Events in the year 1976 in the Republic of India.

Incumbents

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

– Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed *

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

–

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

* Vice President of India –

B.D. Jatti Basappa Danappa Jatti () (10 September 1912 – 7 June 2002) was the fifth vice president of India, serving from 1974 to 1979. He was acting President of India from 11 February to 25 July 1977.He also served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. ...

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...

–

Ajit Nath Ray Ajit Nath Ray (29 January 1912 – 25 December 2009) was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India from 25 April 1973 till his retirement on 28 January 1977. Ray was the lone dissenter among the eleven Supreme Court judges that examin ...

Governors

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

– ** until 10 January:

S. Obul Reddy S. Obul Reddy (9 April 1916 - July 1996) was Chief Justice of High Courts of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat and Governor of Andhra Pradesh. Early life He studied at Board High School, Nandalur, Government Arts College, Anantapur, Presidency Co ...

** 10 January-15 June:

Mohanlal Sukhadia Mohan Lal Sukhadia (31 July 1916 – 2 February 1982) was an Indian politician, who served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan state for 17 years (1954–1971). He became chief minister at the age of 38 and was responsible for bringing major ref ...

** starting 15 June:

Ramchandra Dhondiba Bhandare Ramchandra Dhondiba Bhandare (1916-1988) was an Indian politician, jurist and Ambedkarite activist. He was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) political party, who was twice elected to Lok Sabha. He was elected to the fourth Lok Sab ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

– L. P. Singh *

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

–

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

–

Kambanthodath Kunhan Vishwanatham Kambanthodath Kunhan Viswanathan (4 November 1914 – 17 or 18 August 1992) was governor of the Indian state of Gujarat. Viswanathan was born in Mattancheri, Cochin on 4 November 1914 to an Ezhava family. He was educated at St. Thomas College, ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

– ** until 26 March:

Birendra Narayan Chakraborty Birendra Narayan Chakraborty (also Birendra Narayan Chakravarty) (20 December 1904 – 26 March 1976) was an Indian civil servant, politician and the second governor of Haryana. He attended Kolkata's Scottish Church College, and continued hi ...

** 27 March-13 August:

Ranjit Singh Narula Ranjit can refer to: * Ranjit Singh (disambiguation) **Ranjit Singh (1780–1839), First Maharaja of the Sikh Empire **Ranjit Singh of Bharatpur (1776–1805), ruler of the Bharatpur princely state in Rajasthan, India ** K. S. Ranjitsinhji (1872– ...

** starting 13 August:

Jaisukh Lal Hathi Jaisukhlal Hathi (19 January 1909 – 2 February 1982) was born at Muli, Saurashtra, in the Indian state of Gujarat. He served as a Union Minister in the Indian Government and also as governor of Punjab and Haryana. He was as a member of the Con ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

– S. Chakravarti *

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

–

L. K. Jha Lakshmi Kant Jha, MBE (22 November 1913 – 16 January 1988), born in Darbhanga district, Bihar was the eighth Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1 July 1967 to 3 May 1970. Education and career Lakshmi Kant Jha was born into a Maithil ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

– Uma Shankar Dikshit *

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

–

N. N. Wanchoo Niranjan Nath Wanchoo (also spelt Wanchu) OBE, ICS (1 May 1910 – 20 October 1982) was a senior civil servant and later, Governor of the states of Kerala and Madhya Pradesh in India. His primary education was in Nowgong, Madhya Pradesh (191 ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

– Satya Narayan Sinha *

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

–

Ali Yavar Jung Nawab Ali Yavar Jung Bahadur (February 1906 – 11 December 1976) was an Indian diplomat. He served as Indian Ambassador in Argentina, Egypt, Yugoslavia and Greece, France, and the United States. He was governor of the Indian state of Maha ...

(until 11 December), vacant thereafter (starting 11 December) *

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

–

L.P. Singh Lallan Prasad Singh ICS (1912 – 17 October 1998) was Governor of Assam (1973–80), Manipur (1973–80, 1982–83), Meghalaya (1973–80), Nagaland (1973–81), and Tripura (1973–80). He was awarded Padma Vibhushan award in 1999 after his ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...

–

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

–

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

– Akbar Ali Khan (until 17 April),

Shiva Narayan Shankar Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hind ...

(starting 17 April) *

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

–

Mahendra Mohan Choudhry Mahendra Mohan Choudhury (12 April 1908 – 27 December 1982) was a freedom fighter and politician from Nagaon, Undivided Kamrup district (now Barpeta district) of Western Assam. He was Chief Minister of Assam from 1970 to 1972. He also s ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

–

Sardar Jogendra Singh Sardar Jogendra Singh (3 October 1903 – 11 February 1979) was an Indian politician who served as governor of Rajasthan from 1972 to 1977, and was also a member of the 2nd Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the Peo ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

– B. B. Lal *

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

– Kodardas Kalidas Shah (until 15 June),

Mohan Lal Sukhadia Mohan Lal Sukhadia (31 July 1916 – 2 February 1982) was an Indian politician, who served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan state for 17 years (1954–1971). He became chief minister at the age of 38 and was responsible for bringing major ref ...

(starting 15 June) *

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

– L. P. Singh *

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

– Akbar Ali Khan *

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

–

Anthony Lancelot Dias Anthony Lancelot Dias (14 March 1910 — 22 September 2002), also known as A. L. Dias was an Indian Civil Service officer and politician of Goan origin. Dias was born in Bombay and was in the Maharashtra cadre. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan ...

