantation?)
Burma Railways taken over by the state.
Chola Power House near Thakurli built by the GIPR for supplying power for the newly electrified KalyanIgatpuri-Pune section.
Punjab Limited Express begins to run between Mumbai and Lahore, leaving Mumbai on Thursdays.
Bombay’s Victoria Terminus undergoes some reconstruction work so that it gets 14 platforms.
Automatic colour-light signalling extended to the Byculla-Kurla section.
The Kurla car shed is opened.
NG lines: BB&CI line to Piplod; Kangra Valley Rly. (NWR).
Railway Board reorganized with separate members in charge of traffic and labour matters.
•
1930′s
Experiments with railcars on the Jamnagar & Dwarka Rly.
Power signalling introduced; upper-quadrant semaphore signals introduced.
•
1930
The Times (London) nominates the Frontier Mail “the most famous express train in the British empire”.
Through electric services begin on the Kalyan – Pune section.
June 1: The Deccan Queen begins running, hauled by a WCP-1 (No. 20024, old number EA/1 4006) and
with 7 coaches, on the GIPR’s newly electrified route to Poona (Pune).
Two BG diesel shunters from William Beardmore in use on the North Western Railway.
NWR procures two 420hp diesel-electric shunters from William Beardmore.
Hyderabad Godavary Valley Rly. merged into Nizam’s State Rly.
Axle boxes with roller bearings come into use.
The route of the Grand Trunk Exp. is changed to Delhi – Madras.
•
1931
Madras MG suburban railway line completed. ((April 2?) May 11: Tambaram-Beach has electric traction).
The first MG EMU service.
The YCG-1 DC MG locos are introduced in the Madras area.
Samdari – Raniwara section opens as the first phase of a rail connection between Jodhpur-Bikaner and
Gujarat. Phalodi – Jodhpur section opens.
Total trackage in India at about 43,000 miles. Hardly any new construction until after World War II.
NG lines: Darwha-Pusad (Central Provinces Rly; later GIPR).
More than 700 stations have interlocking by now.
•
1932
MSMR’s workshops at Perambur split into the Carriage and Wagon Workshops and the Locomotive
Workshops.
NG lines: Agar-Ujjain (Gwalior Light Rlys.)
Nok Kundi – Zahidan section of Nushki Extension Rly. is closed.
•
1933
Kaunia-Dharlla MG lines north of the Brahmaputra are extended to Rangapara.
May 16: Kanpur trams stop operating.
•
1934
Shoranur-Cochin line converted to BG.
•
1935
NWR procures two 1200hp diesel-electric locos from Armstrong-Whitworth with the intention of using
them for a new Bombay-Karachi route. They were deployed on the Karachi-Lahore mail route, but then
were withdrawn soon afterwards, having manifested many problems as they were not designed for
Indian conditions.
•
1936
Borivli-Virar electrification complete. The two mainline tracks on the Bombay-Borivli section are also
electrified.
BBCI obtains one diesel shunter from Armstrong Whitworth.
Air-conditioning introduced in some (first-class) passenger coaches. Matunga workshops manufacture 5
air-conditioned coaches, the first such to be made locally.
Indian Railway Committee under Sir Ralph Wedgwood constituted to look into the position of the stateowned railways and how to improve their finances
Mavli-Marwar MG line opened.
Jodhpur Rly. acquires two Drewry railcars, one for the Maharaja and the other an inspection car.
•
1937
Wedgwood Committee makes recommendations for public relations, advertising, etc. which until then
had been neglected. Also recommends faster and more reliable passenger services and expansion of
freight activities, for the railways to compete with road transport.
The post of Minister for Transport and Communications is created; the Minister was a civil servant, and
could decide on matters dealt with by the Railway Board.
The infamous Bihta accident, in which the excessive oscillations of an XB class loco caused the
derailment of the Punjab-Howrah mail, killing 154 persons.
NG lines: In Nepal, the Nepal Jaynagar-Janakpur Rly. opens.
May 1: The Flying Queen (predecessor of Flying Ranee) is introduced between Bombay and Surat,
hauled by an H class 4-6-0 and making her run in 4 hours.
•
1938
All lines of the MSMR in Mysore are taken over by the Mysore Darbar.
NG lines: Bhavnagar Tramways line extended to Mahura.
•
1939
World War II. Railways under strain again. Locomotives, wagons, and track material are taken from
India to the middle East; 28 branch lines were completely cannibalized for this. Railway workshops are
used to manufacture shells and other military equipment. The entire railway system is in poor shape by
the end of the war.
Diesel railcars from Ganz are tried out on the Nizam’s State Railways.
A light railcar built at Bikaner is used on the minor lines around there.
The power systems of the Chola Power House and the Tata Hydroelectric plant are combined for
supplying traction power to Bombay-area suburban trains as well as for long-distance trains across the
ghats.
Wagon pooling established across north Indian MG networks.
•
1940
The Jamnagar and Dwarka Railway procures a single MG diesel loco for its Saurashtra Passenger service,
from Brookville.
Jodhpur-Phalodi section extended to Pokharan.
All-steel BG coaches manufactured for the first time in India.
•
1940′s
Large numbers of American and Canadian locos are imported (AWD, CWD, along with AWC, AWE, and
MAWD classes).
Neale’s Ball Token Instruments come into use.
•
1941
Hosur-Dharmapuri NG line decommissioned.
The ‘Following Trains’ system of train working is introduced as an emergency measure in some areas out
of necessity because of wartime requirements.
•
1942
Most of the remaining large railway companies are taken over by the state.
July 11: A flash flood washes out portions of the tracks on the Chappar Rift of the Sind Peshin State
Railway (now in Pakistan), and through running never resumes on this line.
Nok Kundi – Zahidan section of the Nushki Extension Rly. is re-opened.
First Link Train run between Bhusaval and Nagpur with two XP engines.
•
1943
Bengal and North-Western Railway is taken over by the state, after being merged with the Rohilkund
and Kumaon Rly., the Mashrak-Thane Extension Rly., the Lucknow-Bareilly Rly., and the Tirhut Rly. The
new railway is known as the Oudh and Tirhut Rly.
The opening of the Howrah bridge in February allows the Calcutta routes of trams to be connected to the
Howrah routes; total system is at 67km.
•
1944-45
Fifteen diesel locos from GE supplied by USATC and deployed on WR, among the first diesel locos to be
successfully used in many locations in India. Most of these were classified as WDS-1.
•
1944
April: MSMR merged with the lines worked by the SIR company, and taken over by the state.
Oct. 1: BNR taken over by the state.
•
1945
Indian Railway Standards renamed Indian Government Railway Standards. Locomotive classification
codes updated to include diesels and electrics.
Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. (TELCO) formed as a company.
Bandra station has the country’s first all-electric interlocking.
Link Trains run between Bhusaval and Igatpuri with nine AWE engines.
Apr. 1: Jacobabad-Kashmore line taken over by state (now in Pakistan).
•
1946
A Skelton system monorail (locomotive with rubber tires guided by a rail, and wagons carried on the rail
with outrigger wheels for stability) is installed for the 18km section from Bhanvad to Khambalia in
Gujarat, powered by a modified diesel loco.
16 prototypes of the new WP class Pacifics ordered.
Chronology of railways in India, Part 4 (1947 – 1970)
•
1947
Apr. 1: Mandra-Bhaun line taken over by state (now in Pakistan).
Independence/Partition. Two big systems, Bengal Assam Railway and North Western Railway are no
longer in India (these included the workshops of Saidpur and Mogulpura, respectively). Some 2955
route-km of NWR became the East Punjab Railway in India, leaving 8070km in the then West Pakistan.
Part of the Jodhpur Railway also went to West Pakistan. Much of the Bengal Assam Railway went to the
then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Exchanging assets and staff dislocates all normal work, as does
the large-scale movement of people between India and Pakistan.
Assam Railway is cut off from the rest of the Indian system.
Traffic patterns change drastically. Instead of Karachi to northern India, now all traffic is from Bombay.
Traffic from and to Jammu & Kashmir which used to be through Lahore (via Rawalpindi and Jammu) now
had to go directly to Delhi.
There are 42 separate railway systems, including 32 lines owned by the former Indian princely states.
Baldwin supplies the first batch of prototypes of the WP class locos (classified WP/P).
TELCO starts production of boilers.
Dec. 19: 56 EMU coaches ordered for Bombay suburban system from Metropolitan Cammell.
•
1948
100 WG class 2-8-2 locos ordered from North British, the start of this very successful class in India.
Bhavnagar State Rly., Kathiawar State Rly., Jamnagar & Dwarka Rly., Gondal Rly., and Morvi Rly. all
merged into Saurashtra Rly.
Hyderabad lines of the Jodhpur-Bikaner Rly. west of Jodhpur transferred to Pakistan Western Rly. on
Aug. 1.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is taken over by the state.
Calcutta time is discontinued and Indian Standard Time (introduced in 1906) is observed everywhere in
the country.
•
1949
YP prototypes in trial runs.
Several diesel locos with mechanical transmissions obtained to work services in arid areas of Saurashtra
(supplied by Fowler).
The Gaekwar’s Baroda State Railway is merged into the BBCI Rly.
Jodhpur-Bikaner Rly. taken over by the government of the state of Rajasthan.
Railway Board adopts all-steel construction for coaches as the new standard. An initial agreement is
signed with the Swiss Car and Elevator Co. of Schlieren-Zurich, Switzerland, which eventually led to the
establishment of the Integral Coach Factory at Perambur.
•
1950
Assam Rail Link finished, re-connecting Assam Railways with the rest of the Indian system wholly
through Indian territory: 229 km meter-gauge line built within 2 years. Link opened to passenger traffic
on Jan 26, 1950: Republic Day. For this link, the Kishanganj branch of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
was taken over and converted to MG and connected to the NER network at Barsoi. The Teesta Valley
Line was taken over for MG (until Sivok), but the rest of it was devastated by floods and closed. The link
spanned the Teesta, Torsha, and Sankosh rivers.
The Assam Rail Link project also saw the first use of pre-stressed reinforced concrete in railway
construction in India.
Jan. 26: Chittaranjan Locomotive Works established in West Bengal for the manufacture of 120 steam
locos annually. The first of the extremely successful WG class (#8401, “Deshbandhu”) from CLW is
commissioned on November 1, 1950.
Several Janata Express (“People’s Express”) trains are introduced, with only second-class
accommodation.
Nov. 1: Flying Ranee introduced (resurrection of the Flying Queen from 1938).
Kurla-Mankhurd section electrified.
Some railway coaches production (10 a month) begins at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., Bangalore. These
are all-metal coaches made with indigenous components.
Wagon pooling established across south Indian MG networks.
•
1951
Zonal grouping of IR begun. SR is created on April 14, CR and WR on Nov. 5.
About 388 km of trackage is electrified (Bombay and Madras suburban lines) out of a total of about
55,000 km.
New batch of 30 EMUs from Metropolitan Cammell arrive at Bombay for CR.
One track between Kurla and Mankhurd opened for suburban steam services.
Widening of the route and re-spacing of the double lines (from 3.65m to 4.72m) on the Bhore and Thull
(Thal) ghat sections completed.
(1951-1953) New Metro-Cammell EMU units for Bombay suburban trains have air brakes with the
Westinghouse twin pipe system.
One track between Kurla and Mankhurd is opened for suburban steam service, although the section was
electrified the previous year.
The post of Chief Commissioner of Railways is abolished; the Railway Board now adopts the practice of
making the seniormost member Chairman of the board. The Chairman did not have overriding powers as
the Chief Commissioner did; but the Chairman and Financial Commissioner could together override the
rest of the Board.
The government of West Bengal enters into an agreement with the Calcutta Tramways Co. to take over
many of its administrative functions, and to reserve the right to purchase the entire system in the future
with 2 years’ notice.
•
1952
NR, ER, and NER zones created on April 14.
Mukerian-Pathankot line (25.8 miles) on NR opened to traffic.
Fans and lights mandated for all compartments in all classes of passenger accommodation, although this
is not implemented for many years.
Kalka-Shimla Railway regauged to 2’6″ gauge under guidelines from the War Department seeking to
ensure uniformity in all imperial narrow gauge systems.
Kandla-Deesa MG line completed connecting the rail network to the Kandla port.
Dec. 24: Construction of Ernakulam-Quilon MG line begins.
TELCO begins production of YG locomotives.
Kurla-Mankhurd suburban trains switch to electric traction.
•
1953
Howrah-Bandel-Burdwan electrification work commences (3kV DC).
Bandra-Andheri mainline tracks electrified.
•
1954
Through service resumes between Amritsar and Lahore. Zafarabad-Sultanpur section dismantled during
the war is restored.
Following SNCF’s success with 25kV AC traction in France, IR begins to study the possibility of AC
traction and ways of avoiding ill-effects of locomotive loads on the public electricity grids.
The EM/1 (later WCM-1) class of 3000V DC locos is introduced.
(Oct.) Railway Board reorganized, with the Chairman made responsible for all technical and policy
matters with the status of a Secretary to the Government of India. One more member was added to the
Board.
Sleeping accommodation is introduced in 3rd class coaches.
Khandwa-Hingoli MG section is sanctioned.
•
1955
Integral Coach Factory set up at Perambur, with the help of Swiss Car and Elevator Manufacturing Co.
(Switzerland).
Eastern Railway split to form a new South-Eastern Railway. New Eastern Railway comprises the portion
of the old East Indian Railway up to Moghalsarai. South-Eastern comprises the old Bengal-Nagpur
Railway.
Fiat supplies a dozen MG railcars (YRD1, coupled in pairs).
First-class abolished, and 2nd, Inter, and 3rd classes are renamed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd classes,
respectively.
August 1: South-Eastern Railway carved out of ER.
Baraset-Basirhat section of Martin’s Light Railways is closed, as is the Kalighat-Falta line of McLeod’s
Light Railways.
Andheri-Borivili section electrified.
WL class locos supplied by Vulcan Foundry.
YDM-1, ZDM-1, and NDM-1 diesel locos are brought into use.
June 16: 18 EMU shells, underframes, and bogies ordered from Metropolitan Cammell for CR’s suburban
services.
•
1956
Passenger fares standardized at 30 paise, 16 paise, 9 paise and 5 paise per mile for 1st, 2nd, Inter, and
3rd class, respectively. (Platform tickets are 2 annas each.)
Divisional system of administration set up or planned for the various regional railways.
New Italian-made EMU introduced for the Madras Beach – Tambaram suburban line.
The first fully air-conditioned train is introduced between Howrah and Delhi (predecessor of the Poorva
Exp.). Another fully air-conditioned train (the first that is vestibuled) is introduced later between Delhi
and Bombay Central. A “buffet-cum-cinema” car is introduced in the Janata Exp. between Kanpur and
Jha Jha. Third-class passengers are permitted to use the dining car earlier reserved for higher classes of
travel.
Gandhidham-Kandla MG line opened to traffic.
The first seven coaches (third-class seating coaches) assembled from imported shells and other
components roll out from ICF in February. On August 14, the first all-indigenous steel-bodied integral
design coach rolls out from ICF.
[Disaster] The Grand Trunk Express (?) derails at Mahboobnagar in Andhra Pradesh and kills 112.
[Disaster] Madras-Tuticorin express plunges into river when when bridge at Ariyalur (Tamil Nadu) is
washed away in floods; 156 are killed. Railway Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri resigns accepting moral
responsibility.
Suri transmission developed at RDSO.
SNCF delegation proposes 25kV AC traction for IR.
Sep. 1: India’s first Route-Relay Interlocking set up at Churchgate – Marine Lines (WR).
Suburban Train Overcrowding Enquiry Commission presents its report with suggestions on
improvements to Bombay suburban services.
Railway Board expanded with posts of five Additional Members, of the status of General Managers, who
were to deal with the extra work arising from the Second Five-Year Plan.
The EM/2 (later WCM-2) class of 3000V DC locos is introduced.
•
1957
Research, Designs, and Standards Organization (RDSO) of IR formed.
All-India numbering scheme introduced for locomotives.
Following a decision to adopt 25kV AC traction, SNCF are chosen as technical consultants for the
electrification projects. An organization called the Main Line Electrification Project — which later became
the Railway Electrification Project and still later the Central Organization for Railway Electrification — is
established. Burdwan-Mughalsarai via the Grand Chord is electrified, the first 25kV AC traction section.
Tatanagar-Rourkela on the Howrah-Bombay route is chosen as the next route to be electrified at 25kV
AC.
Nov. 30: Electrification of Sheoraphulli–Tarakeshwar branch of Eastern Railway completed (142 km, on
the 3000 V DC system).
The EM/3 (later WCM-3) class of 3000V DC locos is introduced.
Dec. 14: Electrification of main line from Howrah proceeds to Bandel.
Trial runs of BG diesel locos (WDM-1).
Nov. 24: Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications established at
Secunderabad.
Railway Protection Force is constituted.
Aug. 23: Gudur-Renigunta BG section opened to traffic.
Nov. 23: Narsapur-Nidadavole Passenger collides with a goods train at 3:15am at Nidadavole (near the
South Cabin); many injured.
•
1958
WDM-1 class BG diesel locos (100 of them) are imported from Alco (US), and most were homed at
Chakradharpur, for use around Tatanagar, Rourkela, Burnpur.
Electrification of Howrah–Burdwan Main Line section complete.
Jan.: Ernakulam-Quilon MG section opened.
January 15: North-Eastern Railway splits to form a new Northeast Frontier Railway.
Karnail Singh Fuel Committee recommends a mix of 50% electric traction, 25% diesel, and 25% steam
until 1975.
The ubiquitous F/1 class steam locos are withdrawn from service.
WCM-2 and WCM-3 locos are converted to run on 1500V DC instead of 3000V DC as ER electrification is
changed to 25kV AC.
Samdari-Raniwara section extended to Bhildi.
A coach washing machine is procured for the EMU carshed at Bombay Central.
Signal and Telecom Workshops established at Podanur.
Mar. 30: First Crack Train run between Gaya and Mughalsarai.
•
1959
WAM-1 locos from Kraus-Maffei, Alsthom, Krupp, Brugeoise et Nivelles, and SFAC are brought into
service. (Aug. 1: First WAM-1, “Jagjivan Ram” is commissioned.)
December 15: The first scheduled train runs using 25kV AC traction — Kendposi-Rajkharswan on SER.
[??Some sources say this section was energized on Aug 11, 1960.]
First steam loco designed and built entirely by CLW (WT class, “Chittaranjan” was the first one).
The Permanent Way Training School is set up (later to become IRICEN).
Fans and lights finally become standard fixtures in all passenger coaches, including Third Class.
Rajendra Pul (bridge) across the Ganga at Mokameh opened; this connects the MG North-Eastern
Railway to the BG network of Eastern Railway with access to the Calcutta Port. River Brahmaputra is
bridged at Pandu.
•
1960
The Khandwa-Hingoli section is completed, which for the first time links the MG networks in northern
and southern India, going across the Tapti and Purna rivers and the Satpura and Melghat ranges. The
section is open only for goods traffic at first (on November 1).
Sealdah Division, Asansol-Gomoh-Gaya is electrified at about this time (dates uncertain).
In the early 1960′s, IR begins replacing copper wiring and electrical equipment with aluminium.
Also in the early 1960′s, vestibuling of long-distance coaches became widespread.
Some time in the 1960′s, the Salem-Bangalore MG line is opened on the alignment of the former HosurDharmapuri NG line which was decommissioned in 1941.
•
1961
CLW starts producing 1500 V DC electric locos. The first one is “Lokmanya” (a WCM-5), commissioned
on October 14.
Diesel Loco Works (DLW), Varanasi, is set up
Khandwa-Hingoli MG link is open to passenger traffic.
Jamalpur Workshops begin producing rail cranes and electric arc furnaces.
Kunzru Committee investigating level-crossing accidents and other mishaps issues many
recommendations for improving safety.
•
1962
Initial order of WDM-2 locos reaches India (supplied by Alco).
Electrification reaches Mughalsarai from Gaya at about this time (dates uncertain).
Bukhtiarpur-Bihar line of Martin’s Light Railway taken over by IR and under conversion to BG.
First MG diesels from DLW. First Diesel-hydraulic shunters from TELCO.
ICF begins production of self-propelled units (EMUs) – initially only trailer coaches.
Siliguri connected to New Jalpaiguri.
Saraighat Bridge across the Brahmaputra near Amingaon is completed, connecting the two parts of the
MG network in Assam to the north and south of the river.
Delhi trams stop operating.
Jamalpur workshops begin producing ‘Jamalpur jacks’
Golden Rock workshops begin manufacturing wagons.
•
1963
CLW starts producing 25 kV AC electric locos. Nov. 16: The first one is “Bidhan” (a WAG-1), the first
entirely India-built electric loco.
Mar. 12: CLW also builds its first WP class loco.
ICF begins producing MG coaches and EMU production is enhanced to include motor coaches.
Sahai Committee investigates the benefits of electrification and concludes that with the prices of diesel
and electricity at that time, the break-even point where electrification was worthwhile was at 6.9 million
tonne km per route km a year.
April: Sambalpur-Titlagarh and Bimalgarh-Kiriburu lines opened, facilitating movement of ore from
mines at Kiriburu.
December: Alco personnel at DLW to train local staff.
All 8-car rakes in Mumbai converted to 9-car rakes, the standard formation for a long time thereafter.
Early experiments carried out to test the feasibility of 140km/h and 160km/h running for passenger
trains.
•
1964
Jan.: Diesel Locomotive Works starts production of WDM-2 locos, about 40 every year at first. The first
12 are assembled from kits supplied by Alco, and thereafter production is with mostly indigenous
components. The first one from DLW is “Lal Bahadur Shastri”, commissioned in January.
Diva-Panvel line opened.
Taj Express from New Delhi to Agra is introduced to allow tourists to visit Agra and return to New Delhi
the same day. Running at 105km/h it brought down the travel time on this route to 2h 35m. It is hauled
by a WP locomotive.
First AC loco, a WAG-1, built by CLW.
Kalyan-Kasara/Karjat section switches to using 6-car rakes from 4-car rakes.
CLW starts manufacturing traction motors (MG-1580 model).
March 31: Bombay trams stop operating.
Dec 23: Boat Mail at Dhanushkodi is washed away by large waves in a cyclone and 150 or more
passengers are drowned. The official death count was about 128, but the number of unreserved
passengers could not be determined.
Railway Board gets a post of Additional Member for vigilance.
•
1965
Taj Exp. runs at 105 km/h with a steam loco. The Southern Express (21 Dn/22 Up) train is introduced
between New Delhi and Madras.
Asansol-Bareilly Passenger is the first long-distance train on ER hauled by an AC loco.
Howrah-Madras mail is the first one dieselized on SER (has a WDM-1).
Madras-Tambaram-Villupuram is converted from 1.5kV DC traction to 25kV AC traction, as is the Madras
Beach – Tambaram suburban section. The mainline tracks between Madras and Tambaram are also
electrified (25kV AC).
Fast freight services (“Super Express”) are introduced on several routes, especially those linking the four
major metropolitan centres, and other important cities such as Ahmedabad and Bangalore.
•
1966
First containerized freight services started, between Bombay and Ahmedabad.
Electrification of suburban tracks around Calcutta (Sealdah-North, Sealdah-South sections) covering 347
km completed with the 25 kV AC system. Several DC sections converted to AC in the Madras and
Calcutta areas. The Igatpuri-Bhusaval section is partially electrified (Igatpuri to Nandgaon). Total
electrified route km about 2,400.
Oct. 2: South-Central Railway formed from portions of Southern Railway (Vijayawada, Guntakal, Hubli
divisions)
Brindavan Exp. is dieselized. Flying Ranee is now the fastest medium-haul train (Bombay Central –
Surat).
Deccan Queen gets a new ICF rake of anti-telescopic coaches.
ICF begins production of YAU1 MG EMUs (4-car units) and of air-conditioned coaches.
Ahmadpur-Katwa and Burdwan-Katwa lines of McLeod’s Light Railways transferred to ER.
Panvel-Apta line opened.
(Late 1960s) Long-welded rail (LWR) is introduced in many areas.
May: Kirandul-Kottavalasa line completed, allowing ore from the Bailadilla iron mines (and Bacheli) near
Kirandul to be brought to the east coast and connecting to the main rail network near Waltair. This is the
highest broad-gauge line in the world and sees some of the heaviest freight loads of IR.
•
1967
Ajanta Exp. (Kacheguda – Manmad), the fastest MG train in India with an average speed of 42.5 km/h.
Diesel Loco Shed created at Ratlam.
Second-class sleeper coaches for select trains (GT Exp., Frontier Mail, Howrah-Madras Mail, BombayMadras Exp., Delhi-Lucknow Mail, etc.).
First diesel loco with Indian equipment rolls out of DLW. WDS-5 shunters from Alco are introduced.
CLW begins work on production of diesel locos, starting with the WDS-4 class shunters.
August: Conversion of Howrah-Burdwan main line and Tarakeshwar branch near Calcutta from 3000V
DC to 25kV AC finished.
CR runs its first superfast goods train from Wadi Bunder to Itarsi (the “Freight Chief”).
Bankura-Damodar River line of McLeod’s Light Railways transferred to SER.
Bombay-Delhi containerized freight services introduced.
Pokharan-Jaisalmer line constructed.
Jul. 19: Calcutta Tramways Co. is taken over by the government of West Bengal. (Assets vested with
government in 1976.)
Pakistan Rlys. transfers the permanent way assets from Mirjawa to Zahidan, on the former Nushki
Extension Rly., to Iranian Rlys.
•
1968
Jan. 6: CLW’s first diesel-hydraulic (WDS-4) shunter.
Lakheri-Bayana section is doubled.
Punjab Mail dieselized between Igatpuri and Jhansi.
Dadar Terminus inaugurated. (First train out is the Dadar-Nagpur Exp. hauled by a WCM4; other trains
using this station are Poona Passenger and Poona Exp.)
Allahabad / Kanpur – Mughalsarai section gets electric traction (AC).
ICF begins production of DC EMUs.
Private goods consolidating agents are permitted to operate, thus allowing all manner of goods to be
transported by standardized containers.
Pokharan-Jaisalmer link built in the aftermath of the ’65 hostilities with Pakistan.
Nov.: First indigenous MG diesel loco (YDM-4 “Hubli”) from DLW.
State of signalling: 2 route-relay interlocking systems in use, and 4 panel interlocking systems.
•
1969
March 1: Howrah — New Delhi Rajdhani Express begins running, covering the 1441 km distance in 17
hrs 20 min (was previously 24 hours). Max. speed of 120 km/h with technical halts at Kanpur,
Mughalsarai, and Gomoh.
Total of about 3,500 route km electrified. Howrah-Kharagpur section electrification is complete, as is the
Igatpuri-Bhusaval section.
Salem-Bangalore MG section completed.
Golconda Exp. introduced between Vijayawada and Secunderabad as the fastest steam-hauled train in
the country. Average speed is 58 km/h.
Divisional system introduced for NER.
Madras – Tambaram suburban section gets a Centralized Traffic Control center at Egmore.
Bombay-Madras Exp. (11 Dn / 12 Up) is dieselized between Poona and Madras.
Golden Rock Workshop begins operation overhauling diesel locos.
Metropolitan Transport Project division set up to look into the problem of urban transit in Calcutta.
Sep.: Jhund-Kandla BG line opened, providing a BG connection to now expanded major port of Kandla.
The very successful WDS-4B shunters are introduced by CLW.
Railway Minister Panampilly Govinda Menon makes the first proposal for a ‘West Coast Railway’ — the
idea for what eventually became the Konkan Railway — although this is not acted upon.
Chronology of railways in India, Part 5 (1970 – 1995)
•
1970
1 Up / 2 Dn Bombay-Howrah Mail via Nagpur is dieselized; it is hauled by an electric loco between
Howrah and Rourkela and between Igatpuri and Bombay.
June 30: The last WG is manufacturered by CLW (WG 10560 Antim Sitara).
CLW produces its first WAM-4 locos.
Shahdara-Saharanpur line of Martin’s Light Railways closed.
Across the border, Pakistan’s first electric services begin on June 25 (Lahore-Khanewal, 268km).
Oct. : One line of the Howrah network of the Calcutta trams is closed.
•
1971
WCG-2 and WCAM-1 design prototypes are tested.
Farakka railway bridge (one of the longest prestressed concrete bridges) is opened and the Assam Mail
is routed through it, reducing its running time by five hours.
Jan 1: Howrah-Amta, Howrah-Sheokhala sections of Martin’s Light Railway closed.
The Permanent Way Training School becomes the IR Institute for Advanced Track Technology.
Suri and Nayar begin production of diesel locos.
CLW begins production of TAO-659 traction motors.
Pathankot – Jammu Tawi section opened (construction of parts of this began in 1965 after the war with
Pakistan).
Dec. : Second line of the Howrah network of the Calcutta trams is closed.
•
1971-72
IR extends some operations for the military into Pakistan, during the India-Pakistan war, from the
Barmer area of Rajasthan, using the Munabao – Khokraphar MG route.
•
1972
Electrification from Howrah reaches Tundla (near Agra).
Calcutta Metro construction work begins .
Petrol trams in Karachi (Pakistan) cease to operate.
May 17: The Bombay Rajdhani begins service, hauled by a WDM2. The trip takes 19 hours and 5
minutes.
Feb. 5: CLW’s last steam loco, YG 3573.
Liluah workshops stop manufacturing coaches.
Railway Board gets a post of Additional Member for electrical engineering.
•
1973
Jan. 26: Jayanti Janata Express introduced between New Delhi and Ernakulam/Mangalore, the first
“classless” (all coaches second-class) train.
First marine ISO container handled in India at Cochin (although not by rail).
May: Nimtollah (Nimtala) Ghat line of the Calcutta trams is closed.
Dec. : Third line of the Howrah network of the Calcutta trams is closed. Total trackage now at 62km.
•
1974
CLW begins work on production of dual-power WCAM-1 locos.
RITES formed for research and consultancy services.
