View source for 2008 in India

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Year in India|2008}}
Events in the year '''2008 in the Republic of India'''.

==Incumbents==
{| class=wikitable
! Photo
! Post
! Name
|-
| [[File:PratibhaIndia.jpg|50px]]
| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[President of India|President]]'''
| [[Pratibha Patil]]
|-
| [[File:Hamid ansari.jpg|50px]]
| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Vice President of India|Vice President]]'''
| [[Mohammad Hamid Ansari]]
|-
| [[File:Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in WEF ,2009.jpg|50px]]
| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]]'''
| [[Indian National Congress|INC]] [[Dr. Manmohan Singh]]
|- 
|
| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Chief Justice of India|Chief Justice]]'''
| [[K. G. Balakrishnan]]
|}

===Governors===
{| class=wikitable
! Photo
! Post
! Name
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Arunachal Pradesh|Arunachal Pradesh]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Assam|Assam]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Bihar|Bihar]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Chhattisgarh|Chhattisgarh]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Goa|Goa]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Gujarat|Gujarat]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Haryana|Haryana]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Himachal Pradesh|Himachal Pradesh]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Jammu and Kashmir|Jammu and Kashmir]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Jharkhand|Jharkhand]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Karnataka|Karnataka]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Kerala|Kerala]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Madhya Pradesh|Madhya Pradesh]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Maharashtra|Maharashtra]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Manipur|Manipur]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Meghalaya|Meghalaya]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Mizoram|Mizoram]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Nagaland|Nagaland]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Odisha|Odisha]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[List of governors of Punjab, India|Punjab]]'''
| 
|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Rajasthan|Rajasthan]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Sikkim|Sikkim]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Tamil Nadu|Tamil Nadu]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Tripura|Tripura]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of Uttar Pradesh|Uttar Pradesh]]'''
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|-
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| {{flagicon|IND}} '''[[Governor of West Bengal|West Bengal]]'''
| 
|-
|}

==Events==

===February===
*2 February – The activists of [[Maharashtra Navnirman Sena]] (MNS) try to disrupt a press conference of [[Samajwadi Party]] leader [[Amar Singh (politician)|Amar Singh]] in [[Mumbai]].
*2 February – Baba [[Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh|Ram Rahim Gurmeet Singh]], the head of the Sirsa-based [[Dera Sacha Sauda]] sect escaped a bomb blast near [[Nilokheri]] in Karnal district of Haryana.
*3 February – Members of teams trying to conduct social audit of the [[National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme]] (NREGS) were attacked in Manohar Thana block of Jhalwar district in Rajasthan.
*5 February – The [[Government of Odisha|Orissa government]] decides to provide a monthly pension of {{INR}} 200 to HIV positive persons under the State-sponsored 'Madhu Babu Pension Yojana.'
*7 February – Union Health and Family Welfare Minister [[Anbumani Ramadoss]] dedicates to the nation the first [[in-vitro fertilisation]] (IVF) facility in the public sector set up at the [[All-India Institute of Medical Sciences]] (AIIMS) in New Delhi.
*12 February – "Year of Russia in India" was inaugurated jointly by Prime Minister [[Manmohan Singh]] and his Russian counterpart [[Victor Zubkov]] in New Delhi.
*13 February – [[Priyaranjan Dasmunsi]], [[Saifuddin Soz]] and [[Suresh Pachouri|Suresh Pachauri]] are made governors of West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, and Madhya Pradesh units of the Congress respectively.
*15 February – The Election Commission issues notice to Congress president [[Sonia Gandhi]] seeking her response to an allegation that she had incurred disqualification as member of Parliament under Article 102(1)(d) of the Constitution for accepting the [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)]] from the King of Belgium in November 2006.
*19 February – Viswapati Trivedi becomes the Joint Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the [[National Aviation Company of India Limited]] (NACIL) (now [[Air India]]).
*20 February – The former Queen Mother of Jaipur [[Gayatri Devi]] sat on a dharna near the Moti Doongri Fort protesting encroachment, by the [[land mafia]], of land she donated.
*24 February – In an affidavit filed before the [[High Court of Gujarat|Gujarat High Court]], the CID has officially implicated former Gujarat Additional Director General of Police, [[D. G. Vanzara]], as the "chief conspirator" in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.
*24 February – [[Tarun Vijay]] joins [[Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation]], the BJP's newly created think tank, as its director. He has been the chief editor of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organ [[Panchjanya]].
*26 February – [[Ratakonda Dayakar]] named India's new Ambassador to Sweden. Dayakar is 1976 batch IFS officer.
*26 February – Union Agriculture Minister [[Sharad Pawar]] predicts the foodgrain production to reach the record level of 219.32 million tonnes during 2007–08.
*27 February – Three teachers in Jalaun district in UP sent to jail under the [[Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989]]. They were found to be discriminating against the dalit children by making SC students have their mid-day meal separately.

