India celebrates Independence Day: 68 significant events in the last 67 years

New Delhi: Today is the 68th Independence Day of India. India has come a long way from being one of the poorest nations in the world to an emerging super power in the last 67 years. From a socialist state, India has moved towards becoming a free market capitalist economy while retaining some characters of welfare country.

Here's a list of some of the most important events, which shaped the destiny of India in the last 67 years.

1. India gets Independence from Great Britain on August 15, 1947. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru becomes its first Prime Minister

2. Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi assassinated by Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948

3. Jammu & Kashmir joins the Union of India on October 27, 1947 after India stops an attack by Pakistani troops and tribals.

4. The state of Hyderabad ruled by the Nizam joined Union of India on Septembeer 13, 1948

5. India gets its Constitution on January 26, 1950 and becomes a Democratic Republic

6. 'Iron Man of India' and Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel dies on December 15, 1950

7. The first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) was born at Kharagpur in West Bengal in 1950

8. First General Elections were held in 1952

9. India wins its first cricket Test match against England at Madras (now Chennai) in 1952

10. India's national carrier Air India was nationalized in 1953

11. National Film Awards established in 1954

12. The chief architect of the Constitution Dr. B R Ambedkar dies on December 6, 1956

13. Re-organisation of states based on language/linguistics takes place in 1956.

14. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama escapes to India on March 31, 1959

15. Two Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) were born in 1961. IIM Calcutta and IIM Ahmedabad were established by the Centre.

16. India conquers Goa. Portuguese leave Goa.

17. China attacks India in 1962. India loses the war. China withdraws.

18. Pondicherry merges with India in 1963. French return home.

19. The first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru dies on May 27, 1964. Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeds him as the PM

20. First war with Pakistan in 1965. India defeats Pakistan

21. The second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri dies in Tashkent. Indira Gandhi succeeds him as PM

22. Green Revolution makes India a self sufficient country in food grains in the 1960s

23. The Indian National Congress (INC) splits at Bangalore in 1969

24. India defeats Pakistan in the 1971 war. Independent Bangladesh comes into existence in 1971

25. Smiling Buddha (MEA designation: Pokhran-I) is an assigned codename of India's first nuclear weapon explosion, which took place on May 18, 1974

26. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposes Emergency, suspends Constitution and fundamental rights

27. India wins Hockey World Cup in 1975. Sikkim

28. Emergency lifted and Lok Sabha elections were held in 1977. India Gandhi-led Congress loses power. Morarjee Desai led Janata Party comes to power

29. Mother Teresa gets Nobel Peace Prize in 1979

30. Janata Party loses power. India Gandhi returns as the Prime Minister in 1980

31. India hosts Asiad Games in 1982 in Delhi.

32. Kapil Dev led India wins World Cup Cricket in 1983. Surprises and shocks the World.

33. Maruti Suzuki cars hit the market in 1983.

34. Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984. Militancy in Punjab.

35. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assassinated by her own body guards in 1984. Her son Rajiv Gandhi takes charge as the PM.

36. Rajiv Gandhi starts telecom and computer revolution in 1985.

37. Shah Bano case and enactment of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986. The most controversial provision of the Act was that it gave a Muslim woman the right to maintenance for the period of iddat (about three months) after the divorce, and shifted the onus of maintaining her to her relatives or the Wakf Board. The Act was seen as discriminatory as it denied divorced Muslim women the right to basic maintenance which women of other faiths had recourse to under secular law.

38. Rajiv Gandhi orders unlocking of disputed Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.

39. Bofors scam rocks India in 1987.

40. Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress loses power at the Centre. VP Singh heads a Janata Dal-led government. 11 months later, Chandrashekhar succeeds him as PM.

41. LK Advani takes out a Rath Yathra to build Ram Mandir at Ayodhya

42. Former PM Rajiv Gandhi assassinated near Madras by the LTTE suicide bombers in 1991.

43. The Congress returns to power at the Centre. PV Narasimha Rao becomes the PM. He appoints Dr. Manmohan Singh as his Finance Minister. Together, they start economic reforms.

44. Ram Janmabhumi movements peaks. Babri Masjid demolished on December 6, 1992.

45. The first mobile cellular phone was launched in India in 1995.

46. The private airlines were given licenses by the PV Narasimha Rao government.

47. India's Information Technology boom begins in mid 1990s.

48. The PM PVN Rao loses election. The first ever BJP led government comes to power under the Prime Ministership of AB Vajpayee. He resigns within 13 days. HD Deve Gowda succeeds him as the new Prime Minister.

49. The Prime Minister AB Vajpayee led NDA government comes to power in 1998.

50. India conducts the second Nuclear test at Pokhran in 1998.

51. Sonia Gandhi enters politics. Removes Sitaram Kesri as the AICC president.

52. Kargil war breaks out with Pakistan in 1999.

53. AB Vajpayee-led NDA returns to power in October 1999.

54. Infosys Technologies became the first Indian company to be listed on the US NASDAQ in March 1999.

55. Several dozen TV news channels start operation across India. Three new states - Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand - are created.

56. Pakistan backed terrorists attack Parliament building in 2001.

57. K Chandrashekhararao starts Telangana movement in 2001.

58. NDA loses power in 2004. The Congress returns to power. Dr. Manmohan Singh becomes the PM.

59. Devastating Tsunami hits India's southern coast, killing thousands in 2004.

60. India witnesses a boom of low cost airlines in 2005.

61. Abhinav Bindra wins India's first individual Olympics gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Games. India sends a mission to the Moon. Mission 'Chandrayaan' was a big success.

62. The Congress-led UPA retains power at the Centre in 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

63. India hosts Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010.

64. CWG and 2G scams hit India.

65. Anna Hazare starts anti-corruption campaign in 2011.

66. Narendra Modi declared BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate in 2013.

67. India launches Mars Mission. Sends a probe vehicle to the Mars in 2013.

68. Narendra Modi led BJP/NDA sweeps Lok Sabha polls in 2014. Congress suffers worst ever defeat since Independence. First time a non-Congress party gets absolute majority on its own in the Lok Sabha.