Vol. 1968No. 284New nation, new ambition
The India you were born into
Thursday10 October1968
A time-capsule view of 10 October 1968: shops and marketplaces becomes the doorway into a year when science, industry and changing global politics were reshaping India's ambitions at home and abroad.
Change dateThe Front Page
India faces change and challenge
Security, food production and development define the decade
India was navigating regional conflict, political change and economic development during a transformative period.
Olympic Games open in Mexico City.
Olympic Games open in Mexico City.
India in Numbers
A snapshot of India when you were born.
In october 1968, 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 1968
Moment of the year · Hockey
India wins Olympic hockey bronze in Mexico City
India took bronze at Mexico City.
196805 · 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.
PADOSAN
Year 1968
Film of the year · 1968
Padosan
Also in theatresBrahmachari · Aankhen · Neel Kamal · Saraswatichandra · Haseena Maan Jayegi · Mere Hamdam Mere Dost
Song of the year · 1968
"Mere Samne Wali Khidki Mein"
Also on the radio"Kehna Hai Kehna Hai" · "Yeh Mera Prem Patra" · "Roop Tera Mastana"
$ cat science-and-technology-1968
Television and the beginning of the space age
What science and technology looked like in India in 1968.
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 1968
Hargobind Khorana
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for interpreting the genetic code.
Vikram Sarabhai
Prepared the comprehensive master plan for India's space program, emphasizing satellite communications.
M. S. Subbulakshmi
Performed at major international venues, popularizing Carnatic classical music globally.
Indira Gandhi
Initiated diplomatic tours across South America and the Caribbean to expand Non-Aligned partnerships.
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Appointed project manager for India's indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) program.
Satyajit Ray
Released 'Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne', a classic fantasy film that became a massive success.
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.
Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated
4 APR
The assassination of the U.S. civil-rights leader triggers mourning and unrest across the United States and worldwide.
1968, circled in red
The year India turned 21.