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| 1998, Feb. 16–March 15 |
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| In parliamentary elections the Hindu nationalists, or Baratiya Janata Party (BJP), won a major victory; Atal Bihari Vajpayee was chosen as the new prime minister, to serve for a five-year term. He was the first Hindu nationalist to assume that position in India; moderates and Muslims worried that the chauvinism characteristic of previous Hindu nationalists in the government would bias his rule. | 1 |
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| May 11–13 |
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| To the dismay of the world's industrialized nations India ignited international controversy by conducting five nuclear tests. Two weeks later, India's rival Pakistan responded with several of its own nuclear tests, causing even more concern in the international community. Though ridiculed and sparking sanctions from the United States, the UN, and other countries, India had refused to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty for nuclear weapons; in the popular opinion, “the bomb” was evidence that India was at last a “real power.” | 2 |
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| Oct. 16–18 |
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| The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan met in Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad to discuss an agreement regarding the international dispute over the Kashmir and Jammu, but no accord was reached during the talks. | 3 |
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