2016 in India

Incumbents

Governors

Events

January

• 1 January – The Indian and Pakistani governments exchanged a full list of nuclear sites, military and civilian, in accordance with the 1988 Non-Nuclear Aggression Agreement.
• 2 January – Heavily armed gunmen, reportedly members of Jaish-e-Mohammed, attacked an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab. Two of the gunmen were killed.
• 3 January – A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck India, west of Imphal, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. At least eight people were killed, 100 others were injured, and some buildings were damaged.
• 17 January – A PhD student from University of Hyderabad named Rohith Vemula died by suicide, reportedly due to caste-based discrimination. The event triggered a countrywide agitation against casteism in institutions of higher learning.

  February

• 3 February - A twenty one year old Tanzanian girl was attacked by a mob and paraded naked in Bengaluru suspecting her of a vehicle accident.
• 8 February – Facebook's FreeBasics was declared illegal in India and ceased operations in the country.
• 9 February – A group of JNU students held a campus protest marking the third anniversary of the hanging of Muhammad Afzal Guru.
• 12 February – JNU student-union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on charges of sedition.
• 13 February – Nationwide protests and rallies took place, with students and teachers from multiple universities demonstrating against the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar.
• 15 February –
• * Lawyers assaulted journalists at the court where Kanhaiya Kumar was scheduled to appear, chanting nationalist slogans.
• * Protests against the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar continued at JNU, with a campus strike disrupting classes.
• 17 February – Kanhaiya Kumar was assaulted inside the court premises, despite heavy police presence.
• 20 February – Militants laid siege to the Entrepreneurship Development Institute
• 22 February – Five JNU students accused of sedition returned to campus after going into hiding.
• 24 February – JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya surrendered to police around midnight.

  March

• 14 March – Police horse Shaktiman was attacked with a stick by BJP MLA politician and cabinet minister Ganesh Joshi during a protest organized by BJP against the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. The attack and the horse's later death sparked worldwide outrage.
• 16 March – RTI activist Vinayak Baliga was murdered in Mangalore by contract killers allegedly linked to Hindutva group NaMo Brigade.
• 18 March – Ahead of polls in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, Supreme Court of India allows pictures of Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, Governors and State Ministers to appear in government advertisements.
• 31 March – 2016 Kolkata flyover collapse: At least 27 people were killed and 80 others injured in a bridge collapse in Kolkata, West Bengal in India.

  April

• 5 April – Bihar state imposed a liquor ban.
• 5 April – India's fastest train, Gatimaan Express, began operating between Hazrat Nizamuddin and Agra Cantonment, run by Indian Railways.
• 22 April – 21 May - The 2016 Ujjain Simhastha Kumbha Mela was held, attracting nearly 75 million visitors over one month.
• 10 April – The Puttingal temple fire caused 107 deaths.
• 11 April – 2016 Assam Legislative Assembly election – BJP won the majority.
• 29 April – Jisha murder case.

  May

• 2 May – A 17-year-old JEE aspirant named, Kriti Tripathi, died by suicide in Kota, Rajasthan.
• 5 May – 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election – Mamata Banerjee-led TMC won the majority.
• 16 May – 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election- Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK won the majority.
• 16 May – 2016 Puducherry Legislative Assembly election – Congress won the majority.
• 23 May – Hypersonic Flight Experiment: ISRO's RLV-TD vehicle was launched from the first launchpad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre aboard an HS9 rocket booster.
• 30 May – 30 people died following a fire at an army weapons depot in Pulgaon, Wardha district, Maharashtra.
• 31 May – 2016 Bihar school examination scandal: A controversy broke out over the topper scam involving the Bihar School Examination Board.

  June

• 14 June – Anu Bansal suffered burns over 80% of her body after being set on fire by her husband for giving birth to a daughter. She died several days later. It would take her daughters eight years to get justice for her murder.
• 22 June – ISRO launched 20 satellites into space using PSLV-XL.
• 25 June – 2016 Pampore attack.
• 28 June – Government of India accepted the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, increasing salaries of employees.
• 2016 Indian Air Force An-32 disappearance.

  July

• 2 July – At least 30 people died due to heavy rains in Uttarakhand.
• 8 July – 2016 Kashmir Unrest: Violent protests erupt in Kashmir over the killing of Burhan Wani by security forces.
• 11 July - A seven member Dalit family assaulted and flagged in Una by Cow vigilante.

  August

• 3 August – Goods and Services Tax Bill passed in Parliament.
• 5 August – 2016 Kokrajhar shooting occurred.
• 9 August – Manipur activist Irom Sharmila ended her 16-year hunger strike.
• 13 August – Pramukh Swami Maharaj, a Swaminarayan guru, died.
• 14 August – Na. Muthukumar, an Indian Tamil poet, lyricist, and National Award-winning author, died.