===March===
*3 March – Central government launches ''Dhan Laxmi'' scheme in seven states. Under this scheme an insurance cover of {{INR}} 100,000 would be provided for the girl child at her birth. The scheme aims to improve the girl-child ratio.
*5 March – [[S. M. Krishna]] resigns from his post of Maharashtra Governor.
*9 March – [[J. P. Chalasani]] is appointed the new chief executive of the [[Reliance Power]], an [[Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group]] company.
*10 March – [[D. D. Lapang]] sworn in as the Chief Minister of a new Congress-led government in [[Meghalaya]].
*14 March – [[Hyderabad International Airport]] is inaugurated.
*18 March – [[Donkupar Roy]] of the [[Meghalaya Progressive Alliance]] (MPA) sworn in as the [[List of Chief Ministers of Meghalaya|Chief Minister of Meghalaya]].
*23 March – India test fires nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile [[Agni-I]] having a range of 700 to 900&nbsp;km.
*24 March – The [[Sixth Central Pay Commission|Sixth Pay Commission]] recommends increase in the salaries of all government employees by 40%.
*25 March – Former Haryana Chief Minister [[Bhajan Lal]] disqualified from the Haryana Vidhan Sabha under the [[Parliamentary system|anti-defection law]].
*26 March – Raghu Menon is new chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Air India and National Aviation Company India Ltd (NACIL) (now [[Air India]]).
*26 March – [[Tata Motors]] buys two British automobile manufacturing companies, [[Jaguar Cars|Jaguar]] and [[Land Rover]], from [[Ford]], their American owners.
*27 March – [[Communist Party of India]] (CPI) re-elects [[Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan|A. B. Bardhan]] as the general secretary for the fourth consecutive term.

===April===
*3 April – [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] elects [[Prakash Karat]] as its general secretary for another term.
*28 April – Iranian President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] arrives in India.
*28 April – India sets a world record by sending 10 [[satellite]]s into orbit in a single launch.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-04-28/india/27775078_1_cartosat-2a-pslv-c9-sun-synchronous-orbit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021041632/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-04-28/india/27775078_1_cartosat-2a-pslv-c9-sun-synchronous-orbit|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 October 2012|title=India setting world record by sending 10 satellites into orbit | date=28 April 2008|work=[[The Times of India]]| access-date= 6 October 2008 <!--DASHBot-->}}</ref>
*30 April – [[Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle]] (PSLV-C9) successfully puts all the 10 satellites into orbit.

