Modern India

British rule timeline:

• 1600: East India Company formed (Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I).
• 1612: First English factory at Surat (Jahangir's reign).
• 1757: Battle of Plassey — Robert Clive defeats Siraj-ud-Daulah of Bengal. Effective start of British rule in India.
• 1764: Battle of Buxar — defeats Mir Qasim + Shuja-ud-Daulah + Shah Alam II. Confirms British supremacy.
• 1765: Treaty of Allahabad — Diwani rights of Bengal/Bihar/Orissa to British.
• 1772: Warren Hastings becomes first Governor-General.
• 1813: Charter Act — opens India to British trade.
• 1857: First War of Independence (Sepoy Mutiny). Bahadur Shah Zafar as nominal leader. Crushed by British. Last Mughal exiled.
• 1858: British Crown takes direct control (Queen Victoria's proclamation). End of East India Company rule.

Indian National Congress:

• Founded 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume (a retired British civil servant). First president: W. C. Bonnerjee.
• Early Congress (1885–1905): Moderates (Gokhale, Naoroji, Tilak in early days, S. N. Banerjee).
• Surat split (1907): Moderates vs Extremists.
• Lucknow Pact (1916): Congress + Muslim League join hands.

Partitions and reactions:

• Partition of Bengal (1905) by Viceroy Curzon. Reversed in 1911 due to mass protests (Swadeshi movement, Vande Mataram).

Gandhi's arrival:

• Returned from South Africa in 1915.
• Champaran satyagraha (1917): first satyagraha in India, for indigo farmers in Bihar.
• Kheda satyagraha (1918): peasant tax relief in Gujarat.
• Ahmedabad mill strike (1918): textile workers' wages.

Key movements:

• Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–1922): triggered by Jallianwala Bagh massacre (April 13, 1919) and Rowlatt Act. Withdrawn after Chauri Chaura (1922).
• Simon Commission (1928): "Simon Go Back" — no Indian members. Lala Lajpat Rai died after a lathi-charge.
• Lahore Session (1929): Purna Swaraj resolution. January 26, 1930 = first Independence Day (later Republic Day).
• Dandi March / Salt Satyagraha (1930): Gandhi walked from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi (~390 km, 24 days).
• Round Table Conferences (1930–1932): 1st without Congress; Gandhi attended the 2nd in 1931 after Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
• Government of India Act (1935): provincial autonomy; basis for current Indian Constitution.
• Quit India Movement (August 1942): "Do or Die". All major leaders arrested.
• Indian National Army (INA): under Subhas Chandra Bose; fought alongside Japanese (1942–1945).
• Cabinet Mission (1946) and Mountbatten Plan (1947).
• Independence: August 15, 1947. Partition into India and Pakistan; massive communal violence.

Important freedom fighters and contributions:

• Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948): "Father of the Nation"; non-violence (ahimsa) and satyagraha.
• Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964): first Prime Minister; "Tryst with Destiny" speech (1947).
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950): "Iron Man"; integrated 562 princely states. Statue of Unity.
• Subhas Chandra Bose (1897–1945): INA leader; "Give me blood, I will give you freedom"; presumed died in Taipei plane crash August 18, 1945.
• Bhagat Singh (1907–1931): hanged at age 23 along with Sukhdev and Rajguru.
• Chandrasekhar Azad (1906–1931): died in shootout, Alfred Park, Allahabad.
• Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi: died fighting in 1857 revolt.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak: "Swaraj is my birthright" (1916).
• Lala Lajpat Rai: "Punjab Kesari", died from lathi injuries (1928).
• Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai, Tilak = "Lal Bal Pal" extremist trio.
• Aurobindo Ghosh: revolutionary turned philosopher.
• Mangal Pandey: sepoy who fired the first shot, 1857 revolt.
• Tatya Tope, Nana Sahib, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Kunwar Singh: 1857 leaders.
• Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan: "Frontier Gandhi"; founded Khudai Khidmatgars.
• B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956): Chief architect of Constitution; champion of Dalit rights.

Viceroys of India (important):

• Lord Canning (1858–1862): first Viceroy after 1857.
• Lord Curzon (1899–1905): Partition of Bengal.
• Lord Minto (1905–1910): Morley-Minto reforms.
• Lord Hardinge (1910–1916): capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi (1911).
• Lord Chelmsford (1916–1921): Montagu-Chelmsford reforms (1919).
• Lord Reading (1921–1926): Non-Cooperation movement.
• Lord Irwin (1926–1931): Dandi March; Gandhi-Irwin pact.
• Lord Wavell (1943–1947): Cabinet Mission.
• Lord Mountbatten (1947–1948): last British Viceroy.
• C. Rajagopalachari (1948–1950): first Indian Governor-General.

Reforms acts:

• Regulating Act 1773; Pitt's India Act 1784.
• Charter Acts 1813 (trade), 1833 (admin), 1853 (civil service).
• Indian Councils Acts 1861, 1892.
• Morley-Minto 1909: separate electorates for Muslims (start of communal politics).
• Montagu-Chelmsford / GoI Act 1919: dyarchy in provinces.
• GoI Act 1935: provincial autonomy; federal structure.
• Indian Independence Act 1947.

Key dates to remember:

• April 13, 1919: Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Gen Dyer fired on unarmed crowd; ~400 killed (official), ~1000+ (Indian estimates).
• January 26, 1930: Purna Swaraj day → Republic Day.
• August 15, 1947: Independence Day.
• January 30, 1948: Gandhi assassinated by Nathuram Godse.
• November 26, 1949: Constitution adopted (Constitution Day).
• January 26, 1950: Constitution came into force; India became a Republic.