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 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.
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.