Events in the year 1978 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 ...

– Neelam Sanjiva Reddy * Morarji Desai portrait

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 ...

– Morarji Desai *

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 ...

– Mirza Hameedullah Beg (until 21 February),

Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud (12 July 1920 – 14 July 2008) was an Indian jurist who served as the 16th Chief Justice of India, serving from 22 February 1978 to the day he retired on 11 July 1985. Born in Pune in the Bombay Presidency, he was ...

(starting 22 February)

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 ...

–

Sharda Mukherjee Sharada Mukherjee (1919–2007) was an Indian socialite and politician who was member of Lok Sabha in 1960s, and later served as Governor of the states of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Biography Sharada was born into a Maharashtrian family as S ...

(until 15 August),

K. C. Abraham Kochakkan Chacko Abraham (20 January 1899 in Cochin, Kerala – 14 March 1986) was the Governor of Andhra Pradesh between 15 August 1978 – 15 August 1983. He belonged to the Indian National Congress. Early life He was born in Cochin, ...

(starting 15 August) *

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 ...

– Jagannath Kaushal *

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, ...

(until 14 August),

(starting 14 August) *

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 ...

–

Harcharan Singh Brar Harcharan Singh Brar (21 January 1922 – 6 September 2009) was an Indian politician belonging to the Punjab unit of Indian National Congress. He was the 13th Chief Minister of Punjab and held this position from 31 August 1995 to 21 Novembe ...

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 ...

–

Amin ud-din Ahmad Khan Amin ud-din Ahmad Khan (23 March 1911 – 12 June 1983) was the last ruling Nawab of princely state of Loharu, reigning from 1926 to 1947. Born on 23 March 1911 in Delhi, he studied at Aitchison College, Lahore, later, Member of the Chamber ...

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 ...

– Govind Narain *

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 ...

– Jothi Venkatachalam *

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 ...

–

N. N. Wanchu 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 (1916- ...

(until 16 August),

C. M. Poonacha Cheppudira Muthana Poonacha was the Chief Minister of Coorg, Minister in Mysore State, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha), Union Railway Minister of India and Governor of Madhya Pradesh and Governor of Orissa. Freedom Movement ...

(starting 16 August) *

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 ...

– Sri Sadiq Ali *

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 ...

–

Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Bhagwat Dayal Sharma (26 January 1918 – 22 February 1993), popularly known as Panditji, was the first Chief Minister of the Indian state of Haryana and later Governor of Odisha and Madhya Pradesh from 30 April 1980 to 14 May 1984. He is one o ...

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 ...

–

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 ...

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 ...

–

Raghukul Tilak Raghukul Tilak was a former Governor of Rajasthan A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official ...

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 ...

–

Prabhudas Patwari Prabhudas Patwari (1909–1985) was an Indian lawyer, community activist, freedom fighter, Gandhian follower and vegetarianism activist. Biography Patwari was governor of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu between 1977 and 1980, and in 1978 was de ...

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 ...

–

Ganpatrao Devji Tapase Ganpatrao Devji Tapase (30 October 1909–3 October 1992, Mumbai) was an Indian politician, an Indian independence activist and later a leader of the Indian National Congress political party in Maharashtra. He had studied in Fergusson College ...

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 - 1,126,714 million * 1 January – Air India Flight 855, a

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

passenger jet, crashes into the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

after takeoff near

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, killing all 213 on board. * 16 January – Morarji Desai led government demonetizes high denomination banknotes. * 29 March – Dr. Leo Rebello pioneers a 60 lessons distance learning course in Naturopathy to train Naturopaths to serve in India's 560,000 villages. * 7 November –

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 ...

is re-elected to the Indian parliament. * 19 December – Indira Gandhi is arrested and jailed for a week for breach of privilege and contempt of parliament.

Law

Births

January to June

*13 January –

Ashmit Patel Ashmit Patel (born 13 January 1978) is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films and was seen on ''Bigg Boss''. Personal life Patel is the son of Amit Patel and Asha Patel, and the younger brother of actress and model Ameesha Patel, and ...

, actor. *16 January Vijay Sethupathi, actor. *21 March –

Rani Mukerji Rani Mukerji (pronounced ; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rani Mukerji, multiple accolades, including seven Filmf ...

, actress. *28 March – Nafisa Joseph, model,

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

VJ,

Miss India Miss India may refer to: * Femina Miss India, the most prestigious and oldest surviving national beauty pageant in India that started in 1964. It sends its winner to Miss World. * Miss Diva, the national beauty pageant that sends its winners to Miss ...

1997 (d.2004). * Lara Dutta launches her 'Prenatal Yoga' DVD (8)(cropped)

16 April – Lara Dutta, actress,

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

in 2000. *4 May – Samita Singh Virtigo patients of Deodh Madhubani Bihar *5 May –

Sandeep Baswana Sandeep Baswana is an Indian actor. Personal life Baswana is in relationship with actress Ashlesha Sawant since 2004. Career Baswana made his television debut with the show '' Kuchh Jhuki Palkain'' and followed up with '' Kkoi Dil Mein Hai''. ...

, actor. *25 June – Aftab Shivdasani, actor.

July to December

*17 August –

Disha Vakani Disha Vakani (born 17 August), is a former Indian film and television actress. She was known for playing the role of Daya Jethalal Gada on the sitcom ''Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah''. Early life Disha Vakani was born in a Gujarati Jain fa ...

, actress. *21 August –

Bhumika Chawla Bhumika Chawla (born Rachna Chawla; 21 August 1978) is an Indian actress and former model known for her work predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films. She began her acting career with the Telugu film ''Yuvakudu'' (2000) and the ...

, actress. *31 August – Jayasurya, actor. * Soha Ali Khan at Jaypore store launch in Bandra

4 October – Soha Ali Khan, actress. *18 October Jyothika, actress. *20 October –

Virender Sehwag Virender Sehwag (born 20 October 1978) is a former Indian cricketer who represented India from 1999 to 2013. Widely regarded as one of the most destructive opener, he played for Delhi Capitals in IPL and Delhi and Haryana in Indian domestic c ...

, cricketer. *1 November –

Manju Warrier Manju Warrier (; born 10 September 1978) is an Indian actress, producer, classical dancer and playback singer who primarily appears in Malayalam language films. She is the recipient of several awards including one National Film Award, one Kera ...

, actress. *25 November –

Sameer Dad Mohammad Sameer Dad (born 25 November 1978 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh) is a former field hockey forward who played for India. International appearances Dad made his international senior debut for the Indian Men's National Team in January 1998, ...

, field hockey player. *25 November – Rakhi Sawant, actress

Deaths

*19 February –

Pankaj Mullick Pankaj Kumar Mullick (10 May 1905 – 19 February 1978) was an Indian music composer, playback singer and actor, who was a pioneer of film music in Bengali cinema and Hindi cinema at the advent of playback singing, as well as an early exponent ...

, singer and composer (b. 1905). *18 November –

Dhirendra Nath Ganguly Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as Dhiren Ganguly or D.G, was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winning and Padma Bhushan recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of Bengali Cinema. He had set up a number of ...

, film entrepreneur, actor and director (b. 1893).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1978 in India

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Years of the 20th century in India