(Mid-1970s) IRS standards for rails are laid down (52kg/m for BG, 75lb/yd for MG).
Third-class accommodation abolished (1972?).
May 3: A total strike by railway workers including the All India Railwaymen’s Federation (led by its
president at the time, George Fernandes, later Union Minister for Railways) paralyzes IR completely;
tens of thousands are jailed (some sources say 28,000, others put the number as high as 70,000). This
event was among the factors that led to the imposition of a state of emergency in India by then Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi in June 1975.
Aug. 13: Parliament regulates working hours for engine drivers to 10 hours continuous duty at a time.
Barauni – Samastipur – Muzaffarpur BG line.
•
1975
First export order for IR — DLW sends some YDM4 units to Tanzania.
Jan. 30: First dual-system electric loco (WCAM-1 class) from CLW, “Vallabh”, is commissioned.
February: The first of the widely used WDS-6 class shunters from DLW.
June: Bombay’s Churchgate station is the first to be provided with a special 50Hz AC supply unit to keep
its station clocks accurately set; the clocks’ error dropped to about 1 second in 8 days.
Nov.: Ernakulam-Quilon MG line converted to BG.
Charbagh Workshop of NR takes on diesel loco maintenance.
Railway Board gets a post of Additional Member for health.
•
1976
Jan. : IR wins its first export contract, for the supply of 15 YDM locomotives (to be built in DLW,
Varanasi) to Tanzania.
(August) Electrification reaches New Delhi, making the New Dehli – Howrah route the first trunk route to
be completely electrified (AC traction).
IRCON formed as a separate organization from RITES, for railway construction projects overseas.
Tamilnadu Express introduced.
The Samjhauta Express begins running between India and Pakistan. Freight trains also begin running
between the two countries. The rail link agreement for these trains is valid for 3 years (and later
periodically renewed).
Aug. 5: Entire Howrah-Delhi trunk route is electrified.
Sep. 13: Trivandrum-Ernakulam BG converted line opened to traffic.
Smoking is banned in Mumbai suburban trains.
Nov. 8 : All assets of the Calcutta Tramway Co. are now vested with the government of West Bengal.
•
1977
Feb. 1: National Rail Museum opened at New Delhi.
Guntakal division of SR made part of SCR, and Solapur division of SCR made part of CR (Oct. 2: Pune –
Shahabad is transferred from SCR to CR; Shahabad – Wadi is transferred in 1978. Daund and Kurduwadi
sheds now under CR.)
(Late 1970s) Concrete sleepers come into use.
DLW manufactures prototype of high-speed bogie rated for 170km/h service.
March: DLW’s 1000th locomotive.
Railway Convention Committee meets.
•
1978
Jan. 1: The eight posts of Additional Members of the Railway Board are abolished. The number of
Advisors to the Board rises to 16.
Arrah-Sasaram line of Martin’s Light Railways closed.
Plans drawn up for Wheel and Axle Plant.
Raj Committee revisits the issue of the economics of electrification; since electricity costs had risen
faster than diesel prices, the break-even point for electrification to be viable was now at 30 million gross
tonne km per route km a year.
March 1: Shahabad – Wadi transferred from SCR to CR.
•
1979
CORE (Central Organization for Railway Electrification) formed.
Madras-Gummidipundi (April 13) and Madras-Thiruvellore sections (Nov. 23) electrified providing a
second electrified corridor for SR. Madras Beach – Korukkupet – Madras Central is also electrified (Aug.
9).
Nagercoil-Tirunelveli and Trivandrum-Kanyakumari via Nagercoil opened.
May 20: Mangalore – Hassan MG line opened to traffic.
Oct. 2: Trivandrum division of SR created.
AC 2-tier coaches are introduced (may be off by a year).
•
1980
Viramgam – Hapa MG section converted to BG.
National Energy Policy defined, which recommends increasing the pace of railway electrification and a
goal is set for 1000 route km to be electrified every year.
First WDM-2 with AC-DC transmission.
Oct. 1: First WAP-1 locomotive commissioned (variant of the WAM-4R); used for the Rajdhani service.
Third Ghat line opened on the north-east of Mumbai.
•
1981
Diesel Component Works, Patiala, is set up.
July 27: Bangalore division of SR created.
The first ISO container is hauled by IR, to the new Inland Container Depot at Bangalore.
IR contracts with BARC to develop energy-efficient EMUs for for Mumbai, leading to the development of
chopper-controlled EMUs.
[Disaster] June 6: Possibly the worst accident in IR’s history: 7 coaches of a passenger train fall off a
bridge into the Bagmati river near Samastipur. There has never been a satisfactory explanation for the
cause of the disaster, with divers reasons such as a sudden storm, or extreme braking on sighting oxen
on the track, being offered for the accident. 212 bodies were recovered from the river, but it is almost
certain that there were many more persons who perished in this disaster. Unofficial death toll at over
800.
•
Uncertain date
Bombay – Nagpur – Howrah trunk route is electrified some time in the 1980s.
•
1982
Oct. – The Taj Express gets diesel locomotives (WDM-2).
Sep. 3: Thiruvellore – Arakkonam section electrified.
Lucknow-Muzaffarpur BG line.
•
1983
DLW gets export order for 15 YDM-4 locos to Vietnam.
Howrah Rajdhani is hauled by a WAP-1 loco.
SR eliminates steam on all of its regular (non-tourist) lines.
Guntakal-Bangalore BG conversion.
IR begins studies on telecom, IT, and freight information management upgrades.
Feb. 10: ‘Great Indian Rover’, a tourist train for Buddhist sites, with a specially built rake, launched.
•
1984
Wheel and Axle Plant, Yelahanka, begins production.
Engineering survey begun for Mangalore-Madgaon line.
Oct. 24: First phase of Calcutta Metro from Esplanade to Bhowanipur (now the Netaji Bhawan station)
done, inaugural run of metro.
Hapa-Okha MG section converted to BG.
The Mumbai Rajdhani becomes the first long-distance train with air brakes.
Jan. 22: CLW’s first loco of the WAG-5B class, at first denoted WAM-4B, is commissioned.
May: DLW’s 2000th locomotive produced.
May: First shipment of 15 YDM-4 locos to Vietnam from DLW.
Aug. 11: Electric trains begin running between Madras and Katpadi.
MUTP-I completed, with several improvements to the Mumbai suburban train services.
New railway line from Guwahati to New Bongaigaon opened.
Prinsep Ghat – Dum Dum Jn. section of Calcutta Circular Railway commissioned.
Railway Reform Committee suggests creation of 4 new zones to cope with growing freight traffic.
Dehri-Rohtas Light Railway closed.
•
1985
Scope of engineering survey work for Mangalore-Madgaon is extended to cover the entire west coast
section from Mangalore to Roha, for the proposed Konkan Railway.
Railway Convention Committee meets.
SR becomes the first zone to eliminate BG steam operations.
Charbagh Workshop of NR takes on electric loco maintenance.
Apr. 17 : Maniktala – Ultadanga section of Calcutta Tramways built.
[Disaster] Feb 23: 50 people killed in a train fire near Rajnandgaon, MP.
[Disaster] Jun 13: 38 people killed, many injured, when an express train rams into a goods train near
Agra.
•
1986
Computerized ticketing and reservation introduced, at New Delhi (pilot project begun in 1985).
Futwah-Islampur section of Martin’s Light Railways closed.
Apta-Roha line opened.
IRCOT (IR’s telecom division) founded.
12-car rakes used in trial runs for suburban EMU services on WR.
The Taj Express gets electric locomotives.
Howrah Rajdhani becomes air-braked (the train is hauled by a single WAP-1).
Dec. 31 : Behala line of Calcutta Tramways extended to Joka.
[Disaster] March 10: 50 people killed and 200 injured in a train collision near Khagaria, Bihar.
[Disaster] Aug 6: 52 killed and 35 injured as two coaches of an express train fall into a stream after
colliding with a stationary goods train in Palamau district, Bihar.
•
1987
Bombay-Delhi WR route is fully electrified. (CR route electrified in 1988.)
January 4: First WAP-3 loco , ‘Jawahar’, commissioned.
The rarely seen WDM-7 locos introduced (June). On NG, NDM-5 locos introduced.
Automatic signalling based on axle counters introduced by CR on Palwal-Mathura section.
July 25: First solid-state interlocking (SSI) system in operation at Srirangam.
April 14: Madras-Avadi EMU services begin.
Railway Coach Factory, Kapurthala, is set up.
Work begins on the Narnarayan Setu road and rail bridge over the Brahmaputra at Jogighopa.
(Foundation stone laid in 1983.)
June: An early system for computerized reservations begins operating at Mumbai VT for a few trains
(pre-CONCERT).
July: Early standalone computerized reservation system begins operations at Chennai.
October: Early standalone computerized reservation system begins operations at Kolkata.
Electrification stands at 7275 route-km.
(Dates uncertain – 1985-1988) Further closings of the Calcutta trams – High Court branch and the line
over the Howrah Bridge to Howrah Station are shut down; there is now not trackage west of BBD Bag
(Dalhousie Square). Behala line on the Diamond Harbour Road is extended to Joka (15km) and a new
line built to Ultadanga (originally intended to reach the airport).
[Disaster] July 8: 53 are killed as Dakshin Exp. derails near Macherial, AP.
[Disaster] Rockfort Express plunges into river when Ariyalur bridge is blown up by terrorists. Over 75
killed.
•
1988
WAG5HB locos from BHEL, WAG6A from ABB, and WAG6B, WAG6C from Hitachi brought into service,
mostly for the heavy freight routes of SER.
The first Shatabdi Express is introduced between New Delhi and Jhansi (later extended to Bhopal), and
becomes the fastest train in the country.
Feb. 1: Bombay-Delhi CR route is electrified. (WR route electrified in 1987.)
March 31: First (ICF-designed) coaches produced by the newly set-up Railway Coach Factory (RCF),
Kapurthala
Madras – New Delhi route is electrified.
Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) created.
Ruthiyai-Bina section transferred from WR to CR.
CLW begins production of Hitachi-designed traction motors HS-15250A for WAG-5 and WAP-4 locos.
Aug. 6: Karur-Dindigul BG line opened.
August: Pilot project for the NTES train status enquiry system begun.
SER introduces the ‘Locotrol’ system to operate several (usually up to 5) locos (then WDM-2′s) in MU
mode to haul heavy freight trains on the Kirandul-Kottavalasa line.
[Disaster] July 8: Bangalore-Trivandrum Island Express derails and plunges into Ashtamudi lake near
Kollam, Kerala, killing 107. It is said that a freak tornado was the cause.
•
1989
Systematic renumbering of train services using ‘universal’ numbers (new 4-digit scheme).
Railways Act, 1989, updates the legal framework for railways in India after nearly a century, replacing
the Railways Act of 1890.
Work begins on the Konkan Railway.
The second Shatabdi Express is introduced between New Delhi and Kanpur (later extended to Lucknow).
The Indrayani Express between Bombay and Pune is introduced (as well as the Pragati Express between
the same pair of cities).
Aug. 29, 1989: The IRFCA electronic mailing list for IR railfans is born.
Rail Spring Karkhana set up for production of coil springs for IR.
July: Early standalone computerized reservation system begins operations at Secunderabad.
Oct. 15: Ernakulam-Alleppey BG line is opened.
[Disaster] April 18: 75 killed as Karnataka Exp. derails near Lalitpur, UP.
[Disaster] Nov. 1: 48 killed as Udyan Abha Toofan Exp. derails at Sakaldiha, Bihar.
•
1990
Bhusaval-Itarsi section has electric services — Bombay-Delhi CR route is fully electrified.
Work progresses on Mangalore-Udupi section of KR.
Bombay Rajdhani gets an air-braked rake.
Computerized reservations (PRS) introduced at Secunderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata in addition
to New Delhi (this was the early version before the CONCERT system was developed to interconnect
these).
First Self-Printing Ticket Machine (SPTM) introduced, at New Delhi.
Victoria Terminus gets a double-discharge platform.
Surekha Bhonsle joins IR – she later became the first woman locomotive driver on IR.
[Disaster] April 16: 70 killed in fire on local shuttle train near Patna.
[Disaster] June 6: 36 killed in collision at Gollaguda, AP.
[Disaster] June 25: 60 killed as a goods train rams into passenger train at Mangra, Daltonganj, Bihar.
[Disaster] Oct. 9: 47 killed when fire breaks out on the Kakatiya Fast Passenger near Cherpalli, AP,
between Hyderabad and Warangal. The fire is said to have been lit deliberately by miscreants.
•
1991
Work begins on Udupi-Roha section of KR.
RCF begins production of air-braked coaches and coaches with roof-mounted AC units.
Railway Convention Committee meets.
July 16: The hospital train, ‘Lifeline Express’ (Jeevan Rekha), begins operation.
All platforms at Victoria Terminus converted to the double-discharge kind.
Kurla Terminus opened.
Gauge conversion begins on Sawai Madhopur – Jaipur – Phulera, Chhapra – Aunrihar, and Bhildi –
Mahesana – Viramgam sections.
Some codes with 4 or fewer letters in their names are changed to coincide with the station names.
[Disaster] Oct. 31: 30 killed as Karnataka Exp. derails near Makalidurga, Karnataka.
[Disaster] Dec. 7: Train derailment in north India [details?] kills 25.
•
1992
Palace on Wheels changed to a broad-gauge train.
March 29: First of the WAG-7 class locos, ‘Shantidan’, from CLW commissioned.
March: Bangalore – Jolarpettai section electrified.
May 8: Churchgate-Virar Ladies’ Special is the first IR train reserved exclusively for women.
August: DLW’s 3000th locomotive produced.
Nov. 20: Alleppey-Kayankulam BG line opened.
Liluah workshops begin producing DMUs.
ECIL supplies the first chopper control equipment to CR for use with Mumbai EMUs.
RDSO/ICF develop high-capacity (250kVA) power cars for Rajdhanis. RDSO develops bidirectional BG
railbus design.
Mumbai suburban services extended to Vashi.
Bangalore Rajdhani introduced.
Gauge conversion of Salempur – Barhaz Bazar, Manmad – Aurangabad, Bikaner – Merta Road.
[Disaster] April 7: At least 20 killed when the Bitragunta-Vijayawada Passenger passes a signal at
danger and rams into a stationary good strain at Tsundru South Cabin, near Tenali.
[Disaster] Sep. 5: 41 killed when a Nagpur-Jamshedpur train rams into a stationary goods train at night
near Raigarh, MP.
•
1993
Work begins on installing 2*25kV “dual” system of AC traction on the Bina-Katni-AnnuppurBishrampur/Chirimiri sections of ER and SER.
Secunderabad-Mahboobnagar MG section is converted to BG, removing an important link in the MG
system towards the north from Secunderabad.
AC 3-tier coaches introduced.
ICF begins production of MEMUs and 700hp DMUs.
Sleeper Class introduced on IR, separate from Second Class.
April 16: Bangalore-Mysore BG line opened.
Railway Capital Fund established.
CLW stops (apparently) the production of diesel shunters.
The formerly pre-eminent steam loco shed at Bhusawal is shut down and the last steam loco homed at
Bhusawal is withdrawn on Dec. 16.
The first ‘chopper’ EMU rake is introduced in Mumbai.
Mumbai suburban services extended to Nerul and Belapur.
[Disaster] April 20: At least 15 killed when the Ranchi-Lohardagga Passenger derails 40km, from Ranchi.
[Disaster] July 16: 60 killed in accident near Darbhanga, Bihar.
[Disaster] Sep. 21: 71 killed when Kota-Bina passenger train collides with goods train near Chhabra,
Rajasthan.
•
1994
Royal Orient train introduced by WR and Gujarat.
CLW stops production of diesel-hydraulic locos.
Five ZDM-5 locomotives and 6 NG 8-coach rakes are transferred from India to Nepal for operation on the
Jaynagar (Bihar) to Janakpur Dham (Nepal) line, from SER’s Nagpur division.
July 11: First MEMU service, Asansol – Burdwan.
August 27: CLW’s first WAP-4 loco, ‘Ashok’, commissioned.
August 22: First WDM-2C loco commissioned.
August 31: Chikjajur-Chitradurg-Rayadurg line converted to BG.
September: CONCERT system of computerized reservations deployed at Secunderabad.
Manmad-Aurangabad MG line converted to BG.
Feb.: Jaipur – Sawai Madhopur MG line converted to BG.
Dec.: Ajmer-Delhi MG line converted to BG.
December: Telephone-based phone inquiry (IVRS) introduced.
Gauge conversion of Mau – Shahganj (?), Chaparmukh – Haibargaon.
Secunderabad-Mahboobnagar gauge conversion breaks one of the important north-south MG freight
connections.
[Disaster] May 3: 35 killed as Narayanadri Exp. rams into a tractor near Nalgonda, AP.
[Disaster] Nov: Coaches of the Bombay-Howrah Mail catch fire, several killed (number?). Kerosene fuel,
LPG cylinders, and stoves were found to have been carried on to the coach by passengers.
[Disaster] Dec. 1: The freak incident in which a combination of a loco fire and human error caused the
rake of the Indrayani Express, full of passengers, to roll away on its own from Thakurwadi to Karjat,
saved from becoming a fatal accident only when it slowed down when the incline changed.
Chronology of railways in India, Part 5 (1995 – present)
•
1995
January 16: First regularly scheduled services on trains hauled by locos using the 2*25kV ‘dual’ system
of traction (Bina-Katni on CR).
January: First prototype of the CONCERT passenger reservation system developed at Secunderabad.
Gauge conversion of Purna-Nanded / Manmad-Mudkhed MG section breaks the MG network’s northsouth connection. (Mudkhed-Secunderabad is left as an isolated MG line.)
Khodiyar-Mehsana MG section converted to BG.
DLW and GM sign contract for technology transfer for GM’s GT46MAC and 710 series locos, and the
purchase of 31 GT46MAC/GT46PAC locos.
April: The first WDP-1 loco is commissioned.
April 2: New Madras Beach – Tambaram BG line.
July 18: The first WDG-2 loco is commissioned.
December 6: Last official BG steam service (Jalandhar-Ferozepur).
Hassan-Mangalore MG line dismantled in parts for gauge conversion.
Miraj-Bangalore line converted to BG.
Gauge conversion of Hissar-Rewari, Rewari-Jaipur, Phulera-Marwar, Jodhpur-Jaisalmer, Chikjajur-Hubli,
Hubli-Londa, Londa-Miraj, Hospet-Hubli, Donakonda-Giddalur, Muzaffarpur-Raxaul, Birpur-Shimoga,
Parbhani-Purna, Arjuni-Wadsa, Purulia-Kotshila (planned completion dates — some may have taken
longer).
Sep. 27: End-to-end through service on the Calcutta Metro begins (Tollygunge to Dum Dum) with 16 of
the planned 17 stations.
Delhi-Panipat MEMU service begins.
Eleven WAP-5 locos imported from ABB (AdTranz), the first locos with 3-phase AC technology in India.
IR begins a big push to convert passenger coaches from 24V electricals to 110V systems.
Dec. : DLW exports 2 WDM-2 locos to Sri Lanka.
Pune division of CR created.
Mumbai’s Harbour line is extended to Khandeshwar.
Diva – Veer DMU services inaugurated.
IR launches ‘Exhibition-on-Wheels’, a special train with various IR-related material forming a travelling
exhibition.
IR signs agreement with Linke Hoffman Busch (LHB, now part of Alstom) for supply of, and technology
transfer for, passenger coaches.
[Disaster] May 14: 52 killed as Madras-Kanyakumari Exp. collides with goods train near Salem.
[Disaster] June 1: 73 killed in two separate accidents (West Bengal, Orissa).
[Disaster] Aug. 20: 302 killed as Delhi-bound Purushottam Express rams into the stationary Kalindi
Express at Firozabad, UP. Some sources claim the death toll was 400+. This is India’s second worst
railway disaster going by the death toll (the 1981 accident in which a train fell into a river in Bihar being
the worst).
•
1996
Six WAG-9 locos and 16 more in kit form imported from ABB (AdTranz), the second batch of 3-phase AC
locos for IR. First one is commissioned on Dec. 27.
Feb. 11: The last of the 17 stations of the first phase of the Calcutta Metro (Mahatma Gandhi Road) is
commissioned.
March 4: Victoria Terminus is renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
April: DLW exports 10 YDM-4 locos to Bangladesh.
July: Six new railway zones proposed and approved in principle.
Sep.: The Union Cabinet approves the first phase of the Delhi Metro.
September: CONCERT system of computerized reservations fully deployed at New Delhi.
Telecom cubicle provided on the Mumbai Rajdhani for on-board telephone and fax service.
[Disaster] April 18: 60 killed as Gorakhpur-Gonda passenger train rams into stationary goods train at
Domingarh near Gorakhpur, UP.
[Disaster] May 14: 35 in a bus killed as Ernakulam-Kayamkulam Express collides with the bus at an
unmanned level crossing near Alappuzha, Kerala.
[Disaster] May 25: 25 killed when Allahabad-bound passenger train rams into a tractor-trailer at an
unmanned level crossing near Varanasi.
[Disaster] Dec. 30: 33 killed in bomb blast on Brahmaputra Mail between Kokrajhar and Fakiragram in
lower Assam.
•
1997
Freight services begin on Konkan Railway.
Third Godavari bridge built, to replace the first one built in 1897, near Rajahmundry.
RCF begins manufacture of MEMU coaches.
Mehsana-Palanpur MG section converted to BG.
Ahmedabad-Ajmer MG section converted to BG.
Radio communication between driver and guard introduced on the Delhi – Mughalsarai route.
An experimental system interconnecting Vyasarapadi, Korukkupet, and Washermanpet stations’
signalling systems to Basin Bridge Jn. (Chennai) using fibre-optic links is in place.
October 18: Fairy Queen back in regular revenue service.
Madras MRTS begins running with service between Beach and Luz.
Oct. 19: Beach – Thirumayilai (Mylapore) construction completed.
DMU services begin on KR (Karwar-Pernem).
Jan. 11: Salem – Bangalore BG conversion.
DLW exports one WDS-6 shunter to Puttlam Cement Co. in Sri Lanka, and 6 WDM-2 locos to Sri Lanka
Railways.
CONCOR buys 1300 BFKI flat wagons from IR in an effort to increase its container transport capacity.
April 30: The infamous ‘Platinum Pass’ is instituted, which allowed all current and past Railway Board
members to free travel on IR by Air-conditioned First Class. This perquisite was later withdrawn on court
order following a successful public interest lawsuit.
WDM-2 #16859 of Ernakulam shed becomes the first Indian loco to get air-conditioning as a permanent
feature (excluding locos specially provided with such equipment just for the ‘beauty contests’).
Erstwhile Moradabad steam shed is dismantled to make way for a Concor depot.
[Disaster] July 8: 33 killed in bomb blast on passenger train at Lehra Khanna station in Bhatinda district,
Punjab.
[Disaster] July 28: 12 killed in collision between Karnataka Exp. and Himsagar Exp. near Faridabad,
Haryana, near New Delhi.
[Disaster] Sep. 14: At least 81 killed as five coaches of Ahmedabad-Howrah Express derail and fall into a
river at Bilaspur, MP. Some sources claim a death toll of 120.
•
1998
Konkan Railway construction is completed, and the first passenger train is flagged off on Jan. 26.
IR begins upgrading communication links along high traffic routes to optic fibre.
November 14: CLW begins production of indigenous versions of WAG-9 (first one is “Navyug”).
April 29: CLW also manufactures its 2500th electric loco (a WAG-7, “Swarna Abha”).
June 14: CONCERT system of computerized reservations deployed at Kolkata.
10 YDM-4′s sent to Tanzania under a 10-year full-service lease by RITES.
Diva-Panvel doubling inaugrated; EMU services begin from Panvel.
Coupon Validating Machines (CVMs) introduced at Mumbai CST.
Aug. 22: Tambaram-Tiruchirappalli BG conversion.
Thanjavur- Tiruchirappalli BG conversion.
Oct. : The first WDP-2 (#15501) is commissioned.
‘Buddha Parikrama’, a tourist train for Buddhist sites, launched.
A seventh new railway zone (in addition to the six proposed in 1996) is proposed.
[Disaster] April 4: 11 killed as Howrah-Danapur Express derails between between Fatuha and Bankaghat
stations.
[Disaster] April 24: 24 killed, 32 injured as a goods train with 15 wagons collides with the ManmadKacheguda Exp. at Parli Vaijanath (Beed) station, MP.
[Disaster] Aug. 13: 19 killed, 37 injured as the Chennai-Madurai Exp. collides with a bus at an
unmanned level crossing on the New Karur – Salem bypass.
[Disaster] Sep. 24: 20 killed (14 children) and 33 injured as a locomotive collides with a bus at an
unmanned level crossing near Bottalapalem, AP.
[Disaster] Nov. 26: At least 212 killed Jammu Tawi – Sealdah Express rams into three derailed carriages
of the Amritsar-bound Golden Temple mail at Khanna, near Ludhiana, Punjab.
•
1999
WDG-4 locos imported and homed at Hubli.
Briganza Ghat opened to traffic [10/99] with Vasco – Madgaon – Londa services.
NDM-6 locos procured for the Matheran and Darjeeling Himalayan railways.
WDP-2 locos in service on Konkan Railway.
Jan. 11: CLW begins manufacture of 3-phase AC traction motors 6FRA 6068 for WAG-9 locos.
Jan. 11: CONCERT system of computerized reservations deployed at Mumbai.
The seventh new zone (South East Central) is approved in principle.
Apr. 12: CONCERT system of computerized reservations deployed at Chennai. The complete networked
nationwide system became operational on April 18.
July 2: MRVC incorporated to execute suburban rail projects in the Mumbai area.
Sep 19: HGS 26761 hauls a train from Howrah to Tribeni and back.
Nov 10: ICF’s first stainless steel coach prototype.
Dec 2: Darjeeling Himalayan Railway becomes the second railway site in the world to be designated a
World Heritage site.
New diesel locos introduced on New Jalpaiguri – Darjeeling section of the DHR.
Jan. 6: Tiruchirappalli-Dindigul BG conversion.
DLW turns out its 4000th locomotive.
Credit cards accepted for booking tickets and reservations in some stations (including Mumbai CST).
Konkan Railway begins roll-on roll-off (RORO) freight services on the Kolad-Verna section.
[Disaster] June 4: 12 killed and 60 injured when 14 coaches of the Secunderabad-bound Godavari Exp.
derail near Kazipet.
[Disaster] July 16: 17 killed and 200 injured as Delhi-bound Grand Trunk Express collides with derailed
wagons of a goods train near Mathura.
[Disaster] Aug. 2: The Gaisal disaster, a head-on collision between the Guwahati-bound Awadh Assam
Express and the Delhi-bound Brahmaputra Mail at Gaisal in North Dinajpur district, West Bengal, kills
288 persons and injures 360. One of India’s worst rail accident ever, it was caused by a signalling and
routing error that put the two trains on the same track. Only the Purushottam Exp. tragedy (1995) and
the 1981 disaster of a train falling into a river were worse.
Chronology of railways in India, Part 7 (2000 – present)
•
2000
February: Indian Railways’ web site deployed.
Feb: 10 YDM-4′s are reconditioned at Golden Rock and sent to Myanmar.
Feb. 24: CLW begins manufacturing ABB’s 6FXA 7059 3-phase traction motors.
Feb: New lightweight passenger coaches supplied by Alsthom LHB.
May 10: First WAP-7 locomotive, ‘Navkiran’, from CLW.
May 17: First indigenous WAP-5 (named ‘Navodit’) from CLW.
May: Diesel-hauling of DHR train inaugurated.
Bankura-Midnapore section electrified and MEMU services begin (June 30). MEMU services also begin on
Arakkonam-Jolarpettai section (May 22).
June 30: First WAG-9H loco, ‘Navshakti’, #31030, from CLW.
Steam: Ooty ‘X’ class loco rebuilt and successfully steamed and run on trials (February). WP 7161
steamed for filming a motion picture, at Bombay; WP 7015 steamed, takes short train around New Delhi
before returning to NRM (February). Steam-hauled train from Dehradun to Harrawala to commemorate
the centenary of the Doon Railway (May).
CONCOR starts dedicated container services: Shalimar – Chennai, Shalimar – Hyderabad, Cossipore –
New Delhi.
All-women ‘Tejaswini’ squads of ticket-checkers and police officers introduced for Mumbai suburban
services.
July 23: Trichur-Ernakulam section electrified.
Oct. 30: Villupuram-Trichy linked by optical fibre telecom link.
Nov. 22: New BG line between Penukonda and Puttaparthi.
Successful trials with high-speed (100km/h) running of BOXN wagon rakes on the Gomoh-Mughalsarai
section.
New bridge over Ganga at Balawali (Saharanpur-Moradabad section).
[Disaster] July 1: Howrah-Amritsar Express rams into an empty rake of the Saharanpur-Ambala
Passenger between Ambala Cantt. and Ambala City after the latter stopped following a power failure.
Two persons were killed. Signal and interlocking problems were cited as the reasons.
[Disaster] Dec. 2: Howrah-Amritsar Mail collides with a derailed goods train between Sarai Banjara and
Sadhugarh in Punjab. 46 are killed, 130 or so injured.
•
2001
Jan 21: Freight services between India and Bangladesh officially resumed after a gap of 25 years, on the
Petrapole-Benapole BG link.
Following successful trials of the new Alstom LHB coaches at 160km/h, IR announces they will be used
on the Delhi-Lucknow route (Swarna Shatabdi) (max. speed restricted to 140km/h).
Feb. 12: Second WAP-7 loco, ‘Navbharati’, #30202, commissioned.
April: DLW delivers 10 BG locomotives (WDM-2 variants) to Bangladesh, and (later) 2 WDM-2 (?
reported as 2300hp locos by IR) units to Sri Lanka.
May 17: In trials, a single WAG-9 hauls a 4700t rake of 58 BOXN-HA wagons at speeds up to 100km/h
on the Sonenagar-Mughalsarai section.
