List of firsts in India
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This is a list of firsts in India.
Contents |
[edit] Awards and Titles
- Miss World: Reita Faria in 1966
- Miss Universe: Sushmita Sen in 1994
- Booker Prize: Arundhati Roy for The God of Small Things in 1997
- Bharat Ratna: Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, C. Rajagopalachari, and Dr C.V. Raman in 1954
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Devika Rani in 1969
- Ashoka Chakra Award to a civilian (posthumous) : D.K. Jatar, captain of the sabotaged plane Kashmir Princess, for "most conspicuous bravery, daring and self-sacrifice"
- Magsaysay Award: Vinoba Bhave
- Winner of a major literary award in the United States: Dhan Gopal Mukerji
- Ford Supermodel of the World (contest): Bipasha Basu, 1996
[edit] Nobel Prize
- Nobel Prize winner: Rabindranath Tagore for the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1913. He was also the first Asian to get the prize.
- Nobel Prize in Physics: C. V. Raman in 1930.
- Nobel Prize in Medicine: Har Gobind Khorana in 1968. (India born US citizen)
- Nobel Peace Prize: Mother Teresa in 1979. (Albanian nun, Indian citizen)
- Nobel Prize in Economics: Amartya Sen in 1998
[edit] Defence
- Commander-in-Chief of Free India: General Sir Roy Bucher
- Indian Commander-in-Chief of Free India: General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, 1949
- Chief of Air Staff: Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst
- Indian Chief of Staff: General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, 1947
- Commander-in-Chief, IAF: Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, 1954
- Chief of Naval Staff: Vice Admiral R D Katari
- Cosmonaut: Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma, 1984
[edit] Exploration
- Person to reach the South Pole: Col Jatinder Kumar Bajaj
- Woman to scale Mount Everest: Bachendri Pal on May 23, 1984. She was the 5th woman in the world to scale the peak.
[edit] Film and TV
- Sound film: Alam Ara, 1931
- Oscar winner: Bhanu Athaiya for Best Costume Design for Gandhi (film) in 1982
- Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film: Mother India in 1957
- National Film Award for cinema: Shyamchi Aai in 1954
- Colorized film: Mughal-e-Azam in 2004 (the original black-and-white version was released in 1960)
- Sponsored TV serial: Hum Log, started in 1984, was also the first soap opera of India
- Actor to enact 10 roles: Kamal Haasan
[edit] Governance
- President: Rajendra Prasad (1950-1962)
- Prime Minister: Jawaharlal Nehru (1947-1964). The first term lasted till 1952 after which he was re-elected
- Deputy Prime Minister: Vallabhbhai Patel
- Prime Minister to be voted out of office: Indira Gandhi (1977) when the Indian National Congress lost to the Janata Party
- Non-Congress government: by Janata Party with Morarji Desai as the Prime Minister (1977-1980)
- Prime Minister to lead a minority government for a full term (five years): P. V. Narasimha Rao, June 21, 1991 – May 16, 1996
- Person outside the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to serve as Prime Minister for a full term (five years): P. V. Narasimha Rao, June 21, 1991 – May 16, 1996
- Prime Minister from South India: P. V. Narasimha Rao, June 21, 1991 – May 16, 1996
- Governor-General: Warren Hastings
- Governor General of Independent India: Lord Mountbatten, 1947
- Indian Governor-General of Indian Union: C Rajagopalachari, 1948
- Chief Justice of India: HJ Kania
- Indian ICS Officer: Satyendranath Tagore, 1863
- Speaker of Lok Sabha: Shri M.G.Naviankar
- Finance Minister of Independent India: Shri R.K.Shanmukhan Chettys
- Presentation of First Budget after India's Independence : Shri R.K.Shanmukhan Chettys on Nov 26, 1947
[edit] Science
- Hydroelectric plant: On the Gaganachukki waterfall of the Sivasamudram Falls, Karnataka. Built in 1902.
- City to have electricity: Bangalore, in 1906 (it was in fact the first city in Asia to have electricity)
- Man in space: Rakesh Sharma aboard Salyut 7, on April 03, 1984. He was the 138th man in space world-wide.
- Woman in space: Kalpana Chawla aboard Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87, on November 19, 1997. She was a naturalized United States citizen, and represented the US during the event.
