Events in the year 1981 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 Mur ...

–

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (; 19 May 1913 – 1 June 1996) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with the Indian National Congress Party in the independence ...

* Prime Minister of India – Indira Gandhi *

Vice President of India The vice president of India (IAST: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the ...

– Mohammad Hidayatullah * Chief Justice of India –

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 ...

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 ...

–

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, ...

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 (until 10 August), Prakash Mehrotra (starting 10 August) *

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 ...

–

Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai Akhlaq Ur Rehman Kidwai (1 July 1921 – 24 August 2016) was an Indian chemist and politician. He served as governor of the states of Bihar, West Bengal and Haryana. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliame ...

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 ...

– Sharda Mukherjee *

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 a ...

–

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 Colleg ...

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 Chamb ...

(until 26 August), A. K. Banerjee (starting 26 August) * Jammu and Kashmir – L. K. Jha (until 22 February),

B. K. Nehru Braj Kumar Nehru MBE, ICS (4 September 1909 – 31 October 2001) was an Indian diplomat and Ambassador of India to the United States (1961–1968). He was the son of Brijlal Nehru and Rameshwari Nehru and first cousin once removed of Indi ...

(starting 22 February) *

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 Govind Narain, ICS (5 May 1916 – 3 April 2012) was an Indian civil servant who was member of the Indian Civil Service and served as the 8th Governor of Karnataka. He formerly served as 12th Defence Secretary of India (1973 to 1975), Ho ...

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 Jothi Venkatachalam (born 27 October 1917, date of death unknown) was an Indian politician who served as Governor of Kerala and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. Life and career Jothi Venkatachalam was born in Maymyo, hill cit ...

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 ...

– ** until 25 May: B. D. Sharma ** 25 May-9 July: G. P. Singh ** starting 9 July: B. D. Sharma * Maharashtra – O. P. Mehra *

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 ...

– L.P. Singh (until 18 August), S. M. H. Burney (starting 18 August) *

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and J ...

– L.P. Singh (until 11 August), Prakash Mehrotra (starting 11 August) *

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 ...

– L.P. Singh (until 11 August), S. M. H. Burney (starting 11 August) *

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 ...

– Cheppudira Muthana Poonacha *

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 a ...

–

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 ...

(until 26 August), Aminuddin Ahmad Khan (starting 26 August) *

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 s ...

– Raghukul Tilak (until 8 August), K. D. Sharma (starting 8 August) *

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 Silig ...

–

B. B. Lal Braj Basi Lal (2 May 1921 – 10 September 2022) was an Indian writer and archaeologist. He was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1968 to 1972 and has served as Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced ...

(until 9 January), Homi J. H. Taleyarkhan (starting 10 January) *

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

–

Sadiq Ali Sadiq Ali (2 May 1952 – 18 April 2011) was a senior politician of Kashmir, India, a noted poet and writer and an active environmentalist. He was an elected legislator in the Kashmir State Assembly for three consecutive terms. Mr Sadiq Al ...

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 ea ...

– L. P. Singh (until 18 August), S. M. H. Burney (starting 18 August) *

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 ...

– Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh *

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 fou ...

– Tribhuvana Narayana Singh (until 12 September),

Bhairab Dutt Pande Bhairab Dutt Pandey (17 March 1917 – 2009) was a member of the Indian Civil Service and Union Cabinet Secretary of the Government of India under Indira Gandhi. He served as the Governor of West Bengal (1981–1983), and Punjab (1983–1 ...

(starting 12 August)

Events

* National income - 1,727,755 million * April 30 - Nearly 48 killed in

Bihar Sharif Bihar Sharif is the headquarters of Nalanda district and the fifth-largest sub-metropolitan area in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Its name is a combination of two words: ''Bihar'', derived from '' vihara'' (meaning monastery), also the nam ...

due to communal riots between

Yadav Yadav refers to a grouping of traditionally non-elite, Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern state ...

s and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. * July – About 308 people die in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

after drinking illicit liquor (see: 1981 Karnataka liquor deaths). * Arasan Ganesan Polytechnic is founded in

Sivakasi Sivakasi () is a city and Municipal Corporation in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This city is known for its fireworks, firecracker, matchbox and printing industries. Sivakasi city alone meets about 90% fire cracke ...

. It is a Government aided co-educational technical institute. *

National Aluminium Company National Aluminium Company Limited (abbreviated as NALCO; incorporated in 1981) is a government company having integrated and diversified operations in mining, metal and power under the ownership of the Ministry of Mines and Government of India ...

incorporated as a

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

enterprise of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

. * 2 July –

Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Bangalore. Infosys is the s ...

is founded in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. * 4 December - Around 45 people got killed due to a stampede at

Qutb Minar The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and "victory tower" that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO Worl ...

resulting in closure of Minaret for tourists.

