<!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive -->

Events in the year 1956

in the Republic of India.

Incumbents

  • President of India – Rajendra Prasad
  • Prime Minister of India – Jawaharlal Nehru
  • Vice President of India – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
  • Chief Justice of India – Bijan Kumar Mukherjea (until 31 Jan.), Sudhi Ranjan Das (starting 1 Feb.)

Governors

  • Andhra Pradesh – Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi
  • Assam – Jairamdas Daulatram (until 15 May), Saiyid Fazal Ali (starting 15 May)
  • Bihar – R. R. Diwakar (until 5 July), Zakir Hussain (starting 5 July)
  • Bombay – Harekrushna Mahatab (until 14 October), Sri Prakasa (starting 10 December)
  • Jammu and Kashmir – Karan Singh
  • Karnataka – Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar (starting 1 November)
  • Kerala – Burgula Ramakrishna Rao (starting 22 November)
  • Madhya Pradesh – Pattabhi Sitaramayya
  • Orissa – P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja (until 11 September), Bhim Sen Sachar (starting 11 September)
  • Punjab – Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh
  • Rajasthan – Maharaj Man Singh II (until 31 October), Gurumukh Nihal Singh (starting 31 October)
  • Uttar Pradesh – Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi
  • West Bengal –
  • until 8 August: Harendra Coomar Mookerjee
  • 8 August-3 November: Phani Bhusan Chakravartti
  • starting 3 November: Padmaja Naidu

Events

  • National income - 133,139 million
  • 20 February - Gentlemen's agreement of Andhra Pradesh (1956) signed.
  • 8 March – M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar handles the charge as Lok Sabha Speaker.
  • 20 March – Sardar Hukam Singh handles the charge as Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker.
  • 21 July – The 6.1 Anjar earthquake shook Gujarat with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 115 and injuring 254.
  • 4 August - Asia's first Nuclear reactor, Apsara was built in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
  • 1 September – LIC of India formed
  • 14 October – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Indian Untouchable leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 followers. See Neo-Buddhism.
  • 17 December - Jawaharlal Nehru meets Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of his visit to United States.

Law

  • 1 November – The States Reorganisation Act of India reformed the boundaries and names of Indian states. (enacted on 31 August)

Arts and literature

  • 15 October – Kerala Sahithya Academy, Academy for Malayalam literature, is inaugurated by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the former king of Travancore.
  • List of Bollywood films of 1956

Births

January to June

  • 1 February – Brahmanandam, comedian-actor.
  • 6 April – Dilip Vengsarkar, cricketer.
  • 4 May – Kunal Basu, novelist.
  • 6 May – Sujata Bhatt, poet.
  • 13 May – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, spiritual and humanitarian leader.
  • 31 May _ Manohara Rso Kodavoor.
  • 2 June Mani Ratnam, film director.

July to December

  • 19 July – Rajendra Prasad, actor.
  • 29 July – Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author and poet.
  • 17 August – Anil Aggrawal, professor of forensic medicine.
  • 21 September - Prabuddha Dasgupta, photographer.
  • 19 October – Sunny Deol, actor.
  • 9 November – Pankaj Dheer, actor (d. 2025)
  • 25 November – Kristappa Nimmala, politician and member of parliament from Hindupur.
  • 24 December – Anil Kapoor, actor and producer.
  • 25 December Prabhu, actor.

Deaths

  • 6 December – B. R. Ambedkar, nationalist, jurist, Dalit political leader and a Buddhist revivalist (born 1891).

See also

  • List of Bollywood films of 1956

References