Important Battles in Indian History
r. No.
Name of the Battle
Period
Battle between
Won by
Significance
1
Battle Hydaspes
326 BC
Alexander and Porus
Alexander
Fought on the banks of the Jhelum, which is called ‘Hydaspes’ in Greek; opened relations between India and the West
2
Kalinga War
260 BC
AshokaandKing ofKalinga (Orissa)
Ashoka
Vast destruction andbloodshed changedthe attitude of Ashoka andheembraced Buddhism
3
First Battle of or Thaneswar
1191AD
Prithviraj Chauhan and Mohd Ghori
Prithviraj Chauhan
4
Second Battle of Paipat
1192
-do-
Mohd.
Estabishment of an Islamic empire in India Onset of the Mughal Tarain empire in India
5
First Battle of Panipat
1526AD
Ibrahim Lodhi and Babur
Babur
Onset of the Mughal Empire in India
6
Battle of Kannauj
1527AD
Babur and Rana Sangha
Babur
7
Battle of Kannauj
1540 AD
Sher Shah and Humayun
Sher Shah
Sher Shah became emperor of India
8
Second Battle of Panipat
1556 AD
Akbar and Hemu
Akabr
Ended Afghan rule, strengthened mughal rule
9
Battle of Talikota
1564-65 AD
Combined forces of 4 Muslim rulers of Deccan and Ramraja of Vijaynagar
Muslim forces
Destroyed HinduKingdom of the Deccan; sealed the fortunes of Vijaynagar empire
10
Battle of Haldighati
1576 AD
Rana Pratap and Akbar
Akbar
Rana Pratap fought gallantly and took refuge in a remote fortress
11
Battle of Samugarh
1659 AD
Aurangzeb and Imperial forces led by Dara
Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb captured the Mughal throne
12
Battle of Plassey
1757 AD
Siraj-ud-daula and English forces under Clive
English forces
Fought at Plassey. The English became masters of British rule
13
Third Battle of Panipat
1761
Ahmed Shah Abdali and Marathas
Ahmed Shah Abdali
Gave a setback to Marathas in the north; sealed destiny of Mughal empire and made British entry easier
14
Battle of Buxar
1764 AD
Joint forces of Muslims and English
English forces
Led to English occupation of India
15
Third Mysore War
1790-92 AD
English forces and Tipu Sultan
English forces
Tipu Sultan had to sign treaty of the Seringapattam
16
Fourth Mysore War
1799 AD
English forces and Tipu Sultan
English forces
Fought at Malavali and brought the Mohammedan dynasty of Mysore to end
17
First Sikh War
1854 AD
English forces and Sikhs
English forces
Sikh kingdom came under the British
18
Indo-Pak War
1948
India and Pakistan
-
Fought in Kashmir, ceasfire agreed to on actual line of occupation
19
Sino-India War
1962
China and India
-
China invaded India on the north eastern front. Ceasefire was agreed to on the intervention of other countries
20
Indo-Pak War
1965
India and Pakistan
-
Fought in the western sector, led to Tashkent Pact between India and Pakistan; described as the heaviest tank battle since World War II
21
Indo-Pak War
1971
India and Pakistan
-
On Dec. 3. 1971 Pakistan attacked; India helped Mukti Bahini on the eastern front and East Pakistan was liberated: the state of Bangladesh was formed.
Reforms/Acts during British Period
1. Prohibition of Sati and Female infanticide
1829
Lord William Bentinck
Supported by Raja Ramous Roy
2. Doctrine of Lapse
1848
Lord Dalhousie
Adoption of sons by rulers in the absence of their natural heirs was banned
3. Indian Legislative Council Act
1861
Lord Canning
Envisaged association of Indians with the administration at higher level.
