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History11/10/2026

Dates of Indian History You Should Never Forget

  • 41 chronological anchors across ancient, medieval and modern Indian history.

  • Approximate dates clearly marked; exact events distinguished from broader movements.

  • Memory hooks, common date traps and two practice questions with explanations.

📌 Revision Pointers

  • Ancient: Mature Harappan c. 2600–1900 BCE; Mauryan foundation c. 321 BCE.

  • Tarain: 1191 and 1192; reverse the winner between the two battles.

  • Panipat: 1526, 1556, 1761.

  • Company: Plassey 1757 → Buxar 1764 → Diwani 1765.

  • Non-Cooperation: programme adopted 1920; mass phase 1921; withdrawn 1922.

  • Salt: march starts 12 March 1930; salt law broken 6 April.

  • Constitution: adopted 26 November 1949; signed 24 January 1950; remaining provisions commence 26 January 1950.

Core Concept: Learn Date + Event + Consequence

A useful timeline connects each date with a precise event. This selected revision sheet contains 41 chronological anchors, not an exhaustive history syllabus. c. means circa (approximately); BCE and CE use the same year numbering as BC and AD. BCE years count down as time moves forward. Periods such as urbanisation cannot be reduced to a single day.

Ancient India: Approximate Dates Matter

  • c. 2600–1900 BCE: Mature Harappan urban phase; this is not the entire span of Harappan culture.

  • c. sixth century BCE: Mahajanapadas, expanding towns and the emergence of Buddhism and Jainism.

  • c. 321 BCE: Chandragupta Maurya establishes the Mauryan Empire.

  • c. 261 BCE: Kalinga war under Ashoka; learn this as the conventional approximate date.

Medieval India: Kingdoms and Battle Pairs

  • 1191 CE: First Battle of Tarain: Prithviraj Chauhan defeats Muhammad Ghori.

  • 1192 CE: Second Battle of Tarain: Muhammad Ghori defeats Prithviraj Chauhan.

  • 1206 CE: Qutbuddin Aibak begins his rule; standard starting date of the Delhi Sultanate.

  • 1336 CE: Traditional founding date of Vijayanagara under Harihara and Bukka.

  • 1347 CE: Foundation of the Bahmani kingdom in the Deccan.

  • 1526 CE: First Battle of Panipat: Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodi.

  • 1556 CE: Second Battle of Panipat: Akbar’s forces defeat Hemu.

  • 1565 CE: Battle of Talikota (Rakshasi-Tangadi); Vijayanagara’s army is defeated and its capital subsequently devastated.

Company Expansion and Crown Rule

  • 1600 CE: English East India Company receives its royal charter; this is not the start of territorial rule over all India.

  • 1757 CE: Battle of Plassey: Company forces defeat Siraj-ud-Daulah.

  • 1761 CE: Third Battle of Panipat: Ahmad Shah Abdali defeats the Marathas.

  • 1764 CE: Battle of Buxar: Company victory over the combined forces of Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah and Shah Alam II.

  • 1765 CE: Company receives the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa from Shah Alam II: a revenue-rights milestone.

  • 1773 CE: Regulating Act: an early major step in British parliamentary supervision of Company government.

  • 10 May 1857: Sepoy uprising at Meerut; earlier incidents preceded this major outbreak.

  • 1858 CE: Government of India Act transfers Company government in India to the British Crown.

National Movement: Match the Date to the Precise Event

  • 1885: First Indian National Congress session in Bombay, presided over by W. C. Bonnerjee.

  • 1905: Partition of Bengal under Curzon; a major stimulus to the Swadeshi movement.

  • January 1915: Gandhi returns to India from South Africa.

  • 1917: Champaran satyagraha in Bihar.

  • 1918: Ahmedabad mill-workers’ struggle and Kheda satyagraha in Gujarat.

  • 13 April 1919: Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar.

  • September–December 1920: Congress endorses Non-Cooperation at Calcutta and adopts the programme at Nagpur.

  • January 1921: NCERT’s marker for the beginning of the Non-Cooperation–Khilafat mass phase.

  • February 1922: Chauri Chaura violence is followed by Gandhi’s withdrawal of Non-Cooperation.

