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 Andhra Pradesh – Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi Assam – Jairamdas Daulatram (until 15 May), Saiyid Fazal Ali (starting 15 May) Bihar – R. R. Diwakar (until 5 July), Zakir Hussain (starting 5 July) Bombay – Harekrushna Mahatab (until 14 October), Sri Prakasa (starting 10 December) Jammu and Kashmir – Karan Singh Karnataka – Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar (starting 1 November) Kerala – Burgula Ramakrishna Rao (starting 22 November) Madhya Pradesh – Pattabhi Sitaramayya Orissa – P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja (until 11 September), Bhim Sen Sachar (starting 11 September) Punjab – Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh Rajasthan – Maharaj Man Singh II (until 31 October), Gurumukh Nihal Singh (starting 31 October) Uttar Pradesh – Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi West Bengal – until 8 August: Harendra Coomar Mookerjee 8 August-3 November: Phani Bhusan Chakravartti starting 3 November: Padmaja Naidu
Events National income - 133,139 million 20 February - Gentlemen's agreement of Andhra Pradesh (1956) signed. 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 Anjar earthquake shook Gujarat with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 115 and injuring 254. 4 August - Asia's first Nuclear reactor, Apsara was built in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. 1 September – LIC of India formed 14 October – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Indian Untouchable leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 followers. See Neo-Buddhism. 17 December - Jawaharlal Nehru meets Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of his visit to United States.
Law 1 November – The States Reorganisation Act of India reformed the boundaries and names of Indian states. (enacted on 31 August)
Arts and literature 15 October – Kerala Sahithya Academy, Academy for Malayalam literature, is inaugurated by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the former king of Travancore. List of 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. 2 June Mani Ratnam, film director.
July to December 19 July – Rajendra Prasad, actor. 29 July – Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author and poet. 17 August – Anil Aggrawal, professor of forensic medicine. 21 September - Prabuddha Dasgupta, photographer. 19 October – Sunny Deol, actor. 9 November – Pankaj Dheer, actor (d. 2025) 25 November – Kristappa Nimmala, politician and member of parliament from Hindupur. 24 December – Anil Kapoor, actor and producer. 25 December Prabhu, actor.
Deaths 6 December – B. R. Ambedkar, nationalist, jurist, Dalit political leader and a Buddhist revivalist (born 1891).
See also List of Bollywood films of 1956
References