Vol. 1960No. 034New nation, new ambition
The India you were born into
Wednesday3 February1960
For 3 February 1960, the useful question is not only what made headlines, but how medicine and hospitals felt in an India where state reorganisation, industrial growth and a rapidly changing urban India shaped the national mood.
Change dateThe Front Page
India builds a young republic
Democratic institutions and development remain central
India was consolidating its democratic institutions, pursuing planned development and shaping its role in the post-colonial world.
Chinese army kills 12 Indian soldiers.
Chinese army kills 12 Indian soldiers.
India in Numbers
A snapshot of India when you were born.
In february 1960, a litre of petrol cost Loading… and a local phone call cost Loading….
Interpolated placeholder between benchmark years; replace with annual UN WPP estimate before publication. Not a census count. Source: current India population working dataset.
Prices from the month you were born, listed the way the kirana shop would have written them.
- The Hindu archive
- National archival records
- Press and public memory
04 · Sport
India on the field in 1960
Moment of the year · Athletics
Milkha Singh finishes fourth in the Olympic 400m
He reached the Rome final and narrowly missed a medal.
196005 · Cinema & music
What India was watching and humming
The film everyone queued for that month, and the song that played from every cassette player that year.
MUGHAL-E-AZAM
Year 1960
Film of the year · 1960
Mughal-e-Azam
Also in theatresBarsaat Ki Raat · Chaudhvin Ka Chand · Kohinoor · Kala Bazar · Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai · Parakh
Song of the year · 1960
"Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya"
Also on the radio"Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai" · "Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho" · "Zindagi Bhar Nahin Bhoolegi"
$ cat science-and-technology-1960
Television and the beginning of the space age
What science and technology looked like in India in 1960.
Technology moves closer to daily life
Computing, communication and consumer electronics were gradually moving from specialist institutions toward ordinary homes, offices and public life.
Faces of 1960
Milkha Singh
Finished fourth in a historic 400m race at the Rome Olympics, setting a long-standing national record.
Yashwantrao Chavan
Took office as the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra following the division of Bombay State.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Signed the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistani President Ayub Khan.
K. Asif
Released the epic historical film 'Mughal-e-Azam' after over a decade in production.
Prithviraj Kapoor
Delivered a legendary performance as Emperor Akbar in 'Mughal-e-Azam'.
Homi J. Bhabha
Inaugurated the CIRUS research reactor, advancing nuclear technological capabilities.
09 · BEYOND INDIA
Beyond India
Before the internet put the world in our pockets, news from abroad arrived through telegrams, radios, television sets and eventually phones.
Sharpeville massacre
21 MAR
Police fire on protesters in Sharpeville, South Africa, killing dozens and intensifying opposition to apartheid.
1960, circled in red
The year India turned 13.