54 Iconic Photographs That Defined India In These Last Hundred Years

1. Rabindranath Tagore wins the Nobel Prize for Literature - 10th December, 1913.

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2. The first Indian movie ever, Dadasaheb Phalke's Raja Harishchandra releases on 3rd May, 1913.

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3. CV Raman accepts the Nobel Prize for Physics, 10th December, 1930.

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4. Mahatma Gandhi's statue inaugurated at Madame Tussaud's, 1939.

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5. Hindustan Motors begins production of the first car. They were India's first car manufacturer in 1942.

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6. History created. Jawaharlal Nehru declares India as a free country, 15th August, 1947.

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His first speech to free Indians in Independent India.

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7. Father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi assassinated on January 30th, 1948.

8. India's first President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, is the last to sign the Constitution and India is born as a Republic 2 days later on 26th January, 1950.

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9. Millions of voters turn out as India holds its first general elections in 1951.

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10. India hosts the first Asian Games, 4th March, 1951.

11. Manohar Aich wins the Mr Universe title, August, 1952. He's hail and hearty at 103 years old.

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12. Mihir Sen becomes the first Indian to swim across the English Channel, 1958.

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13. Arati Saha became the first Asian woman to swim across the English Channel, 29th September, 1959.  

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14. Sunil Dutt's 'Yaadein' wins Guinness Book of World Records for least characters in a film, 1964.

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In fact, he was the only actor in the film apart from Nargis. That, in a silhouette in the final scene. 

15. Reita Faria becomes the first Indian to win the Miss World crown in 1966.

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16. Bangladesh gets freedom as Pakistani forces surrender to India, 16th Dec, 1971.

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17. The Chipko Movement comes into effect to save trees, 26th Mar, 1974.

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18. First nuclear test carried out at Pokhran by India, 18th May, 1974.

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19. Mother Teresa wins Nobel Peace Prize for her unforgettable work for the poor of India on 10th December, 1979.

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22. India wins the Cricket World Cup for the first time, 25th June, 1983. 

23. Rakesh Sharma becomes the first Indian to travel in space, 2nd April, 1984.

25. India's first TV series 'Hum Log' is launched, 7th July, 1984.

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27. Liberalisation is introduced by Finance Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and India opens up to the global market on 24th July, 1991.

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28. Satyajit Ray is awarded the Lifetime Achievement Oscar for his outstanding work in cinema, 30th March, 1992.

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29. Sushmita Sen is crowned Miss Universe, 20th May, 1994.

30. Aishwarya Rai becomes Miss World on 19th November, 1994.

31. Amartya Sen wins Nobel Prize for Economics, 10th December, 1998.

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32. India recaptures Tiger Hill, a vital moment in India's victory of the Kargil War, 3rd- 7th July, 1999.

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33. Karnam Malleswari wins a Bronze for weightlifting in the Sydney Olympics, 19th September, 2000. She also becomes the first Indian woman to step on the podium.

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34. Koneru Humpy becomes the youngest woman Chess Grandmaster at the age of 15. She is felicitated with the Arjuna Award in 2002-03.

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35. Sania Mirza wins the Grand Slam junior title in doubles at Wimbledon, 6th July, 2003.

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36. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore wins Silver for Double Trap Shooting at the 2004 Athens Olympics, 17th August, 2004.

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37. Pratibha Patil becomes the first female President of India, 25th July, 2007. 

38. India wins the first ever T20 World Cup, 24th September, 2007.

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39. Ratan Tata shows who's the boss as Tata acquires Jaguar and Land Rover, 2008.

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40. India puts 10 satellites in one launch into the Earth's orbit, 28th April, 2008.

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41. Abhinav Bindra wins a Gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event at the Beijing Olympics, August, 2008. This was India's first individual gold medal in Olympic history.

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42. A.R. Rahman wins double Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire, February 22nd, 2009. The world also got to know who Anil Kapoor was. We regret that.

43. India hosts the Commonwealth Games for the first time, October, 2010.

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44. India wins the Cricket World Cup for the second time, 2nd April, 2011. Dhoni and his men fought like champions, and won it for Sachin and the nation.

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45.  Sucheta Kadethankar crosses the Gobi Desert in 51 days, 11 hours and 40 minutes, 2011.

46. London Olympic medal winners (with the President): Mary Kom - Bronze, Vijay Kumar - Silver, Sushil Kumar - Silver, Gagan Narang - Bronze, Saina Nehwal - Bronze, Yogeshwar Dutt - Bronze in August, 2012.

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47. God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar hangs his boots after playing his 200th and final test match on 16th November, 2013.

48. Malavath Purna, aged 13, became the youngest woman in the world to climb Mt Everest, 25th May, 2014.

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49. The Mangalyaan Mission makes India the first country to enter the Mars orbit on its first attempt, 24th September, 2014.

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50. M.C. Mary Kom wins a Gold for boxing at the Asian Games on October 1, 2014.

51. The Indian Blind Cricket Team wins the World Cup, 7th December, 2014.

52. Kailash Sathyarthi wins the Nobel Peace Prize, 10th December, 2014.

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53. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge completes 1000 weeks at Maratha Mandir, Mumbai, on December 12th, 2014. India's longest running film, ever!

54. Saina Nehwal becomes World Number 1 in badminton, 28th March, 2015.

If these pictures don't make your chest swell with pride, then nothing will. Be proud.