Launch app →

South Asia · Company and Raj

Republic of India

Federal parliamentary republic · 1947 – present

India became independent at midnight on 14–15 August 1947 as the Dominion of India under the Indian Independence Act, after a nationalist movement led by the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi. Partition from Pakistan triggered the migration of 14–18 million people and roughly one million deaths.

See it on the map → Wikipedia ↗
Type
Federal parliamentary republic
Existed
1947 – present
Shown on the map
1947–2024
Heartland
South Asia, bordering Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar
Peak area
3,287,263 km² (seventh-largest country, ~3.2M km²)
Region
South Asia

Origins and founding

India became independent at midnight on 14–15 August 1947 as the Dominion of India under the Indian Independence Act, after a nationalist movement led by the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi. Partition from Pakistan triggered the migration of 14–18 million people and roughly one million deaths. Jawaharlal Nehru became first prime minister; Gandhi, who took no office, was assassinated on 30 January 1948.

Capitals and territory

New Delhi is the capital; Mumbai is the largest city proper. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel integrated over 565 princely states — by negotiation (privy purses), plebiscite (Junagadh), or force (Operation Polo against Hyderabad, September 1948); Kashmir's contested accession sparked the first Indo-Pakistani War (1947–48, UN ceasefire 1 January 1949).

Major rulers and key events

The constitution (adopted 26 November 1949, in force 26 January 1950) made India a sovereign, secular democratic republic with universal suffrage. Under Nehru (to 1964): the Planning Commission and Five-Year Plans, IITs, the States Reorganisation Act (1956) on linguistic lines, non-alignment, annexation of Goa (1961), and defeat in the 1962 Sino-Indian War. Shastri's brief term saw the 1965 war with Pakistan (Tashkent Agreement). Indira Gandhi (1966–77, 1980–84) nationalised banks, abolished privy purses, won the 1971 war that created Bangladesh, signed the 1972 Shimla Agreement, conducted the 1974 Pokhran nuclear test, and imposed the Emergency (1975–77); she was assassinated in 1984. Rajiv Gandhi succeeded her and was assassinated in 1991. The 1991 liberalisation opened the economy; coalition politics followed, with BJP-led governments conducting the 1998 nuclear tests, Congress returning in 2004, and Narendra Modi's BJP winning in 2014 — an era marked by demonetisation (2016), GST, and the 2019 revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status (Article 370).

Government, economy and culture

A Westminster-style federal republic with 22 scheduled languages and Hindi/English official; 1.21 billion people (2011 census), now the world's most populous country (~1.48 billion estimated 2026). From 1950s socialism and the 1970s Green Revolution to post-1991 liberalisation, India became the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and third-largest by PPP, and a nuclear-weapon state.

Decline and end (current status)

Ongoing; democracy has been sustained since 1947 — unique among large post-colonial states — though recent years have seen debate over majoritarianism and democratic backsliding.

Legacy and significance

India is the world's largest democracy, a founding UN member, leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the dominant power of South Asia, with an outsized cultural footprint from film to cuisine.

Common questions

What was the Republic of India?
India became independent at midnight on 14–15 August 1947 as the Dominion of India under the Indian Independence Act, after a nationalist movement led by the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi. Partition from Pakistan triggered the migration of 14–18 million people and roughly one million deaths.
When did the Republic of India exist?
The Republic of India existed 1947 – present. On this map it is drawn 1947–2024.
How large was the Republic of India?
At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Republic of India covered about 3.2 million km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Where was the Republic of India?
New Delhi is the capital; Mumbai is the largest city proper. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel integrated over 565 princely states — by negotiation (privy purses), plebiscite (Junagadh), or force (Operation Polo against Hyderabad, September 1948); Kashmir's contested accession sparked the first Indo-Pakistani War (1947–48, UN ceasefire 1 January 1949).
Who ruled the Republic of India?
The constitution (adopted 26 November 1949, in force 26 January 1950) made India a sovereign, secular democratic republic with universal suffrage. Under Nehru (to 1964): the Planning Commission and Five-Year Plans, IITs, the States Reorganisation Act (1956) on linguistic lines, non-alignment, annexation of Goa (1961), and defeat in the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
What is the present status of the Republic of India?
Ongoing; democracy has been sustained since 1947 — unique among large post-colonial states — though recent years have seen debate over majoritarianism and democratic backsliding.
How was the Republic of India governed?
A Westminster-style federal republic with 22 scheduled languages and Hindi/English official; 1.21 billion people (2011 census), now the world's most populous country (~1.48 billion estimated 2026).
Why does the Republic of India still matter?
India is the world's largest democracy, a founding UN member, leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the dominant power of South Asia, with an outsized cultural footprint from film to cuisine.

Sources

Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.

This entry was written from the sources above and last updated .

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

Around the same time

See the Republic of India in its world

Open the atlas at 1986 and every neighbour, rival and successor is on screen with it — then drag the slider and watch what happens next.

Open the map at 1986 →