Important Battles in Indian History - List of Important Wars in India

The history of India is shaped by numerous significant conflicts. The important battles in Indian history have played a crucial role in shaping the rise and fall of kingdoms, empires, and colonial powers across the subcontinent. From ancient tribal clashes and imperial conquests to medieval resistance and modern colonial struggles, these events have left a lasting impact on the subcontinent's political and cultural landscape. 

This topic of important wars in Indian history is important from the perspective of the UPSC IAS Examination which falls under General Studies Paper 1 (Mains) and General Studies Paper 1 (Preliminary) and particularly in the History section of the UPSC Exam. In this article, we shall discuss the Important battles in History fought on Indian soil between the Vedic era and modern India!

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Indian history is marked by decisive battles that shaped its political and cultural landscape. These can be grouped into three broad historical periods:

• Ancient Period (up to 700 CE)
• Medieval Period (700 CE – 1700 CE)
• Modern Period (1700 CE onwards)

Important Battles in Indian History in the Ancient period

The important battles of India in the ancient period include legendary conflicts like the Battle of the Ten Kings and Kalinga War, which shaped early Indian civilization. These historical battles of India reflect the rise of powerful empires and the beginnings of warfare on the subcontinent among tribes and early kingdoms.

List of Battles in Indian History in the Ancient Period (up to 700 CE)

Name of Battle	Between	Location	Year	Result
Battle of the Ten Kings (Dasarajna)	King of the Bharatas (tribe) and a confederation of ten tribes	Near the Ravi River (ancient Parushni River), in Punjab.	14th century BCE	Trtsu-Bharata victory (Source: 7th Mandala of the Rigveda)
Battle of the Hydaspes	Alexander the Great and king Porus	Near the river Jhelum (Hydaspes in Greek), Eastern Punjab, now Pakistan.	326 BCE	Greek Army of Alexander won the battle.
Seleucid–Mauryan war	Chandragupta Maurya and Seleucus I Nicator	Northwestern India, Indus River Valley.	305 – 303 BCE	All of the Macedonian Satrapies in the Indus River Valley was annexed by the Chandragupta.
Kalinga War	Ashoka and Raja Anantha Padmanabha	Odisha & Andhra Pradesh	261 BCE	Kalinga was annexed by Ashoka. Ashoka’s major rock edict XIII describes the Kalinga war.
Battle at Narmada River	Chalukyas of Vatapi and Vardhana dynasty.	Narmada River	618 CE	Chalukyan victory. Harshavardhana’s South Indian expansion came to a halt.
Battle of Pullalur	Chalukya king Pulakesin II and the Pallava king Mahendravarman I	Pullalur, Tamil Nadu	618 – 619 CE	Chalukyan victory.
Battle of Vatapi	Chalukyas of Vatapi and Pallava dynasty	Vatapi, (present-day Badami), Karnataka.	642 CE	Pallavas defeated Pulakeshin II decisively.

Subject-wise Prelims Previous Year Questions
Geography PYQ UPSC Prelims	Polity PYQ UPSC Prelims
Environment PYQ UPSC Prelims	Ancient History PYQ UPSC Prelims
Modern History PYQ UPSC Prelims	Medieval History PYQ UPSC Prelims

Important Battles in Indian History During the Medieval Period

The important wars in Indian history during the medieval period saw fierce power struggles between Rajput kingdoms, Delhi Sultans, and later the Mughals. This era is marked by all battles of Indian history that transformed India's political landscape, such as the Battles of Tarain and Haldighati.

