# 1956 in India

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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)
* Karnataka – Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar (starting 1 November)
* Kerala – Burgula Ramakrishna Rao (starting 22 November)
* Madhya Pradesh – Pattabhi Sitaramayya
* Maharashtra – Harekrushna Mahatab (until 14 October), Sri Prakasa (starting 10 December)
* Odisha – 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 M$_s$  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 - Prabuddah Dasgupta, photographer.
* 19 October – Sunny Deol, actor.
* 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).