MAWD 1798 steamed after restoration; first run is Guwahati-Pandu.
Converted AC-DC EMU rake with Alstom electricals used in trials on Borivli-Dahanu section, and then
[June 12] AC-DC EMU service is officially inaugurated on the Churchgate-Dahanu section.
Four GM GT46PAC locos, classed WDP-4, arrive at Hubli.
DLW begins indigenous production of WDG-4 locos.
IRCON bags a contract for track doubling and electrification of the Ipoh – Padang Besar line in Malaysia.
July 12: The Maitry Express begins passenger service between Bangladesh and India.
August: The Rakesh Mohan Committee submits its report, recommending splitting IR into an operations
body and a regulatory body, rationalization of fares, closure of unprofitable lines, a corporate approach
to finances, manpower reductions, and an aim of privatization after 15 years.
December: All rail traffic between India and Pakistan is suspended following rising tensions between the
countries (the Samjhauta Express is also cancelled as part of this).
A 2300hp Cape gauge diesel locomotive is manufactured by DLW for KTM Malaysian Railways.
Pendekallu-Gooty branch line opened.
IVRS (‘Interactive Voice Response System’) for telephonic enquiries about trains introduced in some
stations.
[Disaster] June 22: Several coaches of the Mangalore-Chennai Mail fall into the Kadalundi river when the
bridge at Parappanangadi near Kozhikode, at the time over a hundred years old, collapses. 64 persons
die.
•
2002
Feb. 27: At least 59 persons are killed when a mainly Muslim mob sets fire to a coach carrying mostly
Hindu activists in the Sabarmati Express at Godhra.
March 15: Indian Rail Archives inaugurated at the NRM.
March: South-Western Railway zone ‘inaugurated’ (but official notification of the new zone occurs in
July, see below).
Jan Shatabdi trains come into service.
March 14: IR revamps classification codes for diesel locos.
April 9: First locally built WDG-4 locomotive (GM EMD GT46MAC) commissioned.
April 10: WR’s air-conditioned EMU coaches have trial run between Churchgate and Dadar.
April 16: Various celebrations on the occasion of IR’s 150th year, including steam runs with WP’s at
Mumbai.
May 15: Rewari steam shed re-commissioned.
July 21: Upgraded WAP-7 trial successful.
June 4: At least 30 persons travelling in a bus are killed as it is rammed by the Kanpur-Kasganj Exp.
after the bus driver forces the bus through the closed safety gate of a level crossing.
June 14: Orders passed for creation of two new railway zones: East Central and North Western.
July 6: Orders passed for creation of five new railway zones East Coast, South Western, South East
Central, North Central, and West Central.
July 26: The first rake for the Delhi Metro is manufactured by Rotem, South Korea.
Aug. 3: IR begins online train reservations and ticketing over the Internet.
Sep. 17: First trial run of the Delhi Metro.
Sep. 20: Six coaches of the Kolkata-bound Teesta-Torsha Exp. derail near Mahipal station but
fortunately no-one is killed or seriously injured.
Dec. 1: Internet ticket booking extended to more cities.
Dec. 14: Narrow gauge railway museum inaugurated at Nagpur.
Dec. 25: Delhi Metro opens for commercial operation.
Dec. 29: Konkan Railway conducts a trial run of the Madgaon-Roha Express at 150km/h (briefly touching
165km/h at times) using a WDP-4 loco. Also in December (confirmation needed) NR is said to have run
trials with a WDP-4 hauling at train at up to 180km/h on the Ghaziabad-Tundla section.
Dec. 31: First trial run of a train run on 5% biodiesel blended fuel (Amritsar Shatabdi).
[Disaster] May 12: Thirteen coaches of the New Delhi – Patna Shramjeevi Exp. derail near Jaunpur
(between Kheta Sarai and Mehrawan) while traversing a bridge, killing at least 12 passengers.
[Disaster] June 4: Thirty-four persons killed when the Kasgunj Exp. crashes into a bus at a level
crossing.
[Disaster] Sep. 9: New Delhi-bound Howrah Rajdhani derails at 130km/h on a bridge near Rafiganj in
Bihar. One coach plunges into the Dhavi river, others are left suspended from the bridge. 130 are killed.
Sabotage is floated as a theory, but the official inquiry also brings to light engineering problems.
[Disaster] Dec. 21: At least 20 persons die after the Kacheguda/Hyderabad-Bangalore Exp. derails at
90km/h near Ramliangayapalli in Kurnool district (AP). 7 coaches overturn in the derailment.
•
2003
Jan. 3: The Secunderabad-Manmad Exp. runs through danger signals and rams into a stationary freight
train at Parli (300km west of Hyderabad), killing 14.
DLW gets another order for YDM-4 locos from Vietnam (10 units).
March: Trials conducted in the Delhi – Sarai Rohilla section for a new MG DEMU manufactured by RCF.
April: The 7 new railway zones begin functioning.
April 26: First indigenously built WDP-4 (#20011) inaugurated at DLW.
August 9: Hyderabad/Secunderabad ‘MMTS’ train services begin with 13 Lingampally-Hyderabad
services and 11 Lingampally-Secunderabad services each day.
August 20: The first indigenously manufactured 4-coach rake from BEML for the Delhi Metro is
commissioned.
[Disaster] Jan 3: Kacheguda-Manmad Express rams into a stationary train near Ghatnandur
(Maharashtra), killing 20 persons. The driver of the express and six other officials are suspended
following a report citing human error.
[Disaster] May 15: At least 38 passengers die when fire breaks out in three coaches of the Amritsarbound Golden Temple Mail (Frontier Mail) near Ladhowal station (near Ludhiana). A kerosene stove used
in a coach by some passengers is said to be the cause.
The Presidential Saloon is used after a gap of 26 years.
[Disaster] June 22: An Ahmedabad/Mumbai-bound special train from Karwar derails after hitting
boulders and debris from a landslide on the tracks just after Vaibhavwadi station, Ratnagiri region. 53
passengers are killed in what is KR’s first fatal accident. KR is blamed by some for not having studied the
stability of the landforms in the area adequately as well as for not patrolling the area thoroughly in the
monsoon season.
[Disaster] July 2: 21 passengers of the Hyderabad-bound Golconda Exp. and several road travellers die
when the train derails (locomotive and two coaches) just outside Warangal station, with the locomotive
falling off the bridge and on to a road below. Brake failure coupled with overspeeding are cited as the
cause.
[Disaster] Oct. 23: Seven die as five coaches of the Bangalore-bound Mysore-Bangalore push-pull train
derail near Mysore. Faulty wheel discs from the Durgapur steel plant are said to be the cause.
Golden Rock’s new oil-fired ‘B’ class loco(s) for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway built and ready for
trials.
Nov. 10 : Centenary celebrations of the Kalka-Shimla Railway.
Dec. 15 : Mumbai Rajdhani starts running with the new LHB coaches.
Dec. 13-21 : Trials with weak field arrangement for MEMUs on the Tundla-Kanpur section of NCR. With a
‘dense crush load’ and stopping at all stations, a 4-car MEMU rake could decrease its total running time
by 7% with a max. speed of 90km/h and 10% with a max. speed of 100km/h on the 228km section,
because of the improved acceleration.
•
2004
January: The Railway Board is expanded by the introduction of two new Member posts, for Signalling &
Telecom and for Stores.
Jan. 15: Samjhauta Express resumes running between India (Attari) and Pakistan (Lahore) twice a
week. The rail link agreement of Jan. 2001 is extended through Jan. 2007.
Jan. 23: BEML begins manufacture of Delhi Metro coaches.
Jan 26: Second phase of Chennai MRTS, connecting Luz and Tiruvanmiyur, begins operations.
May: Nine YDM-4 locos (ex-Sabarmati) are sold and sent to Togo Rail SA (Chemins de fer Togolais)
(West Africa).
June 30: SCR operates last MG train on the Nizamabad-Manoharabad line, bringing to an end MG
services started in the 1930s on the Secunderabad-Manmad line of the Nizam’s State Railways.
July 1: Chennai area MG EMU services discontinued; last MG EMU runs from Egmore to Tambaram
marking the end of 73 years of these stalwart trains. Also the day of the last YAM-1 run.
July 12: First goods train from Kolkata (Calcutta) to Nepal using the Raxaul-Birgunj line.
July: SCR begins using new aerodynamically designed DEMU rakes from ICF.
July: Golden Rock workshops manufacture the second oil-fired steam loco, ‘Himanand’, for the DHR.
July: Trial runs with a diesel loco running on bio-diesel blended fuel (Trichy-Tanjor Passenger).
July 25: Two brass handles and four copper pipes were stolen from the Fairy Queen (EIR No. 22), the
149-year-old steam locomotive at the National Railway Museum, New Delhi.
August: Thane-Thurbe-Vashi EMU services begin in Mumbai.
Sep. 15: First public trial of KR’s Skybus project in Madgaon, demonstrating the vehicle moving at
40km/h for a distance of about 1km.
Sep. 15: First batch of improved flat wagons for CONCOR.
Sep. 25: KR Skybus prototype has an accident where the coach crashes into a pier; one person is killed.
Oct. : IR makes prototype standard-gauge bogies for possible export.
Nov. 1: BG EMU Services inaugurated between Chennai Egmore and Tambaram on the newly converted
BG line.
Nov. 27: First successful run of Delhi Metro under ATO (first use of ATO in the country).
Dec. 19: First underground section of Delhi Metro inaugurated (Delhi University – Kashmiri Gate).
Dec. 26: Indian Ocean tsunami washes away tracks on Nagore-Nagapattinam section.
Luni-Barmer-Munabao section converted to BG in preparation for possible Munabao-Khokhraphar link
between India and Pakistan.
Preliminary approval granted for Mumbai MRTS light rail project.
Gauge conversion of Purna-Akola section begins; this is the section that in 1960 first interconnected the
MG networks of northern and southern India.
December: Konkan Railway being considered for merger with IR.
IR makes a move to open up the bookstall and catering business at its stations, ending the long reign
ofbooksellers Higginbothams (in the south) and A H Wheeler (elsewhere) at railway stations in India.
[Disaster] June 16: Twenty killed as Mangalore-Mumbai Matsyagandha Exp. derails between Karanjadi
(Roha?) and Vir (Veer) stations in Maharashtra’s Raigarh district on Konkan Railways, with the
locomotive and two coaches falling off a bridge after a collision with boulders on the tracks.
[Disaster] Dec. 13: A head-on collision between the Jammu Tawi – Ahmedabad Exp. and a DMU train on
the Jallandhar – Pathankot single line between Bhangala and Mirthal stations leaves 38 dead and several
injured.
•
2005
Jan.: Boarding Rajdhanis, Shatabdis, and Jan Shatabdis at intermediate points without reservations
allowed.
Feb.: Chawri Bazar station of the Delhi Metro is built with new technology of pre-cast concrete blocks for
the platforms.
Apr. 11: New MG AC Chair Car coaches with roof-mounted AC unit inaugurated.
Apr. 27 : Jammu Tawi – Udhampur line in Jammu & Kashmir inaugurated (dedication ceremony on April
13) and the Uttar Sampark Kranti from New Delhi to Udhampur begins running. This line was sanctioned
in April, 1980.
Apr. 26: Vigyan Mail – the second incarnation of the Science Express — is flagged off from Delhi
Safdarjung.
Jul. 20: Mahesana-Viramgam section opened after gauge conversion (under BOT scheme).
Jul. 21: Palitana-Sihor section opened after gauge conversion (under BOT scheme).
Aug.: IRCTC introduces E-ticketing for IR on Aug. 12; ticketing by SMS begins on Aug. 26. A Frequent
Traveller scheme is also under consideration.
Aug. 12: Construction begins on Howrah Regional Railway Museum.
Oct. 17: ‘Millennium Rake’ for Mumbai suburban system inaugurated at Churchgate station.
IR undertakes cultivation of Jatropha plants for production of biodiesel.
Nov. 20: Nilgiri Mountain Railway gets UNESCO’s World Heritage Site status.
Dec. 1-7: Centenary celebrations of Howrah Station.
Dec. 31: Delhi Metro’s Barakhamba – Dwarka line opens.
Madras-Howrah route completely electrified.
[Disaster] Feb. 3 : Collision between Nagpur-bound Ramtek local and a tractor-trailer at the Bordan
unmanned level crossing near Kanhan kills 55.
[Disaster] Apr. 3 : Howrah-bound Udyan Abha Toofan Exp. from Sriganganagar catches fire between
Darauli and Dildarnagar stations. Five coaches are completely gutted in the blaze, but there are no
casualties. The driver of a passing goods train notices the fire and alerts the driver of the Toofan Exp.
who makes an emergency stop, allowing the passengers to escape.
[Disaster] Apr. 21 : Ahmedabad-bound Sabarmati Exp. from Varanasi rams into a stationary goods train
at Samlaya, between Vadodara and Godhra, killing 17 passengers. Signal and interlocking failures during
maintenance and a failure to follow the appropriate backup procedures are thought to have caused the
mishap.
July 26: Heavy rains wash away tracks and destroy 37 bridges of the Neral – Matheran NG line and
service is suspended.
[Disaster] Oct. 3 : Twelve persons killed and many injured when six coaches of the Bundelkhand Exp.
derail and ram into a railway control cabin near Datia, MP.
[Disaster] Nov. 9 : Three killed and many injured as a goods train runs into a passenger train near
Jharkhand’s Barwadih station, about 170km from Ranchi.
•
2006
Feb. 15: New Delhi – Bhopal Shatabdi cleared for running at 150km/h commercial speed on the New
Delhi – Agra Cantt. stretch.
Feb. 17: Thar Express service begins with the train on the Indian side running from Jodhpur to Munabao
with the connecting train on the Pakistan side running from Karachi to Khokhropar to Munabao to
connect.
Feb. 19: Igatpuri – Kasara section switched from DC to AC traction.
Feb.: 100km/h trials with Mumbai EMUs (however, this is not the first time trials have been conducted
at these speeds).
March 24: Regular double-stacked container service (on BLCA/BLCB flat wagons) begins on the Pipavav
– Jaipur route between ICD Kanakpura and Pipavav Port.
May – July: Telescopic fares withdrawn in Railway Budget and restored in July.
[Disaster] Jul. 11 : Seven bombs go off nearly simultaneously at different places on WR’s EMUs in
Mumbai during the evening rush hour, killing 181 persons and injuring nearly 900.
Aug. 24 : Service on the Munabao-Khokhrapar international link to Pakistan is suspended following
incessant rain and waterlogging on the Munabao-Barmer-Jodhpur section.
Oct. 5 : The first Garib Rath train begins service between Saharsa and Amritsar.
[Disaster] Nov. 10 : Ten coaches of the Surat Bhusawal Passenger derail near Kolde station in
Maharashtra, with three of the coaches capsizing, resulting in 98 persons being injured.
Nov. 17: A restored N-class Garratt locomotive built by Beyer, Peacock in 1929 and used by SER until
1971 goes on a heritage run from Shalimar to Mecheda. The Beyer Garratt class was the largest
locomotive ever used in India.
Nov. 20: A bomb blast in a coach of the Haldibari – New Jalpaiguri Passenger train at Belakoba station
kills 8 and injures many.
Nov. 30: Deccan Queen coaches set on fire at Ulhasnagar by a mob protesting the vandalism of a statue
of Dr B R Ambedkar. Coaches of a Mumbai – Karjat / Mumbai – Ambernath locals were also set on fire.
[Disaster] Dec. 2 : A 150-year-old brick and masonry bridge over a railway line collapses on a running
train at Bhagalpur, killing at least 47 as the debris crushed a passenger coach. The bridge was in the
process of being dismantled.
Also on Dec. 2, the locomotive of the Avadh Express is destroyed following a short-circuit induced fire at
Lakheri station near Kota.
Dec. 4: The Deccan Queen is back in service after the arson attack of Nov. 30.
Dec. 10: The second Garib Rath train begins service between Rajendra Nagar and H. Nizamuddin.
Dec. 16: First BG diesel shunter loco assembled by Parel Workshops of CR.
•
2007
Jan. 1: Trial run of the Neral-Matheran NG train from Neral to Jummapatti following reconstruction of the
railway line that was washed away in 2005. The special run on New Year’s Day in advance of the
resumption of full passenger services was undertaken especially because 2007 is the centenary year of
the line.
Jan. 4: Private players allowed into the field of container transport operation, ending CONCOR’s
monopoly.
Jan. 12: Mahaparinirvan Express, a Buddhist tourist circuit train, begins service.
[Disaster] Jan. 14: Eight killed and several injured as three wagons and a brake van of a goods train fall
into a dry riverbed in Latehar district between Hehegarha and Kumundi stations of Dhanbad division.
Jan. 16: Last MG train runs on Mysore – Chamarajanagar line.
Feb. 7: Advance booking period of railway tickets changed to 90 days.
Feb. 17: The Thar Express to Pakistan resumes running. Services were halted in 2006 following heavy
rain and waterlogging of the tracks.
[Disaster] Feb. 18: At least 68 passengers killed and many injured when bombs explode in the DelhiAttari special train for passengers heading to Lahore in Pakistan by the Samjhauta Exp, at Deewana near
Panipat.
Mar. 13: Service resumes on the Neral – Matheran NG line partially on the section from Neral to
Jummapatti.
Apr. 9: First private container train, owned by Boxtrans Logistics, runs from Cossipore to Loni.
Apr. 11: IR announces new codes for passenger coaches (‘B-1′ for AC-3T coaches formerly designated
‘AS-1′, etc.).
Apr. 11: First long-distance trains named after a corporate brand launched. SWR granted PepsiCo the
right to run three summer trains (Bangalore – Nagarkole, Bangalore – Chennai, and Bangalore – Hubli)
under the name ‘Kurkure Express’ with branding by PepsiCo for its lines of snacks of that name.
Apr. 17: Maersk Line launches dedicated block train operation between Bangalore and Chennai with
CONCOR, connecting to the MECL2 freight ship service from the US east coast to Chennai.
May 30: Private container train by APL (formerly American President Lines) runs from Loni to Jawaharlal
Nehru Port.
[Disaster] Jun. 11: Three killed and 22 injured when 11 coaches of the Nagercoil – Howrah Gurudev
Exp. derail near Duvvada station.
[Disaster] Jun. 25: Seven persons (including the driver and 6 trackmen) are killed when two locomotives
and and seven wagons of a goods train fall 200 feet off a bridge between Dihakho and Mupa on the MG
Lumding-Badarpur hill section of NFR.
Jun. 30: Trial runs on gauge-converted BG section Madurai – Manmadurai – Rameshwaram and Pamban
Bridge.
Jul. 2: Successful trial runs on Borivli-Virar section under the track quadrupling project.
Jul. 7: Landslides following heavy rain affect the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway services in Kurseong
subdivision.
Jul. 8: An Indian train (named Moitree or ‘Friendship’) arrives at Dhaka Cantonment Station on a trial
run for the planned resumption of regular passenger services between Kolkata and Dhaka.
Jul. 29: The Moitree Express leaves Dhaka Cantt. for Chitpur (Kolkata).
Aug. 12: First train services on the Pamban bridge after conversion of Manmadurai-Rameshwaram to
broad gauge.
Aug. 25: ‘Himalayan Princess’ diesel-hauled train joins the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
Aug. 25: Kashmir: Successful trial run of 24km by 7-coach diesel-hauled train on the new route linking
Budgam (central Kashmir) to Kakpora (Pulwama district of Kashmir valley), at 100km/h.
Sep. 7: ‘Fairy Queen’ locomotive flagged off from Perambur Loco Works after a complete overhaul which
began in 1996.
Sep. 24: Five coaches of the Avadh Express catch fire while passing through Bharuch district in Gujarat
on its way from Gorakhpur to Mumbai. There were no fatalities.
Sep. 28: Latur-Usmanabad route open to traffic after conversion to broad gauge.
Oct. 19: CONCOR starts full train domestic reefer movement from the inland container depot (ICD) at
Dadri. This is the first refrigerated container train on the Delhi-Mumbai route.
Nov. 1: New Salem division of SR constituted out of the existing Palakkad and Madurai divisions.
Nov. 7: SCR introduces high-speed goods train, ‘Himalaya Special’ from Secunderabad. This is intended
for speedy transportation of goods such as coal. The train is expected to run at 100km/h.
Nov. 8: Mangalore station renamed to Mangalore Central; Kankanadi to Mangalore Junction.
Nov. 9: Vriddhachalam-Salem conversion to broad-gauge finished, train services start on the 18th.
Dec. 1: ‘Red Ribbon’, a special train for AIDS/HIV awareness, is flagged off.
Dec. 8: Direct train between Bangalore and Mangalore begins service.
[Disaster] Dec. 9: At least 150 people are injured, and one killed, when 14 coaches of the Brahmaputra
Mail derail (with three of them turning turtle) between Rangapani and Nijbari stations about 15km from
New Jalpaiguri station in West Bengal.
[Disaster] Dec. 13: A bomb goes off in the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express at Sungajan near Dimapur,
killing five persons and injuring more than 20.
[Disaster] Dec. 13: Eleven coaches of the Ahmedabad-bound Rajdhani Express derail between Sirohi
and Banas near the Gujarat border. No fatalities were reported.
[Disaster] Dec. 14: The Ludhiana-Ferozepur Sutlej Express collides in dense fog with a bus at the
Chuharchak Nawan level crossing in Moga District in Punjab, killing 20.
Dec. 26: Karimnagar-Jagityal railway line opened.
•
2008
[Disaster] Jan. 6: Amritsar-Dibrugarh train derails between Basdih and Sadwar railway stations, near
Ballia, affecting rail traffic in the area for a day.
Jan. 17: New weekly CONCOR train from the Whitefield (Bangalore) ICD to the Rajiv Gandhi Container
Terminal of Kochi Port begun.
Mar. 7: 49 transmission lines in western Uttar Pradesh trip, forcing mass cancellations of NR trains.
Mar. 8: Hajipur railway station of ECR in Bihar becomes the first one to be staffed entirely by women.
Mar. 20: Seventeen injured when the Madurai-Kollam Fast Passenger derails at Muthusamypuram.
Seven coaches jumped the tracks.
Mar. 28: Katpadi-Vellore BG track trials.
Apr. 14: First scheduled run of the Kolkata (Calcutta) – Dhaka ‘Moitree’ Express between India and
Bangladesh.
Apr. 27: Trial runs on the Shahdara – Dilshad Garden line of the Delhi Metro begin, 7 months ahead of
schedule.
May 1: Private companies now allowed to run parcel services on trains; Books Logistics of Bangalore is
the first to use SWR trains for parcel and courier service.
May 19: ECR finishes electrification of Cuttack-Paradip, Kapilas Road – Barang, Barang – Naraj
Marthapur/Nergundi, Kapilas Road – Salegaon on Cttack-Talcher branch line.
May 28: An agitation by the Gujjar ethnic group at Bayana disrupts all traffic on the busy Mumbai – New
Delhi route; many passenger and freight trains routed through Bhopal.
Passenger services on the 185km MG hill section between Silchar and Lumding are disrupted for two
weeks by insurgents.
Jun. 2: NR’s Jagadhri workshop rolls out the first double-decker goods train with 45 double-level wagons
for carrying automobiles.
Jun. 3: Delhi Metro inaugurates 3.1km extension of Rithala-Shahdara line up to Dilshad Garden.
Jun. 4: Jammu and Kashmir railway line: A trial train from Anantnag arrives at Nowgam on the outskirts
of Srinagar.
Jun. 11: Centenary of the Egmore railway station at Chennai (Madras).
Jun. 20: 12-car rakes brought into service in the Chennai area, between Chennai Beach and
Chengalpattu.
Jun. 26: Stone India develops a special pantograph for high catenaries allowing double-stacked
container freight movement on electrified lines.
Jun. 29: The 68km extension of the railway line from Ambassa to Agartala is done, and NFR successfully
runs a light locomotive all the way to Tripura’s capital city Agartala; the line passes through a 1.85km
long tunnel in the Atharamura hill range.
Jul. 7: Kalka-Shimla Railway added to UNESCO Heritage list. (Official declaration on Nov. 9.)
Jul. 6-9: Trial runs between Jakhapura and Tomka on the Jakhapura-Daitari section of East Coast
Railway with electric traction under a high catenary (7.45m high) for movement of double-stacked
container trains.
IR introduces stainless-steel open wagons with 11.6t capacity.
[Disaster] Aug. 1: Thirty-two passengers killed and several injured when five coaches of the
Secunderabad-Kakinada Gautami Express catch fire in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh.
Aug. 3: Foundation stone laid for Chhapra wheel factory at Bela.
[Disaster] Aug. 12: Five passengers injured when the Padmawat Express collides with the Kalindi
Express from the rear; the Kalindi was running on the same track. The collision occurred between Anand
Vihar and Sahibabad stations.
Aug. 12: Centralized Traffic Control with electronic interlocking and automatic signalling set up on the
Ghaziabad-Kanpur section (410km).
Sep. 12: IR cancels the project, already running for 4 years, of building the world’s highest (359m)
railway bridge across the Chenab, as part of the railway line to Jammu and Kashmir, following a
reassessment of the stability of the geological structures in the area and their suitability for supporting a
large steel arch bridge. Instead, the proposed alignment will be re-routed a longer way following the
local terrain.
Sep. 17: A new route relay interlocking (RRI) system is installed at New Delhi.
[Disaster] Oct. 1: Eleven injured when the Kazipet-Hyderabad MEMU rams the stationary WadiHyderabad Passenger at Lakdikapul station.
Oct. 12: Inaugural run of train services between Rajwansher in Budgam district, Srinagar, and Anantnag
district in Jammu and Kashmir.
Oct. 20: WR inaugurates a heritage gallery at the headquarters building at Churchgate.
Oct. 22: The first load of container traffic from Kolkata port to Nepal moves through the new JogbaniBiratnagar route. Container trains can move to Jogbani in northern Bihar, and the cargo is then unloaded
and transported to the intermodal container freight station at Biratnagar in Nepal.
Nov. 9: Official declaration of Kalka-Shimla Railway being added to UNESCO Heritage list.
Nov. 12: Purna-Hingoli-Akola BG line commissioned; connects region with Nagpur-Mumbai and
Secunderabad-Manmad main lines. Gauge conversion of this section began in 2006.
Nov. 26: Terror attacks in Mumbai, including at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria
Terminus).
Dec. 8: Gadag-Bagalkot section of SWR opened.
Dec. 10: Pollachi-Palakkad section closed to traffic for gauge conversion.
Dec. 12: Deshbandhu Locomotive Park at Ranchi opened to the public.
Dec. 18: High-speed trials conducted on the BG section between Erode and Tiruchi; sectional speed of
trains here is expected to rise to 110km/h.
Dec. 21: IR decides to close down six ticket printing presses around the country, including the centuryold press at Kurseong.
[Disaster] Dec. 21: One killed and several injured when a Kalka-Shimla holiday special train derails on
its first trip of the season.
Dec. 30: Delhi Metro inaugurates a museum about the metro’s history and development at Patel Chowk
station.
Loco classes WDM-3E and WDM-3F developed and brought into service.
•
2009
Jan. 1: IR decides to get rid of the ‘side middle berths’ (SMB) from trains, following a lot of protests from
travellers.
Jan. 4: A bomb goes off on the tracks between Maibongdisa and Harangajao in central Assam (North
Cacchar district), damaging 3 goods wagons and disrupting traffic for some time.
[Disaster] Jan. 4: Two goods trains collide at Panki near Kanpur, leading to large-scale disruption of
traffic on the Delhi-Howrah route.
Jan. 5: New Delhi – Jogbani Seemanchal Express flagged off.
Jan. 10: CR starts Thane – Nerul/Panvel suburban services via the new Turbhe-Nerul section.
[Disaster] Jan. 12: Nine goods wagons derail near Habibganj, disrupting traffic to Chennai and Mumbai
for more than a day.
Jan. 12: Golden Rock develops a 3000hp Cape gauge diesel locomotive intended for export to
Mozambique and other countries.
[Disaster] Jan. 17: A shunting locomotive collides with two coaches of the Chennai-bound Guruvayur
Express near Tiruchi Jn., injuring four.
[Disaster] Jan. 17: The Pathankot-Delhi Express very narrowly avoids a direct collision at speed with a
locomotive on the same track, near Phillaur station.
[Disaster] Jan. 27: Varanasi-bound Kashi Vishwanath Express rams into a stationary goods train at
Janghai junction, 70km from Varanasi. There were no casualties.
[Disaster] Feb. 3: Two locos and some wagons of a goods train going from Nizamabad to Chinnababu
Samudram (TN) derailed near Malkajgiri and ran into the compound wall of a residence. There were no
casualties.
Feb. 3: Vishwavidyalaya-Azadpur-Jehangirpuri section of Delhi Metro opened.
Feb. 4: A mysterious incident in which an ‘unauthorized’ person took the New Delhi – Ranchi Garib Rath
Express to Ranchi.
Feb 10: Construction work commences on the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, starting with a 105km
section from New Ganjkhwaja near Mughalsarai to New Karwandia near Sonnagar.
[Disaster] Feb. 13: Thirteen coaches and the pantry car of the 2841 Howrah-Chennai Coromandel
Express derailed while the train was running at a fairly high speed near Jajpur Road station in Orissa.
There were 9 deaths and over 50 seriously injured passengers.
[Disaster] Feb. 14: Twenty passengers injured as the Bettiya-Muzaffarpur Passenger collides head-on
with the Raxaul-Sugauli Passenger at Sugauli Junction on the Narkatiyaganj-Muzaffarpur section of ECR
in Bihar.
Mar. 10: First batch of stainless-steel EMU coaches delivered by Titagarh Wagons.
Mar. 19: Golden jubilee celebrations of IRICEN, Pune.
Apr. 1: Golden Rock Workshop delivers first BG shunter made by converting an MG locomotive, classed
‘WCDS-6′.
