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Important Battles in Indian History | List of Famous Wars of India

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: November 14th, 2023

Important Battles In Indian History include famous battles like the First Battle of Panipat, the Battle of Plassey, the Battle of the Ten Kings, etc. India has always been a battlefield that has experienced numerous battles since time immemorial.

In India, battles have been fought countless times throughout history, from the prehistoric to the contemporary period. In both the IAS prelims and main exams, questions about significant battles and wars are frequently asked as Indian history is a significant component of the UPSC syllabus.

Important Battles In Indian History

The important battles in Indian History have influenced the country, both in terms of culture and linguistic ethos as well. Mostly these wars and battles were fought by the kings and emperors of different empires, kingdoms, and dynasties to conquer the parts of India. Some of the important battles in Indian history include-

  • Battle of the Ten Kings
  • Battle of Pullalur
  • First Battle of Panipat
  • Battle of Colachel
  • Battle of Buxar
  • Battle of Porto Novo
  • Battle of Sobraon, etc.

List of Important Battles in Indian History PDF

List of All Important Battles In Indian History

Here is the list of all the important battles in Indian History with the description of the name of the battle, location, year, and importance-

Year Important Wars in Indian History Location Importance
14th century BCE Battle of the Ten Kings ancient Parushni river (Near River Ravi), Punjab Trtsu-Bharata defeated the Bharata Vedic kingdoms.
326 BCE Battle of the Hydaspes Banks of the Jhelum The Greeks were victorious against Alexander.
Between 305 and 303 BCE Seleucid–Mauryan war Indus River Valley Mauryans won the war against Seleucus I Nicator.
618 – 619 CE Battle of Pullalur Kanchipuram (Pullalur) Tamil Nadu Mahendravarman I, the Pallava King was defeated by Pulakesin II, the Chalukya king.
1191 First Battle of Tarain Taraori, Haryana Mohammed Ghori was defeated by Prithviraj Chauhan.
1192 Second Battle of Terrain Taraori, Haryana Mohammed Ghori was successful in winning the second battle against Prithviraj Chauhan.
3 February 1509 Battle of Diu Arabian Sea, Port of Diu Portuguese won against the Ottoman Empire, the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, the Zamorin of Calicut, and the Sultan of Gujarat.
21 April 1526 First Battle of Panipat Panipat, Haryana Ibrahim Lodi was defeated by Babar.
March 16, 1527 Battle of Khanwa Khanwa, Rajasthan The Mughal Rulers (Babur) were able to defeat Rana Sanga, the Rajput King.
May 6, 1529 Battle of Ghaghra Ghaghara River, Bihar Babur defeated Nusrat Shah in Bengal and Mahmud Lodi in Delhi.
26 June 1539 Battle of Chausa Chausa, Buxar, Bihar Humayun, the Mughal ruler lost against Sher Shah.
5 November 1556 Second Battle of Panipat Panipat, Haryana Akbar won the battle against Hemu
23 January 1565 Battle of Talikota Talikota, Karnataka Vijayanagara lost the battle against the Deccan Sultanate alliance.
18 June 1576 Battle of Haldighati Haldighati, Rajasthan Maharana Pratap of Mewar lost the battle to Akbar.
29 May 1658 Battle of Samugarh Samugarh, near Agra Aurangzeb won against Dara Shikoh and got control of the Mughal Kingdom.
24 February 1739 Battle of Karnal Karnal, Haryana Muhammad Shah, the Mughal Emperor, was defeated by Nadir Shah (Persian Empire).
10 August 1741 Battle of Colachel Colachel, Travancore Kingdom Dutch East India Company lost against the Travancore king.
1746 – 1748 First Carnatic War Carnatic region, South India The war was fought between french forces and the English in India. However, the result was inconclusive.
1749 – 1754 Second Carnatic War Carnatic (Southern India) Muhammad Ali became the Nawab of the Carnatic.
23 June 1757 Battle of Plassey Palashi, Calcutta Mir Jafar became Bengal’s new nawab after the British victory.
1757 – 1763 Third Carnatic War Carnatic, South India British won against the French Forces
22 January 1760 Battle of Wandiwash Vandavasi, Tamil Nadu Successive to the result of the Third Carnatic War, the British won against the Grinch
14 January 1761 Third Battle of Panipat Panipat, Haryana Durrani Empire, the Afghans, won the battle against the Maratha Empire.
October 1764 Battle of Buxar Buxar, Bihar British won against Shah Alam II, Shuja-ud-Daulah, and Mir Qasim.
1767–1769 First Anglo-Mysore War South India After a series of British successes, Hyder Ali of Mysore won against the British East India Company.
1780–1784 Second Anglo-Mysore War South India The status quo ante Bellum was restored by forming the Treaty of Mangalore.
1781 Battle of Pollilur Pollilur, Kanchipuram The result was unclear as both parties claimed victory.
1 July 1781 Battle of Porto Novo Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu Hyder Ali of Mysore lost his throne to the East India Company.
1790 – 1792 Third Anglo-Mysore War South India It resulted in the formation of the treaty of Seringapatam.
1799 Fourth Anglo-Mysore War Chiefly South India Mysore entered into Subsidiary Alliance.
1803 – 1805 Second Anglo-Maratha War India British won against the Marathas.
1817 – 1818 Third Anglo-Maratha War Maharashtra Marathas were defeated.
1845 – 1846 First Anglo-Sikh War Mudki, Punjab Sikh Empire was defeated by the British East India Company.
10 February 1846 Battle of Sobraon Sobraon, Punjab Sikhs were again defeated.
1848 – 1849 Second Anglo-Sikh War Punjab British defeated the Sikh Empire
1944 Battle of Imphal Imphal, Manipur Provisional Govt. of Free India (British won against Azad Hind)

Famous Wars in Indian History – Ancient Indian Wars

The Ancient Indian wars include four important battles. These include the Battle of Vienna, the Battle of Koppan, the Battle of Maski, and the Kalinga War. The Battle of Vienna was fought between Cheraa Kings, Pandya, and Karikala (Chola Dynasty King), while the Battle of Koppan was fought between Chola Kings and Chalukya King, i.e., Rajendra Chola II, Rajadhiraja Chola, and Someshvara I. Both these battles were won by Chola King.

The Battle of Maski was fought between Jaysimha II and Chalukya Dynasty. Chalukya Empire won this battle. The last important war in Indian History from Ancient times was the Kalinga War. This war was fought between Kalinga and Ashoka, the Maurya King. This war was won by Maurya King.

Important Wars in Indian History – Rajput Wars

The famous battles in Indian Medieval History were fought between the Rajputs and the Mughals. A few among them were the Battle of Khanwa, Battle of Ghaghara, Battle of Haldighati, etc.

  • Battle of Khanwa – The Battle of Khanwa was the battle between Rana Sanga and Babur in 1527 A.D. After the battle, Rana Sanga escaped to Chittor as Babur won the battle. Babur got the title of Ghazi after this win.
  • Battle of Ghaghara – In 1529 A.D., the battle of Ghaghara was fought between Sultan Mahmud Modi and Babur. This battle was considered the third major battle of Babur. He successfully defeated the Afghans and expanded his control.
  • Battle of Haldighati – In 1576, Akbar and Maharana Pratap fought the battle of Haldighati. This was the shortest battle in Indian History and lasted for only four hours.
UPSC Notes
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