August 15th 1947:India wins independence from Britain after being divided into two separate states, India and Pakistan. Jawaharlal Nehru appointed PM.
October 27th, 1947- War with Pakistan in disputed Kashmir.
January 30th, 1948- Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the independence movement, assassinated.
January 26th, 1950- India becomes republic as constitution comes into effect.
1952- First general election.
962 -Brief border war with China.
1964 -Jawaharlal Nehru dies.
September 1965 -War with Pakistan over Kashmir.
January 1966 -Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi, becomes prime minister.
December 1971 -Major war with Pakistan over East Pakistan leads to creation of Bangladesh.
May 18th, 1974 -India conducts underground nuclear test.
June 26th, 1975 -Indira Gandhi declares state of emergency. Press censored and 100,000 jailed.
1977 -First non-Congress Party government elected.
January 1980 -Indira Gandhi wins back power, becomes PM.
October 31st, 1984 -Indira Gandhi assassinated by Sikh bodyguards. Son Rajiv takes over as prime minister. Hindus kill some 2,700 Sikhs in revenge.
December 1984 -Gas leaks from Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, killing about 6,500 in world's worst industrial disaster.
October 1989 -Uprising against Indian rule in Kashmir.
May 21st, 1991 -Rajiv Gandhi assassinated by a Tamil suicide bomber.
1991 -Congress Party wins general elections and government launches sweeping economic reforms.
December 6th, 1992 -Hindu zealots tear down 16th-century mosque in Ayodhya, sparking nationwide riots, about 3,000 killed.
March 12th, 1993 -Series of bombs, planted by the Muslim underworld, hit country's commercial capital Mumbai, killing 257.
1998 -Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forms coalition government.
May 1998 -India conducts nuclear tests, Islamabad retaliates with own tests.
December 2001 -Gunmen attack parliament. New Delhi blames Pakistan-based militants, cuts transport and diplomatic links with Islamabad.
February-March 2002 -Fire on train kills 59 Hindu activists in western state of Gujarat. About 2,500 killed in retaliatory riots.
November 2003 -Pakistan announces ceasefire in Kashmir. India reciprocates.
May 2004 -BJP loses power to Congress. Manmohan Singh becomes prime minister.