Apr. 12: A bomb suspected to be set by Maoist rebels goes off derailing a security pilot locomotive
ahead of the Kolkata-Dibrugarh Kamrup Express on the Karbi Anglong district.
Apr. 16: Two coaches of the Patna – Gaya Passenger train catch on fire at Patna; no casualties.
Apr. 21: Maoist rebels explode bombs at the Untari railway station under the Garwa Road – Dehri Onsole
division.
Apr. 22: About 200 Naxal rebels hijack the Gomoh-Mughalsarai-Bondamunda Passenger going from
Barkakana to Mughalsarai with 700 passengers on board, and release them and the train after a fivehour standoff at Hehegara in Jharkhand’s Latehar district.
Apr. 23: Chiyanki station in Palamau district is attacked by Maoist rebels.
Apr. 29: ‘Unauthorized’ person drives a Chennai suburban train from the Moore Market Complex through
Basin Bridge, colliding with a goods train at Vyasarpadi Jiva, killing 4.
May 10: Indraprastha – Yamuna Bank extension of Line 3 of Delhi Metro opens.
May 22: Trials for phase II of the Delhi Metro main line, between Sector 9 of Dwarka and Dwarka
Station.
May 23: Neral-Matheran steam run with ex-DHR ‘B’ class loco.
Jun. 9: First indigenously-built metro train-set manufactured by Vadodara plant of Bombardier.
Jul. 29: Trial runs of first standard-gauge lines of Delhi Metro (Inderlok-Mundka).
Aug. 1: ‘Izzat’ scheme launched allowing steeply discounted travel for poor commuters.
Aug. 22: Tollygunge – Kavi Nazrul Islam (Goria Bazaar) metro train service starts in Kolkata.
Aug. 29: Mangalore-Bangalore day train services resume after 14 years – they were discontinued in
September 1995 when gauge conversion of the line was taken up.
Sep. 11: First indigenously built standard-gauge metro train-set for Delhi Metro, by BEML.
Sep. 11-14: First runs of the Tej Shree Parcel Sewa guaranteed transit timetabled parcel services by NR
– Tughlakabad-Vapi (Sep. 11) and Tughlakabad-Howrah (Sep. 14).
Sep. 18-28: First ‘Duronto’ non-stop expresses launched. Sep. 18 – Howrah – H. Nizamuddin, Sep. 21 –
Chennai – H. Nizamuddin, Sep. 28 – Mumbai-Howrah and Pune – H. Nizamuddin.
[Disaster] Oct. 8: One killed, several injured as the locomotive and six coaches of the Amrapali Express
derail near Pasaraha station in northern Bihar’s Khagaria district.
[Disaster] Oct. 21: 21 killed, several injured as the Delhi-bound Goa Sampark Kranti Express rams into
the rear of the stationary Mewar Express near Mathura station.
Oct. 27: New Delhi-bound Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani Express is detained and all passengers and crew held
hostage for nearly 7 hours by a Maoist group at Bansala near Jhargram town in West Bengal’s Paschim
Medinipur district.
Oct. 28: The 18km Anantnag-Qazigund section in Kashmir is inaugurated. It includes the country’s
highest BG station, Qazigund, at 1722m (5166′) above sea level. This completes the 119-km QazigundBaramulla portion of the Kashmir Rail Link project.
Oct. 30: Foundation stone laid for new BG line construction between Sevoke in West Bengal and Rangpo
in Sikkim.
Oct. 31: Trials conducted with a YDM-4 diesel locomotive hauling 5 coaches on the Nilgiri Mountain
Railway line, between Mettupalaiyam and Hillgrove stations.
Nov. 12: Delhi Metro extends service to NOIDA, from Akshardham station to Noida City Centre.
[Disaster] Nov. 14: 7 killed and many injured as Jodhpur-Delhi Mandore Express derails near Bansko
station in Jaipur district of Rajasthan.
[Disaster] Nov. 17: A goods train carrying petroleum products catches fire near Changpool in Golaghat
district in Assam.
[Disaster] Nov. 19: 2 killed, many injured as the locomotive and 8 coaches of the 321 Up Tata-Bilaspur
Passenger derail following an explosion between Posoita and Monoharpur on the ChakradharpurRourkela section of SER in Jharkhand; sabotage is suspected.
Dec: Initial construction started on gauge conversion of Lunding-Silchar-Jiriban and BadarpurKumarghat lines in Assam. Also survey work for Sevok to Rangpo in Sikkim.
•
2010
[Disaster] Jan. 2: Gorakhdam Exp. heading to Gorakhdham rams into stationary Prayagraj Exp. headed
to Allahabad, near Panki in dense fog, killing 10.
[Disaster] Jan. 2: Lichchavi Exp. rams into stationary Magadh Exp. near Sarai Bhupat station, near
Etawah, again in dense fog, critically injuring some.
[Disaster] Jan. 3: All seven coaches of the Murkongselek-Rangiya Passenger train derailed between
Helem and Nij Bogaon (about 70km from Rangiya) in Assam. No deaths were reported.
Jan. 26: Trial run of a 108m-long section of the proposed Mumbai Monorail project, at Wadala.
Feb. (?) WDP-4B locomotive production begun.
[Disaster] Mar. 22: Seven coaches and the locomotive of the Bhubaneshwar – New Delhi Rajdhani
Express derail after Maoist guerillas blow up the tracks between Paraiya and Kastha in the GayaMughalsarai section.
Mar. 31: First air-conditioned double-decker coach, from RCF.
Apr. 1: Rail link to Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) opened to traffic.
(Includes the longest (4.62km) railway bridge in the country.)
Apr. 2: First standard-gauge metro line inaugurated – the Inderlok-Mundka section (‘Green Line’) of the
Delhi Metro.
May 14: Trial runs on Sultanpur – Qutub Minar section of Delhi Metro.
May: (International) Construction begins on a new 75-km railway in Afghanistan between the existing
short spur from Termez in Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sharif, expected to be completed by September.
[Disaster] May 16: Two dead and several injured in a stampede at New Delhi station.
[Disaster] May 25: Several passengers injured as Guwahati-bound Rajdhani Express derails at Amba
halt between Kharik and Naugachia stations in Bihar.
[Disaster] May 28: The Mumbai-bound Jnaneshwari Express derails between Khemasuli and Sardiha
stations near Jhargram in West Midnapore – sabotage is thought to be the cause; subsequently a goods
train heading in the opposite direction rams into the derailed coaches, resulting in around 150 deaths.
List of Indian Railway Ministers
Railway Ministers of India
Years
Railway Minister
1947
(Nov.) John Mathai (not formally designated the Minister for Railways) presents
the first Railway budget for independent India
1948-1952
N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar; worked on consolidating the various railways into the
zonal railways
1952-1956
Lal Bahadur Shastri; resigned in 1956 taking responsibility for three fatal railway
accidents
1956-1962 Jagjivan Ram
1962
Sardar Swaran Singh
1967??
Kengal Hanumanthaiah (Note: Some sources suggest he was Railway Minister
later, in 1971). Ram Sew Singh is also mentioned in some sources as a railway
minister in 1966-1968, he may not have been a Cabinet minister for railways.
1968
Cheppudira Muthana Poonacha
1969
Govinda Menon Panampilly
1970-1971
Gulzari Lal Nanda Note: Kengal Hanumanthaiah may have been the Railway
Minister briefly in 1971.
1972-1973 Tonse Ananth Pai
1973-1975
Lalit Narayan Mishra; killed by a bomb blast 2-Jan-1975, at the opening of a
railway line in Samastipur.
1975-1977 Kamlapati Tripathi (again briefly in 1980?)
1977-1979 Prof. Madhu Dandavate
1980-1981 Kedar Pandey (Kamlapathi Tripathi briefly in 1980)
(1981?)
ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury.
1982-1984
1984
Bansi Lal; his was a brief stint during a reorganization of some ministries and
government departments
(1985?)
Madhav Rao Scindia
1984-1989
1989-1990 George Fernandes
1990-1991 Jnaneshwar Mishra; very short tenure
1991-1995 C K Jaffer Sharief
1995-1996
Suresh Kalmadi (briefly), followed by Atal Behari Vajpayee also briefly, who held
the Railways portfolio along with being PM.
1996-1998 Ram Vilas Paswan
1998-1999 Nitish Kumar
2000
Mamata Banerjee
2001-2004 Nitish Kumar
2004-2009 Laloo Prasad Yadav
2009-
Mamata Banerjee
Yearly List of Presenters of the Railway Budget of India
Fiscal Year
Budget Presenter
1
1947-48
Transport Member, Railway Board
2
1947-48
Col. R. E. Emerson (Chief Commissioner, Railways)
3
1948-49
Dr. John Mathai
4
1949-50
N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
5
1950-51
N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
6
1951-52
N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
7
1952-53 (interim)
N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
8
1952-53 (final)
Lal Bahadur Shastri
9
1953-54
Lal Bahadur Shastri
10 1954-55
Lal Bahadur Shastri
11 1955-56
Lal Bahadur Shastri
12 1956-57
Lal Bahadur Shastri
13 1957-58 (interim)
Jagjivan Ram
14 1957-58 (final)
Jagjivan Ram
15 1958-59
Jagjivan Ram
16 1959-60
Jagjivan Ram
17 1960-61
Jagjivan Ram
18 1961-62
Jagjivan Ram
19 1962-63
Jagjivan Ram
20 1962-63 (final)
Sardar Swaran Singh
21 1963-64
Sardar Swaran Singh
22 1964-65
H. C. Dasappa
23 1965-66
S. K. Patil
24 1966-67
S. K. Patil
25 1967-68 (interim)
C. M. Poonacha
26 1967-68 (final)
C. M. Poonacha
27 1968-69
C. M. Poonacha
28 1969-70
Dr. Ram Subhag Singh
29 1970-71
Gulzari Lal Nanda
30 1971-72 (interim)
K. Hanumanthaiya
31 1971-72 (final)
K. Hanumanthaiya
32 1972-73
K. Hanumanthaiya
33 1973-74
Lalit Narayan Misra
34 1974-75
Lalit Narayan Misra
35 August 1974
Lalit Narayan Misra
36 1975-76
Kamalapati Tripathi
37 1976-77
Kamalapati Tripathi
38 1977-78 (interim)
Prof. Mathu Dandavate
39 1977-78 (final)
Prof. Mathu Dandavate
40 1978-79
Prof. Madhu Dandavate
41 1979-80
Prof. Madhu Dandavate
42 1980-81 (interim)
Kamalapati Tripathi
43 1980-81 (final)
Kamalapati Tripati
44 1981-82
Kedar Pande
45 1982-83
P. C. Sethi
46 1983-84
A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury
47 1984-85
A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury
48 1985-86
Bansi Lal
49 1986-87
Bansi Lal
50 November 1986
Madhavrao Scindia
51 1987-88
Madhavrao Scindia
52 1988-89
Madhavrao Scindia
53 1989-90
Madhavrao Scindia
54 1990-91
George Fernandes
55 1991-92 (interim)
Janeshwar Mishra
56 1991-92 (final)
C. K. Jaffar Sharief
57 1992-93
C. K. Jaffar Sharief
58 1993-94
C. K. Jaffar Sharief
59 1994-96
C. K. Jaffar Sharief
60 1996-97
C. K. Jaffar Sharief
61 1996-97 (interim)
Suresh Kalmadi
62 1996-97 (final)
Ram Vilas Paswan
63 1997-98
Ram Vilas Paswan
64 1998-99 (interim)
Nitish Kumar
65 1998-99 (final)
Nitish Kumar
66 1999-2000
Nitish Kumar
67 2000-01
Mamata Banerjee
68 2001-02
Mamata Banerjee
69 2002-03
Nitish Kumar
70 2003-04
Nitish Kumar
71 2004-05 (interim)
Nitish Kumar
72 2004-05 (final)
Lalu Prasad Yadav
73 2005-06
Lalu Prasad Yadav
74 2006-07
Lalu Prasad Yadav
75 2007-08
Lalu Prasad Yadav
76 2008-09
Lalu Prasad Yadav
77 2009-2010
Mamata Banerjee
Trains introduced by Railway Ministers
This is an attempt to list out the trains introduced by successive Railway Ministers in India. Much of the
information is from the railway budgets of each year. There are a vast number of trains that run in
India, and many are cancelled, re-introduced, renamed, rescheduled or re-routed all the time, so this is
only the barest attempt at listing some of the better-known trains and their origins.
Year
Railway
Minister
Trains introduced
•
H. Nizamuddin – Mangalore/Ernakulam Jayanti Janata
•
Samastipur Jayanti Janata and other JJ trains.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sabarmati Express
Ganga-Kaveri Exp.
Neelambari Exp.
Varanasi Exp. (Delhi-Lucknow Exp. extended)
Tamilnadu Exp.
Kashi Vishwanath Exp.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Jhelum Exp.
Swaraj Exp.
Sarvodaya Exp.
Kerala Exp.
Karnataka Exp.
Andhra Pradesh Exp.
EMUs on Pune-Lonavala section
•
•
Sealdah – Malda Gaur Exp.
Sealdah – Malda Gaur Exp.
Madhav Rao
Scindia
•
•
•
Jhansi Shatabdi (later to Bhopal)
Howrah-Gwalior Chambal Exp.
Bombay-Gwalior Lashkar Exp.
Madhav Rao
1989
Scindia
•
•
•
Kanpur Shatabdi (later to Lucknow)
Indrayani Exp.
Pragati Exp.
•
•
•
•
•
Jammu Tawi – Mangalore/Trichy Navyug Exp
Dadar – Muzaffarpur Shramshakti Exp (now cancelled)
Hatia – Varanasi Exp (still running?)
Surat – Varanasi Tapti Ganga Exp
New Delhi and Patna (via Varanasi) Shramjeevi Exp
•
Bombay – New Delhi AC Exp (later August Kranti
Rajdhani)
Bombay – Ahmedabad Karnavati Exp
Bombay – Varanasi Pawan Exp
1973 T A Pai
1974 L N Mishra
1975- Kamalapati
?
Tripathi
1979- Prof. Madhu
?
Dandavate
A B A Ghani
1980Khan
1984
Chaudhuri
1988
1990
George
Fernandes
1991 Jaffer Sharief
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1992 Jaffer Sharief
1993 Jaffer Sharief
1994 Jaffer Sharief
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H. Nizamuddin – Vishakapatnam Samata Exp
Puri – Tirupati Exp
Mysore – Tirupati Exp (now Mysore – Tirupati
Passenger)
Allahabad – Chahpra Bhagirathi Exp (MG)
Allahabad – Agra Exp (proposed, never introduced)
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New Delhi – Bangalore Rajdhani
Kurla- Bangalore Exp
Bidar – Bangalore Link Exp
Madras – Banglaore Lalbagh Exp
Madras – Vijayawada Pinakani Exp
Secunderabad – Vijayawada Satvahana Exp
Secunderabad – Bhadrachalam (Passenger?)
Varanasi – Gorakhpur Krishak Exp
Sealdah – New Jalpaiguri Teesta Torsha Exp
Gandhidham – Nagercoil Exp
H. Nizamuddin – Indore Inter-City Exp
Valsad- Vadodara ExpThe following trains proposed by
him were introduced later:
Bombay Pune Pragati Exp
Amritsar Barauni Amrapali Exp
H. Nizamuddin – Sambalpur Hirakud Exp
Delhi – Sikar Sainik Exp (MG)
Vadodara – Gandhidham Exp
Secunderabad – Vishakapatnam Vishaka Exp
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H. Nizamuddin – Madras Rajdhani
H. Nizamuddin – Agra Inter-City Exp
H. Nizamuddin – Mangalore Mangala Exp
H. Nizamuddin – Jabalpur/Nagpur Gondwana Exp
New Delhi – Puri Purushottam Exp
Delhi – Jammu Tawi Super Fast Exp
Delhi – Newjalpaiguri Mahananda Link Exp
Dhanbad – Tatanagar Subarnarekha Exp
Agra Fort – Jaipur Superfast Exp (MG)
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New Delhi – Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Exp
New Delhi – Guwahati Rajdhani Exp
Bombay – Ahmedabad Shatabdi Exp
Bombay – Trivandrum Exp (weekly)
New Delhi – Sriganganagar Exp
Delhi – Kathgodam Exp
Delhi – Sultanpur Sadbhavana Exp
Saharanpur – Lucknow Exp
Jodhpur – Lucknow Exp
Jaipur – Sealdah Exp
Katihar – Sealdah Exp
Secunderbad – Guntur Nagarjuna ExpThe following
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1995 Jaffer Sharief
1996
Ram Vilas
Paswan
trains proposed by him were introduced later:
Madras – Mysore Shatabdi
Bombay – Jaipur Super Fast
New Delhi – Amritsar Shatabdi
New Delhi – Chandigarh Shatabdi
New Delhi – Jaipur Shatabdi
Madras – Kanyakumari Exp
Nagercoil – Guruvayur Exp
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Howrah – Bokaro Shatabdi
Howrah – Raurkela Shatabdi
Madras – Coimbatore Shatabdi (cancelled)
Bangalore – Hubli Shatabdi (cancelled)
Bombay – Madgaon Shatabdi (never introduced)
Kurla – Madgaon Exp
Miraj – Bangalore Rani Chennamma Exp
Bangalore – Quilon Exp (weekly)
Ernakulam – Trivandrum Exp (Via Alleppey)
Nagercoil – Bombay Exp (weekly)
Tirupati – Cuddapah Exp (Passenger?)(cancelled)
Delhi – Jaipur Inter-City Exp
Jodhpur – Jaipur Exp
Bikaner – Jaipur Exp
Jodhpur – Howrah Superfast (instead of Jaipur-Sealdah
Exp)
New Delhi- Muzaffarpur Lichhavi Exp
Raxaul – Muzaffarpur Exp
Howrah – Gorakhpur Exp (weekly)
Howrah – Gauhati Saraighat Exp (weekly)
Ahmedabad – Bhavnagar Exp (MG)
Kanpur – Farukhabad Exp (MG)
Bhagalpur – Muzaffarpur Jansewa Exp
Amritsar – Barauni Jansewa Exp
Ahmedabad – Puri Exp
Surat – Varanasi Jansewa Exp (never introduced)For
sometime, Suresh Kalmadi was the railway minister,
from Pune.
Bombay Pune Shatabdi
Ahmedabad – Pune Ahimsa Exp
Howrah – Pune Azad Hind Exp
Varanasi – Pune Gyan Ganga Exp
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New Delhi – Patna Rajdhani
Kurla – Patna Exp
Delhi – Ramnagar Link Exp
Kalka – Simla Shivalik Exp
Gorakhpur- Darbhanga Exp (MG)
Howrah – Rampurhat Gandevta Exp
Howrah – Bikaner Link Exp
Jaipur – Chennai Exp (weekly)
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1998
Ram Vilas
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Nitish
Kumar
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Bhopal – Rewa Exp
Hubli – Bangalore Intercity (instead of the Shatabdi)He
also announced the following trains in BG after gauge
conversion
Ahmedabad – Delhi Mail
Ahmedabad – Delhi Ashram Exp
Ahmedabad – Bikaner Ranakpur Exp
Secunderabad/Guntur – Vasco Exp
Guwahati – Dibrugarh Exp
Newdelhi – Ahmedabad Swarnajayanti Rajdhani
H. Nizamuddin – Vishakapatnam Swarnajayanti Exp
H. Nizamuddin – Bangalore Swarnajayanti Exp
H. Nizamuddin – Secunderabad Rajdhani (later
cancelled, then reintroduced)
Delhi – Ranchi Jarkand Swarnajayanti Exp
Surat – Patna Exp
Gorakhpur – Dehradun Exp (bi-weekly)
Koraput- Bhubaneswar Link Exp
Madras – Tirupati Inter City
Tata- Katihar link Exp
Vasco – Bangalore Exp
Coimbatore – Bangalore Intercity Exp
H. Nizamuddin – Ernakulam Swarnajayanti Exp
(introduced for political reasons, to placate Kerala MPs)
Kurla – Howrah Super Deluxe
Kurla – Nagpur Super Deluxe
Kurla – Varanasi Kamyani Exp
Kurla – Mangalore Matsyagandha Exp
H. Nizamuddin – Bhopal Superfast
Patna – Bhagalpur Intercity
Secunderbad – Guntur Palnad Exp
Madurai – Coimbatore Exp (MG) (cancelled)
New Delhi – Muzaffarpur Swatantra senani Exp
Sealdah – NewBongaigaon Uttar Bangla Exp
Howrah – Trichy Exp (triweekly)
Vishakaptanam – Bangalore Prashanti Exp
Later on all the express trains on the Chennai – Trichy –
Madurai route were restored after BG conversion. All the
trains on the Ahmedabad – Delhi route announced earlier
were also introduced, except that Ranakpur Exp was
started from Bandra to Bikaner, Suryanagari Exp was
restored from Ahmedabad to Jodhpur and Aravalli Exp
was started from Bombay to Jaipur (via Ajmer). In SCR,
Venkatadari Exp was introduced between Secunderabad
– Tirupati (via Kurnool), Haripriya Exp was introduced
between Kolhapur and Tirupati. However a Secunderabd
– Hubli Exp announced earlier was never introduced.
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Mamta
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Sealdah – New Delhi Rajdhani
Sealdah – Amritsar Akaltakht Exp
Sealdah – New Jalpaiguri Kanchkanya Exp
Shalimar – Bankura Exp
Howrah – Purulia Rupashi Bangla Exp
Ajmer – Bangalore Exp (weekly)
Jodhpur – Bangalore Exp (weekly)
Shimoga – Bangalore Exp
Puttaparthi – Bangalore Satya Sai Exp
Tirupati – Nagercoil Exp
Manmad – Kakinada Exp
Ahmedabad – Nagpur Exp (weekly)
Okha – Dehradun Uttaranchal Exp (weekly)
Bandra – Gandhidham Exp (combining 9055
Sayajinagari Exp and 9101 Vadodara Gandhidham Exp)
Hatia – Bhagalpur Vananchal Exp
Manduadih – Baidynathdham Exp
Lucknow – Chhapra Exp
Lucknow – Bhopal Exp((weekly)
Bikaner – Suratgarh Exp
Kurla – Madurai Exp (weekly)Some Calcutta area
specials introduced by her:
Howrah – Dehradun Upasana Exp (weekly)
Sealdah – Ajmer Exp (weekly)
Howrah – Okha Exp (weekly)
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New Delhi – Bilaspur Rajdhani
Newdelhi – Hatia Rajdhani
H. Nizamuddin – Secunderabad Rajdhani
New Delhi – Gorakhpur Gorakhdham Exp
Hatia – Dhanbad Inter-City
Asansol – Amritsar Superfast
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2001
Mamta
Banerji
Amritsar – Darbhanga Jansewa Exp (weekly)
Delhi – Gandhidham Exp. (the train was not introduced,
but Ala Hazrat Exp running between Ajmer and Bareilly
was extended to Gandhidham)
Kurla-Patna superfast
Mumbai – Madgaon Mandovi Exp
Jaipur- Bangalore Exp (via Secunderabad)
Raichur – Gulbarga Passenger
Secunderabd – Machilipatnam Exp
Chennai – Tirupati Shatabdi (never introduced)
Chennai – Guwahati Exp (biweekly)
Pune – Ernakulam Exp (via Hubli) (introduced later, now
runs via Madgoan)
Shalimar- Haldia Azad Exp
Kamakhya – NewBongaigaon Pass
Patna – Mughalsarai Pass (via Gaya)
H. Nizamuddin – Coimbatore Kongu Exp (weekly)
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Asansol – Haldia Exp
Asansol – New Jalpaiguri Exp
Howrah – New Jalpaiguri Exp
Howrah – Yeshwantpur Exp (weekly)
Howrah – Nagercoil Gurudev Exp
Howrah – Rampurhat Exp
Kurla – Bhubaneswar Exp (weekly)
Berhampur – Bhubaneswar Exp (now extended to
Srikakulam)
Chennai – Jodhpur Exp (weekly)
Jodhpur – Haridwar link Exp
Valsad – Patna Exp(weekly)
Gandhinagar – Indore Exp
Pune – Solapur Exp
Pune – Ernakulam Exp (via Madgaon)
Vasco – Yeshwantpur Exp (biweekly)
Jaipur – Ernakulam Marusagar Exp
Palghat – Trivandrum amritha Exp
Jammu Tawi – Haridwar Exp
New Delhi – Howrah Exp (biweekly)
H. Nizamuddin – Kanyakumari Exp (weekly via
Villipuram)
Delhi – Pathankot Exp (triweekly)
Guwahati – Jodhpur/Bikaner Exp (weekly)
Jaipur – Durg Exp (weekly)
Jaipur – Bandra Exp (triweekly)
Indore – Patna Exp (weekly via Lucknow and Varanasi)
Bhopal – Howrah Exp (weekly)
Kurla – Habibganj Exp (weekly)
Durg – Banglaore Exp (weekly via Chanda Fort,
Secunderbad)
Mhow – Chittaurgarh Exp (MG)
Ahmedabad – Varanasi Exp (via Allahabad)
Ahmedbad – Rajkot Exp
Gandhidham – Bangalore Exp (weekly)
Pune – Nanded Exp (triweekly)
Cannanore – Banglaore Exp (weekly)
Calicut – Erankulam Exp (after Janshatabdi is introduced
between Ernakulam and Trivandrum)
Chennai – Trivandrum Exp (via Nagercoil)
Chennai – Vishakapatnam Exp (weekly)
Kurla – Hatia Exp (weekly via Gaya)
Hatia – Gervaroad Exp
Rajgir – Sarnath Buddhaparikrama Exp (triweekly)
Howrah – Gorakhpur Exp (weekly via Narkatiaganj)
Bhubneswar – Palasa IntercityThere are also the Jan
Shatabdis proposed
Madgaon – Kurla
Bangalore – Hubli
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Ernakulam – Trivandrum
Chennai – Vijayawada
Habibganj – Jabalpur
Ahmedabad – Bhuj
Lucknow – Varanasi
Patna – Katihar
Tata – Ranchi
Raigarh – Durg
Guwahati – Dimapur
Howrah – Malda town
Howrah – Bhubaneshwar
New Delhi – Chandigarh
New Delhi – Dehradun
H. Nizamuddin – Kota
History
List of Important Historical Places in India from Alphabet A – D
Abu, Mount (Rajasthan): Hill station in Rajasthan; contains famous Dilwara Jain Temple and Training
College for the Central Reserve Police.
Adam’s Bridge: Very nearly joined to India between two point’s viz. Mannar Peninsula and
Dhanushkodi by a line of sand banks and rocks called Adam’s Bridge.
Adyar (Tamil Nadu): A Suburb of Chennai, headquarters of the Theosophical Society.
Afghan Church (Mumbai): It is built in 1847 known as St. John’s Church. It is dedicated to the British
soldiers who died in the Sind and Afghan campaign of 1838 and 1843.
Aga Khan Palace: In Pune where Mahatma Gandhi was kept interned with his wife Kasturba Gandhi.
Kasturbha died in this palace.
Agra (Uttar Pradesh): Famous for Taj Mahal, Fort and Pearl mosque. Sikandra, the tomb of Akbar, is
situated here. It is also a centre of leather industry.
Ahmednagar (Maharashtra): It was founded by Ahmed Nizam Shahi. It is the district headquarters of
Ahmednagar district. It is an industrial town well known for its handloom and small scale industries.
Ahmadabad (Gujarat): Once capital of Gujarat. A great cotton textile centre of India. Anti-reservation
riots rocked the city in April 1985.
Ajmer (Rajasthan): It has Mayo College and the tomb of Khwaja Moinud-din Chishti, which is a pilgrim
centre for Muslims; Pushkar Lake, a place of Hindu pilgrimage, is about two miles from here.
Aliabet: Is the site of India’s first off-shore oil well-nearly 45 km from Bhavnagar in Gujarat State. On
March 19, 1970, the Prime Minister of India set a 500-tonne rig in motion to inaugurate “Operation Leap
Frog” at Aliabet.
Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh): Seat of Muslim University, manufacture locks, scissors, knives and dairy
products.
Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh): A famous and important place of pilgrimage for Hindus, confluence of
three revers-Ganges, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati. It is the seat of a University and trading
centre.
Alandi (Maharashtra): Popularly called ‘Devachi Alandi’ is hallowed by the association of saint
Dhyaneshwar the author of ‘Dhyaneshwari’ who lived and attained Samadhi here at the age of twntyone.
Two fairs are held annually one on Ashadha Ekadasi and the other Karthikai Ekadasi.
Amber Palace: Deserted capital near Jaipur (Rajasthan) containing the finest specimens of Rajput
architecture.
Almora (Uttaranchal): This city is one the Kashaya hill. The clean and majestic view of the Himalayan
Peak is breath catching. The woolen shawl of Almora is very famous in the region. It is a good hill resort.
Amarnath (Kashmir): 28 miles from Pahalgam, and is a famous pilgrim centre of Hindus.
Amboli (Maharashtra): Nestling in the ranges of Sahyadri, Amboli is a beautiful mountain resort in
Ratnagiri district. The climate is cool and refreshing; and ideal place for holiday.
Amritsar (Punjab): A border town in the Punjab, sacred place for Sikhs (Golden Temple), scene of
Jallianwala Bagh tragedy in April 1919. The 400th anniversary of Amritsar was celebrated with great
gusto in October 1977. The city was founded by Guru Ram Dass.
Arikkamedu (Puducherry): It is one of the archaeological places. It describes the relationship
between Tamils and Romes (Yavanas) for trade purpose.
Arvi (Maharashtra): Near Pune, India’s first satellite communication centre has been located here.
Ashoka Pillar (Madhya Pradesh): It was erected by Emperor Ashoka. It is now the official symbol of
Modern India and the symbol is four back-to-back lions. In the lower portion of the column are
representation of a lion, elephant, horse and bull. The pillar stands about 20 m high.
Aurangabad (Maharashtra): It is one of the important towns in Maharashtra. Tomb of Emperor
Aurangzeb and his attract many tourists. Ellora and Ajanta caves are reached from here.