===May===
*5 May – President [[Pratibha Patil]] presents [[Padma Vibhushan]] awards to [[Pranab Mukherjee]], [[Sachin Tendulkar]] and [[Asha Bhosle]].
*8 May – Jerome Bonnafont, the French Ambassador to India, puts forward the proposal of a large scale nuclear cooperation between India and France.
*13 May – Bomb blasts rock Jaipur. About 80 people killed in serial blasts.
*18 May – The bruised body of social activist and member of NGO Vikas Sahyog Kendra, [[Lalit Mehta|Lalit Kumar Mehta]] found in Kandra forest in Palamau in Jharkhand. Mehta was involved in social audit of NREGS and is suspected to have been killed by those having "vested interests."
*20 May – Calling [[Chhattisgarh]] government's [[Salwa Judum]] vigilante campaign against naxalism as "an abdication of the state itself", an experts group of the Planning Commission called for its immediate scrapping.
*21 May – Railway Minister [[Lalu Prasad Yadav]] announces cash awards amounting to {{INR}} 174&nbsp;million for officers and staff of all zonal railways.
*22 May – Following resounding victory of the [[Trinamool Congress]] in the panchayat elections in Nandigram area, violence erupts in Purbo Medinipur district. In clashes between workers of Trinamool and the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] five persons were injured.
*23 May – [[Prithvi II]], a nuclear-capable, 350-km range [[surface-to-surface]] [[ballistic missile]], is successfully test-fired.
*23 May – The Union Environment and Forests Ministry has decided to create four new [[tiger reserves]] at (1) the [[Sunabeda Tiger Reserve]] in [[Odisha]], (2) the [[Sahyadri Tiger reserve#Sahyadri Tiger Reserve|Sahyadri Tiger Reserve]] in [[Maharashtra]], (3) the [[Pilibhit Tiger Reserve]] in [[Uttar Pradesh]] and (4) the [[Ratapani Tiger Reserve]] in [[Madhya Pradesh]]. Besides, [[Nagarahole National Park]] in Karnataka to be upgraded as a separate reserve.
*23 May – President [[Pratibha Patil]] starts her maiden visit to [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]].
*23 May – A week ahead of first anniversary of police firing on agitating [[Gurjar|Gujjars]] violence erupts in [[Rajasthan]]. Four Gujjar protesters and one policeman killed in clashes in Bharatpur district. The tally goes up to 17 later.
*24 May – Eighteen killed and 38 others injured in police firing in [[Dausa]] district of Rajasthan in the ongoing Gujjar-police clashes.
*25 May – The [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] comes to power in [[Karnataka]]. In the assembly elections held earlier in the week, BJP win 110 seats. Congress is second with 80.

===June===
*4 June – The Government announces an increase in petrol, diesel and LPG prices by {{INR}} 5, {{INR}} 3 and {{INR}} 50 respectively.
*27 June – First Field Marshal of Indian Army [[Sam Manekshaw]] died.

===July===
*22 July – The [[United Progressive Alliance]] led government in India survives a crucial [[motion of no confidence|no-confidence vote]] based on disagreements between [[Indian National Congress]] and [[Left Front (West Bengal)|Left Front]] over the [[Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement|Indo-US nuclear deal]].
*25 July – [[2008 Bangalore serial blasts]]: A series of seven bomb blasts rock [[Bangalore]], kills 2 and injuring 20 and on the next day, a [[2008 Ahmedabad bombings|number of bomb blasts]] in [[Ahmedabad]], [[Gujarat]], India, kills 45 and injures over 160 people.
*28 July – [[Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah]] family serial aired on [[SAB TV]].

===August===
*3 August – [[2008 Naina Devi temple stampede]]: Stampede at a [[Hindu]] temple at [[Naina Devi]] in [[Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh]], kills 162 and injures 400.

