Modern History
Freedom struggle, post-independence events and historical developments
Revisiting India’s entry onto the nuclear stage
May 18, 1974 marked the 52nd anniversary of India's first nuclear test — codenamed Operation Smiling Buddha — conducted at the Pokhran Test Range in Rajastha...
Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution in English not in Hindi: Kerala
The Kerala High Court, while deciding a PIL challenging the Hindi titles given to three new criminal laws (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksh...
1998 Pokhran nuclear tests reflected India's scientific excellence: PM on National Technology Day
May 11 is observed annually as National Technology Day, marking the anniversary of India's five nuclear weapon tests conducted at Pokhran, Rajasthan, in May ...
Cabinet clears amendment to make insult to Vande Mataram a punishable offence
The Union Cabinet approved an amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, to bring Vande Mataram (the national song) under the same ...
76 yrs on, exhibition on Korean War brings to life independent India’s 1st overseas military deployment
An exhibition titled "Guardians of Neutrality: India's Korean Mission," curated by Colonel D.P.K. Pillay (Retd), was held at the India International Centre (...
What happened to Komagata Maru passengers in 1914?
The Japanese steamship Komagata Maru, carrying 376 passengers from British India (340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims, 12 Hindus), was denied entry into Vancouver, British...
Expert Explains | How Ambedkar laid the foundations of India’s modern labour legislation
A retrospective assessment published around Dr. Ambedkar's birth anniversary (14 April) detailed his foundational contributions to India's labour legislation...
PM Modi visits Sikkim to mark 50 years of integration with India: The history, explained
India marked the 50th anniversary of Sikkim's formal integration into the Union as its 22nd state, which occurred on 16 May 1975. The occasion highlighted th...
Before the Iran war, how empires fought for the Strait of Hormuz
Since late February 2026, the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively blocked to commercial shipping following the outbreak of the Iran-US-Israel conflict, tri...
Resolution 47 on Kashmir: When India ran into ‘power politics’ at the UN
UN Security Council Resolution 47, adopted on 21 April 1948, became a defining early test of independent India's engagement with international institutions —...
As Bill on women’s reservation in Houses is defeated, remembering the women who opposed it in Constituent Assembly
As the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 on women's reservation was defeated in the Lok Sabha, attention turned to a little-discussed chapter of cons...
Explained: Bank nationalisation of 1969 as the defining economic decision in Independent India
On July 19, 1969, the Government issued the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Property) Ordinance of 1969, nationalising 14 commercial banks wit...
On this day: 10 minutes that changed India forever - 107 years of Jallianwala Bagh massacre
April 13, 1919 marks the 107th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, Punjab, when British Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered troops ...
Bicentenary of Jyotiba Phule: Two-year nationwide celebrations launched
The Government of India formally launched a two-year nationwide commemoration (April 2026 to April 2028) to mark the 200th birth anniversary of social reform...
Mahatma Jyotirao Phule: A light that still shows India the way
April 11, 2026, marks the beginning of year-long celebrations of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule's 200th birth anniversary (born April 11, 1827). Prime Minister Naren...
Expert Explains | The long, fractured history of Manipur, and the road ahead
Manipur continues to face an uneasy situation even in 2026, following the devastating ethnic violence that began in May 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo c...
Steps into past: 1,500-year-old reservoir unearthed on Elephanta island
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) excavation on Elephanta Island (Gharapuri) near Mumbai unearthed a 1,500-year-old T-shaped stepped reservoir (vav/ku...
How Nehru’s fascination with Kibbutz sparked India-Israel outreach before formal diplomatic ties
A recent historical account details how India and Israel developed substantive people-to-people and policy exchanges before India established full diplomatic...
Ashoka helped spread Buddhism far and wide. How his grandson did the same for Jainism
On Mahavir Jayanti (March 31, 2026), Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Samrat Samprati Museum in Koba, Gandhinagar — dedicated to Jain history and...
Odisha at 90: How a movement to unify Odia speakers created India’s first linguistic province
Odisha (formerly Orissa) celebrated its 90th formation day — Utkal Divas — on April 1, 2026, marking the creation of a separate Orissa Province by the Britis...