Auroville (Punducherry): It is an international township constructed near Pondicherry with the help of
UNESCO.
Avadi: Situated at Chennai in Tamil Nadu, it is known for the government-owned Heavy Vehicles
Factory. Vijayanta and Ajit tanks are manufactured here.
Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh): Birth place of Rama is situated on the banks of the river Gogwa. The
famous ‘Babri Masjid’ built on the birth place of Rama by the Mughal rulers in 15th century has been
taken over by the Hindus after 400 years.
Badrinath (Uttarakhand): It is a place of pilgrimage noted for the temple of Lord Vishnu for the
Hindus, near Gangotri Glacier in Himalayas.
Bahubali (Maharashtra): A pilgrim center for jains, of both Svetambar and Digambar Jains; there is a
giant idol of Shree Bahubali the son of Bhagwan Adinath, the first Tirthankar.
Bangalore (Karnataka): It is the capital city of Karnataka State and an important industrial centre.
The places worth-seeing are Vidhan Saudha, Lal Bagh gardens, etc. The BHEL, HAL, IIM are situated
here.
Barauni (North Bihar): Famous for a big oil refinery.
Bardoli (Gujarat): Bardoli in Gujarat State has occupied a permanent place in Indian History for no-tax
payment campaign launched by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel against the British rule.
Baroda (Gujarat): Baroda, (Vadodara) the capital of former Baroda State is one of the main towns in
Gujarat State. Laxmi Vilas Palace is a tourist attraction.
Belur (West Bengal): Near Calcutta, famous for a monastery founded by Swami Vivekananda; a
beautiful temple dedicated to Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. It is also known for paper industry. There
is another place of the same name in Karnataka, it is a famous pilgrim centre known for Channa
Keshava Temple.
Belgaum (Karnataka): It is a border town in Karnataka State. It has remained a place of dispute
between Maharashtra and Karnataka States.
Bhakhra (Punjab): It is a village in Punjab State where the Bhakra Dam has been constructed across
the river Sutlej in a natural gorge just before the river enters the plains 80 km upstream Ropar.
Bhilai (Chhattisgarh): It is known for the gigantic steel plants set up with the help of Russian
Engineers.
Bhimashankar (Maharashtra): One of the five Jyothirlingas in Maharashtra is at Bhimashankar. The
beautiful Shiva temple here was constructed by Nana Parnavis the ancient statesman of the Peshwas.
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Capital of Madhya Pradesh. MIC gas leaked out from the Union Carbide
factory in December 1984, and more than 3000 persons died. It was the worst industrial disaster in the
world.
Bhubaneswar (Orissa): It is the capital city of Orissa. Lingaraja Temple is worth-seeing.
Bijapur (Karnataka): It was the capital of old Adil Shahi Sultan of Bijapur. Gol Gumbaz, the biggest
tomb in India constructed here, is called the whispering gallery. The town is rich with the remains of
palaces, mosques and tombs.
Bodh Gaya (Bihar): It is situated six miles south of Gaya in Bihar State. Gautama Budha attained
enlightenment in a full moon light in the month of Baisakha under the peepal tree.
Bokaro (Jharkhand): The fourth and the biggest steel plant are here.
Buland Darwaza (Uttar Pradesh): It is the Gateway of Fatehpur-Sikri built by Akbar. This is the
highest and the greatest gateway in India. It was erected to commemorate the victorious campaign of
Akbar in the Deccan in 1602 A.D.
Bull Temple (Karnataka): It is situated near Bugle Hill, with a height of 6.2 m (20ft) high stone
monolith Nandi Bull. The Bull is carved out of a single stone.
Chandernagore (West Bengal): Situated on the river Hooghly. It was previously a French settlement.
Now it has been merged with the Indian Union.
Chennai (capital of Tamilnadu): It is the third largest city in India. Known for Fort St. George, Lighthouse, St Thomas Mount, and Integral Coach Factory.
Chandigarh (Punjab & Haryana): Chadigarh the joint capital of the States of Punjab and Haryana is a
planned and beautiful city. It is situated at the foot of the Himalayas. It was designed by Mont
Corbusier.
Cherrapunji (Meghalaya): It is the place of heaviest rainfall. It receives 426” of rain yearly.
Chidambaram (Meghalaya): It is a town in South Arcot district of Tamil Nadu. It is famous for its
great Hindu Siva Temple dedicated to Lord ‘Nataraja’, the cosmic dancer. It is the seat of ‘Annamalai
University’ founded in 1929. The name of the town comes from Tamil ‘Chit’ plus ‘Ambalam’- the
atmosphere of wisdom.
Chilka Lake (Orissa): It is the Queen of Natural Scenery in Orissa, though separated from the Bay of
Bangal by a long strip of sandy ridge, exchanges water with the sea. It is an excellent place for fishing
and duck shooting.
Chittaranjan (West Bengal): It is famous for locomotive works. Railway engines are manufactured
here.
Chittorgarh (Rajasthan): It was once the capital of Udaipur. It is known for the Tower of Victory built
by Rana Kumbha and Mira Bai Temple.
Chowpathy Beach (Mumbai): A popular beach with Lokmanya Tilak and Vallabhbhai Patel statues
where the political meetings for freedom struggle took place, now the coconut day celebration and
Ganesh immersion take place.
Chusul (Ladakh): It is situated in Ladakh at a height of about 14,000 feet. Chusul is perhaps the
highest aerodrome in India.
Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu): It is famous for Textile Industry. Government of India Forest College is
situated here.
Courtallam (Tamil Nadu): Adjoining Tenkasi and 3 miles south is a common man’s health resort.
Famous for its waterfall and a good summer resort.
Cuttack (Orissa): It is the oldest town and once upon a time the capital of Orissa during the medieval
period to the end of the British rules. The city is noted for fine ornamental work of gold & silver.
Dakshineswar (Kolkata): It is at a distance of about five miles from Calcutta where Swami
Vivekananda was initiated into religious life by Swami Ramakrishna Paramhansa.
Dalal Street: Stock exchange Market in Mumbai.
Dalmianagar (Jharkhand): Cement manufacturing.
Dandi (Gujarat): It is famous for Salt Satyagraha (Dandi March) staged by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930.
Darjeeling (West Bengal): Famous for tea, orange and cinchona, fine hill station, famous for its
scenic beauty.
Daulatabad (Maharashtra): The fort previously called Devagiri is believed to have constructed by the
Yadava Kings in 1338. The fort is very impregnable.
Dayalbagh (Uttar Pradesh): Near Agra; known for Dayalbagh Industrial Institute, shoe manufacture.
Religious and cultural seat of a section of the Hindus.
Dehu (Maharashtra): Dehu, a town on the banks of the river Indrayani is the birth place of the famous
saint-poet Tukaram whose ‘Abhangas’ have a pride of place in Marathi literature.
Dehradun (Uttarakhand): It is the gateway to the Garhwal Himachal such as Badrinath and
Joshimath. The Forest Research Institute is situated here.
Delhi: India’s capital. The Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, The Qutub Minar, the Rajghat (Mahatma Gandhi’s
Samadhi), the Humayun’s tomb, Shanti Van (where Prime Minister Nehru was cremated), are located
here. It established by Tomaras in 736 A.D.
Dhanbad (Jharkhand): Famous for coal mines and the Indian School of Mines, National Fuel Research
Institute.
Dhariwal (Punjab): It is famous for woolen goods.
Dibrugarh (Assam): It is a town in Assam and the Terminus of rail and river communications along
the Brahmaputra from Calcutta.
Digboi (Assam): It is known for its oil-fields and oil refinery. It is one of the oldest oil refineries which
is still operative in the world.
Dilwara Temples (Rajasthan): It is near Mt. Abu. There are five Hindu Temples constructed here
between 11th and 13 Century A.D.
Dindigul (Tamli Nadu): It is famous for cigar, tobacco and locks.
Dum Dum (Kolkata): It is a famous Air Port and Government Arsenal.
Durgapur: In West Bengal in known for a gigantic steel plant set up here with the help of British
Engineers.
Dwaraka (Gujarat): It is one of the seven most important places of Hindu pilgrimage. Krishna the
eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu made Dwaraka as his centre to recapture Mathura.
This article provides information on Important Historical Places in India along with detailed information
about those important historical places of India.
List of Important Historical Places in India from Alphabet E – K
Eagle’s Nest: It is the name given to the historic fort at Rajgarh in the Kolaba district of Maharashtra
where, 3000 years ago, Chhatarpati Shivaji, the great warrior-statesman, was crowned.
Elephanta Caves (Maharashtra): Situated in an island 15 miles from Mumbai famous for the statues
of Shiva and Parvati. The most striking statue of Trimurti, Shiva in three moods as the Creator, the
Destroyer and the Preserver.
Ellora and Ajanta (Maharashtra): It is in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra State. The Buddhist
cave temples richly ornamented with sculpture and carved with paintings of exceptional skill attract
many tourists.
Ernakulam (Kerala): The back-waters in Ernakulam are a tourist attraction. The Central Institute of
Fisheries Technology is situated here.
Faridabad (Haryana): It is an industrial township situated at about 18 miles from Delhi.
Fatehpur Sikri (Uttar Pradesh): It was once the capital of the Mughal Empire. This city was built by
Emperor Akbar in 1569. It is now in a deserted condition.
Ferozabad (Uttar Pradesh): Noted for glass bangle industry.
Gateway of India (Mumbai): It is in Mumbai harbor erected in 1911 on King George V’s visit to India.
Gangotri (Uttarakhand): This is the source of the holy Ganges. The tiny village has the temple of the
Goddess Ganga on the banks of the Bhagirathi River, which eventually becomes the holy Ganges.
Gaumuka (Uttarakhand): Guamukh the actual source of the river is at the base of the Bhagirathi
peaks. The glaciers of Gangotri which is 24 km long, ends at Gaumukh where the Bhagirathi river finally
appers.
Gazipur (U.P.): Known for the government opium factory.
Gaya (Bihar): It is the place where Lord Buddha got enlightenment. It is a pilgrimage centre not only
for the Buddhists but also for the Hindus. Hindus from all over the country come here to make offerings
and pray for the salvation of their ancestors.
Gilgit (Kashmir): It is now under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. Ii is of great strategic importance.
Golconda (Hyderabad): It is an ancient city of India situated about 7 miles west of Hyderabad.
Formerly there was a diamond mine.
Golconda Fort (Andhra Pradesh): The historical fort is well praised in the literature, prose and
poetry. Golconda was the capital of Qutub Shahi Sultans who ruled Deccan from 1518 to 1687 A.D.
Golden Temple (Punjab): It is a sacred place of the Sikhs in Amritsar.
Gol Gumbaz (Karnataka): It is the biggest dome in India.
Gomateswara (Karnataka): This is a 2,000 year old and very high statue of a Jain sage, carved out of
a single stone.
Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh): The famous temple of Gorakhpur is here which specializes in publishing
Hindu religious literature.
Guntur (Andhra Pradesh): It is a centre of cotton and tobacco production in Andhra Pradesh.
Gulbarga (Karnataka): It was the capital of Bahmani Kingdom. Its fort is a remarkable building with
15 towers, within the fort is a large mosque built on the model of the famous mosques of Cordoba in
Spain.
Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): Situated in M.P. is famous for Rani Lakshmi Bai’s Chaatri and Tansen’s
tomb.
Haldighat (Uttar Pradesh): A famous mountain passes where rana Pratap fought Mughal forces led by
Man Singh and Asaf Khan.
Hampi (Karnataka): In Karnataka State is the location of ruins of Vijaynagar. The capital of famous
Vijaynagar Empire.
Hardwar (UttaraKhand): It is at the base of the Siwalik Hills, where the Ganges River coming down
from the Himalayas passes and enters the plains. The Daksha Mahadev Temple, 4 km downstreams in
Hardwar is the most important temple.
Hirakud (Orissa): Twenty six kilometers from one end to the other on the river Mahanadi is Hirakud
the longest mainstream dam in the world.
Howrah Bridge (Kolkata): A cantilever spans bridge over river Hoogly connecting Howrah and
Kolkata.
Hyderabad-Secunderabad: Twin city capital of Andhra Pradesh. It is on the banks of the river ‘Musi’
and famous for Salarjung museum- one of the best in Asia. It is also a famous communication centre in
India as it is centrally situated. Charminar built in 1591 is located here.
Imphal (Manipur): Situated in the north-east frontier, is the capital of Manipur state on the border of
India ans Myanmar (Burmah). Famous for handloom industry and the Manipuri dance.
Ita Nagar (Arunachal Pradesh): The capital of Arunachal Pradesh is a tropical forest region in the
foothills surrounded with wild mountain stream and placid lakes with abundant opportunities for river
rafting, boating and trekking.
India Gate (New Delhi): A memorial in New Delhi facing the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): Standing on the river Narmada, Jabalpur is a city in Madhya Pradesh
famous for Marble Rocks and Dhunva Dhar waterfalls.
Jadugoda: In Bihar is famous for Uranium Ore Mill.
Jagdish Temple: It is a fine Indo-Aryan temple built by Maharana Jagat Singh in 1651. A blackstone
image of Lord Vishnu as Lord Jagdish is found here.
Jaipur (Rajasthan): A historically important place and is famous for its handicrafts. Maharaja Jai Singh
Observatory and Hawa Mahal are situated here. It is the capital of Rajasthan or called rose-pink city, a
huge historic fort (Amber) is situated here. The city was founded by astrologer Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh
II.
Jaisalmer (Rajasthan): The remote fortress city on the edge of Rajasthan’s Thar Desert. It is 287 km
from Jodhpur.
Jakrem (Tripura): It is 64 km from shilling and is known for its hot spring which is said to possess
curative qualities.
Jalandhar (Punjab): Situated in Punjab is the centre for surgical and sports goods industry.
Jallianwala Bagh (Amritsar, Punjab): It was the scene of Indiscriminal shooting by General Dyer on
13th April 1919, when a meeting was being held. A Martyr’s memorial has been erected to commemorate
those killed in the firing.
Jama Masjid (Hyderabad, AP): The Masjid lies near the North-east point of the building of Charminar,
built by Sultan Mohammed Qutub Shah the fifth King of the Qutub Shahi dynasty in 1594.
Jamshedpur (Jharkhand): Centre of iron and steel industry. Tata Iron and Steel Factory is located
here.
Jantar Mantar (Delhi): Site of the famous observatory of Maharaja Jaswant Singh built in 1899 is
found in Rajasthan.
Jealgora: In Bihar is known for Central Fuel Research Institute.
Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh): A key railway junction in Uttar Pradesh. It is noted for the played by Queen
Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi in the War of Independence in 1857.
Jharia: In Bihar is famous for coal-mining.
Jog Falls (or) Gersoppa Falls (Karnataka): Formed by river Sharavati, falls through a height of 830
ft.
Juma Masjid, Mandu: Is in Madhya Pradesh. It depicts a synthesis of Hindu and Muslim styles in
architecture.
Junagadh (Gujarat): Located below Girnar Hill in Gujarat State is an ancient city in India. Gir Forest, a
wildlife sanctuary famous for its lions is located here.
Kailasha Temple (Maharashtra): A rock-cut temple in Ellora caves.
Kalpakkam: Near Chennai in Tamil Nadu is known for Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS).
Kanchi or Conjeevaram (Tamil Nadu): This was the famous capital of Pallavas and is situated near
Channai. Famous ancient temples here are well-known for its architecture.
Kandala (Maharashtra): It is a popular mountain resort in Maharashtra. Nestling in the Western Ghats
it is an ideal resort for a peaceful holiday.
Kandla (Guajarat): The Kandla port is the main gateway for the trade of north-west India.
Kanheri (Mumbai): Situated near Mumbai, the famous spot of the ancient Buddhist caves of 1stCentury
A.D.
Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh): An industrial city of U.P. famous for its sugar, cotton, woolen, soap, iron,
leather, tent and hosiery industries situated on the banks of the Ganga.
Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu): The southernmost tip of India where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal
and the Indian Ocean meet. The sun-rising and sun-setting are picturesque scenes. Vevekananda rock
memorial has also been constructed now. On the rock called Sripadaparai, a mammoth 133 ft. statue of
the unmatched Poet-Saint thiruvalluvar was unveiled on 1 January 2000.
Kapilavastu (Bihar): Ancient kingdom in north India connected with Lord Buddha.
Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh): A hill station in Himachal Pradesh where the famous Pasteur Institute is
located.
Kaveripumpattinam (Tamil Nadu): The place where the river Cauvery mingles with the ocean. Two
great epics of Tamil literature Manimegalai and Silappadhikaram vividly portray life scenes of this place
during Chola and Pandya period.
Kaziranga (Assam): In Assam is the sanctuary of the Indian one-horned rhinos.
Kedarnath (Uttarakhand): The temple of Lord Kedar (Shiva), surrounded by snow-capped peaks in
one of the Hindu pilgrimage centres.
Khadakvasla (Pune): Near Pune. National Defence Academy is situated here.
Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh): Famous for its temples and erotic sculpture.
Khindsey Talao (Mumbai): This beautiful lake is set like a gem in the green expanse at the foot of the
Ramtek hill.
Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu): A hill station in Tamil Nadu situated near Madurai.
Koderma (Bihar): In Bihar famous for mica mines.
Kolar (Karnataka): It is known for its gold fields.
Kolhapur (Maharashtra): Kolhapur posses’ historical as well as mythological importance. It is known
as Dakshin Kashi on account of its deity Mahalakshmi or Ambabai built by Chalukya King Karnadev in
634 AD. Kolhapur was the capital of Chatrapati Shivaji in 1708.
Kolkata (West Bengal): It is known as the commercial capital of India. It has a port of heavy traffic.
Dum Dum airport, National Library,Diamond harbor, Victoria Memorial are well-known.
Konark (Orissa): Town, north of Puri is famous for black pagodas and Sun Temple.
Koyna (Maharashtra): Hydroelectri project in Maharashtra, supplies power to Mumbai and Pune. The
place was hit by earthquake in December 1967.
Kundanpur (Bihar): The birth place of the 24th Jain Tirthankar Mahaveer is well-known as a pilgrim
centre.
Kurukshetra (Haryana): The town near Ambala. Here the great battle Mahabharatha took place
between Kauravas and Pandavas.
List of Important Historical Places in India from Alphabet L – S
Leh (Ladakh): Capital of Ladakh; once a caravan centre of central Asia.
Lothal (Gujrat): Oil wells in Cambay Basin.
Madurai (Tamil Nadu): Famous Meenakshi Temple dedicated to Lord Siva is located here.
Mahabaleshwar (Maharashtra): Hill station in Maharashtra is situated at a height of 4500 ft. in the
Western Ghats.
Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nahu): Famous for the monumental architecture of Pallavas. An atomic power
station is located near at Kalpakkam.
Mahabodhi Temple (Bihar): It is a Buddha temple with the Jataka stories engraved on the walls. The
famous Magadha University exists beside the temple.
Mahrangarh Fort (Rajasthan): Five km away from the centre town of Jodhpur. Commissioned by Roa
Jodh in 1959, this fortran eyrie is a master piece of medieval defence.
Mandore (Rajasthan): The ancient capital of the Rathore Marwars, the Rajputs of Rajasthan.
Meerut (Uttar Pradesh): This was the first place where the 1857 Mutiny first broke out. The Suraj
Khund is the most interesting temple and there is a Moghul Mausoleum, near the old Shapir Gate.
Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh): Place of Ram Ganga, famous for cutlery, brassware and mangoes.
Mukteshwar (Uttar Pradesh): Veterinary Research Institute is located here.
Murad (Maharashtra): Seaside holiday resort of Maharashtra.
Mathura (Uttar Pradesh): It is a holy city and birth place of Lord Krishna.
Meenakshi temple (Tamil Nadu): Famous Hindu temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It is remarkable for
its most picturesque 850 ft. high temple with its magnificent Gopurams. One of its principal structures is
the hall of thousand pillars in which a group of figures are cerved out of a single stone.
Mussoorie (Uttarakhand): A hilly resort has good rock climbing and mountaineering assets and has
good fishing spots.
Mumbai (Maharashtra): Called the gateway of India is the second biggest city and port in India. It is
the capital of Maharashtra state. The Prince of Wales Museum, Aarey Milk Colony, film capital of the
country, Centre of oil industry and Petrochemicals, etc. are noteworthy.
Nagpur (Maharashtra): Former capital of Madhya Pradesh now in Maharashtra. Famous for textiles
and oranges.
Nagercoil (Tamil Nadu): There is a temple of snakes or Nagaraja-snake god. The temple is filled with
images of snakes and the Dvarapalakas are the snakes guarding the temple.
Nagarjuna Konda-Sagar (Andhra Pradesh): The reservoir is named after Buddhist Phillosopher
Acharya Nagarjuna who propounded the Madhyamik school of Mahayana Buddhism.
Naharkhatia (Assam): Place near Digboi in Assam where oil has been struck.
Nainital (Uttarakhand): This lake dotted area of the Kumaon Hills, was the summer capital of Uttar
Pradesh. The legend believed is that Goddess Shakti lost her eyes when Lord Shiva was curling her and
the spot, where the eyes fell became a lake called ‘naina’ (eyes) Tal (lake) was thus given its name.
Nalanda (Bihar): Here was the famous University and Educational centre of ancient’s times. The
Chinese traveler Hieun Tsang visited India in 7th century had mentioned about this University.
Narsobachiwadi (Maharashtra): It is a prominent pilgrimage of Lord Shree Dattatreya, situated near
the confluence Krishna and the Panchaganga Rivers.
Nasik (Maharashtra): Site of Security Printing Press in Maharashtra.
Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu): The Blue Mountains of Tamil Nadu. Famous for tea plantation.
Nilokheri (Haryana): Place in Haryana, famous community development project of Dr. S. K. Dey.
Pataliputra (Bihar): Ancient name or Patna, capital of Bihar State. Famous for Ashoka edicts inscribed
on rocks and pillars.
Palitana (Gujarat): Famous for its holy hills.
Pali (Sudhagad, Maharashtra): One of the most sacred places known for the temple of Vithoba, an
incarnation of Lord Vishnu, it is also called Dhakshina Kashi, a pilgrim centre.
Panipati (Haryana): Historical place in Haryana, famous for the three battles in 1526, 1556 and 1761.
Pawapur (Bihar): It is one of the holiest of Jain Pilgrim places. The Jal Mandir (water temple) in Kamal
Sarover (Lotus pool) is most sacred. The big lake filled with lotus is a charming place and the white
marble temple stands in the middle.
Planetarium, Birla (Kolkata): It is a dome-shaped building where the exact panorama of the sky is
depicted, and the position of various constellations is clearly shown. The second planetarium in India has
been set up in Mumbai. The third planetarium was opened in New Delhi in 1984.
Plassey (West Bengal): A village in West Bengal, famous for the Battle of Plassey where Clive beat
Siraj-ud-Daulah.
Puducherry : A Union Territory – formerly under French possession. Famous for Aurobindo Ashram and
‘Auroville’ International Township, built in the name of Aurobindo.
Ponpadirkootam (Tamil Nadu): A village in Chingleput where a unique four hand Rama in gold is a
feast for our eyes.
Port Blair (Andaman): Capital of Andaman & Nicobar islands.
Porbandar (Gujarat): The Birth Place of Mahatma Gandhi. It is identified with Sudamapur of the epic
times and we can still see the old temple of Sudama, a friend of Lord Krishna.
Pune (Maharashtra): Pune, capital of Maratha Empire during Shivaji’s rule, had turned to be an
educational and cultural centre.
Puri (Orissa): Summer capital of Orissa famous for Jagannath Temple.
Pusa (West Bengal): Famous for agricultural station.
Qutub Minar (New Delhi): The tallest minaret in the world (990 ft. high) completed by Sultan
Iltutmish in 1232 A. D.
Rajghat (New Delhi): famous for the Samadhi of Mahtama Gandhi on the banks of the river Yamuna.
Rajgir (Bihar): Rajgir was called Rajgriha or King’s home in olden days. Ajatashatru named it Giribraja.
It was Jarasandha’s capital. Vardhaman Mahavir, who preached the Jain Religion and spent 14 years of
his active life here, Mahaveer called his first Dharma Sabha or religious assembly on Bipul Parbat here.
Rashtrapati Bhavan (New Delhi): The official residence of the President of India in Delhi, built by the
British architect Edwin Lutyens.
Ratnagiri (Maharashtra): British place of Lokmanya Tilak. It has a minor port Bhagvati and a fort
belonging to the 15th century.
Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu): A pilgirimage spot in South India as equal to that of Benaras. There is
the temple of Lord shiva.
Red Fort (Delhi): It is a fort built of red stone by Shah Jahan in Delhi on the Banks of the river
Yamuna. It consists of Diwan-i-Am, diwan-i-Khas and other wonderful crations. In 2007, UNESCO
announced the Red Fort as one of the Heritage site in India.
Rishikesh (Uttarakhand): It is a Hindu pilgrim centre. Rishikhesh is the starting point for treks to
Himalayan pilgirimage centre like Badrinath, Kedarnath and Gangotri.
Rourkela (Orissa): Rourkela is the first steel plant of India envisaged in the public sector and has been
in operation since February 1959 which has set in a new era in the Steel Industry of India.
Salar Jung Museum (Andhra Pradesh): It is the personnel collection of Mir Yusuf Ali Khan, better
known as Salar Jung who had devoted his wealth and leisure to gather out treasures from every walk of
life.
Sambhar (Rajasthan): It is a salt lake in Rajasthan. Only lake of its kind in India.
Sanganer (Rajasthan): It is the centre of hand block printing and handmade paper industry.
Sabarmati (Guajarat): It is a place in Gujarat where Gandhiji established a Harijan Ashram. It is also
the name of a river in Gujarat.
Sathanur Dam (Tamil Nadu): 22 miles from Tiruvannamalai a vast forest has been turned into a huge
reservoir and a dam is a tourist spot.
Satara (Maharashtra): It is a glorious historical city, was capital of Shivaji’s empire in 1699.
Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh): Famous Buddhist stupa;, the diameter of which is 108 ft. was built in
ancient times. It is the largest stupa in India.
Sarnath (Madhya Pradesh): It is a Buddhist pilgrim centre. In the Deer Park, Buddha-delivered his
first sermon. Famous Ashoka Pillar is located here.
Srirangapattanam (Karnataka): It was the capital of Tipu Sultan during his time. The third mysore
war was fought here and Tipu died in the battle in 1799 A.D.
Sevagram (Maharashtra): It is near Wardha in Maharashtra State. It is well-known for Gandhiji’s
Ashram where Gandhi lived and worked for many years.
Shantiniketan (West Bengal): About 90 miles from Calcutta, seat of the famous Viswa Bharati
University founded by poet Rabindernath Tagore. It is now a Central University.
Shanti Van or Shanti Ghat (Delhi): The place where Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was crematd on 28thMay,
1964 on the banks of Yamuna about 300 hards from Rajghat, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri has been
cremated by the side of Shanti Van. Mrs. Indira Gandhi was cremated close to Shanti Van on November
3, 1984. This site is called ‘Shakti Sthal’.
Shivneri (Maharashtra): It is the birth place of Chatrapati Shivaji. The hill has about 50 Buddhist
caves bearing inscription of various donors.
Sholapur (Maharashtra): ‘Sholapur Chaddan’s are the very famous bed-sheets. Handloom and power
loom industry is flourishing in this town. Near the city a fort built by Hasan Gangu who was the founder
of the Bahaman dynasty stands erect.
Shree Kshetra Audumbar (Maharashtra): An important pilgrim place in Sangli district, Audumbar is
famous for the temple of Shree Dattatreya. There is well-known “Brahmanand Swami Math”.
Sasaram (Bihar): It is known for Shere Shah’s Tomb. Sher Shah was the famous Afghan king who
drove away Humayun.
Shivapur (Madhya Pradesh): It is well-known for its national park in Madhya Pradesh.
Sibsagar (Assam): 56 km from Jorhat is most interesting historical city. It was the capital of Ahom
Kings who ruled Assam for 600 years. The Shiva temple called the “Shivadol” is said to be the tallest
Shiva Temple in India.
Sikandra (Uttar Pradesh): Situated near Agra, Akbar’s tomb stands here. It was commenced by Akbar
and completed by his son Jahangir, after 14 year at a cost of Rs. 15 Lakhs.
Singareni (Andhra Pradesh): It is well-known for coal mines in Andhra Pradesh.
Sindri (JharKhand): The largest fertilizer factory in India and the whole of Asia is in Sindri, 77 km from
Maithan. It is built on Ultra-modern lines and manufacturing ammonium sulphate fertilizer since 1956.
The factory can be visited with prior permission.
Somnath (Gujarat): It is historically famous for the temple which was destroyed by Mohammed of
Ghazni in 1025 A. D.
Somnath Patan (Gujarat): Wedged in between the two hills of Chadragiri and Indragiri, which rise
abruptly from flat plains, Sravanabelagola 100 kms from Mysore is famous for Jain colossus (17 m
height) Gomateswara which is said to be the tallest and most graceful monolithic statues in the world,
erected in 10th century A.D.
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh): India’s Satellite launching station is located here. It is on the Andhra
coast, in Nellore District.
Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu): Birth Place of Sri Ramanuja, the propounder of Vishistadvaita. It was
here Rajiv Gandhi; former Prime Minister of India was assassinated.
Srirangam (near Trichy, Tamil Nadu): The largest temple in South India dedicated to Lord
Ranganath (Vishnu).
Sundarbans (West Bangal): It is the largest delta in India, housing rich forests.
Surat (Guajarat): It is popularly known as “Gate of Mecca”. The English got trading rights from the
Mughal in 1612. Most of the population is engaged in diamond cutting and polishing gold and silver.
Surat is equally known for its distinctive cuisine.
List of Important Historical Places in India from Alphabet T – Z
Taj Mahal (Agra, Uttar Pradesh): Erected by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz. It has been
estimated that the cost of it was about Rs. 3 crores at that time. It is tear drop on the cheek of eternity.