===October===
*12 October – [[Pope Benedict XVI]] announces the [[canonization]] of [[Saint Alphonsa|Sister Alphonsa Muttathupadathu]], the first woman of [[Demographics of India|Indian]] origin to be [[Canonization|canonized]] as a saint by the [[Roman Catholic Church]], and the first canonized saint of the [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Church]].
* 22 October Launched [[Chandrayaan-1]] from [[Satish Dhawan Space Centre]], [[Sriharikota]], [[Andhra Pradesh]] at 06:22 IST (00:52 UTC). The vehicle was successfully inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.<ref name="ISRO 6 LOI">{{cite web|url=http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Nov08_2008.htm |title=Chandrayaan-1 Successfully Enters Lunar Orbit |access-date=2008-11-08 |publisher=ISRO |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118044517/http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Nov08_2008.htm |archive-date=18 November 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===November===
* 26–29 November – [[2008 Mumbai attacks]]: 175 people were killed and over 308 wounded in more than ten coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across [[Mumbai]], India's largest city, carried out by [[Islamic terrorism|Islamic terrorists]]<ref>{{cite news|title=No Way, No How, Not Here |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/opinion/18friedman.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=17 February 2009 |access-date=2010-05-17 |first=Thomas |last=Friedman |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829011434/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/opinion/18friedman.html |archive-date=29 August 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Indian Muslims hailed for not burying 26/11 attackers |publisher=Sify News |url=http://sify.com/news/indian-muslims-hailed-for-not-burying-26-11-attackers-news-international-jegsNXehjhc.html |date=19 February 2009 |access-date=9 September 2010  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023095818/http://sify.com/news/indian-muslims-hailed-for-not-burying-26-11-attackers-news-international-jegsNXehjhc.html |archive-date=23 October 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> from [[Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Mumbai Terror Attacks: 7 Pakistanis Charged – Action Comes a Year After India's Worst Terrorist Attacks; 166 Die. |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/mumbai-terror-attacks-pakistanis-charged/story?id=9176592 |newspaper=[[ABC News]] |date=25 November 2009 |access-date=2010-05-17|first=Nick|last=Schifrin}}</ref>

===Full date unknown===
*[[Mumbai Urban Transport Project]] is completed.
*[[Kempegowda International Airport|Bangalore International Airport]] is completed.
*[[Sheila Dikshit]] won the [[2008 Delhi Legislative Assembly election|Delhi Assembly elections]] for the third consecutive time.<ref>[http://speakindiablog.blogspot.com/2008/12/delhi-election-results-oops-i-did-it.html Speak India]</ref>

==Arts and literature==
*3 February – Inaugurating the tenth [[Mumbai International Film Festival]] (MIFF) for documentary, short and animation films at the [[National Centre for Performing Arts]] (NCPA), Mumbai, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi announced that a dedicated channel for short films in the Eleventh Plan is under consideration.
*14 February – The Government decides to extend visa of exiled Bangladeshi author [[Taslima Nasreen]], for another six months. Her visa was to expire on 17 February.
*19 February – The [[K.K. Birla Foundation]] decides to give the following awards:(1) The Sixteenth Vachaspati Puraskar for 2007 to [[Rambhadracharya|Swami Rambhadracharya]] for his work ''[[Sribhargavaraghaviyam]]'' (Mahakavyam). (2)The 2007 Bihari Puraskar to Hindi poet [[Yashwant Vyas]] for his Hindi novel ''Comrade Godse''. (3) The Shankar Puraskar for 2007 to Prof. R.S. Tripathi for his work ''Baudh Darshan Prasthan''.
*20 February – Bengali poet and novelist [[Sunil Gangopadhyay]] elected president of the [[Sahitya Akademi]].
*8 May – The [[Delhi high court]] quashed three criminal proceedings initiated against the artist [[M. F. Husain]] for allegedly hurting public sentiments through some of his nude paintings that were perceived as obscene.
*25 May – Pakistani rock band [[Junoon (band)|Junoon]] performs in [[Srinagar]] on the occasion of opening of the [[Institute of Kashmir Studies]] at the [[Kashmir University]].
*15 October – [[Aravind Adiga]], is awarded the 2008 [[Man Booker Prize]] for his debut novel, ''[[The White Tiger (Adiga novel)|The White Tiger]]''.

