3300 BCE Early Harappan settlements expand 3000 BCE Regional craft and exchange networks deepen 2600 BCE Mature cities and civic works 2500 BCE Standardised weights link distant cities 2300 BCE Long-distance maritime exchange 2200 BCE Dholavira’s reservoirs manage an arid landscape 1900 BCE Urban networks begin to transform 1500 BCE Early Vedic compositions 1200 BCE Rigvedic hymns preserve a riverine world 1000 BCE Agriculture expands eastward 900 BCE Iron becomes more visible in the Ganga plain 800 BCE Later Vedic ritual texts develop 700 BCE Early Upanishadic speculation takes shape 600 BCE New towns and territorial states emerge 550 BCE Sixteen major polities compete 540 BCE Jain traditions centre Mahavira’s teaching 500 BCE Buddhist and Jain communities grow 492 BCE Ajatashatru strengthens Magadha 400 BCE Punch-marked coinage circulates more widely 364 BCE Nanda power rises in Magadha 326 BCE Battle of the Hydaspes 321 BCE Chandragupta establishes Mauryan rule 305 BCE Settlement with Seleucus I 298 BCE Bindusara succeeds Chandragupta 273 BCE Ashoka begins his reign 261 BCE Kalinga war 250 BCE Ashoka’s edicts address the empire 232 BCE Ashoka’s reign ends 20 CE Indo-Parthian rule under Gondophares 78 CE Kushan power links northern routes 100 CE Sangam-era courts and ports flourish 250 CE Satavahana power recedes in the Deccan 320 CE Gupta dynasty consolidates power 335 CE Samudragupta begins an expansive reign 375 CE Gupta influence broadens 405 CE Faxian travels through northern India 500 CE Huna incursions reshape northern politics 606 CE Harsha takes power at Thanesar 630 CE Harsha and Pulakeshin II clash 712 CE Arab forces conquer Sindh 750 CE Pala and Rashtrakuta power expands 788 CE Advaita traditions associate with Shankara 850 CE Regional courts contest Kannauj 985 CE Rajaraja Chola begins his reign 1014 CE Rajendra Chola projects maritime power 1191 CE First Battle of Tarain 1192 CE Second Battle of Tarain 1206 CE Delhi Sultanate is founded 1210 CE Iltutmish secures the Delhi throne 1221 CE Mongol pressure reaches the northwest 1236 CE Razia claims the sultan’s office 1266 CE Balban begins his reign 1296 CE Alauddin Khalji takes power 1327 CE Court moves toward Daulatabad 1333 CE Ibn Battuta arrives at Delhi 1336 CE Vijayanagara is founded 1347 CE Bahmani Sultanate emerges 1526 CE First Battle of Panipat 1527 CE Babur defeats Rana Sanga at Khanwa 1539 CE Sher Shah defeats Humayun at Chausa 1540 CE Sher Shah displaces Humayun 1555 CE Humayun briefly restores Mughal rule 1556 CE Akbar begins his reign 1565 CE Battle of Talikota weakens Vijayanagara 1576 CE Battle of Haldighati 1605 CE Jahangir succeeds Akbar 1615 CE Thomas Roe enters the Mughal court 1628 CE Shah Jahan takes the throne 1646 CE Torna becomes an early stronghold 1659 CE Encounter at Pratapgad 1663 CE Raid on Shaista Khan’s camp at Pune 1665 CE Treaty of Purandar 1666 CE Shivaji Maharaj escapes confinement at Agra 1674 CE Shivaji Maharaj is crowned at Raigad 1680 CE Swarajya enters a succession struggle 1707 CE Long Mughal-Maratha war reaches a turn 1740 CE Balaji Baji Rao becomes Peshwa 1757 CE Battle of Plassey 1761 CE Third Battle of Panipat 1764 CE Battle of Buxar 1765 CE Company receives the Diwani 1767 CE First Anglo-Mysore War begins 1770 CE Great Bengal famine devastates the region 1773 CE Regulating Act reshapes Company rule 1784 CE Pitt’s India Act strengthens state oversight 1793 CE Permanent Settlement in Bengal 1799 CE Tipu Sultan falls at Srirangapatna 1802 CE Treaty of Bassein divides Maratha politics 1818 CE Company defeats the Peshwa 1857 CE A broad uprising challenges Company rule 1885 CE Indian National Congress first meets 1905 CE Swadeshi follows Bengal’s partition 1906 CE All-India Muslim League is founded 1911 CE Imperial capital moves toward Delhi 1912 CE Delhi becomes the imperial capital 1914 CE Gandhi returns to India 1916 CE Home Rule and the Lucknow Pact 1917 CE Champaran Satyagraha launches civil disobedience 1919 CE Jallianwala Bagh massacre 1920 CE Non-Cooperation movement begins 1922 CE Chauri Chaura changes the movement’s course 1928 CE Simon protests and the Nehru Report 1929 CE Congress declares Purna Swaraj 1930 CE Salt March reaches Dandi 1931 CE Gandhi-Irwin Pact is signed 1942 CE Quit India resolution 1943 CE Azad Hind government proclaimed 1946 CE Cabinet Mission proposes a transfer 1947 CE Independence and Partition 1948 CE Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated; Operation Polo integrates Hyderabad 1949 CE Constituent Assembly adopts the Constitution 1950 CE Constitution comes into force 1951 CE First Five-Year Plan begins 1952 CE First general election concludes 1953 CE Andhra State creates a linguistic precedent 1956 CE States are reorganised 1961 CE Goa, Daman and Diu join India 1962 CE India-China war 1967 CE Green Revolution transforms agriculture 1969 CE ISRO is established 1971 CE Bangladesh war reshapes the region 1974 CE Pokhran-I nuclear test 1975 CE National Emergency is declared 1977 CE Emergency government loses the election 1984 CE Bhopal gas disaster 1989 CE Voting age falls from 21 to 18 1991 CE Economic liberalisation begins 1992 CE Local government gains constitutional status 1999 CE Kargil conflict 2000 CE Three new states are created 2001 CE Gujarat earthquake causes widespread destruction 2004 CE Indian Ocean tsunami devastates coastal communities 2005 CE Right to Information Act strengthens public access 2008 CE Chandrayaan-1 launches; Mumbai attacks expose security vulnerabilities 2009 CE Right to Education becomes law 2010 CE Right to Education commences and the first Aadhaar number is issued 2013 CE Mars Orbiter Mission begins its interplanetary journey 2014 CE Telangana becomes a state and Mangalyaan reaches Mars 2016 CE UPI launches and demonetisation withdraws high-value banknotes 2017 CE Goods and Services Tax is introduced 2018 CE The Supreme Court decriminalises consensual same-sex relations 2019 CE Jammu and Kashmir is reorganised 2020 CE COVID-19 reshapes public life and migration 2021 CE A nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign expands 2023 CE Chandrayaan-3 lands and Parliament passes a women’s reservation framework 2024 CE India elects the eighteenth Lok Sabha and new criminal codes take effect 2025 CE SpaDeX docks in orbit and Operation Sindoor follows the Pahalgam attack 2026 CE Gen Z protests and the living timeline reaches today