It was designed by Shiraz (Iranian Architect). Over 20,000 men were employed for its construction for
over twenty years. The environmentalists fear that the beauty of the Taj would be marred, with the
Mathura Oil Refinery going into full operation.
Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh): It has a monastery of the Mahayana sect of Buddhists built in
17th century. Still it is the centre of religious life and rituals in the region. It is a treasure home of old
scriptures, priceless images and painted tapestries.
Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu): Popularly known as granary of South India. It was once the capital of the
Cholas. Famous for Brihadeeswara temple, a Hindu temple. It was built by Rajaraja, the great.
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): The Capital City of Kerala State. Padmanabha Temple is here.
Thumba (Kerala): India’s first rocket launching station.
Thiru Alangadu (Tamil Nadu): Thirty seven miles from Chennai to the west and very near to
Arakonam is the holy place of Thiru Alangadu connected with Karaikkal Ammayar and the cosmic dancer
Lord Nataraja.
Thiruvalam (Tamil Nadu): Capital of ‘Banars’ during the early Pallava period is famous for Saivite
temple with the Nandi not facing the deity but in the opposite direction.
Thekkady (Tamil Nadu): The central spot of the Periar wildlife sanctuary is in between Kerala and
Tamil Nadu.
The Mysore Palace (Karnataka): Built in 1897, it was the residence of the Ex-ruler of Mysore state is
an imposing structure. It is a good example for the Hoysala art and architectures.
Tiruchi (Tamil Nadu): It is an Educational Centre in Tamil Nadu. Bharat Heavy Electricals limited is
established here.
Tiruparankundram (Tamil Nadu): A cave temple near Madurai is one of the famous shrines of Lord
Muruga.
Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu): A famous early Chola Vaishnavaite shrine housing a huge stucco image of
Varaha holding Bhudevi near Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu.
Tipu’s Fort (Karnataka): The fort is built of mud by kempegowda in 1537; it was rebuilt in stone in
1761 by Hyder Ali. Inside the fort walls is Tipu Sultan’s wooden palace with enough elaborate paint work
surviving on the walls, niches, and railing columns to give an idea of its former glory.
Triveni (Uttar Pradesh): Here meet the rivers Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswathi.
Kumba Mela is celebrated here once in 12 years when the Sun is in Aquarius facing Jupiter in the zodiac
sign Leo.
Trithamukh (Tripura): It is a popular pilgrim centre for the Tribal people of Tripura. Thousands of
people assemble here in January-February during the festival called Uttarayana Sankranti and have a
holy bath in the river Gomati.
Tripolia Gate (Rajasthan): A gate with eight carved marble crunches under which the ruler was
weighed on his birth day against money of equal weight distributed to the poor. The city was found in
1567 by Maharana, Udai Singh.
Udaipur (Rajasthan): Popularly known as city of lakes. Pichola lake is a famous one.
Udipi (Karnataka): This is the seat of Dvaita system of Hindu Philosophy propounded by Sri Madhva
Changa. The beautiful Sri Krishna temple is very famous Hindu pilgrimage centre.
Udayagiri-Khandagiri Caves (Orissa): These two hills are little far away from Bhubaneswar. This was
a seat of a Jain saint who lived 2000 years ago. ‘Rani Gumpha’ and ‘Hathi Gumpha’ are the most
famous; consist of the rock cut inscription in India which records chronologically the deeds of king
Kharavela.
Uttiramerur (Tamil Nadu): A city near Chingleput boasts of Sundara-varadaperumal temple of the
period of Dandivarma Pallava is of complex design.
Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): Mahakaleeswar Temple is sacred for the Hindus.
Vaishali (Bihar): Vaishali has withnessed the major parts of Gautama Buddha’s life. He gave his last
message to his disciples at Kolhua village in the suburbs of Vaishali. On the eve of Buddha’s death
centenary, the 2nd Buddhist council was held here. The 24th Jain Tirthankar Vardhaman Mahavir was
born at Kundagram in the suburbs of Vaishali in 599 BC.
Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh): ‘The Eternal City’ is an important pilgrimage of the Hindus. Lord
Viswanatha’s temple is here. It was a learning place for over 2000 years. Kashi and Benaras are the
other two names of Varanasi which means the city between two rivers – Varanama and Asi. It is the seat
of Banaras Hindu University. Aurangzeb’s Mosque is here.
Vedanthangal (Tamil Nadu): A bird sanctuary in the swamps of Madurantakam lake.
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh): It is a natural and protected harbor on the eastern coast in
Andhra Pradesh. A shipbuilding yard in located here.
Vivekananda Rock (Tamil Nadu): Mandapam of Vivekananda is in Cape Comerin.
Victoria Memorial (Kolkata): Magnificent building having an art gallery depicting the history of the
British rule in India. It was erected by voluntary collections in the memory of Queen Victoria. A well laid
out garden adds to the beauty.
Wardha (Maharashtra): It is a cotton producing centre in Maharashtra. It is on Chennai-Delhi rail
route. Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned here.
Warrangal (Andhra Pradesh): It has historical evidence about on the seat of the Kakatiya rulers. Its
chief tourist attraction is the thousand pillared temple at Hanam-Konda built by King Rudra Deva in
12th century.
Yamunotri (Uttarakhand): It is the source of the Yamuna River. It emerges from the frozen lake of
ice and glaciers on the Kalinga Parvat. There is a temple of the goddess Yamunotri on the left banks of
the river. Below the temple there are many hot springs where the water emerges at boiling point.
Yarcaud (Tamil Nadu): It is a hill station 8 km away from Salem at an altitude of 5000 ft. It is a part
of Servarayan hills.
Zojila (Jammu & Kashmir): It is a pass on the way from Srinagar to Leh.
Important Facts of Indian History
History of Ancient India
● The Harappan Fort in the shape of a parallel square is 460 yards in length (north-south) 215 yards in
breadth (east-west) and 15-17 yards in height.
● The script of Indus civilization was pictorial in which there were more than 600 picture-letters and 60
original letters.
● The excavations of Chanhudaro were carried out in 1925 under the leadership of Earnest M’ckay. This
town had no fort.
● Naal, Daburkot, Rakhi Garhi, Banawali, Rangpur, Lothal, Des Morasi, Kulli, Rana Ghundai, Anjira,
Gumla, Amri, Ghundai, Mundigak, Diplabaga, Sahar-i-Sokhta, Bampur and Queta etc. are famous
historical sites where the remains of Indus civilization and pre Indus civilization have been excavated.
● Daburkot, Periano, Ghundai, Kulli, Mehi, Chanhudaro, Amri, Lohumjodaro, Alimurad, Ropar, Rangpur,
Sutkegender are the prominent (spots) places of Indus Valley civilization.
● The excavations of Kalibangan, a historical place in Rajasthan began in 1961 under the direction of B.
K. Thapar and B. B. Lal. From the lower layer of the excavation, the remains of pre Indus civilization and
from the upper layer of the Indus civilization are discernible. The fortress and the city both were
surrounded with walls.
● The excavations at Rangpur—an Indus site in Gujarat were carried out in 1953-54 under the
leadership of Rangnath Rao. Forts of raw bricks, drainage, terrecota utensils, weights and slabs of stone
have been found but the idol of mother Goddess (Matridevi) and coins have not been found.
● Lothal was situated at that time near the ocean. In excavations the remains of a dockyard have been
found which testify to the trade relations of Indus people with western Asia.
● In the district of Kutchh in Gujarat state, 12 kms north-east of Adesar is situated Surkotda which was
explored and excavated in 1964 under the guidance of Jagatpati Joshi.
● In the excavation of Indus civilization, a very big building has been explored. It is 242 ft long and 112
ft broad. The walls are 5 ft thick.
● Some figurines on tables have been found in Indus civilization in the centre of which is a round shaped
Sun and around it are the pictures of 6 gods arranged in a way that they appear as if they are the Sun
beams. This testifies to the worship of Sun in the period.
● The proof of the existence of a Man-like being are 1 crore to 20 lacs years old.
● In the Indian population, there are four basic racial sub-difference. These are Negrito, Astro
Australians, Kakeshisi and Mongoloids.
● In India, skeletons (human body in bones-kankal) have been found in Sarai Nahar Rai near Allahabad,
Bataikhor and Lekhania. High in length, flat nose and broad mouth are their characteristics. These
belong to Mesolithic age.
● The pre stone civiliation came to be knwon in the region of river Sohan a subsidiary of Sindhu. Hence
it is called Sohan civilization. The Vatikapoom in the form of (Gandasa) axe and Khandak were its main
implements.
● In Harappan culture, the worship of Earth as goddess was in vogue. This is indicated by the idol of a
woman with a plant growing out of her womb.
● Along with the Elephants, Rhinoceros, Buffalos, Lions and Deers, the picture of Yogi engraved on a seal
(Muhar) suggests the worship of Shiva in Harappan civilization. This god had three heads and he sat
with crossed legs.
● The Talismans obtained in large numbers indicate that the people of Harappan culture believed in
witchcraft or the dead souls. These talismans were made of bronze and copper in the form of plate.
● In Harappan culture the weight (for measuring) were 16 or of its multiplied numbers.
● The dogs and cats were the domesticated animals and their foot prints confirm this fact.
● The remains of the horses have been found at Surkotda. The existence of the horse is not known from
the upper layer of Mohanjodaro excavation. The terrecota small figurines provide knowledge about it.
● The people of Lothal used rice in 1800 B.C.
● As Sindh was one of the oldest region for cultivating cotton, the Greeks named it as Sedon.
● In Harappan culture, silver was obtained from Afghanistan, Iran, South India, Arabia and Baluchistan.
Gold was imported from Afghanistan and Persia.
● The stone Lajward was brought from Badakshan, Feroza was brought from Iran. Jayumani was
brought from Maharashtra, Moonga and redstone were brought from Saurashtra and Western India and
the precious greenstone (Panna) was brought from Central Asia.
● The Ahar culture (Rajasthan) belonged to the Copper age. The houses were built of stone and a
mixture of lime and soil. Paddy was cultivated and Metal Work in Bronze were in vogue. All these were
the characteristics of this culture which existed about 2000 B.C.
● The remains of Malwa stone and Bronze culture have been found in Navdatoli where the houses were
built of mud, bamboo and dry grass in a square and round shape. The terrecota utensils and agricultural
products of wheat, oil seeds, pulses (Masur) and green and black gram are the characteristics of this
culture.
● The Rishis (Sages) like Gritsamad, Vishwamitra, Bhardwaj, Atri and Vashishta composed the Suktas or
the Vedic Mantras.
● The prominent female sages were Lopamudra, Ghosa, Shachi and Poulomi.
● Sam Ved is divided into three branches—(1) Kouthum, (2) Ranayaniya, (3) Jaminiya.
● Prominent among the Ayurvedacharyas were Acharya Ashwini Kumar, Dhanvantari, Banabhatt,
Sushrut, Madhav, Jeevan and Lolimbaraja etc.
● Ayur Ved is an ‘Upaved’ of Rig Ved, Dhanur Ved is ‘Upaved’ of Yajur Ved, Gandharva Ved is the
‘Upaved’ of Sam Ved and Shilpa Ved is the ‘Upaved’ of Atharva Ved.
● Rig Ved has two Brahmans—(1) Aitereya, (2) Kaushitaki.
● Krishna Yajur Ved has the Brahman—Taitteriya and Shukla Yajur Ved has the Shatpath Brahman.
● The Brahmans of Sam Ved are Tandav, Panchvish, Sadvish and Chhandogya.
● The Aranyakas deal with life, death and other serious themes. These are written and studied in
loneliness of the forests.
● Aitereya and Kaushitaki are the Aranyakas of Rig Ved. The author of Aitereya was Mahidas Aitereya.
● Taitteriya Aranyaka belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda.
● Sam Ved and Atharav Ved have no Aranyakas.
● Prominent among the Upanishads are Ish, Ken, Kath, Prashn, Mundak, Mandukya, Taitteriya, Aitereya,
Chhandogya, Vrihadaranyak, Shwetashwara, Kaushitaki and Mahanarayana.
● During the Rigvedic period Nishk was an ornament for the neck; Karnashobhan was an ornament for
the ear and Kumbh was the ornament for the head.
● In the Rigvedic age, the Aryans domesticated the cow, the buffalo, goat (ajaa), horse, elephant and
camel etc.
● Bheeshaj was the person who treated the sick people.
● The Rigvedic Aryans worshipped the Sun as Savita, Mitra, Pooshan and Vishnu. Sun was called the
‘Eye of Gods’; and Agni the ‘Mouth of Gods’. Agni was considered to be the Purohit of the Aryans. They
thought that the offering of the Yajna reaches to the gods through Agni. Varun was worshipped as a
spatial god.
● In Rig Veda, Usha, Sita, Prithvi, Aranyani, Ratri, Vak are worshipped as goddesses.
● Besides Rig Ved, the reference of Sita as the goddess of agriculture is made in Gomil Grihya Sutra and
Paraskar Grihya Sutra.
● The ancient idols of Ganesh show his main weapons as Paash and Ankush.
● In the Rigvedic age the traders were called ‘Pani’. They stole away the cattle of the Aryans.
● Das’ or Dasyas were more hated than the ‘Pani’. They have been referred as black complexioned
inauspicious and opposed to Yajnas. They were the worshippers of Phallus (Shishnadev).
● In the Rigvedic age, the cow was the backbone of economy. It was called ‘Aghanya’—not to be killed,
war has been referred as Gavisthi, the guest as Mohan and the daughter as Duhiti. One Rik refers to the
domestication of sheep.
● Vashishtha who replaced Vishwamitra as Purohit of King Sudas, has been mentioned as adopted son of
Urvashi, and born of the ‘Virya’ of Mitra and Varun on an earthen pot.
● Ballabh and Tarukshadas were chieftains who lavishly donated to the Purohits and through their grace
obtained respect and high place in the Aryan society.
● Savitri is referred in the famous Gayatri Mantra. In Rig Ved the maximum reference is made of Indra.
After him Varun is referred to. In the earlier Richas Varun and Marut have been mentioned as ‘Gan’.
Twasta also was a Vedic God.
● Prajapati has been referred as the Adi Purush—the first human (male). The gods were his children.
● In Rig Ved, the king has been mentioned as the Protector of the clan or the Gopta Janasya. The
reference to Sabha, Samiti, Gan, Vidath is made as the Tribal Councils.
● No bureaucracy developed in Rigvedic age. Yet the officer of Gochar land were called Vrajpati, the
officer of the village was called Gramani. He was the commander. The chief of the family is referred as
‘Kulap’.
● The words like Vrat, Gan, Gram and Shardh have also been used for indicating the group of Soldiers.
● In Rig Ved Jan is used 275 times, Vish is used 170 times. Sangram is the word which indicates war
between the villages.
● The God of Vegetation. It was also an intoxicating drink and the method of its preparation is referred
in the Rig Ved.
● The later Vedic literature was written during 1100 to 600 B.C. The painted grey ware—bowls and
plates were used and the tools which they used were made of iron.
● The main crop of the later Vedic age was wheat and paddy instead of barley.
● In the later Vedic age, the Vidath were extinct but the Sabha and the Samiti existed.
● In this period, the King performed the rites of Rajsuya Yajna with a desire to obtain divine power,
Ashwamedha Yajna to expand the empire and the Vajpeya Yajna for chariot racing with friends and
relatives of his Gotra.
● The Gotra system began in the later Vedic age. The custom of marrying outside the Gotra also started.
● In the literature of later Vedic age, the first three Ashrams are mentioned—(1) Brahmcharya, (2)
Grihastha, (3) Banprastha. The Sanyas Ashram is not mentioned.
● In later Vedic period the plant Som could not be obtained easily. As such other drinks were also used.
● Gold and Silver were mainly used for making ornaments and utensils. Other metals were used for
making many other implements in the later Vedic era.
● In later Vedic period, the commercial classes (Traders) organized themselves in ‘Sangh’. The Aryans
conducted sea trade. Nisk, Satman and Krishal were usded as coins for trade purposes.
● In comparison to the religion of Rigvedic period, the later Vedic religion had become very complex.
Purohits, Yajna and sacrifice were considered important. Many types of Yajnas were performed.
● The Shatpath Brahman refers to the various steps in progress of cultivation—Jutai (ploughing), Buwai
(planting), Lawani (weaning), Mandai (cutting) are the various processes mentioned in it.
● Sangam literature is compiled in 8 books. They are—(1) Narune, (2) Kuruntoge, (3) Aigunuru, (4)
Padirupyuttu, (5) Paripadal, (6) Karlittorga, (7) Nedultoge, (8) Purnanuru.
● In the Sangam age, the Tamil Grammar was written in a detailed book, ‘Tolakappiyam’.
● With the songs of the musicians, the dancers known as Panar and Widelier used to dance.
● Pedinekilkanku is a famous composition of Sangam literature.
● Sangam is a Sanskrit word meaning a Congregation and a Council.
● The main theme of the Sangam literature is ‘Romance’ (Shringar) and heroism (Veergatha). Shringar
is called as ‘Aham’ and Veergatha has been called as ‘Puram’.
● The first Sangam was organized at Madurai under the chairmanship of Rishi Agastya.
● The second Sangam was organized at Kapatpuram again under the chairmanship of Rishi Agastya.
● The third Sangam was organized at Madurai and it was chaired by ‘Nakkirar’.
● Avey was the family of Sangam age which meant Sabha (assembly).
● Panchvaram was the assembly of the advisors of the King of Sangam age.
● Ur was the institution which looked after the city administration.
● The excavation of Arikmedu, provide enough evidence to prove that once opon a time, the
cantonements of the Roman traders resided there.
● The teachers in the Sangam age were called as Kanakkaters.
● The students in the Sangam age were called Bhanwan or Pillai.
● Parshvanath arranged for fourfold vows (Chaturvrata) for the Bhikshus (monks)—(1) I shall not kill the
living beings, (2) I shall always speak the truth, (3) I shall not steal, (4) I shall not keep any property.
● Mahavir Swami has been called Nigashtha, Naatputra and Nirgranth Saatputra.
● Mahavir Swami left his mortal frame and attained Nirvana at Pawapuri near Patna in Bihar.
● The Triratna in Jainism are described as Samyak Shraddha (veneration), Samyak Gyan (knowledge)
and Samyak Acharana (conduct).
● According to Jainism, Nirvana (redemption) to free the soul from the physical bondage.
● Mahavir Swami has described five vows for the common people which are called as Panchmaha-vrat.
These are—Truth, Non-violence, No stealing, No collection of wealth or anything and celibacy (Satya,
Ahimsa, Astey, Aparigrah and Brahamacharya). To these was later added, ‘Not to eat at Night’.
● Kaivalya is total knowledge which the Nirgranthget.
● Buddha was born in the Lumbini forest, 14 km beyond Kapilvastu in Nepal Tarai.
● Kaundinya, a Brahmin astrologer, was contemporary of Buddha.
● Gautam obtained knowledge at Gaya. Hence the place is called Bodh Gaya.
● The first sermon of Buddha is known as ‘Dharma Chakra Pravartan’.
● Mahatma Buddha delivered his first sermon at Rishipattan (Sarnath).
● The followers of Buddha were divided into four sections—(1) Bhikshu or the monks, (2) Bhik-shuni or
lady monks, (3) Upasaks or devotees, (4) Upasikas or lady devotees.
● After delivering his teachings for constant 45 years, Mahatma Buddha attained Mahaparinirvan at the
age of 80 at Kushinara (Kushinagar).
● Tripitaks are—(1) Vinay Pitak, (2) Suttpitak, (3) Abhidhamma Pitak.
● Vinay Pitak is divided into 3 sections—(1) Sutta Vibhag, (2) Khandhak, (3) Pariwar.
● Suttpitak contains—Diggh Nikay, Majjhim Nikay, Anguttar Nikay and Khuddak Nikay.
● In Abhidhamma Pitak, philosophical and spiritual thoughts are contained.
● There are seven treatises of Abhidhamma Pitak —(1) Dhamma Sangeeti, (2) Vibhang, (3) Dhatu
Katha, (4) Puggal Panjati, (5) Katha Vastu, (6) Yamak, (7) Patthan.
● The eightfold paths are—(1) Right belief, (2) Right thought, (3) Right speech, (4) Right action, (5)
Right means of livelihood, (6) Right execution, (7) Right remembrance, (8) Right meditation.
● In Buddhism, the Astangikmarg (eight fold path) is classified as—(1) Praja Skandh, (2) Sheel Skandh,
(3) Samadhi Skandh.
● Under Praja Skandh come—Samyak Drishti, Samyak Sankalp and Samyak Vani (speech).
● Under Sheel Skandh come—Samyak Karmant, Samyak Aajeev.
● Under Samadhi Skandh come—Samyak Vyayam, Samyak Smriti and Samyak Samadhi.
● Mahatma Buddha was silent on the existence of God or otherwise but he did not believe in the
existence of soul.
● The first Buddhist Council was convened after a few years of Buddha’s death under the chairmanship
of Mahakassap in Saptparna caves near Rajgrih.
● The second Buddhist Council was organized at Vaisali.
● The third Buddhist Council was convened at Patliputra during the regime of Asoka.
● The fourth Buddhist Council was convened at Kashmir during the regime of Kanishka.
● Purans are said to be 18 in number of which Bhagwat Puran is very renowned.
● Bhagwatism is mentioned for the first time in the Bhishm Parva of Mahabarat.
● The Dravida Vaishnav devotees are known as the Alwars.
● A Brahman named Kautilya or Chanakya played a significant role in the establishment of the Mauryan
empire.
● In the Greek writings, Chandra Gupta Maurya is called Sandrocottus.
● Arien and Plutarch have called him Androcottus.
● In the Mudra Rakshas written by Vishakhdutt, Chandra Gupta Maurya is called Chandragiri
Chandrashree.
● In Buddhist literature, Mahavansh Tika is the book which throws ample light on the life of Chandra
Gupta Maurya.
● ‘Indika’ was written by Megasthenese.
● In the book Mahavansh, Chandra Gupta Maurya is said to be Kshatriya by caste.
● After being defeated in war with Chandra Gupta, Selukose offered him Gadrosia (Baluchistan), Acrosia
(Kandahar), Aria (Herat) and a part of Hindukush.
● Sudarshan Lake at Junagarh was built by Chandra Gupta Maurya.
● The Mahasthan inscription points out Chandra Gupta’s ascendancy over Bengal.
● The Rudradaman inscription of Girnar testifies to the suzerainty of Chandra Gupta over Saurashtra.
● According to Jain Texts, Chandra Gupta in the last years of his life, accepted Jainism and went to
Mysore with the Jain monk Bhadrabahu.
● The empire of Chandra Gupta spread from Himalaya in the north to Mysore in the south; and from
Bengal in the east to Baluchistan in the west. It covered Punjab, Sindh, Kashmir, Doab of Ganga and
Yamuna, Magadh, Bengal, Malwa, Saurashtra and the region of Mysore.
● The administrative system of Chandra Gupta Maurya was Monarchy. In order to administer well,
Chandra Gupta Maurya appointed a Council of Ministers.
● In the Mauryan age, the officer who collected the trade taxes was called Shulkadhyaksha.
● The Chairman of the Government services was known as Sutradhyaksha in the Mauryan age.
● The officer-in-charge of Weight and Measures was known as Peetadhyaksha in the Mauryan age.
● In Mauryan age, the officer who controlled the manufacture of wine, its sale and purchase and its
consumption was Suradhyaksha.
● The chairman of the agricultural department was called Seetadhyaksha in Mauryan age.
● There were many officers such as Ganikadhyaksha,` Mudradhyaksha, Navadhyaksha, Ashwadhyaksha
and Devtadhyaksha etc. in the Mauryan Age.
● The officer who kept the details of total income and expenditure of the State and decided the economic
policy was called Sannidhata. Under him, worked officers like Treasurer and Shulkadhyaksha.
● In Mauryan age, the minister of factories and mines was called Karmantirak. His main task was to
excavate different metals from the mines and look after the factories.
● In Mauryan age the Amatya of Fauzdari (Criminal) Court was called Pradeshta.
● The Amatya of the Civil Court was known as Vyavaharik.
● The Greek scholars have described the Amatyas as the seventh caste.
● The successor of Chandra Gupta Maurya is called name Bindusara in majority of the Puranas.
Ceylonese works, Buddhist textsand in Deepvansh and Mahavansh. In Vayu Puran, his name is given as
Bhadrasaar. In some of the Purans he is called as Varisaar. In the Chinese text—Fa-Uen-Chu-Lin, he is
called as Bindupal. In another book Rajabalikatha, the successor and son of Chandra Gupta is called as
Sinhasen.
● Ptolemy, the ruler of Egypt sent Dioniyas as his ambassador to the Court of Bindusaar.
● In Chandra Gupta Maurya’s time, the chief of the city was called Nagaradhyaksha who worked like the
modern District Magistrate.
● The smallest unit of the administration was the village. Its chief officer was called Gramik or Gramani.
● Gramani was elected by the people of the village.
● In every village, there was an officer who was called Gram Bhojak.
● In the administration of Chandra Gupta Maurya the department of espionage was well organized.
According to Kautilya, there were two sections of the secret service—(1) Sansthan, (2) Sancharan.
● In the inscriptions, Asoka is called Devanampriya and Priyadarshi.
● The Ceylonese sources and Deepvansh, call him, Priyadarshan and Priyadarshi. Scholars think that
these were his titles.
● Asoka appointed an officer called Mahamatras in every city and district.
● In the 13th year of his reign, he appointed Dharma Mahamatra and Dharmayukta for the first time for
the happiness and peace of his people.
● Upagupta was a Bauddhist monk of Mathura under his influence, Asoka changed his religion and
accepted Buddhism.
● Asoka sent his daughter Sanghmitra and son Mahendra to spread Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
● In the mini edicts Asoka calls himself a Buddha Shakya.
● Asoka sent Majjhantik to propogate Buddhism in Kashmir.
● In 1750, it was Teffenthaler who first explored the Asokan pillars.
● Asoka’s last edict was found by Beadon in 1915 at Maski.
● The small edicts of Asoka are of two types. According to Smith, they were written in 259-232 B.C.
● The first kind of Asokan small pillar edicts are available at Roopnath in Jabalpur district, Sahasaram in
Shahabad district of Bihar, Maski, in Raichoor district, and Vairat in Rajasthan.
● The second type of Asokan edicts have been found at Siddhpur (Chitralahug, Mysore) Jatig,
Rameshwar and Brahmagiri.
● The Bhabru edict was found at Bairath near Jaipur in Rajasthan. In this edict seven precepts of
Buddhism have been given which Asoka liked most and he desired that the people should read them and
make their conduct accordingly. This edict is preserved in Kolkata Museum.
● Two edicts about Kalinga have been found at Dhauli and Jaugarh. In these, the principles of behaviour
with he people of Kalinga and with the frontier people have been outlined.
● Asokan small edicts have been found at about 15 places.
● The Erangudi edict was found in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh at a place known as Erangudi.
● The Maski small edict was found from Maski village of Raichoor district of Andhra Pradesh. It contains
the name of Asoka.
● The Rajul Mandgiri edict was found on a mound 20 miles beyond Erangudi in Kurnool district of Andhra
Pradesh.
● The Gurjara edict has been found from a village named Gurjara in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh. It
also mentions the name of Asoka.
● Ahraura edict was found from a hill of the village Ahraura in Mirzapur district of U.P.
● Palgoraria edict was found in 1975.
● The Sannati inscription (edict) has been found in the village Sannati in the district of Gulbarga of
Karnatic State.
● The cave inscription are three in number which have been found in the Barabar hills of Gaya city in
Bihar. These refer to the charity performed by the King to the Ajivaks.
● The language of the Kandahar edict is Greek and Aramaic.
● The Topara pillar edict has been found from a village named Topara in Haryana. In the course of time
Firoz Tughlaq brought it to Delhi where it is kept at Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
● Rumindei small pillar edict was found from the Tarai of Nepal.
● Most of Asokan edicts are written in Prakrit language.
● In Gupta age ships and boats were manufactured in large numbers. Gujarat, Bengal and Tamil Nadu
were the main centres of cotton industry.
● Trade between India and China was carried on before Gupta age, in 2nd century.
● India had trade relations with eastern, countries. They were called Swarnabhumi (land of gold).
● Peshawar, Bharaunch, Ujjaini, Varanasi, Prayag, Patliputra, Mathura, Vaishali and Tamralipti were
trade centres.
● In west Bharaunch and in east, Tamralipti were prominent ports.
● Gold, silver, bronze, tin, campher, dates and horses were imported.
● The collective unit of the people who worked in various industries, were known as ‘Kuliks’.
● ‘Kulik Nigam’ and ‘Shreshthi Nigam were the unions of wealthy traders. The Kulik Nigam had its own
seal which was used in commercial correspondence and the trade-goods.
● In the Gupta age, India maintained trade relations with Arabia. Horses were imported from Arabia and
Iran.
● The Seals of Kulik have been excavated from the town Meeta near Allahabad.
● From Vaishali 274 Seals of Sarthwah Kulik Nigam have been excavated prove that it was a great
institution of the Gupta age.
● Trade with China, Japan and Sumatra was carried from the port of Tamralipti.
● In Gupta age the land tax was known as ‘Udrang’.
● Kadur and Charpal were the ports situated in Andhra Pradesh.
● Kaveripattanam and Tondai were the ports of Chola State.
● Kokai and Saliyur were the ports of Pandya State.
● Kottayam and Mujris were the ports of Malwa State.
● Sindhu, Orhoth, Kalyan and Mibor were other main ports for trade.
● Hiranya was the tax realized in cash. Bhutavat Pratyaya was the tax levied upon the imports from
other countries.
● Haldand was the tax charged on the ploughed land.
● A definite portion of the produce from agricultural land was charged as the land tax by the State. It
was called Bhag tax. Generally it was charged in kind.
● In the Gupta age, the land was donated only to the Brahmans.
● The land donated to Brahmans was called Brahmdeya.