==Sport==
*18 April – Beginning of the [[2008 Indian Premier League|first edition]] of the [[Indian Premier League|IPL]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lights up over a new era|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8048/preview/335982/royal-challengers-bangalore-vs-kolkata-knight-riders-1st-match-indian-premier-league-2007-08|access-date=2020-10-09|website=www.espncricinfo.com|language=en}}</ref> 
*[[File:Abhinav Bindra and Mary Kom - British High Commission, Delhi, 27 July 2011 (cropped).jpg|thumb|120x120px|[[Abhinav Bindra]] became the first individual gold-medalist at the [[Olympic Games|Olympics]] for India.]]11 August – Shooter [[Abhinav Bindra]] wins the gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games.
*20 August – Wrestler [[Sushil Kumar (wrestler)|Sushil Kumar]] wins a bronze medal in the Men's 66&nbsp;kg Freestyle Wrestling category at 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
*21 August – Boxer [[Vijender Kumar]] became the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal when he won bronze medal in the middleweight category at 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
*7 October – Cricketer [[Sourav Ganguly]] announces retirement from Test Cricket.
*17 October – Cricketer [[Sachin Tendulkar]] becomes the leading scorer in Test Cricket and also becomes the first batsman to score 12,000 runs in [[Test Cricket]].
*[[File:Former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble.jpg|thumb|160x160px|[[Anil Kumble]] retired as the highest wicket-taker for India in [[Test cricket|Test Cricket.]] He was [[Test cricket bowling records|third highest]] worldwide.]]2 November – Cricketer [[Anil Kumble]] announces retirement from Test Cricket.

==Deaths==
[[File:MahareshiYogi2.jpg|thumb|180x180px|right|[[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]]]]
*1 January – [[Pratap Chandra Chunder]], Minister, educationalist and author (born 1919).
*29 January – [[Bharath Gopi]], 71, actor, director and producer (born 1937).
*1 February – [[Russi Karanjia]], journalist and editor (born 1912).
*5 February – [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]], 90, [[spiritualist]], founder of [[Transcendental Meditation]] (born 1917).
*9 February – [[Baba Amte]], 93, [[social activist]] (born 1914).
*25 February – [[Hans Raj Khanna]], 95, Supreme Court Judge (born 1912).
*27 February – [[Sujatha Rangarajan]], 72, author, short story writer and playwright (born 1935).
*19 March – [[Raghuvaran]], 49, actor (born 1948).
*25 March – [[K. T. Muhammed]], playwright (born 1927).
*19 May – [[Vijay Tendulkar]], 80, playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist and social commentator (born 1928).
*27 June – [[Sam Manekshaw]], 94, first Field Marshal of the Indian Army (born 1914).
*29 July – [[Ishmeet Singh Sodhi]], 18, winner [[Amul STAR Voice of India]] in 2007 (born 1989).
*1 August – [[Ashok Mankad]], 61, [[Test cricket]]er (born 1946).
*1 August – [[Harkishan Singh Surjeet]], 92, former General Secretary of the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] (born 1916).
*29 August – [[Jayshree Gadkar]], actress (born 1942).
*27 September – [[Mahendra Kapoor]], 74, [[playback singer]] (born 1934).
*26 November – [[Hemant Karkare]], [[Vijay Salaskar]], [[Ashok Kamte]]
*27 November – [[V. P. Singh]], 77, tenth [[Prime Minister of India]] (born 1931)
*28 November – [[Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan]], 31, NSG commando
*1 December – [[H. Sridhar]], 50, Indian [[Audio engineering|sound engineer]]
*10 December – [[Munawwar Hasan]], 44, Indian [[politician]].
*17 December – [[Ved Prakash Goyal]], 82, Indian [[politician]].
*27 December – [[Sahu Mewalal]], 82, Indian [[association football|footballer]].
*29 December – [[Manjit Bawa]], 67, Indian [[artist|painter]].
*31 December – [[Premjit Lall]], 68, Indian [[tennis]] player.

== See also ==
{{Commons category|2008 in India}}
* [[Bollywood films of 2008]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Years in India}}
{{Asia topic|2008 in}}

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[[Category:2008 in India| ]]
[[Category:Years of the 21st century in India]]