List of Battles in Indian History in the Medieval Period (700 CE – 1700 CE)
Name of Battle	Between	Location	Year  (in CE)	Result
Battle of Peshawar	Mahmud of Ghazni and Jayapala	Peshawar, (present-day Pakistan)	1001	Mahmud of Ghazni victory
First Battle of Tarain	Prithviraj Chauhan and Mohammed Ghori	Taraori, Haryana	1191	Prithviraj Chauhan victory
Second Battle of Tarain	Prithviraj Chauhan and Mohammed Ghori	Taraori, Haryana	1192	Mohmmed Ghori victory
Battle of Chandawar	Muhammad Ghori and Jaichandra	Chandawar (present-day Chandawal near Firozabad), Agra, UP.	1194	Mohmmed Ghori victory
Battle of Kili	Mongols of the Chagatai Khanate and Delhi Sultanate	Delhi	1299	Delhi Sultanate victory
Battle of Delhi	Timurids and the Tughlaq dynasty	Delhi	1398	Mongol-Turkish warrior Timur victory
Battle of Sarangpur	Rana Kumbha and Sultan Mahmud Khilji	Sarangpur, Madhya Pradesh	1437	Rajput Victory Mahmud Khilji was imprisoned
Battle of Nagaur	Rajputs of Mewar and the Nagaur Sultanate	Nagpur, Maharashtra	1455	Rajput victory
Battle of Diu	Portuguese and joint fleet of the Zamorin of Calicut, Sultan of Gujarat, and the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt with support from the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice.	Arabian Sea,	1509	Portuguese victory
First Battle of Panipat	Babur and Ibrahim Lodi	Panipat, Haryana	1526	Babur victory Mughal Empire Establishment
Battle of Khanwa	Babur and Rana Sanga	Khanwa, Rajasthan	1527	Babur victory
Battle of Chanderi	Rajputs and Mughals	–	1528	Babur victory
Battle of Ghaghra	Babur and the joint forces of Mahmud Lodi (Delhi Sultanate), Nusrat Shah (Bengal Sultanate).	Ghaghara River, Bihar	1529	Babur victory
Battle of Chausa	Sher Shah and Humayun	Chausa, Buxar, Bihar	1539	Sher Shah victory
Battle of Kannauj	Sher Shah Suri and Humayun	Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh	1540	Sher Shah victory
Battle of Sirhind	Mughal Emperor Humayun and Sikandar Shah Suri	Fatehgarh, Punjab	1555	Humayun victory Restoration of the Mughal Empire
Second Battle of Panipat	Akbar and Hemu	Panipat, Haryana	1556	Akbar victory
Battle of Talikota	Vijaynagar Empire and Deccan Sultanates	Talikot, Karnataka	1565	Deccan Sultanates victory
Battle of Haldighati	Maharana Pratap of Mewar and Akbar’s forces led by Man Singh I	Haldighati, Rajsamand District, Rajasthan	1576	Mughal victory
Battle of Kartarpur	Sikh and Mughal Empire	Kartarpur, Punjab	1635	Sikh victory
Mughal–Safavid War	Mughal and Safavid Empires	Afghanistan	1649–1653	Safavid victory
Deccan Wars	Maratha and Mughal Empires	Deccan	1681–1707	Maratha victory

Important Battles in Indian History in the Modern Period

The important battles in Indian history in the modern era include colonial conquests and resistance, from the Battle of Plassey to the Anglo-Sikh Wars. These important wars in Indian history paved the way for British dominance and are key to understanding the final phase of historical battles of India.

