2003 in India
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- President of IndiaPresident of IndiaThe President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
– A. P. J. Abdul Kalam - Prime Minister of IndiaPrime Minister of IndiaThe Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
– Atal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
Events
- 26 January - The president of IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Mohammad KhatamiMohammad KhatamiSayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
, is the guest at the Republic Day celebration. - 5 February - 9 February - Aero-India show is held in BangaloreBangaloreBengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
. - March - India put up a great show at the ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa after poor performances in the past and go on to the Finals. They were defeated by Australia in the Finals.
- 18 April - Prime Minister Atal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
, at his first rally in SrinagarSrinagarSrinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...
, makes a historic announcement of a peace initiative with Pakistan. - 31 May - Prime Minister Vajpayee has the rare honour of joining the head table at the 300th foundation day of St. PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
with Vladimir PutinVladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
and George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. - 22 June - Vajpayee is in China. India concedes that TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
is an integral part of China. China agrees to recognise SikkimSikkimSikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
's accession to India. - 14 July - India refuses to send troops to IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. - 25 August - 52 killed in two bomb blasts1993 Mumbai bombingsThe 1993 Bombay bombings were a series of 13 bomb explosions that took place in Bombay , Maharashtra, India on Friday, 12 March 1993. The coordinated attacks were the most destructive bomb explosions in Indian history...
in MumbaiMumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. - 24 September - United States President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
invites Vajpayee to lunch in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
during Vajpayee's US trip. It is considered an important meeting for Indo-US relations. Several deals are struck on civilian nuclear technology, space, hi-tech trade and missile defence. - 6 October - Vajpayee visits BaliBaliBali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
for the second time in 2 years. - 22 October - India announces confidence-building measures with respect to Indo-Pakistani relations: more buses, flights, higher mission strength, etc.
- 15 November - Vajpayee visits SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
.
Deaths
- 8 January - Mahadeva Subramania ManiMahadeva Subramania ManiMahadeva Subramania Mani was an Indian entomologist especially famous for his studies on high altitude entomology.-Early life and career:...
, entomologist (b.19081908 in India-January to June:*17 January - L. V. Prasad, actor, producer and director .*26 February - Leela Majumdar, writer .*2 March - Mahadeva Subramania Mani, entomologist .*5 April - Jagjivan Ram, freedom fighter and social reformer ....
). - 14 July - Leela ChitnisLeela ChitnisLeela Chitnis was an early actress in the Indian film industry.-Early life:She was born in Dharwar, Karnataka to an English professor. She was one of the first educated film actresses...
, actress (b.19091909 in India-Births:*3 January - M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, actor and Carnatic singer .*10 February - Pisharoth Rama Pisharoty, physicist and meteorologist .*6 April - Alagappa Chettiar, businessman and philanthropist ....
). - 27 July - Henning Holck-LarsenHenning Holck-LarsenHenning Holck-Larsen was a Dane who co-founded the Indian engineering firm Larsen & Toubro .- Biography :...
, engenner, co-founder of Larsen & ToubroLarsen & ToubroLarsen & Toubro Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company has four main business sectors: technology, engineering, construction and manufacturing. L&T has an international presence, with a global spread of offices and factories, further...
(born 19071907 in Denmark-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Frederick VIII* Prime minister - J. C. Christensen-Births:* July 4 - Henning Holck-Larsen, engineer, co-founder of Indian engineering company Larsen & Toubro * November 4 - Henry Heerup, painter, sculptor... - 25 October - Pandurang Shastri AthavalePandurang Shastri AthavaleShastri Pandurang Vaijnath Athavale , also known as Dada-ji , which literally translates as elder brother in Marathi, was an Indian philosopher, spiritual leader, social reformer and Hinduism reformist, who founded the Swadhyay Movement and the Swadhyay Parivar organization in 1954, a...
, philosopher, spiritual leader, social reformer, who founded the Swadhyay MovementSwadhyay MovementSwadhyay, a Sanskrit word, means self-study, but it is more than what it connotes. Lord Krishna mentioned Swadhyay as one of the divine attributes one should have it and one of the four Yagna . Also, it is an austerity of speech...
(b.19201920 in India-Events:*Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College, founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in Aligarh in 1875, becomes Aligarh Muslim University.-January to June:*16 February - I. S...
). - 3 November - Narendra PrasadNarendra prasadNarendra Prasad was a popular Indian movie actor, playwright, director, teacher and literary critic. He was born at Mavelikara, Alappuzha District, in the south Indian state of Kerala....
, actor, playwright, teacher and literary critic (b.19461946 in IndiaEvents in the year 1946 in India.-Events:* January - Royal Air Force Mutiny of 1946 of British and Indian air force units* 11 February - I.N.A...
). - 9 November - Binod Bihari VermaBinod Bihari VermaBinod Bihari Verma was a Maithili littérateur by soul, medical doctor by profession and a defence officer by career. He is most noted for his pioneering work on Panjis, which are ancient genealogical charts, Maithili Karna Kayasthak Panjik Sarvekshan. He is also known for his depiction of rural...
, writer (b.19371937 in IndiaEvents in the year 1937 in India.-January to June:*2 January - Chandrashekhara Kambara, poet, playwright, folklorist and film director.*22 February - Sabitri Chatterjee, actress....
). - 21 December - G. V. IyerG. V. IyerGanapathi Venkatrama Iyer was a well known Indian film director and actor. He was nicknamed "Kannada Bheeshma", and was the only person who made movies in Sanskrit. His films were well-known for their spiritual themes. He was born in 1917 in Nanjanagud in Mysore district of Karnataka state in...
, film director (b.19171917 in India-Events:*20 August - The secretary of state for India makes the announcement that British policy in India calls for the gradual development of self-governing institutions and the progressive realization of responsible government.-Births:...
).