State of Emergency
The Emergency formally ends before the transfer of power to the Janata Party.
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1977 in India
Explore 20 historical events and records for India in 1977.
Historical records for India in 1977
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 20 of 20 unique records.
20Unique records
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16Named events on this page
7Named people on this page
2Places on this page
March
Resignation of Indira Nehru Gandhi
Indira Gandhi leaves office after Congress loses the 1977 general election.
Janata Government Formed
Morarji Desai forms India's first Union government headed by a non-Congress party.
Morarji Desai becomes Prime Minister and states that his government does not
Morarji Desai becomes Prime Minister and states that his government does not intend to develop nuclear weapons.
Nuclear Power
At his first press conference as prime minister, Desai states that his government does not believe in nuclear weapons.
Prime Minister of India
Morarji Desai becomes India's first Prime Minister from a non-Congress government.
April
Nuclear Power
Desai says India will consider the Non-Proliferation Treaty only if established nuclear powers accept meaningful disarmament.
May
Nuclear Power
Morarji Desai publicly argues that nuclear weapons do not provide useful defence and questions further explosive testing.
June
1977 Election Outcome
The Janata Party victory creates India's first non-Congress central government.
Nuclear Power
The Desai government accepts safeguards connected with Soviet heavy-water supplies for India's nuclear programme.
July
President of India
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy is elected unopposed and takes office as the sixth President of India.
December
Nuclear Power
Desai tells Parliament that his government does not intend to manufacture nuclear weapons or conduct further nuclear explosions.
Other events (month unknown)
1977 General Election
The Janata Party defeats Congress in the 1977 general election, ending the Emergency-era government.
Bharatiya Janata Dal (United) Party
When Gandhi calls elections, the BJS invests all its political and organisational capital in merging into the new Janata Dal (United) Party, a unified opposition party
Conference of Nuclear Technology
India participates in the International Conference on Transfer of Nuclear Technology held in Shiraz, Iran. This conference is organized by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran.
Death of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
Death of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
Election
When Gandhi calls elections, the BJS invests all its political and organisational capital in merging into the new Janata Dal (United) Party, a unified opposition party
Janata Party Opposition
Opposition parties unite in the Janata Party to challenge Congress in the 1977 general election.
Minister of Education
Appointed Cabinet Minister, Education, Government of Maharashtra.
Minister of External Affairs
Atal Bihari Vajpayee becomes Minister of External Affairs in the Janata government.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.