First in India

Architecture First Dam in India: Kallanai Dam, one of the worlds oldest, still in use. Originally constructed by the Chola king Karikala Cholan around the 2nd Century AD First Stepwell still existing : Mata Bhavani's Stepwell built in 11th century in Gujrath. First temple constructed from a single rock, still standing: Kailasa temple, Ellora built in 744 CE built by Rashtrakuta king Krishna I First temple in Kalinga architecture still standing: Konark Sun Temple built in 1255 AD. First temple with many interconnected structures still standing: Brihadeeswarar Temple, Tanjore, Tamil Nadu built in 1002 AD. First Islamic (tomb) in India: Sultan Ghari Sultan Ghari built in 1231 CE for Prince Nasir ud, eldest son of Iltumish. First true dome: Alai Darwaza, Qutb complex, Delhi, built in 1311 CE, by first Khilji Sultan of Delhi, Ala-ud-din Khilji. First true arch: Balban's tomb, Mehrauli Archeological Park, Delhi, built c. 1287 CE, by Ghiyas ud din Balban of Mamluk dynasty. First garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent, also the first with Persian double-dome: Humayun's Tomb, Delhi, built 1562–1571 CE. First Mosque in India: Cheraman Juma Masjid,Methala, Kodungallur, Kerala built 629 A.D by Malik Bin Dinar. Awards and titles Mr. Universe: Manohar Aich in 1952 Miss World: Reita Faria in 1966. (She was also the first Asian to win the title.) Miss Asia Pacific: Zeenat Aman in 1970 International Teen Princess: Radha Bartake in 1974 Miss Teenage Intercontinental: Elizabeth Anita Reddi in 1978 Miss World Amber : Mala Rai Singani in 1978. World Miss University: Priyadarshini Pradhan in 1989 Miss Universe: Sushmita Sen in 1994 Miss India Worldwide: Karminder Kaur Virk in 1994. Miss Intercontinental: Lara Dutta in 1997. Mr. International: Aryan Vaid in 2000 Manhunt International: Rajeev Singh in 2001 Miss Tourism International: Candice Pinto in 2001 Mrs. World: Aditi Gowitrikar in 2001 Miss Tourism Queen International: Zabina Abdul Rashid Khan in 2004 Miss World Tourism : Sonal Chauhan in 2005. Best Model of the World : Siddharth Shukla in 2005 Miss Tourism: Priyanka Shah in 2007 Miss Earth: Nicole Faria in 2010 Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International: Urvashi Rautela in 2011 Miss Asia Pacific World: Himangini Singh Yadu in 2012 Mister United Nations : Rahul Vyas in 2013 Miss Supranational : Asha Bhat in 2014 Miss Universal Peace and Humanity : Ruhi Singh in 2014 Miss Tourism International (China Version) : Parul Bindal in 2014 First Indian to win any literary award (the Newbery Medal) in the United States, in 1927 for Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon: Dhan Gopal Mukerji Mr. World - Rohit Khadelwal First Indian to win Mr World Nirad C. Chaudhuri, first Indian to win a major non-fiction award, the Duff Cooper Prize in the United Kingdom, in 1966 for The Continent of Circe Man Booker Prize: Arundhati Roy for her novel "The God of Small Things" in the year 1997. Bhaswati Bhattacharya was the first Indian to speak as Orator at the Harvard University, in the Commencement Exercises in 1993. Bharat Ratna: Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, C. Rajagopalachari, and C. V. Raman in 1954 Padma Vibhushan: Satyendra Nath Bose, Nand Lal Bose, Zakir Hussain, Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher, Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, V. K. Krishna Menon in 1954 Param Vir Chakra : Major Somnath Sharma Commandeur of the Order of Arts and Letters: Mrinal Sen Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters: Sivaji Ganesan Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Devika Rani in 1969 Ashoka Chakra Award to a civilian: D.K. Jatar (posthumous) and M.C Dixit, captain and co-captain respectively, of the sabotaged plane Kashmir Princess, for "most conspicuous bravery, daring and self-sacrifice" Magsaysay Award: Vinoba Bhave, 1958 Stalin Peace Prize (now known as Lenin Peace Prize) in 1952–Saifuddin Kitchlew Oscar for Lifetime Achievement – Satyajit Ray Nishan-e-Pakistan: Morarji Desai, 1990 Nobel Prize 1913: Literature: Rabindranath Tagore; was also the first Asian to win the prize 1930: Physics: C. V. Raman; first Asian and first non-white person to win Science nobel prize. 