Republic of India

State · 1947–2026 CE · at its largest around 1987 CE

The world's most populous democracy holds the largest elections on Earth, uniting hundreds of languages and every major faith under a constitution shaped by B. R. Ambedkar. The Green Revolution, a space program, Bollywood and software made it a global force.

On its lands while it lasted

British Raj (1858–1947 CE): After the 1857 rebellion the British Crown took direct rule of India from the East India Company, governing until independence in 1947.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 CE – 1948 CE): Leader of the Indian independence movement who developed nonviolent mass civil disobedience (satyagraha).
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876 CE – 1948 CE): Leader of the All-India Muslim League and founder of Pakistan, its first Governor-General.
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 CE – 1964 CE): Leader in the independence movement and first prime minister of India, serving from 1947 until his death.
B. R. Ambedkar (1891 CE – 1956 CE): Jurist and social reformer who campaigned against caste discrimination and chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India.
Independence of India (1947 CE): India became independent on 15 August 1947, with Jawaharlal Nehru as its first prime minister.
Partition of India (1947 CE): British India was divided into India and Pakistan in August 1947, followed by communal violence and the displacement of some 15 million people.
Constitution of India (1950 CE): India's constitution, drafted by a committee chaired by B. R. Ambedkar, came into force on 26 January 1950, making India a republic.
First ascent of Mount Everest (1953 CE): Members of the British expedition, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa from Nepal, reached the summit of Mount Everest on 29 May 1953, the first confirmed ascent.
1970 Bhola cyclone (1970 CE): Tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan in November 1970, killing an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people, one of the deadliest on record.
Bangladesh Liberation War (1971 CE): War in which East Pakistan, with Indian intervention, won independence from Pakistan as Bangladesh.
Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989 CE): Soviet intervention in Afghanistan against mujahideen insurgents backed by the United States, Pakistan and others; Soviet troops withdrew in 1989.
Bhopal disaster (1984 CE): Gas leak of methyl isocyanate from a pesticide plant in Bhopal that killed thousands, among the worst industrial disasters in history.
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) (2001–2021 CE): US-led invasion after the September 11 attacks that toppled the Taliban, followed by a long insurgency until the US withdrawal in 2021.
Fall of Kabul (2021 CE): The Taliban captured Kabul on 15 August 2021 as US-led forces withdrew, returning to power in Afghanistan.