● The tax free villages of the Brahmans were called Agrahara.
● In the Gupta age, the Gram Parishads (village councils) were autonomous and free from the State
control.
● The uncultivated land was the property of the king.
● The women who remained unmarried throughout their life and passed their time in studies were called
Brahmavadinis.
● Taxila, Varanasi and Ujjaini were prominent centres of education.
● In the Gupta society, intercaste marriages were performed.
● The slave system was practised in the Gupta age.
● The joint family system was in vogue in Gupta society.
● In the women though not as much respected as in Vedic period, yet enjoyed important position in the
society of Gupta age.
● Sheelbhattarika was an educated and worthy woman of the Gupta age.
● Widow remarriages were performed in the Gupta age, But some works of the age speak against it.
Chandra Gupta II married the widow of Ramgupta, his brother. Her name was Dhruva Swamini.
● Prostitutes, expert in music and dance, and perfect in sexology were called ‘Ganikas’.
● The traders and commercial professionals had their ‘Shrenis’ in Gupta age. The Patkar, Tailik (oil
traders), Pashan Kottak (stone cutters) were important Shrenis.
● The author of ‘Swapnavasavaduttam’ was an eminent prose writer.
● The author of Bhattikavya or Ravan Vadh, was Bhatti, an eminent poet of Gupta age.
● Bhartahari worte ‘Niti Shatak’, Shringar Shatak and Vairagya Shatak which became very famous.
Some scholars believe that Bhartahari is another name for Bhatti.
● ‘Kuntleshwar Daityam’ is a drama that testifies to the fact that Kalidas belonged to the Gupta age.
● ‘Abhigyanshakuntalam’ ‘Meghdoot’ ‘Ritusanhar’ are some of the major works of Kalidas.
● Kamsutra is a famous book on Sexology written by Vatsyayan.
● Vaibhashik and Sanghbhadra were the two Acharyas (teachers) of the Gupta age who wrote the
literature of the Vaibhashik sect.
Important Facts of Indian History
History of Medieval India
● Made in the times of Bhoj, an idol of ‘Vakdevi’ is at present preserved in the British Museum.
● The Jain temples of Dilwara were constructed during the period of Parmars.
● In Udaipur Prashasti, Munj is entitled ‘Kavi Vrish’ due to his literary attainments.
● Qutubuddin was purchased as a slave in his childhood by Qazi Fakruddin Abdul Aziz Koofi.
● Qutubuddin did not issue coins or got ‘Khutba’ read in his name after accession to Delhi throne.
● Qutubuddin Aibak was buried at Lahore after his death.
● Iltutmish established the Shamsi dynasty.
● Iltutmish organized the group of his 40 slaves which is famous in history as Turkan-i-Chahalgami.
● Yalduz and Nasiruddin Qubacha were prominent rivals of Iltutmish.
● Iltutmish organized the ‘Iqta army’.
● Iltutmish issued the coins—‘Taka’ of silver and ‘Jeetal’ of copper.
● Iltutmish was the first Sultan who issued pure Arabic coins.
● On 18th February, 1229, the representatives of the Caliph of Baghdad came to Delhi and they gave
the Investiture of the Caliph to Iltutmish. The Caliph thus accepted him as the Sultan of Delhi. Now Delhi
became a free state legitimately.
● According to Barni, Balban organized his Court on the Iranian pattern.
● Balban started the system of ‘Sijda’ and ‘Paibos’ during his reign.
● Balban’s theory of kingship was based upon—Power, Prestige and Justice. His main objective was to
maintain his control upon the administrative officials.
● The Mongol leader Changez Khan was known as the ‘Curse of God’.
● The coronation of Jalaluddin Feroz Shah was done in 1290 at the Kilokhari Apurna Palace built by
Kaikubad.
● At the time of his accession on the Delhi Sultanate, Alauddin Khalji assumed the title of Abul Mujaffar
Sultan Alauddinia and Deen Mohammad Shah Khalji.
● Jalaluddin Feroz Shah Khalji granted to Alauddin Khalji, the post of Amir-i-Tujuk.
● During Alauddin’s time approximately 75 to 80 per cent of the peasant’s produce was charged as tax.
● The main tasks of Diwan-i-Ariz were to recruit the soldiers, to disburse the salary, to well equip the
army, to make arrangements for inspection and to proceed with the Commander-in-Chief in times of
war.
● The main tasks of the Diwan-i-Insha was to draft royal orders and letters and to maintain the govt.
records. He also conducted correspondence with the local officers.
● Alauddin Khalji introduced market reforms and fixed the prices of various items and goods.
● Munhiyan or detectives were appointed to keep a watch over the market and report the Sultan of the
same.
● Barid-i-Mandi was an employee who informed the Sultan of the quality of the material sold in the
market.
● ‘Khams’ was the war booty. The 4/5 of the loot was submitted to the royal treasury. Only 1/5 was
distributed among the soldiers.
● Alauddin Khalji established a new department Diwan-i-Mustakharaj in order to check the corruption of
Revenue department and to maintain control on the concerned officers.
● Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah rejected the rigid rules of Alauddin Khalji and pursued the policy of forgive
and forget.
● Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Ghazi was a Qaruna turk.
● Mohammad Tughlaq has been called, an unfortunate idealist
● Due to shortage of money in the treasury and to meet the expenses of Imperialist policy, Mohammadbin-Tughlaq issued token currency.
● Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq planned invasion of Khurasan and Iraq but did not carry it out.
● Diwan-i-Kohi was the name of agriculture department organized by Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq.
● Elphinston was the first historian who believed that there was some signs of madness in Mohammad
Tughlaq.
● Feroz Shah abolished 24 taxes disliked by people.
● Feroz Shah Tughlaq following dictum of Quran. levied only 4 taxes named Kharaj, Khums, Zazia and
Zakat.
● Feroz Shah brought the two Asokan pillars from Khijrabad and Meerut to Delhi.
● During the period of Feroz Shah Tughlaq, the two books Fatwa-i-Jahandari and Tarikh-i-Feroz Shahi
were written by Barni.
● Feroz Shah Tughlaq wrote his autobiography entitled Futuhat-i-Firoz Shahi.
● Feroz Shah Tughlaq established a new department of charity at Delhi known as Diwan-i-Khairat.
● Feroz Shah’s book ‘Dalayat-i-Feroz Shahi’ was a work translated into Persian.
● Taimur invaded India in 1398.
● Sikandar Lodhi was the greatest of the Lodhi kings.
● In the Sultanate period, the Wazir was the Prime Minister of the Sultan.
● The department of the Wazir was known as the Diwan-i-Wizarat.
● In the Sultanate period, the Mushrif-i-Mumaliq maintained the account of the income and expenditure
of the provinces.
● In the Sultanate period, the Chief Auditor of Accounts was called Mustafa-i-Mamaliq. His main work
was to inspect the accounts prepared by Mushraf-i-Mamaliq.
● The Chief of military department was called, Ariz-i-Mamaliq who was not the Commander-in-Chief of
the army.
● Dabir-i-Khas was the chairman of the correspondence department.
● Department of Diwan-i-Insha worked under Dabir-i-Khas who issued the royal Firmans (orders).
● The Treasurer was called Khajij and the Chief Justice was called Qazi-i-Mamaliq.
● The Chief of the Construction department was called Mir-i-Imarat.
● The Public Hall of the Sultan was called Durbar-i-Azam.
● The Sultan divided the empire into Iqtas orprovinces.
● Iqta was divided into samll shiks or districts.
● Jakat was the tax which covered the taxes of ‘Sadpa’ and ‘Tith’.
● Qutubuddin Aibak had built the mosque known as Quwwattul-Islam near the Delhi Fort of Rai Pithora.
● The famous mosque at Ajmer known as Dhai Din Ka Jhopra was constructed by Qutubuddin Aibak.
● Dhai Din Ka Jhopra was earlier a Sanskrit school which was built by Vigrahraj Bisaldeo.
● Alai Darwaza which is considered to be the most precious jewel of Islamic architecture was built by
Alauddin Khalji.
● The new city of Siri and the Hazaar Situn palace in this city were built by Alauddin Khalji.
● In the period of Sikander Lodhi, his Wazir built the Moth mosque.
● The mosque of Attala is one of the best buildings of Sharqi style.
● The Jhajhanri mosque at Jaunpur was built by Ibrahim Sharqi in about 1430.
● The most important mosque at Jaunpur known as Jami mosque was built by Hussain Shah Sharqi.
● The mosque of Lal Darwaza at Jaunpur, was built in the middle of the 15th century.
● The Vijay Nagar kingdom was divided into 6 provinces. The chief of the province was known as
Prantpati or Nayak.
● The province was divided into Nadu or districts.
● The provincial rulers were allowed to issue their coins.
● In the Vijay Nagar empire Brahmans were the most respected. The criminal Brahman was exempled
from capital punishment.
● Women enjoyed honourable status. Many of them learnt the art of warfare. They were appointed as
bodyguards.
● Krishnadeo Ray is designated as the Andhra Pitamah.
● Gold coins were used and they were called ‘Barah’.
● Mixed metal coins were called Partab.
● Kabir who adopted the Gyanashrayi branch of the Nirgun sect, was the disciple of Ramanand.
● Namdeo was born in a small village of Satara district in 1220.
● Sabad refer to the composition related to Yog Sadhana.
● Guru Nanak was born in a small village Talwandi near Lahor.
● To reform a society ridden with ritualism and superstitious, he preached the Nirguna sect.
● The fifth Sikh Guru Arjundeo systematized the composition of Guru Nanak in ‘Guru Granth Sahib’.
● Malik Mohammad Jayasi earned great name and fame for his work Padmavat.
● The first invasion of Babar on India was conducted in 1519. During this invasion, he conquered Bajaur
and Bhera. He went back from here. When he left these two places were lost to the Moghuls.
● Babar again invaded India in 1526, for the fifth time and he did not go back this time. He founded the
Moghul empire in India.
● He defeated Ibrahim Lodhi by adopting his trusted war tactics of Tulughma.
● Babar used Artillery for the first time in the battle of Panipat.
● Babar defeated Rana Sanga of Mewar in the battle of Khanva in 1527. He scored a victory over
Afghans in battle of ‘Ghaghara’ in 1529.
● Babar declared the Chanderi war as Jehad and he constructed a minarate of the heads of the dead
Rajputs.
● Babar wrote his autobiography Tujuk-i-Babri in Turkish language.
● Mirza Haider Speaks about numerous qualities of Babar in his book—Tarikh-i-Rashidi.
● Babar’s daughter Gulbadan Begum enumerated the qualities of Babar in her book, Humayun Nama.
● Babar in his reign abolished the tax Tamagha.
● Babar wrote Risala-i-Validiya in Turkish poetry which was orginally the work of Khwaja Obei-dullah.
● Babar learnt the use of artillery from Ustad Ali and Mustafa—his two Turkish officers.
● The name of Humayun’s mother was Maham Sultana.
● In 1544 Humayun took shelter with Shah Tahmasp, the ruler of Iran.
● In July 1555, Humayun again occupied the throne of Delhi.
● Humayun died on 27 January, 1556 as a result of a sudden fall from the stairs of the Din-Panah
Library.
● Shershah was a great conqueror. He fought and won a grim battle against Maldeo of Marwar.
● Shershah introduced currency reform, extanded transport system by building, roads, most famous
being present day G. T. Road and reformed revenue system by classifying agricultural land and
introducing measurement of land.
● During the administration of Shershah, the Diwan-i-Vizarat looked after the tax system and economy
and maintained the accounts of the income and expenditure of the State.
● The duty of Diwan-i-Ariz was to recruit the army, supply the food and look after education.
● The duty of Diwan-i-Rasalat was to conduct correspondence with other States and to maintain contact
with them.
● The duty of the Diwan-i-Insha was to write emperor’s orders and records of accounts.
● The credit to solve the early difficulties of Akbar and to safeguard the Mughal empire goes to Bairam
Khan.
● From 1556 to 1560 the reins of Mughal administration remained in the hands to Bairam Khan.
● At Tilwara, a war was fought between Bairam Khan and the army of Akbar. Bairam Khan was
defeated.
● In early days of his rule Akbar was under the influence of Harem particularly his foster another Maham
Anga. This is why some historian call the early years of Akbar as ‘Purda-rule’ or Petticoat government.
● When Maham Anga died, the so-called short Petticoat government of Akbar’s time ended.
● In 1562 Akbar abolished the slavery system.
● Akbar was the first muslim ruler who got maximum success in Rajasthan.
● Akbar’s second attack on Gujarat is considered to be not only the fastest invasion of Akbar’s time but
the fastest in the history of the world of that age.
● In 1595 during Akbar’s time. Muzaffar Hussain was the Persian Governor of Qandahar.
● Akbar’s mother Hamida Bano Begum was a religious lady of a Sufi Shia family.
● Raja Birbal died fighting on the royal side in the Afghan-Baluchi rebellion during Akbar’s time.
● In 1571 was built an Ibadatkhana at Fatehpur Sikri where every Thrusday, religious deliberation were
held.
● Akbar was also impressed by Jainism. He invited the eminent Jain scholar Heer Vijay Suri from Tam
Gachh in Gujarat to know about this religion.
● Impressed by Zorastrianism, the holy fire was kept burning in Akbar’s palace.
● Following the tradition of Hindu kings, Akbar started appearing for Darshan of his people from the
Jharokha of his palace.
● In Akbar’s time, the Prime Minister was known Wazir or Vakil-i-Mutlaq.
● In Akbar’s time, the Finance Minister was called Wazir or Deewan.
● Mujaffar Khan was the first to be appointed as Wazir during Akbar’s time.
● The assistants of Deewan, known as Sahib-i-Taujeeh looked after the accounts of the Army.
● Another assistant of Deewan, Deewan-i-Bayutoot, looked after the Industries of different kinds.
● The officer who managed the royal treasury was known as Mushrif-i-Khazana.
● Meer Saman in Akbar’s time, managed the affairs of the royal palace, Haram and kitchen.
● In Akbar’s time, Amal Guzar was the officer who collected the revenue from the districts.
● Bitikchi prepared the data about the quality of land and its produce. On the same basis, the Amal
Guzar fixed the revenue. Bitikchi was the second important officer in the Revenue department.
● Amil collected the revenue from the Pargana.
● In Akbar’s time, the clerk was called Karkun. His main task was to record the cultivable land in the
Pargana and keep an account of the realized and unrealized revenue.
● Akabar introduced Mansabdari system with its ranks of Jat and Sawar based on decimal system.
● According to Blochman, Zat was the definite number of soldiers, the Mansabdars had to keep with
them.
● According to Blochman the Sawar meant the definite number of cavalry.
● In Akbar’s time, there were four kinds of land—Polaj, Chacher, Parauti and Banjar.
● In Akbar’s time, Ibrahim Sarhindi translated the Sanskrit text of Atharva Ved in Persian.
● Mulla Shah Mohammad translated in Persian Raj Tarangini of Kalhan.
● Maulana Sherry translated Hari Vansh Puran in Persian.
● Abul Fazal translated Panch Tantra in Persian.
● Faizi translated the story of Nal Damayanti in Persian.
● The history of Islam was compiled in Tarikh-i-Alfi. It is a famous book.
● Akbar established a separate department of Painting, the chairman of this department was the famous
painter Khwaja Abdus Samad.
● Abdussamad was an inhabitant of Persia who came to India from Shiraz. He was adorned with the title
of Shirin Qalam for his attainments.
● Mohammad Hussain, the famous author of Akbar’s Court was adorned with the title of Zari Qalam.
● Akbar built the Fort of Allahabad.
● The first building of Akbar’s time was Humayun’s tomb at Delhi built under the guidance of his step
mother Haji Begum.
● The main mason who built Humayun’s tomb belonged to Iran and his name was Mirza Meerak Ghyas.
● Akbar was born on Sunday. Hence Jahangir declared Sunday as a pious day.
● Nur Jahan was an educated lady. She was specially interested in music, painting and poetry. She
composed poetry in Persian.
● The first Englishman to come to the Mughal Court was captain Hawkins.
● Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana was the guardian and tutor of Jahangir.
● The English ambassador Sir Thomas Roe came to India during Jahangir’s time.
● The Jahangir’s autobiography is Tujuk-i-Jahangiri.
● Shahjahan was born on 5 January, 1592 at Lahore. The name of his mother was Jagat Gosain.
● Two big rebellions broke out during Shahjahan’s time. One was the revolt of the ruler of Bundelkhand
named Jujhar Singh and the other was the revolt in south under the leadership of Khan-i-Jahan Lodhi.
● The title of Malika-i-Zamani was conferred upon Arjumand Bano Begum.
● The first coronation of Aurangzeb was performed on 31 July, 1658 and the second coronation took
place on 15 June, 1659.
● Aurangzeb passed an order and prohibited the repairs of the temples by the Hindus.
● Aurangzeb appointed Subedars and Muhatsibs to check the spread of education and Hinduism.
● Aurangzeb again levied Zazia upon Hindus.
● Under Aurangzeb, the Hindu traders paid 5% tax on goods while the Muslim traders were free from
this tax.
● Aurangzeb issued orders to prohibit the celebration of Holi, Diwali and Basant etc. in the Mughal Court.
● Gokul and Raja Ram were the leaders of Jat revolt against Aurangzeb. After the death of Rajaram, his
brother’s son named Churaman continued the revolt. The Jat rebellion went on till the death of
Aurangzeb
and the Jats succeeded in establishing a free Jat state of Bharatpur near Mathura.
● In 1681, Akbar, the son of Aurangzeb revolted against him.
● The 9th Guru of the Sikh order, Guru Tegh Bahadur openly protested against the religious policy of
Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb called him to Delhi and asked him to accept Islam. When he refused, he was
beheaded.
● Shivaji was the founder of Maratha State. He fought against the state of Deccan, as well as the mughal
empire. He was a great administrator.
● Shivaji was succeeded by Sambhaji who was captured and put to death by Aurangzeb.
● Rajaram ruled only as the representative of Shahu—the son of Shambhaji who was imprisoned by
Aurangzeb. Rajaram never occupied the Maratha throne.
● After the death of Raja Ram Maratha war of independence was carried on by his wife Tarabai.
● VascodeGama came to India as the representative of the ruler of Portugal. He met Zamorin of Calicut
and obtained trade facilities.
● In 1492 Pope Alexander VI granted the Portuguese the monopoly to trade with the east.
● From 1505 to 1509, Almeda remained in India as the first Portuguese Governor.
● Albukirk was the successor of Almeda in India. His objective was to establish a Portuguese colony in
India by intermarrying with Indians.
● After coming to India, the Dutch established their trade centres at Surat, Bharaunch, Cambay,
Ahmedabad, Chinsura, Kasim Bazar, Patna, Balasore, Nagapattanam, Kochin, Masulipattanam and Agra.
● The main aim of the Dutch was to trade with the Islands of south-east Asia. India was just a passage
for them. This is why the Dutch faced no rivalry with other European companies.
● In 1608, under the leadership of Captain Hawkins, the English fleet reached India.
● In 1717 the Mughal King Farrukh Siyar granted a Firman to the British giving them the trade rights.
● In 1692, the Nawab of Bengal issued an order to the French Company and they established a
commercial Factory at Chandranagar.
Important Facts of Indian History
History of Modern India
● Muazzam occupied the Mughal throne as Bahadur Shah after his success in the war of succession.
● Muazzam, the son of Aurangzeb was called as the ‘Shah Bekhabar’.
● The Mughal King Farrukh Siyar gratned concession to the English men to trade in Bengal, Gujarat and
Hyderabad.
● In 1759 Ali Mohar, the son of Alamgir sat upon the Mughal throne as Shah Alam II.
● After the death of Maratha ruler Shahu, the real power of the State came in the hands of Peshwas.
● Nawab Murshid Quli Khan of Bengal transferred his capital to Murshidabad from Dacca.
● Nawab Mir Qasim of Bengal transferred his capital to Moongher from Murshidabad.
● In the middle of the 18th century, the nominal ruler of Mysore was Chika Krishnaraj. The real power of
the State lied with the two brothers—Nand Raj and Dev Raj.
● In 1761 Hyder Ali captured Nandraj and became the master of Mysore.
● In the first Anglo-Mysore war, Hyder Ali badly defeated the English army.
● In 1781 Hyder Ali conqurered Arcot but in 1781 at Porn Novo Sir Eyerkoot defeated him.
● Ali Muhammad Khan established the State of Rohilkhand.
● The early capital of Rohilkhand was ‘Awala’ which later shifted to Rampur.
● Guru Har Gobind Singh constructed the Akaal Takht at Amritsar.
● Guru Gobind Singh converted the Sikhs into a warring and military group.
● In 1721, the two sects of Sikhism ‘Bandai’ and ‘Tatkhalsa’ merged in one sect ‘Khalsa’. This sect
became a headache for the Mughals.
● The Sikhs were organized in 12 unions or misls which grew in political significance. Later Ranjeet
Singh conquered these misls and organized them into Punjab State.
● The ruler of the Afghanistan conferred the title of Raja upon Ranjeet Singh and appointed him the
Subedar of Lahore.
● The treaty of Amritsar was signed between the English and Ranjeet Singh in 1809. As a result the
English checked the expansion of Ranjeet Singh towards the region of Sutluj.
● According to the treaty of Amritsar, the English accepted Ranjeet Singh as an independent ruler.
● During first Anglo-Sikh war, the Governor-General of India was Lord Hardinge.
● Punjab was ruled by Maharaja Dalip Singh when the Lahore Treaty was signed in 1846 between the
Sikhs and the English after the defeat of Sikhs in the first Anglo Sikh war.
● During Sirajudaulla’s time, the English settlement at Calcutta became a resort for the enemies of
Nawab and the traitors.
● On 4th June, 1756 Sirajudaulla invaded and captured the Qasim Bazar factory of English near
Murshidabad.
● The Black hole tragedy as it is known in history, came to light through the letter of Holvell. Some of
the historians consider it imaginery.
● In the contemporary historical works like Sher-a-Mutkherin and Royas-us-Salatin, there is no
reference to the Black hole tragedy.
● On 9th February, 1757, the Ali Nagar Treaty was signed between the English and the Nawab.
● After the war of Plassey, when Sirajudaulla was running away from Murshidabad towards Patna he was
captured and killed.
● On 28 June, 1757, the English declared Mir Jafar as the Nawab of Bengal.
● After victory in Plassey war, the English Company obtained concessions to trade in Bengal, Bihar and
Orissa.
● On 25 November, 1759, the Bedara war was fought between the English and the Dutch and the Dutch
were defeated. The victory helped the English in consolidating their hold on Bengal.
● Mir Qasim planned friendship with Vansittart to become the Nawab of Bengal.
● Mir Qasim gave to East India Company, the districts of Vardhman, Midnapur and Chittgaon for the
expenditure of the English army.
● In 1764 the joint army of Mir Qasim, Shujauddaulla and Shah Alam fought with the English—the war
of Buxar, the English were victorious in this war.
● After the Buxar War, the Allahabad treaty was signed between English and the Mughal King Shah Alam
in 1765 AD.
● According to Allahabad Treaty, the districts of Kara and Allahabad were taken away from the Nawab of
Oudh and given to Mughal King. The East India Company agreed to pay to the king a pension of Rs. 26
lacs. In lieu the English got Diwani rights in Bengal.
● After the death of Mir Jafar, his son Nizamuddaula was enthroned as Nawab of Bengal.
● K. M. Panikkar holds that from 1765 to 1772, the rule of East India Company in Bengal was the ‘rule of
dacoits’.
● During Warren Hastings period, the Treasury was transferred by the East India Company to Calcutta
from Murshidabad and Calcutta was made the capital.
● During the Governorship of Warren Hastings, in every district of subjugated India one Civil and one
Criminal Court was opened.
● The cases upto to Rs. 500 were referred to the Civil Court and alone it, the appeal could be made to
the Sadar Diwani Adalat.
● The District Criminal Court was put in charge of an Indian Officer.
● The Regulating Act of 1773 established a Supreme Court at Calcutta.
● The Permanent settlement introduced by Cornwallis brought changes in the land system. Most of the
land came in the hands of commercial and rich classes of Calcutta.
● The Permanent settlement ensured the income of the Government. Besides the cooperation of the new
Zamindars was obtained.
● In the Mahalwari system, land revenues was fixed either through the local Zamindars or their
hereditary tax collectors or the Zamindars of the Mahal. Mahal was the collection of villages. The
Mahalwari system was known in Punjab as the village system.
● The Raiyyatwari system was introduced during early 19th century in some regions of Madras and
Bombay. The Govt. directly obtained a fixed amount from the peasants.
● In the Raiyyatwari system, the revenue rate was fixed 45% to 50% of the total produce separately.
● The Raiyyatwari system had many defects which the Govt. official accepted at the time of a
parliamentary inspection for the renewal of the Company’s Charter.
● In the Fifth and Sixth decades of 19 century, the English invested in large amount to control Indian
economy.
● The English invested their capital on roads and communications, Railway, Post and Telegraph, Banks
and tea gardens.
● In 1830 the Ahoms again rebelled against the English. This time, the English Company adopted a
peaceful policy and granted north Assam and some other region to King Purandar Singh.
● Raja Teerath Singh of Nanakkalo rebelled against the English with the help of Garo, Khampati and
Sinhopo tribes. Soon it took the shape of a mass-movement. In 1833, the English could crust it with
superior military force.
● In 1825, the Assam Rifles rebelled against the English.
● In 1838, the Indian troops stationed at Sholapur rebelled due to non-payment of the full allowances.
● In 1850 the Gobind Garh regiment rebelled.
● On 1 January, 1857, the use of British made Enfield Rifles was started in India. In the cartridges of
this Rifle, the fat of cows and pigs were used.
● In March 1857, the soldiers of Bairakpur Cantt refused to use the fat cartridges.
● On 2 May, 1857, the Oudh Regiment of Lucknow too refused to use these cartridges. As a result, the
Oudh regiment was disbanded.
● To the soldiers of Meerut who had refused to use the fat cartridges, an English military officer—Carr
Michael Smith issued the jail punishment of 5 years.
● On 10 May, 1857, a section of the infantry and cavalry of Merrut rebelled at about 5 P.M.
● The rebels marched to Delhi, captured the city and declared Bahadurshah the emperor of India.
Bahadurshah assumed the leadership of revolt in Delhi.
● During this rebellion, Nana Saheb established his suzeranity over Kanpur and declared himself the
Peshwa.
● In Bundelkhand Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi assumed the leadership of the revolt.
● In Bihar, the zamindar of Jagdishpur, named Kunwar Singh led the revolt.
● On 28 May, 1857, the soldiers of Nasirabad Cantt in Rajasthan, rebelled.
● Kota and Adva were the main centres of revolt in Rajasthan.
● The Central India, Tantya Tope led the revolt.
● In U.P. the importnat centres of revolution were Jhansi, Kanpur, Bareilly, Meerut, Lucknow, Aligarh,
Mathura and Agra.
● The Bareilly rebellion was led by Batakhs Khan.
● The Commissioner of Oudh, Henry Laurrence died of a blast on 4th July, 1857.
● While suppressing the revolt, the English officer Neil buried the dead Brahmans and burnt the dead
Muslims.
● In March 1858, under the leadership of Kunwar Singh, the rebels captured Azamgarh.
● While marching towards Benaras from Azamgarh, there was an encounter between Kunwar Singh and
the English officer Lord Mark in which Lord Mark had to run away to save his life.
● Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur was the only leader to have died under the banner of freedom.
● On 14 December, 1857, the English army blasted Kashmiri Gate of Delhi.
● In November 1857 the rebels defeated the English General Windaham near Kanpur.
● Vinayak Damodar Saverker was the first to name the rebellion of 1857 as the first war of Indian
independence.
● According to Sir Seeley, the rebellion of 1857 was fully a national revolt conducted by selfish soldiers.
● Sir John Lawrence, P. E. Roberts and V. A. Smith have called it a Sepoy Mutiny.
● According to V. A. Smith, the rebellion of 1857 was purely a sepoy mutiny which fully reflected the
indiscipline of Indian soldiers and the foolishness of English military officers.
● According to Sir James Outtram, the revolt of 1857 was the result of a conspiracy of the Muslims who
desired to fulfill their self-interest on the strength of the Hindus.
● Ashok Mehta in his book, ‘The Great Revolt’, has attempted to prove that it was a national revolt.
● Pattabhi Sita Ramaiyya takes it to be the first war of Indian independence.
● After crushing the revolt of 1857, they constituted an India Council and abolished the Board of
Directors. There were 15 members in the India Council and a Secretary of State for India.
● After the revolt, Lord Canning announced the Declaration of the Queen at a Durbar held at Allahabad.
He called it, ‘the Magna Carta of Indian people’.
● In the Declaration of the Queen, the policy of expansion of the political limits came to an end.
● The rebels responsible for the murder of Englishmen were punished. All others were pardoned.
● The objective of Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramkirshna Mission and the Theosophical society etc.
was to herald a renaissance in India.
● Brahmo Samaj was founded in Calcutta by Raja Ram Mohan Roy on 20 August, 1828.
● Raja Ram Mohan Roy always advocated the appointment of Indians on high govt. posts. He played a
major role in the abolition of Sati system.
● After the death of Raja Ram Mohan Roy on 20 August, 1833, Devendara Nath Tagore assumed the
leadership of the Brahmo Samaj.
● Aadi Brahmo Samaj was established by Devendra Nath Thakur.
● Bhartiya Brahmo Samaj was founded by Keshav Chandra Sen.
● The principles of Brahmo Samaj helped immensely in the birth and Spread Indian nationalism.
● Raja Ram Mohan Roy established Vedant College, English School and Hindu College at Calcutta.
● Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the advocate of English Education and he thought English to be the vehicle
of progress.
● It was due to the effort of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, that the restriction upon the newspapers were lifted.
● In 1819, at Maharashtra, Prarthna Sabha was founded. It came to an end due to its limited scope.
