Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is shot dead by two Sikh bodyguards in New Delhi after Operation Blue Star, triggering anti-Sikh riots.
A methyl isocyanate gas leak from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal kills thousands, the world's worst industrial disaster.
A 26-year armed conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ends in the LTTE's defeat.
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a national emergency, suspending elections and civil liberties until 1977.
East Pakistan declares independence as Bangladesh; after nine months of war and Indian intervention, Pakistani forces surrender in Dhaka.
A tropical cyclone strikes East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), killing an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people, one of the deadliest natural disasters of the 20th century.
India conducts a series of nuclear weapons tests at Pokhran; Pakistan responds with its own tests later that month.