Events in the year 2003 in the Republic of India.

Incumbents

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

– A. P. J. Abdul Kalam *

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

–

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...

Vice President of India The vice president of India (ISO: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in t ...

–

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (23 October 1923 – 15 May 2010) was an Indian politician who served as the vice president of India. He served in that position from August 2002, when he was elected to a five-year term by the electoral college fol ...

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...

– V. N. Khare

Governors

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

– C. Rangarajan (until 3 January), Surjit Singh Barnala (starting 3 January) *

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

– Arvind Dave (until 12 June), V. C. Pande (starting 12 June) *

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

– ** until 21 April:

Srinivas Kumar Sinha Lieutenant General Srinivas Kumar Sinha, PVSM, ADC (7 January 1926 – 17 November 2016) was an Indian Army General who served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff. After his retirement, he served as Governor of the states of Jammu and Kashmir, ...

** 21 April-5 June: Arvind Dave ** starting 5 June: Ajai Singh *

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

– V. C. Pande (until 12 June), M R Jois (starting 12 June) *

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

– D. N. Sahay (until 1 June),

Krishna Mohan Seth Lieutenant General Krishna Mohan Seth retired as the Adjutant General of Indian Army and was the Governor of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura. Personal life Krishna Mohan Seth was born on 19 December 1939, in Allahabad. He is married to ...

(starting 2 June) * Goa – Kidar Nath Sahani *

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

– Sunder Singh Bhandari (until 7 May),

Kailashpati Mishra Kailashpati Mishra (5 October 1923 – 3 November 2012) was an Indian politician. He was a leader of Jana Sangh, and later Bharatiya Janta Party. He was the Finance Minister from 1977 to 1979. He was Governor of Gujarat from May 2003 to July 2 ...

(starting 7 May) *

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

– Babu Parmanand *

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

–

Suraj Bhan Suraj Bhan (1 October 1928 – 6 August 2006) was an Indian politician who was elected to the Lok Sabha for four terms from Ambala. He also served as the Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha from July 1996 to December 1997. He served as governor o ...

(until 7 May),

Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje (born 6 September 1939) is an Indian jurist, who served as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh

(starting 8 May) *

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

– M. Rama Jois (until 11 June),

Ved Marwah Ved Prakash Marwah (15 September 1932 – 5 June 2020) was an Indian police officer, who after retirement, served as governor of Manipur, Mizoram and Jharkhand. He died in Goa at the age of 87 after a three-week hospitalisation. Early life ...

(starting 11 June) * Jammu and Kashmir – Girish Chandra Saxena (until 4 June), S. K. Sinha (starting 4 June) *

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

– T. N. Chaturvedi *

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

– Sikander Bakht (starting 18 April) *

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

– Bhai Mahavir (until 6 May), Ram Prakash Gupta (starting 6 May) *

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

– Mohammed Fazal *

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

–

(until 12 June), Arvind Dave (starting 12 June) *

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

– M.M. Jacob *

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

– Amolak Rattan Kohli *

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

– Shyamal Datta *

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

– M. M. Rajendran *

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

– J. F. R. Jacob (until 8 May), Om Prakash Verma (starting 8 May) *

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

– ** until 14 May: Anshuman Singh ** 14 May-22 September: Nirmal Chandra Jain ** starting 22 September:

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

– V. Rama Rao *

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

– P. S. Ramamohan Rao *

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

–

(until 31 May), Dinesh Nandan Sahay (starting 1 June) *

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

– Vishnu Kant Shastri *

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

– Surjit Singh Barnala (until 7 January), Sudarshan Agarwal (starting 7 January) *

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

– Viren J. Shah

Events

* National income - 27,925,301 million

January - June

*26 January – The president of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Mohammad Khatami Mohammad Khatami (born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992. Later, he was critic ...

, is the guest at the Republic Day celebration. *5–9 February – Aero-India show is held in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. *March – India put up a great show at the ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa after poor performances in the past and go on to the Finals. They were defeated by Australia in the Finals. *13 March -

Bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

in Mumbai Suburban Railway at Mulund *23 March - ** Abdul Majeed Dar, former Kashmiri Militants who initiated peace talks shot dead by assailants at Sopore. ** 2003 Nadimarg massacre *26 March - Haren Pandya, former home minister of

was found killed in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

. *18 April – Prime Minister

, at his first rally in

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

, makes a historic announcement of a peace initiative with Pakistan. *31 May – Prime Minister Vajpayee has the rare honour of joining the head table at the 300th foundation day of St. Petersburg with

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. *22 June – Vajpayee is in China. India concedes that

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

is an integral part of China. China agrees to recognise

's accession to India.

July - December

*14 July – India refuses to send troops to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. *25 August – 52 killed in two bomb blasts in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. *24 September – United States President

invites Vajpayee to lunch in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

during Vajpayee's US trip. It is considered an important meeting for Indo-US relations. Several deals are struck on civilian nuclear technology, space, hi-tech trade and missile defence. *1 October - People's War Group carried out a assassination attempt on N. Chandrababu Naidu,

Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the ch ...

in Alipiri using

Claymore mine The Claymore mine is a directional anti-personnel mine developed for the United States Armed Forces. Its inventor, Norman MacLeod, named the mine after a claymore, large medieval Scottish sword. Unlike a conventional land mine, the Claymore may ...

. *6 October – Vajpayee visits

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

for the second time in 2 years. *22 October – India announces confidence-building measures with respect to Indo-Pakistani relations: more buses, flights, higher mission strength, etc. *15 November – Vajpayee visits

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. *28 November – Abu Salem, one of India's most wanted fugitives for his alleged role in the 1993 Bombay bombings, is sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment by a Portuguese court on charges of fraud and resisting arrest. In response, the

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic crime investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and gover ...

announces it will maintain its efforts to seek Salem's deportation to India.

Births

* 22 January – Shruti Bisht, actress * 15 April – Pranavi Urs, golfer *21 September – Krithi Shetty, actress

Deaths

*8 January – Mahadeva Subramania Mani,

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

(born 1908). *14 July – Leela Chitnis, actress (born 1909). *1 February

Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to fly to space. Chawla expressed an interest in aerospace engineering from an early age and took engi ...

, Indian-American Astronaut and first Indian woman to go to space (born

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

). *27 July – Henning Holck-Larsen, engineer, co-founder of

Larsen & Toubro Larsen & Toubro Limited, abbreviated as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate, with interests in industrial technology, heavy industry, engineering, construction, manufacturing, power, information technology, defence and financial se ...

(born 1907). *25 October – Pandurang Shastri Athavale,

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, spiritual leader,

social reform Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

er, who founded the Swadhyay Movement (born 1920). *3 November –

Narendra Prasad Raghava Kurup Narendra Prasad (26 December 1946 3 November 2003) was an Indian actor, playwright, director, teacher and literary critic. He was born at Mavelikkara in the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore. Appreciated for his body language a ...

, actor, playwright, teacher and literary critic (born 1946). *21 December – G. V. Iyer, film director (born 1917).

References

{{Asia topic, 2003 in Years of the 21st century in India 2000s in India

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...