● In 1867 Atma Ram Pandurang established Prarthna Samaj. M. G. Ranade, R. G. Bhandarkar and
Narayan Chandrawarkar were the prominent members of this Samaj.
● Dayanand Saraswati left his house at the age of 21. As a Brahmachari Sadhu, he travelled to different
places in India.
● Dayanand Saraswati started the propagation of his religion from Agra.
● In 1874, he wrote his famous book Satyarth Prakash.
● On 10 April, 1875 he founded Arya Samaj at Bombay.
● Totapuri, a Vedantic sadhu taught Vedant Sadhna to Dayananda.
● Ramkrishna Paramhans was born in 1836 in a poor Brahman family of Hoogly district of Bengal.
● Swami Vivekanand was the most devoted disciple of Swami Ramkrishna Paramhans.
● Ramkrishna Pramhans did not establish any Ashram or sect.
● In 1893 in the All Religion Conference at Chicago Vivekanand impressed everyone, and started a
Vedant Samaj there.
● In 1896 Vivekanand established Ramkrishna Mission.
● In the last years of the third decade of the 19th century, the young Bengal movement was led by an
Englishman named Henry William Derozio.
● On 7 September, 1875 in New York, U.S.A. Madame H.P. Blatavesky (Russian) and Col. H. S. Alcott
(American) founded the Theosophical Society.
● Mrs. Annie Besant, an Irish lady was a very active member of Theosophical Society in India.
● Due to the efforts of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, in 1856, the Widow Remarriage Act was legislated.
● The slogan of ‘Inkalab Zindabad’ was given by Mohammad Iqbal.
● Sir Saiyyad Ahmad Khan founded the Anglo Oriental College at Aligarh in 1877 which later became
known as Aligarh Muslim University.
● Haji Shariatullah was the initiator of Faryaz movement.
● In Maharashtra the Bharat Sewak Samaj was started by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
● In 1922 Amrit Lal Viththal Das established the Bheel Sewa Mandal.
● Jyoti Ba Phule was the champion of widowremarriage in Maharashtra.
● In 1911 Narayan Maltar Joshi organised the Social Service League, a society to solve the social
problems. He was assisted by some educated Indians.
● Avanindra Nath Thakur founded the society known as—The Indian Society of Oriental Art.
● In the 19th century, the famous Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chatterjee composed the song—
Vande Matram.
● In 1875, Sisir Kumar Ghose founded the India League.
● The Indian Association founded by Surendra Nath Banerjee was replaced by the Indian League in
1876.
● The credit for founding the Indian National Congress in 1885 goes to an English officer, Allen Octavian
Hume.
● The first Conference of the Indian National Congress was held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College,
Bombay under the chairmanship of W. C. Banerjee.
● Bal Gangadhar Tilak started Ganesh Mahotsav in 1893 and Shivaji Samaroh in 1895.
● Pandit Jugal Kishore published the first newspaper of India—Udant Martand. It was a paper which gave
top priority to Indian interests.
● During Lord Curzon’s time in 1905, Bengal was divided.
● In 1911, in Lord Hardinge’s time, the partition of Bengal was cancelled.
● Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajeet Singh were exiled to Burma in 1907.
● In 1911 the capital of India was shifted to Delhi from Calcutta.
● On Nov. 1913, the Ghadar Party was founded at Sanfransisco city of America by the great
revolutionary of Punjab named Lala Hardayal.
● Kashi Ram and Hardayal were the active members of the Ghadar Party.
● In 1906, Agha Khan founded the All India Muslim League.
● In 1916, a pact was signed between Muslim League and Congress which is known in history as the
Lucknow Pact.
● In 1916 Bal Gangadhar Tilak established the Home Rule League of India.
● After Lucknow Pact, Congress and League presented the plan of political reforms based on separate
electoral regions. This pact led to an increase in communalism.
● In 1914 Annie Besant brought out a newspaper in English named ‘New India’.
● Gandhiji established the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.
● On 30 March, 1919, Satyagraha Day was observed in whole of India. The Satyagraha was peaceful at
all places except Punjab and Delhi.
● Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Saifuddin, the leaders of the Punjab Satyagraha were imprisoned. In protest, a
meeting was organized at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar . The people who assembled here were gunned
down. This is known as ‘Jalhianwalla bagh Massacre’ of April 1919.
● After the world war I, the Indian Muslims were excited due to the treatment meted out to Caliph by
the British in Turkey. In 1919 they started the Khilafat movement under the leadership of Maulana
Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Ali.
● The Congress joined the Muslims in Khilafat movement. On 31 August, 1919, the Khilafat Day was
observed.
● Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-cooperation Mass Movement in 1920-21. But violence broke out at
Chauri Chaura then in Gorakhpur district which saddened Gandhiji. In February 1922 he announced the
closure of the movement.
● In March 1922 Motilal Nehru and Deshbandhu Chitranjan Das established the Swaraj Party.
● In the elections of 1923 the Swaraj Party scored 40 seats out of 148.
● In 1927 the Bardoli Satyagraha was conducted by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.
● In 1928 under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon a Commission came to India to inspect the
administrative work. The Indians boycotted it as no Indian was a member of the Commission. In March
1928 the Commission went back.
● In the 1929 Lahore Congress session held under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru, the meaning of
Swaraj was declared as total independence.
● In 1930 Gandhiji broke the Salt laws by his Dandi March and he started the Civil Disobedience
movement.
● In 1930, the Congress boycotted the first Round Table Conference.
● In 1931, after Gandhi-Irwin pact Gandhiji went to attend the second Round Table Conference along
with the members of Muslim League.
● In the third Round table conference in 1932, Congress did not send any representative. Only 46
members went to participate under different categories.
● The meeting of the Executive of Congress held on 1 January, 1932 decided to again start the Civil
Disobedience Movement due to the completely negative attitude of the Government.
● The British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald declared the communal award on 16 August, 1932.
● On 25 September, 1932, the Poona Pact was signed. Common agreement was made on two conditions
for preparing the electoral regions. The representative of the Depressed classes was B.R. Ambedkar.
● In 1932 Gandhiji founded the Harijan Sewak Sangh for the uplift of the Harijans.
● On 8 May, 1933 Gandhiji declared the programme of 21 days fast for his self-purification.
● Gandhiji began ‘Individual Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience on 1 August, 1933.
● The Government of India Act of 1935 had 312 articles and 19 enclosures.
● In 1935, the British provinces were 11 e.g., Madras, Bombay, Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, Orissa, Central
Provinces, Assam, North West Frontier Provinces, United Provinces and Sindh.
● The Government of India Act of 1935, the subjects were divided into three departments—Federal,
Provincial and Concurrent.
● This Act divided the British provinces of India in two categories. 11 were the provinces under the
Governor and 5 provinces were under Lieutenant Commissioners.
● The Govt. of India Act, 1935, proposed Federal system and Provincial autonomy. The plan of Federal
system could not be implemented. The elections for the Provincial legislative Councils were held in the
January-February of 1937.
● The Congress won majority in 5 provinces—Madras, United Provinces, Central Provinces, Bihar and
Orissa in the general election of 1937.
● In Punjab, the Unionist Party and Muslim League jointly formed the Government. This Government
worked without any obstruction till 1947.
● In Bengal the Krishak Praja Party and the Muslim League jointly formed the Government. Its Cabinet
worked till 14 August, 1947. Sikandar Hayaat Khan was the head of this Government.
● The Congress Cabinets worked from 1937 to 1939.
● In 1934, the members of Congress Executive, Acharya Narendra Dev, Jai Prakash and Achyut
Patvardhan organized the Congress Socialist Party.
● In the Haripura session of the Congress (1938), S. C. Bose was unanimously elected the President.
● Subhash Chandra Bose organized a National Planning Committee.
● In 1939 Bose was relected Congress President defeating Gandhi’s candidate P. Sitaramayya.
● In April 1939, Subhash Chandra Bose resigned from the post of the President and started a militant
party known as Forward Block.
● In 1939, Jawaharlal Nehru became the President of the Tribal Conference of Indian States.
● In 1933, a Muslim student named Choudhary Rahmat Ali studying in England proposed the formation
of a separate Muslim State and called it Pakistan.
● On 24th March, 1940, in the Lahore Conference of the Muslim League, the Pakistan proposal was
passed.
● Lord Linlithgo presented the August proposal before the Congress on 8 August, 1940 for getting
cooperation during the war.
● The Individual Satyagraha was started from 17 October, 1940. Acharya Vinoba Bhave was the first
Satyagrahi. Gandhiji postponed it on 17 December, 1940.
● It was restarted on 5 January, 1941. During this period more than 20 thousand people were arrested.
● Cripps Mission visited India in 1942. It was onemember Commission and only Sir Strafford Cripps was
the member.
● The Congress and the League, both rejected the Cripps Proposals.
● The Quit India movement resolution was passed on 14 July, 1942 in the Executive of the Congress
Session held at Wardha. It was reaffirmed on 8 August, 1942.
● The interim government of free India was organized on 21 October, 1943 by Subhash Chandra Bose in
Singapore.
● 21 Indian political leaders were invited to attend a Conference at Simla in June 1945. It ended in
failure.
● In December 1945, the General Elections were held in India. The Congress received the majority in 6
provinces.
● On 18 February, 1946, the non Commissioned officers and Naval soldiers of the Royal Indian Navy who
were called Rattings, began a militant revolt at Bombay.
● In order to remove the Constitutional crisis the British Government sent the Cabinet Mission to India.
● It came on 29 March, 1946 to New Delhi and it declared its proposals.
● Muslim League observed the Direct Action Day on 16 August 1946.
● The Interim Government of India was organized under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. The Cabinet
took oath on 2nd September, 1946.
● The Constituent Assembly first met under the chairmanship of Dr. Rajendra Prasad on 6th December,
1946.
● Atlee declared on 20 February, 1947 that the English would leave India after transferring the power to
responsible people before June 1948.
● The Mountbatten Plan of 3 June, 1947 was mainly the Plan of partition. It was agreed upon by the
Executive of the Indian National Congress on 14-15 June in a meeting at Delhi.
● In July 1947, the Indian Independence Act was passed by the British Parliament.
● India became independent on 15 August, 1947.
● On 26 January, 1950, the state of Hyderabad merged in the Indian Federation.
● On 20 April 1954, the Panchsheel Pact was signed between India and China.
● On 20 October, 1962 China invaded upon India. Soon it occupied Assam Valley and Laddakh. On 21
November, 1962, China declared one sided ceasefire.
Important Dynasties of India
Maurya Dynasty (300 B.C.–184 B.C.)
Chandragupta Maurya (324–300 B.C.)—He founded the Maurya Empire in India with the help of
Kautilya. He was a military genius and an eminent statesman.
Ashoka the great (273–236 B.C.)—Coronation in 269 B.C. He was the son of Bindusara. He
conquered; Kalinga in 261 B.C. This was killed the soldier in him and he embraced Buddhism.
Kushan Dynasty (40–176 A.D.)
Kanishka (78–101 or 102 A.D.)—He is known as a great empire builder. Like Ashoka he patronized
Buddhism. He patronized the Gandhara School of Art. The famous Indian physician Charak and
Bhuddhist lawyer Nagarjuna lived during his reign. Ashwaghosh a Buddhist monk also lived in his time.
Gupta Dynasty (320–550 A.D.)
The great rulers in this dynasty are : Chandra Gupta I. (2) Samudra Gupta, (330 –375 A.D.). Also
known as Napoleon of India, (3) Chandra Gupta II. (375–413 A.D.) (Vikramaditya), and (4) Skanda
Gupta (455–477 A.D.). The Gupta period is described as the golden period in the history of ancient
India. Among the great personalities of the period mention may be made of Kalidas. The famous
dramatist, Arya Bhatta, the famous astronomer and mathematician. Varahamihir and Brahmagupta also
belonged to this age.
Vardhana or Pushyabhuti Dynasty (560–647 A.D.)
The greatest king of this dynasty was Harsha Varadhan (606–647 A.D.). He was a great patron of art
and literature. He himself was a man of letters having written two great books ‘Naga Nandin’ and
‘Ratnavali’. He was the last great Hindu ruler of India. Huen Tsang a Chinnese pilgrim, visited India
during his reign.
Ghazni Dynasty (962–1116 A.D.)
Mahmud Ghazni (997–1030)—He was a great conqueror. He invaded India 17 times. His invasions
weakened the Indian rulers and paved the way for Muslim rule in India. The famous Persian poet
Firdausi, the writer of ‘Shahnama’ lived in his court.
Ghori (1186–1206 A.D.)
Mohammed Ghori (1186–1206)—He was defeated by Prithviraj, the ruler of Ajmer and Delhi at the
first Battle of Tarain. He however, defeated Prithviraj at the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192. This
marked the beginning of permanent Muslim rule in India.
Slave Dynasty (1206–1290 A.D.)
Qutubuddin Aibak (1206–1210 A.D.)—He was the founder of the Slave Dynasty. He commenced the
building of the Qutub Minar which was later completed by Altamash (1211–1236) who was succeeded by
Razia Begum, (1236–1239 A.D.) his daughter.
Khilji Dynasty (1290–1320 A.D.)
Ala-ud-din Khilji (1296–1316 A.D.)—He was the most distinguished ruler of this dynasty. He was a
great conqueror and his empire extended to the far south. He was famous for control of
markets.
Tughlaq Dynasty (1320–1414 A.D.)
Mohammed Tughlaq (1325–1351 A.D.)—He was the most distinguished ruler of this dynasty. He
was known for his learning and also for mixture of sagacity and madness. His transfer of capital from
Delhi to Daulatabad has been described by historians as an act of madness.
Lodhi Dynasty (1451–1526 A.D.)
Ibrahim Lodhi (1517–1526 A.D.)—He made some mark in extending his dominions. He was a cruel
ruler. He was defeated by Babur in 1526 at the First Battle of Panipat, and the foundations of Mughal
rule in India were laid.
Mughal Rulers (1526–1857)
Babur (1526–1530 A.D.) founded the Mughal rule in India in 1526 by defeating Ibrahim
Lodhi—He however, did not live long was and succeeded by his son Humayun (1530–1540 and 1555–
1556 A.D.) in 1530. Akbar (1556–1605 A.D.) was the most capable and distinguished ruler of the
Mughal dynasty. His son Jahangir (1605–1627 A.D.) followed in his foot steps to some
extent. Jahangir was succeeded by Shahjahan (1627–1659 A.D.) whose reign is described as the
golden period in Mughal history. His son Aurangzeb (1659–1707 A.D.) was the last great Mughal
emperor. But with him began the downfall of the Mughal empire on account of his policy of intolerance
which alienated the Hindus especially the Rajputs.
Causes of the Downfall of the Mughal Empire
(1) The Empire had become too unwieldy to be managed.
(2) Aurangzeb’s policy of religious intolerance antagonized the Hindus.
(3) The successors of Aurangzeb were not competent rulers.
(4) The rivalry, intrigues and corruption led to administrative chaos.
(5) Attacks of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali reduced it to a small size.
(6) It had not struck deep roots in the Indian soil.
Suri Dynasty (1540–1555 A.D.)
Sher Shah Suri (1540–1545 A.D.)—Rule provides an interragnum between two phases of Mughal rule
in India. Sher Shah defeated Humayun and forced him into exile. He carried out notable reforms in
administration.
The Marahattas (1649–1818 A.D.)—The Marahatta power rose in the latter half of the 17th century.
The Marahattas organised their power under the leadership of Shivaji (1627-80). He was an able ruler
and commander. During the Peshwa period, the Marahatta power spread through the major part of
India. But at a time when the Marahatta power was at its zenith and promised to establish its sway over
the whole of India, the forces of Ahmad Shah Abdali badly defeated the Peshwa forces in 1761 at the
Battle of Panipat. Though the Marahattas were defeated at the hands of Ahmad Shah Abdali, neither of
the two parties could maintain its sovereignty over India. On the contrary this battle made the field clear
for the establishment of British East India Company’s rule in India.
The Peshwas (1708–1818)—After the death of Shivaji, Peshwas continued their struggle. They did
succeed to a great extent in their struggle. A major portion of Indian peninsula came under their control
at the outset of British hold. But due to internal conflict and subsequent weakening of power they
succumbed to British power which had been gaining momentum.
Important Dynasties in the South
Chalukyas— Pulkeshin I was the founder of this dynasty. He made Kanchi or Modern Badami his
capital. His grandson Pulkeshin II (609–642) was the most distinguished ruler of this dynasty. He
measured swords with king Harsha and defeated him on the bank of the Narmada.
Cholas—Parantoka I was the founder of this dynasty in 947. Chola rule reached its high water mark of
glory under Raja Rajadeva, the Great and his son Rajendra Choladeva I. The Cholas established their
supremacy even outside India.
Bahmani Muslim Kingdom (1346–1526 A.D.)—The Muslim Kingdom was established in the Deccan
during the reign of Mohammed Tughlaq and founded in 1347 by a brave soldier, named Zafar Khan. The
most illustrious person of this kingdom was Mahmud Gawan, a persian who was a minister for a long
time. He was killed and after that the kingdom was split into five independent states : (1) Bedar, (2)
Berar, (3) Ahmednagar, (4) Bijapur, (5) Golkunda.
Vijayanagar Empire (1336–1565 A.D.)—Harihar and Bukka were the founders of this dynasty in
1336. The greatest rulers of this dynasty were Deva Raya II and Krishna Deva Raya. The glory of
Vijayanagar empire was smashed at the Battle of Talikota in 1565 when the Deccan Sultanates fought
and defeated Ramraja and killed him.
Quick Information & History of Rajasthan
State Profile
Rajasthan is a vibrant, exotic state where tradition and royal glory meet in a riot of colors against the
vast backdrop of sand and desert. It has an unusual diversity in its entire forms- people, customs,
culture, costumes, music, manners, dialects, cuisine and physiography. The land is endowed with
invincible forts, magnificent palace havelis, rich culture and heritage, beauty and natural resources. It is
a land rich in music, Dance, Art & Craft and Adventure, a land that never ceases to intrigue &
enchant.There is a haunting air of romance, about the state, which is palpable in its every nook and
corner. This abode of kings is one of the most exotic locales for tourist world over. The state has not
only survived in all its ethnicity but owes its charisma and color to its enduring traditional way of life.
It is one of the 28 states that, along with seven union territories, form the republic of India. So rich is
the history of the land that every roadside village has its own tales of valour and sacrifice, the winds
sing them and the sands shift to spread them. Rajasthan is Spicy, but then, what is life after all without
little bit of spice, Rajasthan provides abundant scope to explore it.
The panoramic outlook of the state is simply mesmerizing, with lofty hills of Aravali’s – one of the oldest
mountain ranges of the world and the golden sand dunes of the Great Indian Desert – the only desert of
the sub-continent. No other region in the country is a conglomeration of so many paradoxes. It is a land
of superlatives, everything over here is breathtakingly beautiful, impressive and fascinating! The state is
well connected with other parts of the country and can be easily approached from Delhi and Bombay.
Fast trains, direct bus and air connections make travel easy and comfortable.
A visit to this wonderland will leave a lasting spell on your mind. In fact, one visit is not enough to
capture the real essence of this magical land. You will, we assure you, keep coming back for more.
Quick History of Rajasthan
Ancient Period, upto 1200 AD
Rajput clans emerged and held their sway over different parts of Rajasthan from about 700 AD. Before
that, Rajasthan was a part of several republics. It was a part of the Mauryan Empire. Other major
republics that dominated this region include the Malavas, Arjunyas, Yaudhyas, Kushans, Saka Satraps,
Guptas and Hunas.
The Rajput clans ascendancy in Indian history was during the period from the eighth to the twelfth
century AD. The Pratihars ruled Rajasthan and most of northern India during 750-1000 AD. Between
1000-1200 AD, Rajasthan witnessed the struggle for supremacy between Chalukyas, Parmars and
Chauhans.
Medieval Period, 1201 – 1707
Around 1200 AD a part of Rajasthan came under Muslim rulers. The principal centers of their powers
were Nagaur and Ajmer. Ranthanbhor was also under their suzerainty. At the beginning of the 13th
century AD, the most prominent and powerful state of Rajasthan was Mewar.
Modern Period, 1707 – 1947
Rajasthan had never been united politically until its domination by Mughal Emperor – Akbar. Akbar
created a unified province of Rajasthan. Mughal power started to decline after 1707. The political
disintegration of Rajasthan was caused by the dismemberment of the Mughal Empire. The Marathas
penetrated Rajasthan upon the decline of the Mughal Empire. In 1755 they occupied Ajmer. The
beginning of the 19th Century was marked by the onslaught of the Pindaris.
In 1817-18 the British Government concluded treaties of alliance with almost all the states of Rajputana.
Thus began the British rule over Rajasthan, then called Rajputana.
Post Independence
The erstwhile Rajputana comprised 19 princely states and two chiefships of Lava and Kushalgarh and a
British administered territory of Ajmer-Merwara. Rajasthan State was heterogeneous conglomeration of
separate political entities with different administrative systems prevailing in different places. The present
State of Rajasthan was formed after a long process of integration which began on March 17, 1948 and
ended on November 1, 1956. Before integration it was called Rajputana; after integration it came to be
known as Rajasthan. At present there are 33 districts (including the new district of Pratapgarh) in the
State.
District Information
All Districts of Rajasthan
AJMER
DAUSA
KOTA
ALWAR
DHOLPUR
NAGAUR
BANSWARA
DUNGARPUR
PALI
BARAN
HANUMANGARH RAJSAMAND
BARMER
JAIPUR
SAWAI MADOHPUR
BHARATPUR
JAISALMER
SIKAR
BHILWARA
JALORE
SIROHI
BIKANER
JHALAWAR
SRI GANGANAGAR
BUNDI
JHUNJHUNU
TONK
CHITTORGARH JODHPUR
UDAIPUR
CHURU
PRATAPGARH
KARAULI
Tourism
Places to Visit
Sisodia Rani Garden has tiered multilevel gardens with fountains, water channel and painted pavilions
and suites of living rooms. Amongst others, Vidhyadhar-ka-Bagh is the best preserved one, with shady
trees, flowing water, an open pavilion. It was built by the planner of the city,Vidhyadhar.
Parks and Sancturies
Rajasthan is a haven for a wide spectrum of wildlife. The topography of Rajasthan ranges from the
barren desert, scrub-thorn arid forests,rocks and ravines to wetlands and lush, green forests. And each
of these areas houses a large variety of animal and bird life. Some of them rare while some endangered.
Rajasthan is the home of the tigers, black bucks,chinkara, the rare desert fox,the endangered caracal,
the great Indian bustard,gavial, monitor lizard,wild boars,porcupine. Migratory birds like the common
crane, ducks,coots, pelicans and the rare Siberian cranes,imperial sandgrouse, falcons, buzzards flocks
to this state during the winter months. Typical areas representing each of the ecosystems have been
earmarked as special areas wildlife. Rajasthan boasts of two National Parks,over a dozen Sanctuaries
and two Closed Areas. Most of these areas are open to visitors round the year but are closed briefly
during the monsoon.
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Adventure Tourism
The joy of being aloft in the wind and the thrill of defying the elements is what parasailing and
ballooning are all about. Unlike other aerosports, in these, once off the ground, the sportsman is on his
own. Since the skies are an element foreign to us, it would be judicious to take all precautions before
indulging in the joy afforded by the sports. Responsibility for the safety for the sportsman depends to a
large extent on the team helping out in this sport. Ballooning on other hand,permits the balloonist to
soar high in the sky and drift over the picturesque terrain.
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Heritage Hotels
In a class by themselves, these heritage hotels extend their own unique services to the tourist. Dressed
almost always in traditional turbans and dhotis,the old family retainers cater to the same kind of care
and hospitality to the tourists as they do to their personal guests.In most of these havelies,the host
himself is always around to ensure that the guest is comfortable and well looked after. What these
palaces lack by way of five-star facilities they more than make up by the personalized service that they
extend. The Department of Tourism takes active interest in promoting these heritage hotels. Some are
listed below. A more detailed list is available with the Department of Tourism,Government of Rajasthan.
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Distance Chart
To find out : Distance between two cities, trace down the vertical column of one city to its intersection
with the column of the other city.
The total road mileage in Rajasthan is 2521 kms. of national highway and around 54,000 kms. of state
roads and rural link roads. Roads provide most convenient modes of transport between Delhi and
various locations in eastern Rajasthan, most of which are 1-5 hours of comfortable road journey from
Delhi.
Art & Culture
Paintings of Rajasthan
Rajasthan’s role in the development of Indian art has been very important. The decoration of dwellings
and other household objects was but one aspect of the creative genius of the Rajasthani – the world of
miniature paintings is perhaps the most fascinating and the distinctive styles that have existed here are
renowned the world over. From the 16th century onwards there flourished different schools of paintings
like the Mewar school, the Bundi-Kota kalam, the Jaipur, Bikaner, Kishengarh and Marwar schools.
Jewellery & Gems
Rajasthan, men and women traditionally wore necklaces, armlets, anklets, earrings and rings. With the
advent of the Mughal Empire, Rajasthan became a major centre for production of the finest kind of
jewellery. It was a true blend of the Mughal with the Rajasthani craftsmanship. The Mughals brought
sophisticated design & technical know-how of the Persians with them.
Art Galleries & Museums
RAJASTHAN - the land of massive forts, sprawling palaces and intricately carved temples ofcolourful
tribes and brave warriors, of unrivalledform of arts and crafts, unique dance and music traditions, is
changing at rapid pace. Its vast network of Museums in large and small towns, archaeological sites and
the recently opened museums and art galleries in the palaces of erstwhile rulers of old states help to
preserve this great heritage for posterity.
Folk Dance and Music
There is a great tradition of popular poetry, which is written under the rival banners of Turru and
Kalangi. This is a sung in groups in Jikri, Kanhaiyya or Geet(of the Meenas), Hele-ke-Khyal and Bam
Rasiya of Eastern Rajasthan. Group singing of classical bandishes, called the Dangal or taalbandi is also
unique to this region. Bhopas are singing priests of various deities or warrior saints.The Bhopas of Mataji
wear costumes and play the Mashak.
Fairs & Festivals
The Rajasthani’s love for colour and joyous celebrations is proved by the elaborate rituals and the gay
abandon with which he surrenders himself to the numerous fairs and festivals of the region. In addition
to the festivals celebrated by the Hindus,Muslims and others,there are also the traditional fairs.
People of Rajasthan
People
In olden days, the profession of the people decided their caste. This system has now been broken.
Today, individuals have the freedom to opt for any profession irrespective of caste. The profession based
caste system has now been transformed into birth-based caste system. People of various castes and
sub-castes reside in Rajasthan.
The Rajputs, who were the rulers of most of the erstwhile princely states of Rajasthan, form a major
group of residents of Rajasthan. Rajputs are generally stoutly built people of good height. The Rajputs
generally worshipped the Sun, Shiva, and Vishnu. Vedic religion is still followed by the Rajputs. All the
auspicious and inauspicious activities are done in accordance to the Vedic traditions.
The other castes found in Rajasthan are as follows:
Brahmins : Their main occupation was worshipping and performance of religious rites.
Vaishya : These people generally took up business as their source of livelihood. These days they are
settled in every nook and corner of the country.
There is a large group of agricultural castes to be found in Rajasthan. These people depend on
Agriculture for thier livelihood. Some of these castes are Jat, Gurjar, Mali, Kalvi etc.
Irrespective of the birth-based caste system, each individual is free to follow the profession / occupation
as per choice, in modern Rajasthan.
Many tribes are also found in different parts of Rajasthan. These tribes have their own social systems
and customs. Some of the commonly known tribs are Meena, Bhil, Garasia, Kanjar.
Religions
The religion and costumes of the tribes vary. They each have their own religion, costumes and
profession. The religion followed by Rajasthanis, in general, is the Hindu religion. Various other religions
are also prevalent.
Some of these religions are:
Jain Religion: the Jains follow the teachings of Lord Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara. Mahavira stressed
on the practice Non-violence.
Sikh Religion :Over time,there has been a considarable increase in the number of followers of Sikh
religion. The sikhs belive in formless God and worship their holy book ‘Guru Granth Sahib’.
Some other major religions that are followed are Buddishm, Islam, Chirstianity, Parsi religion.
Costumes
The study of the people of Rajasthan is incomplete without the knowledge of costumes and ornaments.
The costumes of the present have the reflections of the costumes of the past. .
Both males and females dress in the customary dresses fully influenced by climate, economy, status and
the profession, they are engaged. The traditional dresses being Potia, Dhoti, Banda, Angrakhi, Bugatari,
Pachewara, Khol, Dhabla, amongst Hindus; and Tilak, Burga, Achkan amongst Muslims which fast
changing now with Bushirt, Salwar and Skirts, Saris and Pants accordingly. Turbans the head dress of
Rajasthan is a differential pattern of each geographical region designed to its terrain and climatic
influence. Clothes express ones personality and tell people which village and caste they belong.
All over Rajasthan
the bandhni, tie-dye sari and turban reign supreme.
The common dress of the women constitutes (i) Sari or Odhani,
(ii) Kanchli or Kunchuki or Choli (iii) Ghaghra or Ghaghri or
Lahanga Besides, the women of high status and ranks wear
dupatta and patka. The use of chappals or sandals or jutees is
also common but
ladies
of high families use coloured sandals
studded with gold threads and stars.Thus, it is concluded that the
costumes of women are very colourful and fascinating.
Ornaments
He use of ornaments dates back to the prehistoric times with the passage of time new designs and
varieties replace the old ones but still there are ornaments which were used in the past and are still
used in the present.
Both men and women wear ornaments but with the passage of time, men are giving up their use. The
ornaments of gold and silver are more prevalent in Rajasthan. There are certain ornaments which are
used by men.
In daily use the ladies wear normal ornaments of neck, hand, nose and ear but on special occasions and
social functions women wear all the ornaments of to look beautiful and attractive.For its exquisite
designs and delicacy of art Rajasthan jewelry is a rage not only for ladies in India but also for women of
foreign countires.