4. Elbert Bill
1883
Lord Ripon
To bring Indian and European magistracy on equal footing
5. Indian Council Act
1892
Lord Lansdown
Membership of the central legislative councils was enlarged
6.Minto-Morley Reforms
1909
Lord Minto II
Separate electorates to widen the gulf between Hindus and Muslims
7. Indian Councils Act
1909
Lord Minto II
(See Morley-Minto reforms)
8.Montague-Chelmsford Reforms (Dyarchy)
1919
Lord Chelmsford
Meaning dual system of Government (See Rowlatt act)
9. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
1919
Lord Chelmsford
Massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar by General Dyer
10. Rowlatt Act
1919
Lord Chelmsford
Extraordinary powers were given to government to suppress the freedom struggle with General Dyer as the Commandant
11.Simon Commission
1927
Lord Irwin
To report working of the reforms; recommended diarchy in provinces India to be constituted as a federation and Indianization of armed forces
12. Gandhi-Irwin Pact
1931
Lord Irwin
Congress called off the agitation and agreed to participate in the Second Round Table Conference
13. Communal Award
1932
Lord Wellingdon
Envisaged communal representation for depressed classes besides Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs
14. Government of India Act
1935
Lord Wellingdon
Provided for a federal type constitution
15. Cripps Mission
1942
Lord Linlithgow
Proposed Dominion status for India after the Second World War
16. INA Trial
1945
Lord Wavell
INA prisoners of war were tried at Red Fort Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru defended them
17. Wavell Plan
1945
Lord Wavell
Envisaged constitution of executive council in such a way as to give representation to all major communities in India
18.Cabinet Mission Plan
1946
Lord Wavell
Envisaged establishment of Constituent Assembly to frame the Constitution
19. Indian Independence Act
1947
Lord Mountbatten
India partitioned and attained independence
IMPORTANT BOOKS OF INDO-PAK HISTORY
1. Jinnah the creator of PakistanHector Bolitho
2. Thoughts on PakistanDr. Ambedkar
3. Myth of independence & Great TragedyZ. A. Bhutto
4. Foreign Policy of PakistanZ. A. Bhutto
5. Evolution of PakistanSharif-Ud-Din Pirzada
6. Foundation of PakistanSharif-Ud-Din Pirzada
7. Quaid –e-Azam Jinnah. The story of a NationG. Allana
8. Our Freedom FightersG. Allana
9. Emergence of PakistanM. A. Choudhry
10. India wins FreedomMaulana Abul Kalam Azad
11. Mission with MountbattonCambell Johnson
12. The Making of PakistanK.K. Aziz
13. The Transfer of Power in IndiaV. P. Menon
14. Jinnah: India-Pakistan-IndependenceJaswant Singh (17 August 2009)
15. The great Divide H. V. Hudson
16. In the Line of FirePervez Musharraf
17. The Daughter of EastBenzir Bhutto
18. Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam Allam Iqbal
19. Freedom Moment of IndiaI. H. Qureshi
20. Jinnah of PakistanStanlay Walport
21. Zulfi of PakistanStanlay Walport
22. Muslim India and the Birth of PakistanS. M Ikram
23. Friends not MastersAyub Khan
24. Struggle for PakistanI. H. Qureshi
25. Pakistan formative PhaseK. B. Saeed
26. Political System of PakistanK. B. Saeed
27. Politics in PakistanK. B. Saeed
28. Jinnah as I know himAbdul Hassan Isphahani
29. Pathway to PakistanCh. Khaliq-uz-zaman
30. Ulema in PolictcsI. H. Qureshi
31. Our Indian MuslimsW. W. Hunter
32. Medieval India Lane Poole
33. Divide and QuitMoon, Penderal
34. Five Thousand Years of PakistanR. E. M. Wheeler
35. Towards PakistanWaheed-ur—Zaman
36. Now or NeverCh. Rehmat Ali
37. Pakistan the Heart of AsiaLiaquat Ali Khan
38. Incomplete PartitionAlastair Lamb
39. My Last day with QuaidIlahi Bux
40. The Sole SpokesmanAysha Jalal
41. A New History of PakistanK. Ali
42. Modern Muslim India and the birth of PakistanS. M. Ikram
43. History of Muslim Civilization in India and PakistanS. M. Ikram
44. My Experiments with Truth Mahtma Gandhi
45. Constitutional Development of PakistanG. W. Chaudhry
46. The Idea of PakistanStephen Philip Cohen
47. India as I Knew itM.F.O Dwyer
48. History of Saracens , Spirit of IslamSyed Ameer Ali
49. My Life a FragmentM. Ali Johar
50. A Nation in MakingSerandere Nath Benerji
51. Pakistan or Partition of IndiaDr. Ambedkar
PPSC Indo Pak History MCQs