  September

• 2 September – Indian general strike of 2016 took place.
• Kaveri River water dispute: Violence broke out in Karnataka.
• 13 September – 43 out of 44 MLAs from the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly left Congress and joined People's Party of Arunachal.
• 18 September – 2016 Uri attack: Four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists attacked an Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri near the Line of Control, killing 19 soldiers in a pre-dawn ambush.
• 22 September – Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was hospitalized at Apollo Hospital.
• 29 September – 2016 Indian Line of Control strike: The Indian Army conducted a surgical strike in response to the Uri attack.
• 30 September – Bihar liquor ban: The Patna High Court struck down liquor ban law.

  October

• 2 October – 2016 Baramulla attack occurred.
• 11 October – Jangaon district was formed in Telangana.
• 13 October – BJP joined People's Party of Arunachal- led Government in Arunachal Pradesh.
• 15 October – 24 people died in a stampede at a religious gathering in Varanasi.
• 17 October – A fire at SUM Hospital in Bhubaneshwar killed 22 died.
• 19 October – In the Qnet multi-level marketing case, former World Billiards Champion Michael Ferreira was arrested.
• 24 October – Cyrus Mistry was removed as the Chairman of the Tata Sons, one of India's largest conglomerates.
• 27 October – In the Senari massacre case in Bihar, 15 were convicted and 23 acquitted; 10 received death sentences.
• October – Bihar liquor ban: The Supreme Court stayed the High Court order, reimposing the ban.
• October – Samajwadi Party, ruling Uttar Pradesh, was embroiled in a family feud.
• 31 October – October 2016 Bhopal encounter occurred.

  November

• 1 November – 2016 Manipur unrest began.
• 8 November – The Indian government demonetized 500 and 1000 banknotes with immediate effect, causing political uproar.
• 11 November – 42 Congress MLAs resigned from the Punjab Vidhan Sabha following a Supreme Court ruling on the Sutlej Yamuna link canal project.
• 16 November – The winter session of Indian Parliament began, with debates on demonetization.
• 20 November – A train derailsment near Pukhrayan killed at least 150 people.
• 26 November – Nabha jailbreak in Punjab. Six inmates escaped.
• 29 November – 2016 Nagrota army base attack occurred.
• 30 November – The Supreme Court of India ordered cinemas to play national anthem before films.

  December

• 5 December – Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa died after 72 days of hospitalization at Apollo Hospital.
• 10 December – Industrialist Pawan Ruia was arrested following a railway complaint.
• 12 December – Cyclone Vardah makes landfall on the Tamil Nadu coast. 18 people died.
• 14 December – The National Green Tribunal banned kite-flying with manja, a glass-coated thread, due to safety concerns.
• 15 December – Supreme Court banned liquor sales on national and state highways to reduce road accidents caused by drunk driving.
• 24 December – Prime Minister, Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the Pune Metro Project; construction began.
• 25 December – In the 2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal: arrests were made, including a former Indian Air Force chief.
• 29 December – 2016 Ariyalur gang rape case occurred.

  Public holidays

Publications

• "Devlok" by Devdutt Pattanaik
• "One Indian Girl" by Chetan Bhagat

  Deaths

January

• 2 January
• * Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, Indian politician
• * Fateh Singh, shooter and army officer
• 3 January
• * Shankar Prasad Jaiswal, Indian politician
• * Raghu Nandan Mandal, Indian politician
• 4 January – S. H. Kapadia, Indian judge
• 6 January – Labhshankar Thakar, Gujarati author
• 7 January – Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Indian politician
• 8 January
• * M. O. Joseph, Malayalam film producer
• * Gunaram Khanikar, herbalist
• 13 January
• * J. F. R. Jacob, army general
• * G A Vadivelu, independence activist and politician
• 14 January – Rajesh Vivek, actor
• 15 January – Anil Ganguly, film director
• 16 January – Ananda Chandra Dutta, botanist
• 17 January
• * Geethapriya, film director
• * V. Rama Rao, politician
• * Sudhindra Thirtha, Hindu religious leader
• *Rohith Vemula, PhD scholar.
• 18 January – Asha Patil, actress
• 20 January – Subrata Bose, politician
• 21 January – Mrinalini Sarabhai, classical dancer, choreographer and instructor
• 22 January – Shankar Ghosh, tabla player
• 23 January – A. C. Jose, politician
• 25 January
• * Kalpana, Malayalam actress
• * Jashubhai Dhanabhai Barad, politician
• * Padmarani, Gujarati actress
• 28 January – Maheswar Baug, politician and independence activist
• 29 January – Nayani Krishnakumari, writer and folklorist
• 30 January
• * T. N. Gopakumar, journalist
• * K. V. Krishna Rao, military officer
• * Kollam G. K. Pillai, actor
• 31 January – Randhir Singh, political scientist