Indian history · British era · Master timeline
Timeline of British Rule in India (1600–1947): From the East India Company Charter to Independence — Year-by-Year Key Events for Exams
Modern Indian history questions are often about sequence — what came first, and what happened in a given year. This timeline arranges 350 years of British involvement in India into clear phases, with the year, the event and why it matters. Linked items lead to detailed guides, so you can use this page as your revision backbone for the British era.
Phase 1: Traders (1600–1756)
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1498 | Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut — start of the European sea trade with India |
| 1600 | East India Company chartered by Queen Elizabeth I (31 December) |
| 1608–1613 | William Hawkins at Jahangir's court; factory at Surat (1613) |
| 1615 | Sir Thomas Roe at Jahangir's court |
| 1639 | Fort St George, Madras |
| 1661–68 | Bombay received from Portugal as dowry; given to the Company (1668) |
| 1690 | Job Charnock founds Calcutta |
| 1717 | Farrukhsiyar's farman — duty-free trade in Bengal |
| 1746–1763 | Three Carnatic Wars with the French; Wandiwash (1760) decisive |
Phase 2: Conquest (1757–1856)
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1757 | Battle of Plassey (23 June) — Clive defeats Siraj-ud-Daulah — see guide |
| 1764 | Battle of Buxar (22 October) |
| 1765 | Treaty of Allahabad — diwani of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa; dual government |
| 1767–1769 | First Anglo-Mysore War — see Tipu Sultan guide |
| 1770 | Great Bengal famine |
| 1773 | Regulating Act; Warren Hastings first Governor-General — see Acts guide |
| 1775–1782 | First Anglo-Maratha War; Treaty of Salbai (1782) |
| 1784 | Pitt's India Act; Asiatic Society of Bengal |
| 1793 | Permanent Settlement (Cornwallis) |
| 1798 | Subsidiary Alliance (Wellesley); Nizam first to sign |
| 1799 | Fall of Srirangapatna; Tipu Sultan killed |
| 1802–1805 | Second Anglo-Maratha War; Treaty of Bassein (1802) |
| 1806 | Vellore mutiny |
| 1809 | Treaty of Amritsar with Ranjit Singh |
| 1813 | Charter Act ends trade monopoly |
| 1814–1816 | Anglo-Nepal War; Treaty of Sugauli |
| 1817–1818 | Third Anglo-Maratha War; end of the Peshwas |
| 1820 | Ryotwari system (Munro) |
| 1824–1826 | First Anglo-Burmese War |
| 1829 | Abolition of sati — see Social reform guide |
| 1833 | Charter Act — Governor-General of India |
| 1835 | Macaulay's Minute; English Education Act |
| 1839–1842 | First Anglo-Afghan War |
| 1843 | Annexation of Sindh |
| 1845–1846 | First Anglo-Sikh War; Treaty of Lahore |
| 1848–1849 | Second Anglo-Sikh War; annexation of Punjab (29 March 1849) — see Colonial Punjab |
| 1848–1856 | Doctrine of Lapse (Dalhousie) |
| 1853 | First railway, Bombay–Thane (16 April) |
| 1854 | Wood's Despatch on education |
| 1855 | Santhal Hul — see Tribal revolts |
| 1856 | Annexation of Awadh; Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act |
Phase 3: Revolt and Crown rule (1857–1884)
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1857 | Revolt of 1857 — Mangal Pandey (29 March), Meerut (10 May) — see guide; universities of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras |
| 1858 | Government of India Act; Queen's Proclamation (1 November); Canning first Viceroy |
| 1859–1860 | Indigo revolt in Bengal; Neel Darpan (Dinabandhu Mitra) |
| 1860 | Indian Penal Code enacted |
| 1861 | Indian Councils Act; Indian High Courts Act |
| 1872 | Kuka martyrs at Malerkotla; Lord Mayo assassinated; first census attempt |
| 1875 | Arya Samaj; MAO College, Aligarh |
| 1876 | Indian Association (Surendranath Banerjee) |
| 1877 | Delhi Durbar — Victoria "Empress of India" |
| 1878 | Vernacular Press Act (Lytton) |
| 1881 | First regular census; Factory Act |
| 1882 | Ripon's resolution on local self-government; Hunter Education Commission |
| 1883 | Ilbert Bill controversy |
Phase 4: Rise of nationalism (1885–1918)
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1885 | Indian National Congress founded (Bombay, 28 December) — see guide |
| 1892 | Indian Councils Act |
| 1897 | Chapekar brothers shoot Rand; Ramakrishna Mission |
| 1899–1900 | Birsa Munda's Ulgulan |
| 1905 | Partition of Bengal (16 October); Swadeshi movement — see guide |
| 1906 | Muslim League (Dacca); Swaraj declared the Congress goal |
| 1907 | Surat split; Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh deported |
| 1908 | Khudiram Bose hanged; Tilak sentenced — see Bengal revolutionaries |
| 1909 | Morley–Minto reforms; separate electorates |
| 1911 | Delhi Durbar; Bengal partition annulled; capital moved to Delhi (announced) |
| 1913 | Ghadar Party |
| 1914 | Komagata Maru; First World War begins |
