List of firsts in India
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This is a list of firsts in India.
Contents |
[edit] Awards and Titles
- 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.
- Nobel Peace Prize: Mother Teresa in 1979. (However, Mother Teresa was an Albanian nun, settled in India.)
- Nobel Prize in Economics: Amartya Sen in 1998
- 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
[edit] Exploration
- 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
- 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 Award for cinema: Shyaamchi Aai in 1950
- Sponsored TV serial: 'Hum Log', started in 1984, was also the first soap opera of India
[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
- 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
[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
[edit] Sport
- Olympic team medal: Gold for Hockey at the 1928 Summer Olympics Amsterdam, beating the Netherlands.
- Olympic individual medal: Bronze by K. D. Jadhav for wrestling at the 1952 Summer Olympics Helsinki.
[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 so far) 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
- 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: Sunil Gavaskar (he was first in the world to achieve this feat)
[edit] Others
- Wax statue of a living Indian: Amitabh Bachchan at Madame Tussaud's
- Exclusive internet magazine: Bharat Samachar