Events

* National income - 918,117 million * 2 March - The

Rajan case ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...

, a famous case of Police brutality during the Emergency Period. The victim, P. Rajan, a final year Engineering student at Regional Engineering College, Calicut was arrested by police, taken to

Kakkayam Kakkayam is a dam site located at Koorachundu in Kozhikode, Kerala. Kakkayam is on the outskirts of the Western Ghats, and Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary, a abode of wild animals including elephants and bisons. Kakkayam has an abundant wildlife po ...

and allegedly tortured severely which led to his death. It is believed that his body was thrown into the Kakkayam Dam. * 16 April – A family planning initiative involves the vasectomy of thousands of men and tubal ligation of women, either for payment or under coercive conditions. (The minimum age for marriage is also raised to 21 years for men and 18 years for women.) The son of then-Prime Minister

, Sanjay Gandhi, is largely blamed for what turned out to be a failed program. A strong backlash against any initiative associated with family planning followed the highly controversial program, which continues (in part) into the 21st century. * 10 June – George Fernandes arrested from

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

during the Emergency. * 15 November – Subramanian Swamy was expelled from

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

for his campaign against the Emergency in foreign countries.

Law

Births

January to June

5 February –

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the grandson of poet Harivansh Rai Bach ...

, actor. * 4 April –

Simran Bagga Rishibala Naval (born 4 April 1976), known professionally as Simran, is an Indian actress, Producer, Dancer and TV personality who prominently works in Tamil films along with a few Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. Personal life and ...

, actress. * 9 April –

Rohit Gupta Rohit Gupta is a film director, film producer and entrepreneurship, entrepreneur who resides in the United States. He is known for directing ''Midnight Delight (film), Midnight Delight'', ''Life! Camera Action...'', ''Another Day Another Life (s ...

, writer and inventor. * 9 April –

Nithin Sathya Nithin Sathya (born 9 January 1980) is an Indian actor, film producer. He works primarily in Tamil cinema, Tamil Cinema. He made his film debut in ''Kalatpadai'', directed by J. Ramesh, in 2003. He acted with Kamal Haasan, Kamal Hassan in a sma ...

, actor. * 21 May –

Aditi Gowitrikar Aditi Govitrikar (born 21 May 1974) is an Indian actress, physician and former model. She is the first Indian woman to win the Mrs. World title in 2001. From 1997 to 2004, Govitrikar remained the only Indian supermodel with both a medical docto ...

, model, actress and physician. * AmeeshaPatel01

9 June – Amisha Patel, actress. *5 June Rambha, actress. *7 June

Pandiraj Pandiraj (பாண்டிராஜ் in Tamil) is an Indian film director and producer, writer who works in Tamil cinema. His debut film, ''Pasanga'' (2009), was commercially successful and won several awards, including the National Film Aw ...

, film director. *29 June –

Saurabh Kalia Saurabh Kalia (; – ) was an officer of the Indian Army who was killed during the Kargil War while being held as a prisoner of war by the Pakistan Army. He and five soldiers in his patrol group were captured by Pakistani troops following a ...

, Military officer-KARGIL HERO. (d. 1998).

July to December

* 20 July – Debashish Mohanty, cricketer. *12 August –

Baljit Singh Saini Baljit ("Baljeet") Singh Saini (born 12 August 1976 in Ropar, Punjab) is a field hockey defender and midfielder from India who made his international debut for the Men's National Team in 1995 during the Indira Gandhi Gold Cup. Baljit ...

, field hockey player. *16 September Meena, actress. * 19 September –

Ishaa Koppikar Isha Koppikar (born 19 September 1976) is an Indian actress, model and politician who has mostly appeared in Hindi cinema. She has also acted in several Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Marathi films. Background Koppikar was born in Mahim, Bombay (no ...

, actress and model. * 27 October

Pooja Batra Pooja Batra Shah (born 27 October) is an Indian-American actress and model who primarily works in Hindi films. She was crowned Femina Miss India International in 1993. Early life and background Batra was born on 27 October to Ravi Batra, an a ...

, actress. *29 October Raghava Lawrence, actor, choreographer, director. *14 November – Hemang Badani, cricketer. * Bhaichung Bhutia at the NDTV Marks for Sports event 21

Bhaichung Bhutia at the NDTV Marks for Sports event 21

15 December –

Baichung Bhutia Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often ...

, soccer player.

Deaths

* 25 January –

Swami Anand Swami Anand (1887 – 25 January 1976) was a monk, a Gandhian activist and a Gujarati writer from India. He was the manager of Gandhi's publications such as ''Navajivan'' and ''Young India'' and inspired Gandhi to write his autobiography, ''Th ...

, Gandhi activist and writer (b. 1887) * 2 March - P. Rajan, college student and victim of Police brutality (b. 1954) * 28 July –

T. Nagi Reddy Tarimela Nagi Reddy (11 February 1917 – 28 July 1976) was a communist politician from Andhra Pradesh, India. He was born in a wealthy family in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. He completed his schooling from the Rishi Valley School, Rishi ...

, communist politician (b. 1917). * Mukesh Indian Singer

27 August –

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...

, playback singer (b. 1923). * 2 September –

Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar (11 January 1898 – 2 September 1976) was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. He was the first Marathi author to win the prestigious Jnanpith Award. Early life Khandekar was born on 11 January 1898 in San ...

, writer (b. 1898).