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| 1949–50 |
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| A constitution-drafting committee, chaired by B. R. Ambedkar (an Untouchable leader) created a new constitution that was adopted on Jan. 26, 1950 (a date later celebrated as Republic Day). In this constitution, much emphasis was placed on the relationship between the individual and the state. Universal franchise made India the world's largest democracy, with 173 million people able to vote in 1951. Many of the provisions in the constitution carried over the institutional arrangements established in the 1935 Government of India Act. | 1 |
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| 1949, Jan. 1 |
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| Following the mediation attempts of a UN commission set up by the security council on Jan. 20, 1948, India and Pakistan agreed on a cease-fire order for Kashmir. India rejected a subsequent arbitration scheme submitted by the U.N. | 2 |
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| Nov. 26 |
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| The Indian constituent assembly adopted a new constitution, which made India a federal republic. The British king continued to be recognized, however, as symbol of the free association of Commonwealth members. | 3 |
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