List of Battles in Indian History in the Modern Period (1700 CE onwards)
Name of Battle	Between	Location	Year	Result
Battle of Vasai	Maratha Empire and Portuguese	Vasai, Mumbai	17 Feb 1739 – 16 May 1739	Maratha victory
Battle of Karnal	Nadir Shah and Muhammad Shah	Karnal, Haryana	24 February 1739	Nadir Shah victory
Battle of Colachel	Kingdom of Travancore and the Dutch East India Company (VOC)	Colachel, Tamil Nadu	10 August 1741	Travancore victory
First Carnatic War	East India Company and French forces	Carnatic region	1740 – 1748	Inconclusive
Second Carnatic War	Nizam of Hyderabad and Nawab of the Carnatic, each supported by the East India Company or the French.	Carnatic region	1749 – 1754	Muzaffar Jung was appointed Nizam of Hyderabad. Muhammad Ali was appointed Nawab of Carnatic.
Battle of Plassey	East India Company and Nawab of Bengal (Siraj-ud-Daulah)	Palashi, near Calcutta	23 June 1757	East India Company victory British Rule started in India
Third Carnatic War	East India Company and French	Carnatic region	1758 – 1763	EIC victory
Battle of Wandiwash (3rd Carnatic war)	English and French forces	Vandavasi, Tamil Nadu	22 January 1760	EIC victory
Third Battle of Panipat	Maratha Empire and Ahmad Shah Durrani Durrani (Afghanistan)	Panipat, Haryana	14 January 1761	Afghan victory
Battle of Buxar	East India Company and the Joint forces of Mir Qasim (administrator of Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daulah (Nawab of Oudh) and Shah Alam II (Mughal emperor).	Buxar, Bihar	22 – 23 Oct 1764	EIC victory Treaty of Allahabad 1765
First Anglo-Mysore War	East India Company and Kingdom of Mysore (Hyder Ali)	South India	1767-1769	Mysore victory Treaty of Madras
First Anglo-Maratha War	East India Company and Maratha	Pune, Maharashtra	1775 -1782	Maratha victory Treaty of Salbai
Second Anglo-Mysore War	East India Company and Kingdom of Mysore (Hyder Ali)	South India	1780 – 1784	Status quo ante bellum Treaty of Mangalore
Maratha-Mysore War	Maratha Empire and Mysore	South India	1785 – 1787	Maratha victory Treaty of Gajendragad
Third Anglo-Mysore War	East India Company and Kingdom of Mysore (Tipu Sultan)	South India	1790 – 1792	East India Company victory Treaty of Seringapatam
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War	East India Company and Kingdom of Mysore (Tipu Sultan)	South India	1798 – 1799	East India Company victory Mysore entered into subsidiary alliance
Second Anglo-Maratha War	East India Company and Maratha	India	1803 – 1805	East India Company victory Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon
Anglo-Nepalese War	East India Company and Gorkha Kingdom	Northern India	1814 – 1816	East India Company victory Treaty of Sugauli
Third Anglo-Maratha War	East India Company and Maratha	Maharashtra	1817 – 1818	East India Company victory The formal end of Maratha Empire
First Anglo-Burmese War	East India Company and Burmese Empire	Burma	1824 – 1826	East India Company victory Treaty of Yandabo British rule started in Burma (present-day Myanmar)
First Anglo-Afghan War	East India Company and Emirate of Kabul	Afghanistan	1839 – 1842	Afghan Victory British EIC withdrawal from Afghanistan
First Anglo-Sikh War	East India Company and the SikhEmpire	Punjab	1845 – 1846	British victory
Second Anglo-Sikh War	East India Company and the Sikh Empire	Punjab	1848 – 1849	East India Company victory The formal end of Sikh Empire
Second Anglo-Burmese War	East India Company and Burmese Empire	Burma	1852 – 1853	East India Company victory
Second Anglo-Afghan War	British India and Emirate of Afghanistan	Afghanistan	1878 – 1880	British India victory Treaty of Gandamak Afghanistan was designated as a British protectorate.
Third Anglo-Burmese War	British India and Burma	Burma	7 – 29 November 1885	British India victory The province of Burma became part of British India.
Third Anglo-Afghan War	British India and Emirate of Afghanistan	Afghanistan	1919	Armistice Treaty of Rawalpindi The Durand Line was reaffirmed.
Battle of Imphal	British India and Imperial Japan (During World War II)	Imphal, Manipur	1944	British India victory

Top 5 Famous Battles of India

Some of the most important battles of India include the following:

Battle of Plassey (1757)

The Battle of Plassey marked the beginning of British colonial rule in India when Robert Clive’s forces defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal. This victory gave the British East India Company control over Bengal, a crucial economic and political region.

Battle of Panipat (1526)

The First Battle of Panipat saw Babur defeat Ibrahim Lodi, establishing the Mughal Empire in India. It was one of the largest and most decisive battles of its time, changing the course of Indian history.

Battle of Haldighati (1576)

Fought between Maharana Pratap of Mewar and the Mughal army led by Akbar’s general Man Singh I, the Battle of Haldighati symbolized Rajput resistance against Mughal expansion. Though technically a Mughal victory, Maharana Pratap’s resilience made this battle legendary.

Battle of Talikota (1565)

The combined forces of the Deccan Sultanates defeated the Vijayanagar Empire in the Battle of Talikota, leading to the empire’s decline. This battle marked a major shift in power in southern India.

Battle of Khanwa (1527)

Babur’s victory over Rana Sanga at the Battle of Khanwa consolidated Mughal dominance in northern India after Panipat. It was crucial in preventing the resurgence of Rajput power and strengthening Mughal rule.

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