  • December 1929: Lahore Congress adopts the Purna Swaraj demand.

  • 26 January 1930: Independence Day pledge observed following the Purna Swaraj decision.

  • 12 March 1930: Gandhi starts the Salt March from Sabarmati.

  • 6 April 1930: Gandhi breaks the salt law at Dandi.

  • 5 March 1931: Gandhi–Irwin Pact.

  • September 1932: Poona Pact: reserved seats for the Depressed Classes within joint electorates.

  • 8 August 1942: AICC passes the Quit India resolution in Bombay; Gandhi gives the “Do or Die” call. Major arrests follow on 9 August.

Constitution and Republic: Five Essential Anchors

  • 9 December 1946: First meeting of the Constituent Assembly.

  • 15 August 1947: India becomes independent; independence and becoming a republic are different milestones.

  • 26 November 1949: Constitution adopted; specified provisions take effect immediately.

  • 24 January 1950: Members sign the Constitution.

  • 26 January 1950: Remaining provisions commence; India becomes a republic.

Memory Hooks

  • Tarain: 91–92. Prithviraj wins first; Ghori wins second.

  • Panipat: 1526 → 1556 → 1761. Babur → Akbar’s forces → Abdali. Attach the opponent to each year.

  • Company ladder: 1757 → 1764 → 1765. Plassey → Buxar → Diwani.

  • Freedom ladder: 1920/21 → 1922 → 1930 → 1942. Non-Cooperation → withdrawal → Salt/Civil Disobedience → Quit India.

  • Constitution: adopt → sign → commence. 26 November 1949 → 24 January 1950 → 26 January 1950.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Ancient chronology: retain approximate labels. Do not turn disputed birth years of the Buddha or Mahavira into universally settled facts.

  • Vijayanagara: 1565 marks the military defeat and devastation of the capital; political successors continued. Do not assume the entire dynasty vanished that day.

  • 1857 versus 1858: distinguish the uprising from the transfer to Crown government.

  • 1920 versus 1921: both dates appear for Non-Cooperation because approval and the mass phase are different markers. Read the question’s wording.

  • Dandi: 12 March marks departure; 6 April marks violation of the salt law.

  • Two January 26 dates: 1930 is the Independence Day pledge; 1950 is the Republic milestone.

  • Constitution: adoption did not mean that every provision commenced on 26 November 1949.

Quick Checks

Q1. Arrange the following in chronological order:

  1. Grant of Diwani to the Company

  2. Battle of Buxar

  3. Third Battle of Panipat

  4. Battle of Plassey

A. 4–2–3–1
B. 3–4–2–1
C. 4–3–2–1
D. 4–3–1–2

Answer: C

Explanation: Plassey (1757), Third Panipat (1761), Buxar (1764), Diwani (1765). The Panipat event falls between the two Company battles.

Q2. Consider the following statements:

  1. The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949.

  2. Members signed it on 26 January 1950.

  3. The Independence Day pledge was observed on 26 January 1930.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

A. 1 and 2 only
B. 1 and 3 only
C. 2 and 3 only
D. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: B

Explanation: Signing occurred on 24 January 1950. Keep adoption, signing and general commencement separate.

Sources for Verification

NCERT: Harappan chronology; NCERT: early states and Mauryas; Odisha Government: Kalinga war; NCERT: Delhi Sultanate; NCERT: Vijayanagara and Deccan chronology; Panipat district: three battles; IIT Kanpur SATHEE: battle chronology; NCERT text via SATHEE: Company expansion; UK Law Commission: East India Company; PIB: Regulating Act; NCERT: Nationalism in India; NCERT: Gandhi and the national movement; Ministry of Culture: Quit India; Constituent Assembly proceedings: Bombay High Court.

Additional records: Government of India Act 1858; Congress session archive; Ministry of Culture: Buxar; Ministry of Culture: Meerut outbreak.

💭 Conclusion

Revise these anchors by recalling the event before looking at its date. Practise sequences and paired distinctions, retain approximate labels for ancient history, and connect each milestone to its consequence. Dates become useful when they organise historical understanding.