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India wins independence
India wins independence from Britain after being divided into two separate nations, India and Pakistan -
India/Pakistan war
India and Pakistan go to war in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir -
Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated
Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the independence movement, is assassinated -
India becomes a republic
India becomes a republic as its constitution comes into effect -
First elections
India holds its first general elections -
India/China war
India and China fight a brief border war -
Jawaharal dies
Jawaharal Nehru dies after five-month illness -
India/Pakistan war
India and Pakistan fight war over Kashmir, which ends after a U.N. call for a ceasefire -
Indira Gandhi becomes prime minister
Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi, becomes prime minister -
India/Pakistan war
India and Pakistan fight another war over east Pakistan which ends when 90,000 Pakistani troops surrender and leads to the creation of Bangladesh -
India nuclear test
India conducts underground nuclear tests -
India's state of emergency
Indira Gandhi declares a state of emergency, in which the press is censored and 100,000 people are jailed -
New power
First non-Congress party government sweeps to power following Indira Gandhi's defeat in general elections -
New prime minister
Indira Gandhi wins back power, becomes prime minister -
Indira Gandhi is assassinated
Indira Gandhi is assassinated by Sikh bodyguard's, her son Rajiv takes over as prime minister -
Gas leak causes 6,500 deaths
A deadly gas leaks from a pesticide plant owned by the U.S.-based union Carbide Corp. in central city of Bhopal, killing about 6,500 people in the world's worst industrial disaster -
A uprising
An uprising against Indian rule erupts in the Kashmir Valley, inflaming tensions with Pakistan -
Rajiv gets assassinated
Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a Tamil suicide bomber during and election campaign -
Congress wins general elections
Congress party wins general elections and government launches sweeping economic reforms and dismantles decades of socialist control -
Ancient artifact gets tore down
Hindu Zealots tear down a 16th century mosque in the northern town of Ajodhya, sparking nationwide riots in which about 3,000 people, mostly Muslims, are killed -
India gets hit with a series of unexpected bombs
A series of bomb blasts, planted by the Muslim underworld, hit the country's commercial capital of Bombay, killing 257 people -
India strikes back
India launches offensive against Pakistan-backed infiltrators around Kargil in Indian Kashmir -
Train on fire
Fire on train kills 59 Hindu activists in western state of Gujarat. About 2,500 people, mostly Muslims, are killed in retaliatory riots -
Pakistan announces ceasfire
Pakistan announces ceasefire on Kashmir and India reciprocates