| 1915 | Gandhi returns (9 January) |
| 1916 | Lucknow Pact; Home Rule Leagues |
| 1917 | Champaran; August Declaration |
| 1918 | Kheda; Ahmedabad mill strike |
Phase 5: Mass movements (1919–1939)
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1919 | Rowlatt Act; Jallianwala Bagh (13 April); Government of India Act (dyarchy) |
| 1920 | Non-Cooperation launched (1 August); Khilafat — see guide; SGPC formed |
| 1921 | Moplah rebellion; Prince of Wales boycotted; Nankana Sahib massacre |
| 1922 | Chauri Chaura (5 February); movement withdrawn |
| 1923 | Swaraj Party |
| 1924 | HRA founded |
| 1925 | Kakori train action (9 August) — see guide; RSS and CPI founded |
| 1927 | Simon Commission appointed |
| 1928 | Bardoli satyagraha; Nehru Report; Lajpat Rai dies; HSRA; Saunders shot |
| 1929 | Assembly bomb (8 April); Lahore session — Purna Swaraj |
| 1930 | Dandi March (12 March–6 April) — see guide; Chittagong raid (18 April); First Round Table Conference |
| 1931 | Gandhi–Irwin Pact (5 March); Azad dies (27 February); Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev hanged (23 March) — see guide; Second RTC |
| 1932 | Communal Award; Poona Pact; Third RTC |
| 1935 | Government of India Act; RBI established |
| 1937 | Provincial elections; Congress ministries |
| 1939 | Second World War; Forward Bloc; Congress ministries resign |
Phase 6: Towards independence (1940–1947)
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1940 | Lahore Resolution of the Muslim League; August Offer; individual satyagraha; Udham Singh shoots O'Dwyer |
| 1942 | Cripps Mission; Quit India (8 August) — see guide |
| 1943 | Azad Hind government (21 October) — see INA guide; Bengal famine |
| 1944 | INA at Imphal–Kohima; Gandhi released |
| 1945 | Simla Conference; INA trials |
| 1946 | RIN mutiny; Cabinet Mission; Direct Action Day; Interim Government; Constituent Assembly meets (9 December) — see guide |
| 1947 | Attlee's statement (20 February); Mountbatten Plan (3 June); Indian Independence Act (18 July); Independence (15 August); Radcliffe Line (17 August) — see Partition of Punjab |
| 1948 | Gandhi assassinated (30 January); Operation Polo (Hyderabad) |
| 1950 | Constitution in force (26 January) |
Memory tricks
- "1757–1764–1765": Plassey, Buxar, Diwani.
- "1905–1911": Bengal partitioned, Bengal reunited.
- "1919": Rowlatt, Jallianwala, dyarchy — one year, three key events.
- Gandhian decade marks: 1920 NCM, 1930 CDM, 1942 Quit India.
- "1947: 20 Feb – 3 June – 18 July – 15 August".
Practice questions
Q1. Arrange in order: Battle of Buxar, Battle of Plassey, Treaty of Allahabad, Regulating Act.
- (a) Plassey, Buxar, Allahabad, Regulating Act
- (b) Buxar, Plassey, Regulating Act, Allahabad
- (c) Plassey, Allahabad, Buxar, Regulating Act
- (d) Allahabad, Plassey, Buxar, Regulating Act
Show answer
Answer: (a) Plassey, Buxar, Allahabad, Regulating Act — 1757, 1764, 1765, 1773.
Q2. The first railway line in India ran between:
- (a) Calcutta and Hooghly
- (b) Bombay and Thane
- (c) Madras and Arkonam
- (d) Delhi and Agra
Show answer
Answer: (b) Bombay and Thane — It opened on 16 April 1853.
Q3. In which year was the capital of British India shifted from Calcutta to Delhi (announced)?
- (a) 1905
- (b) 1911
- (c) 1919
- (d) 1931
Show answer
Answer: (b) 1911 — It was announced at the Delhi Durbar of December 1911.
Q4. Which of these events took place in 1919?
- (a) Chauri Chaura
- (b) Jallianwala Bagh massacre
- (c) Kakori train action
- (d) Poona Pact
Show answer
Answer: (b) Jallianwala Bagh massacre — The massacre took place on 13 April 1919.
Q5. The Indigo revolt took place in:
- (a) Bihar, 1917
- (b) Bengal, 1859–60
- (c) Gujarat, 1918
- (d) Punjab, 1907
Show answer
Answer: (b) Bengal, 1859–60 — Bengal's indigo cultivators revolted in 1859–60; Neel Darpan depicted their suffering.
Q6. The Indian Independence Act received royal assent on:
- (a) 3 June 1947
- (b) 18 July 1947
- (c) 15 August 1947
- (d) 20 February 1947
Show answer
Answer: (b) 18 July 1947 — It received royal assent on 18 July 1947.
Frequently asked questions
When did British Crown rule begin in India?
In 1858, with the Government of India Act after the Revolt of 1857.
What was the Indigo revolt?
A revolt of Bengal peasants in 1859–60 against European planters who forced them to grow indigo; Dinabandhu Mitra's play Neel Darpan described their suffering.
When did the Constitution of India come into force?
On 26 January 1950.
Official sources
- National Archives of India (Abhilekh Patal)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — British raj
- Ministry of Culture, Government of India
Rules, dates and figures can change. Always check the latest official notification or government release before relying on a detail.