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Independent India: Nehru, the constitution, the wars, 1991's reforms and a rising power.

Use the timeline below to navigate through major events and milestones.

Republic of India · 1947–present
The World's Largest Democracy

The Republic of India

From freedom at midnight and Nehru's building of a democratic, secular nation, through the adoption of a landmark constitution, wars with its neighbours and the birth of Bangladesh, to the trial of the Emergency, the great economic reforms of 1991 and India's emergence as a rising global power. Slide across the decades in which a vast, diverse subcontinent held together as the world's largest democracy and set out to remake itself in freedom.

1947 AD
A New Nation
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1947 AD

A New Nation
  • Political

    Freedom at midnight

    Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister
    Via Wikimedia Commons

    India awakens to independence, and Jawaharlal Nehru becomes the first prime minister of a free nation.

7 milestones

Meanwhile

Around 1947 AD

Full Chronicle

The Republic of India

From freedom at midnight and Nehru's building of a democratic, secular nation, through the adoption of a landmark constitution, wars with its neighbours and the birth of Bangladesh, to the trial of the Emergency, the great economic reforms of 1991 and India's emergence as a rising global power. Slide across the decades in which a vast, diverse subcontinent held together as the world's largest democracy and set out to remake itself in freedom.

  1. A New Nation

    • Freedom at midnight

      India awakens to independence, and Jawaharlal Nehru becomes the first prime minister of a free nation.

  2. The Constitution

    • India becomes a republic

      A new constitution, largely shaped by B. R. Ambedkar, makes India a sovereign democratic republic.

  3. The Nehru Years

    • Building the nation

      Nehru pursues industry, planning and non-alignment abroad, and rounds out the map by taking Goa from Portugal.

  4. War and Neighbours

    • The birth of Bangladesh

      India's victory in war with Pakistan frees the east and creates the new nation of Bangladesh.

  5. The Emergency

    • The Emergency

      Indira Gandhi suspends democracy and rules by decree, until voters turn her out in 1977.

  6. The Economic Reforms

    • The great liberalisation

      A financial crisis drives India to open its economy, unleashing decades of rapid growth.

  7. A Rising Power

    • India rises on the world stage

      Now the world's most populous nation, India lands a craft on the Moon and takes its place as a major power.