Tag Archive | India
Jan 26, 1950: Republic of India is Born
On January 26, 1950, the Indian constitution takes effect, making the Republic of India the most populous democracy in the world. Mohandas Gandhi struggled through decades of passive resistance before Britain finally accepted Indian independence. Self-rule had been promised during World War II, but after the war triangular negotiations between Gandhi, the British, and the [...]
Jan 19, 1966: Indira Gandhi Becomes Indian Prime Minister
Following the death of Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi becomes head of the Congress Party and thus prime minister of India. She was India’s first female head of government and by the time of her assassination in 1984 was one of its most controversial. Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the [...]
Jan 1, 1978: Air India Jet Crashes Just After Takeoff
An Air India Boeing 747 jet crashes into the sea just after takeoff from a Bombay airport on this day in 1978, killing all 213 people on board. The crash was apparently the result of pilot error and equipment malfunction. Air India Flight 855 left Santacruz Airport (now called Chatrapati Airport) in Bombay, India (modern-day [...]
December 3, 1984: The Bhopal-Union Carbide Disaster
In the early morning hours, one of the worst industrial disasters in history begins when a pesticide plant located in the densely populated region of Bhopal in central India leaks a highly toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate into the air. Of the estimated one million people living in Bhopal at the time, 2,000 were killed [...]