1968: medicine: Har Gobind Khorana; US citizen of Indian origin 1979: Peace: Mother Teresa; Indian citizen of Albanian origin 1998: Economics: Amartya Sen 2009: Chemistry: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan; US citizen of Indian origin 2014: Peace: Kailash Sathyarthi (first Indian-born) Oscar 1982 – Bhanu Athaiya for Costume Design 1992 – Satyajit Ray, Honorary Oscar 2009 – A. R. Rahman for Best Original Song, Best Original Score 2009 – Resul Pookutty for Sound Mixing 2009 – Gulzar for Best Original Song Defence President of Indian Republic: Dr. Rajendra Prasad Prime Minister of Indian Republic: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Vice President of Indian Republic: Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Defence Minister of India: Baldev Singh Commander-in-Chief of Free India:Kodandera Madappa Cariappa Indian Commander-in-Chief of Free India: General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa,1949 Chief of Air Staff: Subroto Mukerjee Indian Chief of Staff Indian Army: Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji Jadeja Commander-in-Chief, IAF: Subroto Mukerjee Chief of Naval Staff: Sir Charles Thomas Mark Pizey First Indian (pre-Independence) flying ace: Indra Lal Roy India's first military helicopter pilot: Air Commodore Sudhindra Kumar Majumdar Cosmonaut: Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma, 1984 Field Marshal: Sam Manekshaw (S.H.F Manekshaw), 1973 First female Jawan in the Army: Sapper Shanti Tigga First Param Vir Chakra winner: Major Som Nath Sharma  Exploration Person to ride alone around the world on motorcycle: Bharadwaj Dayala Person to fly in a balloon and land in a parachute: Shibnath Majumdar Person to reach the South Pole: Colonel Jatinder Kumar Bajaj Woman to scale Mount Everest: Bachendri Pal on 23 May 1984; the 5th woman in the world to scale the peak Person to reach Mount Everest without oxygen: Sherpa Anga Dorjee Woman to reach South Pole: Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu Person to reach the North Pole: Jagannathan Srinivasaraghavan on 23 April 1985. Person to have walked across Gobi desert: Sucheta Kadethankar Youngest person in the world to climb Everest: Malavath Purna on 25 May 2014 at the age of 13  Governance in men President of the Indian National Congress: Womesh Chandra Bannerjee, 1885 President of the Indian National Congress of independent India: Acharya Kripalani, until November 1947 President: Rajendra Prasad (1950–62) The first Chief Election Commissioner: Sukumar Sen Industries and Supplies Minister: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee The first person to resign from the Central Cabinet: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Vice-President: Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Prime Minister: Jawaharlal Nehru (1947–64); India held its first constitutional elections in 1952 after which he was re-elected Deputy Prime Minister: Vallabhbhai Patel (1947–50) Law Minister of India: B. R. Ambedkar Leader of Opposition: A. K. Gopalan Prime Minister to be voted out of office: Indira Gandhi (1977), when the Indian National Congress lost to the Janata Party Non-Congress government: Janata Party, with Morarji Desai as the Prime Minister (1977–1980) Non-Congress State government with Majority by a single party: E. M. S. Namboodiripad of CPI, Kerala 1957 Prime Minister to lead a minority government for a full term (five years): P. V. Narasimha Rao, 21 June 1991 – 16 May 1996 Person outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to serve as Prime Minister for a full term (five years): P. V. Narasimha Rao, 21 June 1991 – 16 May 1996 Non Congress Prime Minister to serve a full term: Atal Bihari Vajpayee Prime Minister from South India: P. V. Narasimha Rao, 1991, H.D.Deve Gowda The first Viceroy of India: Lord Canning, 1858 Governor-General of India: Warren Hastings, 1773 Governor-General of Independent India: Lord Mountbatten, 1947 Indian Governor-General of Indian Union: C Rajagopalachari, 1948 Chief Justice of India: H. J. Kania (1947–51) First Sikh Prime Minister: Manmohan Singh (2004–14) First Muslim President: Zakir Hussain (1967–69) First Sikh President: Giani Zail Singh Indian ICS Officer: Satyendranath Tagore, 1863 Speaker of Lok Sabha: G. V. Mavlankar (1952–56) Finance Minister of Independent India: R. K. Shanmukham Chetty (1947–49), for others see First Nehru ministry Presentation of the first budget after India's Independence: R. K. Shanmukham Chetty on 26 November 1947 First Home Minister of India: Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel First Indian President to die in Office: Zakir Hussain, 3 May 1969 First Chief Minister to die in Office: C. N. Annadurai, Tamil Nadu First Indian Prime Minister to resign from office: Morarji Desai, 1979 First Prime Minister born after India's independence: Narendra Modi, born 17 September 1950   Categories: List of First, Indian Lists,