Muslims proclaim an independent state in west Kashmir, defying the wishes of the maharaja

Violent sectarian division in Kashmir results in war between India and Pakistan in support of the rival sides

Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated at a Delhi prayer meeting by a Hindu extremist, Nathuram Godse

The first Indo-Pakistani war ends with a Kashmir demarcation line approved by the UN but acceptable to neither state

Le Corbusier begins a 15-year project designing Chandigarh as a new joint capital for Punjab and Hariyana

Albanian missionary Mother Teresa opens the Nirmal Hriday, or Kalighat Home for Dying Destitutes, in Calcutta

New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay stand together on the top of Everest

Indian director Satyajit Ray makes his first film, Pather Panchali

Ayub Khan, commander-in-chief of the Pakistani army, replaces Iskander Mirza as president in a bloodless coup

Solomon Bandaranaike is assassinated by a Buddhist monk after only three years as prime minister of Sri Lanka

The Dalai Lama escapes from Tibet to India after the Chinese suppression of an armed uprising costing thousands of Buddhist lives

Sirimavo Bandaranaike, widow of the assassinated Solomon Bandaranaike, begins the first of three long spells as prime minister of Sri Lanka

China prevails in a five-week war with India over disputed boundaries

After a summer of border skirmishes in Pakistan, an Indian advance towards Lahore initiates full-scale war between the two countries

A UN-sponsored cease-fire brings the second Indo-Pakistan war to an end after less than three weeks

Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi, becomes India's prime minister as leader of the Congress party

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, leader of the Awami League, demands full autonomy for East Pakistan (Bangladesh)

Pakistan's president Ayub Khan hands over power to another general, Yahya Khan, who introduces martial law

Mujibur Rahman and his Awami League win on an independence platform in the election in East Pakistan

In the Pakistan election, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto wins a clear majority in West Pakistan

The outgoing Pakistan government, led by Yahya Khan, rejects the election result and sends troops to East Pakistan

Awami League leader Mujibur Rahman declares unilaterally that Bangladesh (East Pakistan) is an independent state

Indian sitar-player Ravi Shankar composes the first of his two concertos for sitar and orchestra

The arrest of Mujibur Rahman, together with brutal attempts at repression, turn resistance in East Pakistan into full-scale civil war

India intervenes in the Pakistan civil war on the side of East Pakistan, the future Bangladesh