1979 in India

Incumbents

• President of India – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
• Prime Minister of India – Morarji Desai until 28 July, Charan Singh
• Chief Justice of India – Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud

  Governors

• Assam –
• Bihar –
• Gujarat –
• Haryana –
• Himachal Pradesh –
• Jammu and Kashmir –
• Karnataka –
• Kerala –
• Madhya Pradesh –
• Maharashtra –
• Manipur –
• Meghalaya –
• Nagaland –
• Odisha –
• Punjab – Jaisukh lal Hathi
• Rajasthan –
• Sikkim –
• Tamil Nadu –
• Telangana –
• Tripura –
• Uttar Pradesh –
• West Bengal –

  Events

• 1 January – President of India makes official the decision to set up the Mandal Commission
• 31 January – The police under direction of Jyoti Basu, Chief Minister of Communist Party of India -led government of West Bengal, surrounds and opens fire on unarmed refugee settlement of Morichjhapi island in Sunderbans, West Bengal. Hundreds killed but government officially accepts 36 deaths.
• 1 June – Vizianagaram district is formed in Andhra Pradesh.
• 27 June – CISF conflict at Bokaro
• 11 August – Morvi dam burst, the worst flood disaster in independent India, happens in Gujarat, killing 1500-15000 people
• Dr. Leo Rebello is appointed Special Executive Magistrate for Greater Bombay. Holds the honorary office for 18 years helping thousands of people.
• Athi Varadhar came out after 40 years in Varadharajar Temple, Kanchipuram.

  Births

January to June

• 7 January – Bipasha Basu, actress and model.
• 28 February – Srikanth
• 24 March – Emraan Hashmi, actor.
• 23 May - Divya Palat, actress.
• 12 June – Tottempudi Gopichand, actor.

  July to December

• 31 August – Yuvan Shankar Raja, film composer and singer.
• 1 September – Aamir Ali, actor
• 11 September – Tulip Joshi, model and actress.
• 14 September – Kamya Panjabi, actress.
• 7 October – Narain, actor.
• 4 November – Lazarus Barla, field hockey player.
• 14 December – Samit Basu, novelist.

  Deaths

• 18 August - Vasantrao Phulsing Naik, Politician, Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra
• 3 December – Dhyan Chand, field hockey player.
• - D.K.Sapru, character actor.

  Full date unknown

• Banaphool, author, playwright and poet.
• Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, novelist, literary historian, essayist, critic and scholar.