1956 in India

← 1955 1954 1953 1956 in India → 1957 1958 1959
Centuries:
Decades:
See also:	List of years in India Timeline of Indian history

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

• Assam –
• Bihar –
• Karnataka –
• Kerala –
• Madhya Pradesh –
• Maharashtra –
• Odisha –
• Punjab –
• Rajasthan –
• Tamil Nadu –
• Uttar Pradesh –
• West Bengal –

Events

• 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 M_s  Anjar earthquake shook Gujarat with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 115 and injuring 254.
• 1 September - LIC of India began its Journey as a Pillar of Financial Backbone of India.
• 14 October – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Indian Untouchable leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 followers. See Neo-Buddhism.
• 1 November – The States Reorganisation Act of India reformed the boundaries and names of Indian states.

Exact date unknown

• Gentlemen's agreement of Andhra Pradesh (1956) signed

Arts and literature

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

July to December

• 14 July – Tanikella Bharani, playwright, script writer and actor.
• 19 July – Rajendra Prasad, actor.
• 29 July – Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author and poet.
• 17 August – Anil Aggrawal, professor of forensic medicine.
• 19 October – Sunny Deol, actor.
• 25 November - Kristappa Nimmala, politician and member of parliament from Hindupur.
• 24 December – Anil Kapoor, actor and producer.

Deaths

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

See also

• Bollywood films of 1956