60 years of independence in India

1947: Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, and Gandhi discuss the transfer from British to Indian rule Photograph: Corbis

1947: Muslim refugees flee India. Around 5 million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan after India gained its independence Photograph: AP

Lord Mountbatten salutes India's national flag as his wife, Edwina, and the Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, look on Photograph: AP

Indians celebrate their nation's independence in the streets of Calcutta Photograph: Getty

1947: Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in widespread violence that followed the partition of India Photograph: Getty

1948: Mahatma Gandhi's niece places petals on his brow as he lies in state at Birla House, New Delhi, after his assassination Photograph: Getty

1966: Indira Gandhi, India's first female prime minister Photograph: Corbis

1974: A crater marks the site of India's first underground nuclear test, carried out on May 18 1974 at Pokhran in the desert state of Rajasthan Photograph: AFP

1984: Religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhinderanwale called on Sikhs to press for self-rule. This ended tragically in the attack on the Golden Temple by the Indian army and the slaughter of thousands of Sikhs who took refuge inside the sacred monument Photograph: Kapoor Baldev/Corbis

1984: A gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticides plant in Bhopal killed thousands immediately. Many more died subsequently or were left disabled Photograph: Kapoor Baldev /Corbis

1991: The family of the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi watches his funeral pyre burn on May 24 1991. He was assassinated by a suicide bomber sympathetic to the cause of the Tamil Tigers Photograph: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty

1992: Police position themselves on a hill overlooking the ruins of the 16th century Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Hindu extremists demolished the mosque, leading to widespread Hindu-Muslim violence Photograph: Douglas Curran/Getty

1999: Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee makes an historic bus trip to Pakistan to meet the Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif and sign the bilateral Lahore peace declaration Photograph: Kapoor Baldev/Corbis

1999: Tension in Kashmir leads to a brief war over the long-disputed territory Photograph: Vijay Gupta /Getty

2001: Masks of the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf, and the Indian prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In July, the two sides met for a summit for the first time in more than two years. They meeting ended without a breakthrough because of continuing differences over Kashmir Photograph: Corbis

2003: A car damaged in a bomb blast lies next to the Gateway of India in Mumbai. At least 50 people were killed in two blasts in August Photograph: Aijaz Raji /AP

2004: In December thousands are killed and many more made homeless when tidal waves caused by an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia hit coastal communities Photograph: M.Lakshman/AP

2005: Passengers celebrate the first bus services in 60 years to run between Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir and Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-operated Kashmir Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP

2006: The US and India sign a nuclear agreement during a visit by George Bush in March Photograph: Getty

2006: Police investigate near a train destroyed by a bomb blast at Mahim railway station in Mumbai on July 11, which left 207 people dead Photograph: Aijaz Rahi /AP

A busy modern street in Bangalore reflects India's position as a global economic powerhouse Photograph: Getty

In April 2007 India launched its first commercial space rocket, carrying an Italian satellite which will gather information about the origins of the universe Photograph: EPA