India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [27]
By mid-2005, the Congress had been in power for just 1 year; the opposition BJP was in disarray, its political plans to disrupt the functioning of the Congress-led government a mess, and its own dirty linen being washed in public view almost daily. Simultaneously, the normally tenuous relations between India and Pakistan had reached a new high—despite obstacles like unresolved disputes and cross-border terrorism—a strategic factor in the development of the region as a whole. When the next general election rolled around in 2009, voters turned up in larger-than-ever numbers and reaffirmed support for Congress’s secular, reformist policies. With Sonia’s son, Rahul Gandhi (whom many believe is on course to become the next Gandhi to lead India), impressing crowds and analysts, the party trumped its earlier victory and was able to form a government without forming allegiances with parties likely to compromise its position. Ms Gandhi again appointed Manmohan Singh prime minister, and the media celebrated what felt like the start of a new era in the country’s development.
Dateline
■ Circa 3000–1700 B.C. Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley marks earliest farming communities in the region.
■ 1500–600 B.C. Vedic states in the north establish the basis of Hinduism and the caste system.
■ 326 B.C. Alexander the Great’s army halts at the Indus.
■ 322–185 B.C. Mauryan state in North India; conversions to Buddhism under Asoka (reigned 272–232 B.C.).
■ A.D. 319–540 Gupta empire reunites northern India.
■ 300–900 Pallava empire in Dravidian southern India.
■ 900–1300 Chola empire in southern India.
■ 1206–1400s Islamic Delhi sultanates established in north.
■ 1510 Portuguese establish first European coastal settlement in India.
■ 1526 Mughal conquest of Delhi (returned permanently in 1555).
■ 1556–1605 Akbar extends Mughal power.
■ 1600 Founding of British East India Company.
■ 1658–1707 Aurangzeb conquers south for Mughal empire.
■ 1739 Persian sacking of Delhi and removal of the Peacock Throne accelerates Mughal decline.
■ 1757 Clive defeats Nawab of Bengal at Battle of Plassey, establishing British rule in Bengal.
■ 1790s–1820s British extend power in southern, western, and central India.
■ 1856–57 Indian “Mutiny”: uprising against British. British sacking of Delhi and expulsion of Mughals.
■ 1858 Dissolution of East India Company; India to be ruled directly from London.
■ 1877 Queen Victoria declared Queen-Empress of India.
■ 1885 Foundation of the Indian National Congress.
■ 1890s Bengal famine and plague epidemics.
■ 1903 British capital moved from Calcutta to Delhi.
■ 1905 Division of Bengal provokes boycott campaigns against British.
■ 1906 Muslim League founded.
■ 1915 Gandhi returns to India.
■ 1919 Amritsar massacre galvanizes Indian nationalist opposition to British.
■ 1930 Gandhi leads salt march to protest British taxation policies.
■ 1935 Government of India Act gives measure of local self-government to India, but retains British power at the center.
■ 1939–45 World War II: India threatened by Japanese advance in Southeast Asia.
■ 1942 Gandhi announces “Quit India” campaign and is imprisoned.
■ 1946 Labor government in Britain announces future independence for India, with Mountbatten as new viceroy.
■ 1947 British leave India. Partitioning into separate states of India and Pakistan. Massacres of refugees across new frontiers. Nehru becomes independent India’s first prime minister.
■ 1948 Gandhi assassinated by a Hindu fundamentalist.
■ 1964 Death of Nehru.
■ 1966 Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi, becomes prime minister.
■ 1975 Indira Gandhi declares State of Emergency but is ousted from power in the 1977 elections.
■ 1980 Indira Gandhi regains power.
■ 1984 Indian army besieges Sikh temple at Amritsar. Indira Gandhi