- Test-tube baby: Durga Agarwal, born 1978
- Scientific Expedition to Antarctica: 1981
- Nuclear Reactor:Tarapur, Maharashtra
- First Genetically Modified Food Product in India : Bt. Egg plant Hybrid (Bt. -- Bacilius Thuringiensis)
- First Satellite : Aryabhatta, launched on April 19, 1975
- First Satellite dedicated exclusively for educational services : EDUSET
- First Successfully indigenous Launch Vehicle : SLV-3
[edit] Sport
- Olympic team medal: Gold for Hockey at the 1928 Summer Olympics Amsterdam, beating the Netherlands.
- Olympic individual medal (in British India): Norman Pritchard, 1900
- Olympic individual medal: Bronze by K. D. Jadhav for wrestling at the 1952 Summer Olympics Helsinki.
- Person to swim across the English Channel: Mihir Sen, 1958
- Woman to swim across the English Channel: Arati Saha, 1959
- Formula 1 race driver: Narain Karthikeyan
- Formula 1 team: Force India F1
- A1 GP race victory: Narain Karthikeyan,Zhuhai,China,2007
[edit] Chess
- Chess Grandmaster: Viswanathan Anand in 1988, at the age of 18.
- FIDE World Chess Champion: Viswanathan Anand in December 2000.
- Undisputed World Chess Champion: Viswanathan Anand in September 2007.
[edit] Tennis
- Tennis Grand Slam title: Mahesh Bhupathi (partnering with Japanese Rika Hiraki) in the Mixed Doubles category of the 1997 French Open.
- Tennis Grand Slam win by a woman: Nirupama Vaidyanathan beat Italian Gloria Pizzichini in the first round of the 1998 Australian Open
- Woman in the 4th round (highest as of 2008) of a tennis Grand Slam event: Sania Mirza in the Singles category of the 2005 US Open.
- Tennis Grand Slam junior title: Leander Paes in the Singles category of the 1990 Wimbledon Championship. He is also the only medal fetcher for India in the Atlanta Olympics. He won the a bronze medal the only medal that put India in the medal tally.
- Tennis Grand Slam junior title by a woman: Sania Mirza (partnering with Russian Alisa Kleybanova) in the Doubles category of the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.
[edit] Cricket
- Cricket tournament: The Bombay Triangular which later became the Bombay Quadrangular (1912-1936)
- Cricket test match: Against England at Lord's, June 25, 1932
- Cricket captain: CK Nayudu for the 1932 tour of England
- Cricketer to score a century: Lala Amarnath in 1933 against England in South Bombay
- Cricketer to score a triple century: Vijay Hazare
- ODI cricket hat-trick: Chetan Sharma in Reliance World Cup against New Zealand in 1987.
- Test cricket hat-trick: Harbhajan Singh against Australia in March 2001
- Cricket World Cup championship win: At the 1983 Cricket World Cup, England beating West Indies.
- Batsman to complete 10,000 runs in Test cricket: Sunil Gavaskar (he was first in the world to achieve this feat)
- Batsman to complete 10,000 runs in ODI cricket: Sachin Tendulkar (he was first in the world to achieve this feat)
- Cricket Twenty20 world cup winner : 2007
- Cricketer to score 75 Test and ODI centuries : Sachin Tendulkar
[edit] Minorities
- First Sikh Prime Minister : Manmohan Singh
- First Muslim President : Zakir Hussain (1967-1969)
- First Sikh President : Giani Zail Singh
[edit] Women
- Graduates: Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu, 1883
- Head of an Undergraduate Academic Institution: Chandramukhi Basu, 1888
- Honours Graduate: Kamini Roy (1886)
- Lawyer: Cornelia Sorabjee
- Supreme Court Judge (also the first in the world): Anna Chandy
- Physician: Kadambini Ganguly, 1886
- Airline Pilot: Durga Banerjee
- Olympic medal winner: Karnam Malleswari, 2000
- Asian Games gold medal winner: Kamlijit Sandhu
- IPS Officer: Kiran Bedi
- Nobel Prize winner: Mother Teresa in 1979 (Albanian born Indian citizen)
[edit] Administration and Politics
- Prime Minister: Indira Gandhi
- Minister in a government: Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
- Chief Minister of a State: Sucheta Kripalani, 1963
- Governor: Sarojini Naidu
- Central Minister: Vijayalakshmi Pandit
- Speaker of a State Assembly: Shanno Devi
- Indian National Congress President: Annie Besant
- President: Pratibha Patil
[edit] Others
- Wax statue of a living Indian: Mahatma Gandhi at Madame Tussaud's in 1939
- Exclusive internet magazine: Bharat Samachar
- Miss India to participate in Miss Universe: Indrani Rehman
- President of the Indian National Congress: W C Bonnerjee, 1885
- Graduate in Medicine: Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chuckerbutty