1990 Muslim separatist groups begin campaign of violence against Hindus in Kashmir resulting in Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus.
Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashes near the HAL Airport in Bangalore.
Leander Paes He won the 1990 Wimbledon junior title and was briefly ranked the number one junior player in the world.
The last Indian troops are withdrawn from Sri Lanka
The government devalued the rupee and initiated economic reforms.
Operation Floodlight (a literacy drive in Ernakulam)
V P Singh announces implementation of Mandal commission report.
Rajiv Goswami, a commerce student in Deshbandhu College attempted Self-immolation as part of Mandal Commission protests of 1990.
V.P. Singh resigns as prime minister and is succeeded by Janata Dal dissident Chandra Shekhar.
TN Sheshan- 10th Chief Election Commissioner of India
1991 Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a suicide bomber sympathetic to Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers.
Indian National Congress leader P.V. Narasimha Rao becomes Prime Minister.
The Government of India constitutes the Company Law Board as an independent quasi-judicial body thus giving up direct control on matters of company law.
An economic reform programme or Economic liberalisation in India is begun by Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao.
The government of India announces its New Industrial Policy, marking the start of India’s economic reforms.
J. Jayalalithaa is sworn in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the first time.
Shiv Sena workers led by Shishir Shinde vandalised Wankhede Stadium Cricket pitch to stop a cricket match between India and Pakistan.
Rapid Action Force established by Union Home Ministry.
Union Territory of Delhi was given the special status of ‘National Capital Territory of Delhi.’ 69th Amendment.
1992 Scam of Harshad Mehta was exposed by journalist Sucheta Dalal, which consisted of SBI 500 Crore Scam and illegal usage of loophole in banking system. December
The demolition of the Babri Masjid, triggering the Bombay riots.
Over 200 people die in Cuttack in Odisha, after drinking illegally brewed liquor in the 1992 Odisha liquor deaths incident.
Konkani language, Nepali language and Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri language) included in the constitutional scheduled languages’ list and made one of the official languages of the Indian Republic through 71st amendment of Constitution of India.
Zee Television, a Hindi language satellite and cable television station, a first officially regular broadcasting service to start in Mumbai.
Indian Rupee exchange rate collapsed. It was 20 Rs to 1 dollar in January 1992 and it became 30 Rs to 1 dollar in December 1992. A huge 50% depreciation in value
Government of India establishes SEBI, stock exchange regulator.
73rd and 74th Amendment Act, 1992
Panchayati Raj institutions and Urban local bodies were given constitutional status.
India bags no medal at the Olympics
1993 A series of bomb blasts, thought to be planted by underworld figures, rock the country’s commercial capital of Bombay, killing some 260 people
Latur earthquake shakes Maharashtra
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference is formed in Kashmir.
supreme court recognised a fundamental right to primary education in the right to life under article 21
The Indian Voter ID card, also known as the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC), was introduced nationwide in 1993
1994 Kupwara massacre in J&K
S. R. Bommai v. Union of India verdict by Supreme Court of India.
Plague breakout in India from Surat
National Telecommunications policy (NTP) in 1994 which brought changes in the ownership, service and regulation of the national telecommunications infrastructure.
Aishwarya Rai was crowned Miss World 1994 in Sun City, South Africa
Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994
Sushmita Sen became the first Indian woman to win the Miss Universe title
Airports Authority of India Act 1994
1995 West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu made the first call from Kolkata to inaugurate the cellular services in India.
India joins the World Trade Organization (WTO) which has replaced GATT.
Purulia arms drop case
India’s first internet service started by VSNL
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited founded.
1996 Congress suffers its worst electoral defeat ever as BJP emerges as the largest single party.
The Amarnath Yatra tragedy in which at least 194 pilgrims are reported to have frozen to death in northern Kashmir after being stranded by violent rain and snow storms.
TN Sheshan received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service
In general elections the ruling Congress Party is defeated and Bharatiya Janata Party becomes the largest single party in parliament. Phoolan Devi, former bandit queen is elected to Parliament from the Samajwadi Party.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is elected the new prime minister of India, replacing P. V. Narasimha Rao of the Indian National Congress. However, the party does not receive an overall majority and Vajpayee resigns thirteen days later rather than face a no confidence vote, and is replaced by the United Front, led by Deve Gowda. 13 days Government by Vapayee.
Deve Gowda is sworn in as the head of the United Front, a coalition of 13 parties which Congress supported but did not join. Gowda’s new cabinet brings in powerful regional figures, mixing low-caste and Muslim leaders with veterans of the socialist movement.
At least 194 pilgrims are reported to have frozen to death in northern Kashmir after being stranded by violent rain and snow storms in the Amarnath Yatra tragedy.
Michael Jackson arrived in Mumbai as a part of his History World Tour
Chinese President Jiang Zemin begins his three-day visit, the first visit by a Chinese head of state to India.
Leander Paes won a bronze medal for India in men’s singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games making him the first Asian in Olympic history to win a tennis medal and the only Indian to date. It was India’s sole medal in 1996 Olympics.
World Cup Cricket in India. India loses in Semi Final against Sri Lanka in Kolkata.
1997 India’s Missionaries of Charity chooses Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as its leader.
Inder Kumar Gujral, a new leader acceptable to Congress, is sworn in as prime minister.
Jagmohan Dalmiya elected as the president of International Cricket Council
K.R. Narayanan is elected president, defeating T.N. Seshan. First Dalit President.
Mother Teresa dies of heart failure in Kolkata.
Elizabeth II pays a state visit to India.
Arundhati Roy wins Booker Prize for her debut novel The God of Small Things.
In 1997, an autonomous body was established in the name of Prasar Bharti to take care of the public service broadcasting under the Prasar Bharti Act. All India Radio and Doordarshan, which earlier were working as media units under the Ministry of I&B became constituents of the body.
TRAI (telecom regulator) is established.
1998 BJP forms coalition government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
India and Pakistan carry out nuclear tests, leading to widespread international condemnation.
EVM machines were used on an experimental basis across 25 state assembly constituencies during the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.
The National Highway Development Project is launched.
Netaji Subhas Open University started functioning in Kolkata
Gulzarilal Nanda, Interim Prime Minister of India died.
1999 Vajpayee makes a historic bus trip to Pakistan to meet Premier Nawaz Sharif and to sign bilateral Lahore peace declaration.
India’s 13-month-old BJP-led Second Vajpayee government falls after losing a no confidence motion in the Lok Sabha by just one vote
Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burned to death by Bajrang Dal activists in Kendujhar district, Odisha
Indian Army launches operations to evict Pakistani forces occupying Indian positions on the icy heights in Kargil district, known as the Kargil War.
The Odissa Cyclone devastates eastern state of Odisha, leaving at least 10,000 dead.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi became the first Indian pair to win doubles title in Wimbledon Championship.
Two crowded trains collide head-on at a railway station in Gaisal, West Bengal killing 286 people.
Parliamentary elections are held, in which the National Democratic Alliance led by Prime Minister Vajpayee’s BJP wins 298 seats, the Congress-led Alliance 134, and others 105.
Heavily armed hijackers take over an Indian Airlines Airbus carrying 189 people from Kathmandu (Nepal) to New Delhi. After a detour to the United Arab Emirates, it lands at Kandahar, Afghanistan, on 25 December. On 28 December the hijackers make three demands, including the release of 35 terrorists and a sum of $200 million. On 31 December the hijackers, who stabbed a man on the plane to death, free their hostages after reaching agreement with India for the release of three terrorists in Kashmir.
Shankar Dayal Sharma, former president of India and Chief Minister of MP died.