Law

Births

Mahendra Singh Dhoni January 2016 (cropped)

*3 January – Sanggai Chanu, field hockey player. *25 February –

Anuj Sawhney Anuj Sawhney is an Indian actor in Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popula ...

, actor and model. * Saroo Brierley, writer *9 June –

Celina Jaitley Celina Jaitly (born 24 November 1981) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. She won the Miss India in 2001 and was the 4th runner-up at Miss Universe 2001. She made her acting debut with the 2003 thriller ''Janasheen''. E ...

, actress. *17 June –

Amrita Rao Amrita Rao (born 7 June 1981), is an Indian actress who is known primarily for her work in Hindi films. Rao made her acting debut in ''Ab Ke Baras'' (2002), which earned her a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut in 2003. She su ...

, model and actress. *19 June – Gulzar Khan, philosopher and mathematician. *7 July –

Mahendra Singh Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian former international cricketer who was captain of the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is also the curren ...

, cricketer. *3 August –

Manish Paul Maniesh Paul (born 3 August 1981) is an Indian television presenter, anchor, model, singer, actor and comedian in Bollywood. Starting his career as an RJ and VJ, he moved to acting before taking up stand-up comedy and hosting. Early life and ...

, Indian television host, anchor and actor *25 August –

Shiva Keshavan Shiva Keshavan, (born 25 August 1981) is a six-time Olympian and the first Indian representative to compete in luge at the Winter Olympic Games. He set a new Asian speed record at after beating the previous record of and won a gold medal in ...

, luge pilot *30 August – Shilpa Prabhakar Satish, IAS. *5 September

H. Vinoth H. Vinoth is an Indian film director and writer who works in the Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with '' Sathuranga Vettai'' (2014). He went on to direct films, such as ''Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru'' (2017), ''Nerkonda Paarvai'' ( ...

, film director. *27 September –

Lakshmipathy Balaji Lakshmipathy Balaji (born 27 September 1981) is an Indian cricket coach and former cricketer. He is a right arm fast medium bowler. He announced his retirement from first-class and List A cricket in November 2016. He was the bowling coach fo ...

, cricketer. *7 October –

Abhijeet Sawant Abhijeet Sawant is an Indian singer, television actor, anchor and the winner of first season of ''Indian Idol''. He was the first runner up of ''Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star'' and finished third in ''Asian Idol''. Early life Sawant was born on 7 ...

, singer and winner of

Indian Idol ''Indian Idol'' is the Indian music competition television franchise based on the ''Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show w ...

(season 1). *12 October Sneha, actress. * Gautam Gambhir - LS MP

14 October –

Gautam Gambhir Gautam Gambhir (; born 14 October 1981) is an Indian politician and former cricketer, who has played all formats of the game. He is a current member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. He received the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019, t ...

, Cricketer and politician *7 November Anushka Shetty, actress. *27 November – Vikram Pillay, field hockey player. *9 December –

Dia Mirza Dia Mirza Rekhi (born Dia Handrich; 9 December 1981) is an Indian model, actress, producer, and social worker who predominantly works in Hindi films. Mirza won the title of Miss Asia Pacific International in 2000 after being crowned Femina Mis ...

, actress and model. 12 December - * Ashok, actor. *

Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is a former Indian international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. He is an all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox . He has won 7 Player of ...

, cricketer. Yuvraj Singh fielding

Deaths

*3 May –

Nargis Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she made her screen debut in a minor role ...

, actress (born 1929). *19 June – Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Physician created World's second IVF (born 1931) *24 September –

Brahmarishi Hussain Sha Hussain Sha (September 9, 1905 – September 24, 1981) was the seventh head of Sri Viswa Viznana Vidya Adhyatmika Peetham in Pithapuram. He was born in Rajahmundry, East Godavari District. He succeeded his father, Kavisekhara Dr Umar Alish ...

, seventh head of

Sri Viswa Viznana Vidya Adhyatmika Peetham Sri Viswa Viznana Vidya Adhyatmika Peetham is a theosophical congregation which states that it is based on the principles of oneness of God, and discovering divinity in the self. The ashram is situated in Pithapuram, East Godavari district, Andhra ...

and scholar (born 1905). *26 December – Savitri, actress (born 1936). *28 December –

David Abraham Cheulkar David Abraham Cheulkar (21 June 1909 – 2 January 1982), popularly known as David, was an Indian Hindi film actor. In a career spanning four decades, he played mostly character roles, starting with the 1941 film '' Naya Sansar'', and went on ...

, actor (born 1908).

References

{{Reflist

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 1980s in India