History

The Harappan period, as estimated through the Radiocarbon-14 dating method.

Date – 17 May 1782
Period of peace – 1782 to 1802
Background – End of the First Anglo-Maratha War
Parties involved – Maratha Empire and the East India Company
Associated personalities – Mahadji Scindia, Nana Phadnavis, Warren Hastings
Key provision – Recognition of Madhavrao Narayan as Peshwa by the British

Date – 15 January 1784 to present
Place of foundation – Calcutta (present-day Kolkata)
Founder – Sir William Jones
Associated personalities – Henry Thomas Colebrooke, James Prinsep
Objective – Study of Asian history, languages, literature, and sciences
Significance – Beginning of modern historical and linguistic research in India
Major contribution – Study and preservation of Sanskrit, Persian, and Arabic texts
Publication – Asiatic Researches
Other facts – Renamed the Asiatic Society in 1834, leading centre of Oriental studies

Date – 18 April 1930
Place – Chittagong (now Chattogram, Bangladesh)
Associated leaders – Surya Sen, Pritilata Waddedar, Kalpana Dutt
Objective – Seizure of British armouries, armed challenge to colonial rule
Significance – One of the boldest armed revolutionary actions
Nature – Armed raid, guerrilla warfare tactics
Other facts – Attack on European Club, disruption of telegraph lines, Surya Sen executed in 1934

Start Date – 30 June 1855
End Date – 1856
Region – Santhal Pargana (present-day Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal)
Associated leaders – Sidhu Kanhu, Kanhu Murmu, Chand Murmu, Bhairav Murmu
Objective – Opposition to British rule, zamindari system, moneylender exploitation
Nature – Tribal mass uprising, armed revolt
Prelims useful facts – Known as ‘Hul’ by Santhals, revolt against zamindar–moneylender–British exploitation, major tribal revolt before 1857, suppressed using military force
Other facts – Led to the Santhal Pargana Act of 1855, the creation of a separate administrative region

India’s first census was initiated in 1872 during the tenure of Viceroy Lord Mayo, and it was informal and non-synchronous in nature. However, the first synchronous (regular) census in India was conducted in 1881 during the tenure of Lord Ripon, after which it has been carried out every 10 years.
Key facts:
First census (non-synchronous): 1872
First regular/synchronous census: 1881
Regular interval: Once every 10 years
Conducting authority: Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
Significance: It is one of the largest administrative exercises in the world, collecting data on population, literacy, and other socio-economic indicators.

Date - 24 September 1873
Place of establishment - Poona (Maharashtra)
Founder – Jyotirao Phule
Associated personalities – Savitribai Phule, Shahu Maharaj
Objective – Social equality, opposition to the caste system, upliftment of the Shudra and Ati-Shudra
Ideology – Truth, rationalism, humanism
Significance – Ideological base of the Non-Brahmin Movement
Other facts – Opposition to religious superstitions, emphasis on education and women's empowerment, protest against Brahmin dominance and priestly control

Date – 21 April 1913
Place of establishment – San Francisco (Astoria Hall), USA
Founder/Associated leaders – Lala Hardayal, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Kartar Singh Sarabha
Objective – End of British rule through armed revolution, complete independence
Nature – Revolutionary organization of the Indian diaspora
Significance – First organized overseas revolutionary movement for India
Other facts – Publication of Ghadar newspaper, attempt to incite revolt in India during World War I, strong base in the USA and Canada

Date – 1914
Place of establishment – Berlin, Germany
Associated leaders – Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, Bhupendranath Datta, Lala Hardayal
Objective – Liberation of India with German support during World War I
Significance – Organized centre of overseas revolutionary activities
Nature – Organization of Indian revolutionaries abroad
Other facts – Linked with Ghadar Movement, support from German authorities, anti-British propaganda

Dates - March-2019 to Jan-2021
Associated Leaders - Maulana Mohammad Ali, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Mahatma Gandhi
Objective - Protection of the Ottoman Caliph after the First World War
Linked With - Non-Cooperation Movement, 1920
Significance - Hindu–Muslim unity in the national movement
Decline - Abolition of Caliphate in Turkey, 1924, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Date – 13 April 1919 (Baisakhi)
Place – Amritsar, Punjab
Associated Personalities – General Reginald Dyer, Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, Dr. Satya Pal
Cause – Protest against Rowlatt Act
Incident – Firing on unarmed gathering without warning
Significance – Turning point in Indian freedom struggle
Impact – Background of Non-Cooperation Movement
Inquiry Commission – Hunter Commission

Date – 1924 to 1925
Trial place – Kanpur
Associated leaders – M.N. Roy, Muzaffar Ahmed, S.A. Dange, Shaukat Usmani, Nalini Gupta
Objective – Suppression of growing communist influence in India
Charge – IPC Section 121A, conspiracy to overthrow British Crown
Significance – First major colonial case against Indian communists
Outcome – Four years imprisonment to Dange, Muzaffar Ahmed, Shaukat Usmani, Nalini Gupta
Other facts – M.N. Roy absconding, ideological conspiracy case, example of British repression

Date – 30 March 1924 to 23 November 1925
Place – Vaikom, Travancore (present-day Kerala)
Associated leaders – K. Kelappan, T. K. Madhavan, K. P. Kesava Menon, Mahatma Gandhi
Objective – Right of lower castes to use temple roads
Nature – Non-violent satyagraha, social reform movement
Significance – First major temple-entry movement in India
Outcome – Partial opening of public roads around the temple
Other facts – Foundation of Kerala social reform movements, influenced Guruvayur Satyagraha

Date – March 1926 to 1929
Place of foundation – Lahore (Pakistan)
Founder – Bhagat Singh
Associated leaders – Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Bhagwati Charan Vohra, Ram Kishan, Yashpal, Chhabi Dash
Objective – Establishment of a socialist India, opposition to British imperialism
Ideology – Marxism, socialism, secularism
Role – Public and legal front of HSRA
Activities – Mobilization of youth, workers, and peasants, meetings, lectures, publications
Significance – Active role in protests against the Simon Commission
Ban – 1929 by the British government
Other facts – Limited mass base, strong impact on radicalizing youth, anti-communal and anti-landlord stance, legacy remembered by DYFI

Date – 8 April 1929
Place – Central Legislative Assembly, New Delhi
Associated revolutionaries – Bhagat Singh, Batukeshwar Dutt
Objective – Protest against repressive laws, awakening public opinion
Slogan – Inquilab Zindabad
Significance – Open challenge to British authority, spread of revolutionary ideology
Nature – Non-lethal bomb throwing, voluntary arrest
Other facts – Protest against Public Safety Bill and Trade Disputes Bill, no casualties, slogans raised in court

Date - 8 August 1942
Place of declaration - Bombay, Gowalia Tank Maidan
Associated leaders – Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Aruna Asaf Ali
Slogan – Do or Die
Objective – Immediate end of British rule, complete independence
Significance – Background of World War II, linked with the failure of the Cripps Mission
Nature – Nationwide movement, underground resistance
Other Facts – Immediate arrest of top Congress leadership, Congress flag hoisted by Aruna Asaf Ali, Mass upsurge, parallel governments at Ballia, Satara, Tamluk

Date – 13 December 1946
Presented by – Jawaharlal Nehru
Resolution – Objective Resolution presented in the Constituent Assembly
Theme – Declaration of an independent and sovereign India
Significance – Source of the core ideals of the Constitution
Other fact – Later formed the basis of the Preamble of the Constitution