Events in the year 1971 in the Republic of India.
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| See also: | List of years in India Timeline of Indian history | ||||
Incumbents
Events
- 25 January - Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state and East Punjab is reduced to its current form as Doaba.
- 19 April - The provisional government of Bangladesh exiled flees to West Bengal.
- 25 August - The former East Pakistan and eastern Bengal are flooded; thousands flee the area.
- 29 September - A cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, in Orissa State in India, kills 10,000.
- 3 December-17 December: India and Pakistan fight their second major war, over East Pakistan, which ends after 90,000 Pakistani troops surrender. The new nation of Bangladesh is created out of East Pakistan.
- 3 December - The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 begins as Pakistan attacks 9 Indian airbases. The next day India launches a massive invasion of East Pakistan.
- 3 December-4 December night: The Indian navy destroyer INS Rajput sinks Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi (former USS Diablo).
- 16 December - Victory Day of Bangladesh: The Pakistan Army surrenders to the Joint Force i.e. Mukti Bahini (Freedom Force) and the Indian Armed Forces, officially ending the Pakistani Civil War and creating the new nation state of Bangladesh .
Sport
- Leslie Claudius (field hockey player) is awarded the Padma Shri.
Births
- 12 January - Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Politician.
- 1 May - Ajith Kumar, Actor and motor racing driver.
- 4 July - Sivakumar Veerasamy, Scientist.
- 17 July - Soundarya, Actress (d.2004).
- 5 August - Jude Menezes, Field hockey player.
- 8 August - Ramandeep Singh, Field hockey player.
- 2 September - Pawan Kalyan, Actor and film director.
- 18 December - Barkha Dutt, Television journalist.
- 25 December - Santhosh George Kulangara, Businessman.
Deaths
- Debaki Bose, film director, writer and actor (b. 1898).
- Keshavrao Date, actor (b. 1889).