GK - List of firsts in India ( 1 )
Architecture
First Islamic (tomb) in India : Sultan Ghari(Hindi: ??????? ?????, Urdu: ????? ????), built in 1231 CE for Prince Nasir ud din Mahmud, 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 Kodungallur (Kerala), built 629-630 A.D by Malik ibn Deenar, an Arab trader on the order of Chera ruler Cheraman Perumal (Tajjudin after conversion to Islam)
Awards and Titles
Miss World : Reita Faria in 1966
Miss Asia Pacific : Zeenat Aman in 1970
Miss Universe : Sushmita Sen in 1994
Miss Earth : Nicole Faria in 2010
Miss Asia Pacific World : Himangini Singh Yadu in 2012
World Miss University : Priyadarshini Pradhan in 1989
Manhunt International : Rajeev Singh in 2001
Dhan Gopal Mukerji, first Indian to win any literary award (the Newbery Medal) in the United States, in 1927 for Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon
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
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
Nobel Prize winner : Rabindranath Tagore in Literature, 1913. He was also the first Asian to win the prize.
Nobel Prize in Physics : C. V. Raman in 1930.
Nobel Prize in Medicine : Har Gobind Khorana in 1968. (US citizen of Indian origin )
Nobel Peace Prize : Mother Teresa of Calcutta in 1979 (Indian citizen of Albanian origin)
Nobel Prize in Economics : Amartya Sen in 1998
Nobel Prize in Chemistry : Venkatraman Ramakrishnan in 2009 (UK citizen of Indian origin)
Defence (in the Republic of India)
Commander-in-Chief of Free India : General Sir Roy Bucher
Indian Commander-in-Chief of Free India : General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, 1949
Chief of Air Staff : Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst
Indian Chief of Staff : General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, 1947
Commander-in-Chief, IAF : Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, 1954
Chief of Naval Staff : Vice Admiral R D Katari
Cosmonaut : Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma, 1984
Field Marshal : Sam Manekshaw, 1973
First Parsi Army Chief : Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw
First Parsi Navy Chief : Admiral J L Cursetji
First Parsi Air Force Chief : Air Marshal Aspy Engineer
First Christian Army Chief : General Sunith Francis Rodrigues
First Christian Navy Chief : Admiral Ronald Lynsdale Pereira
First Christian Air Force Chief : Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne
First Sikh Army Chief : General Joginder Jaswant Singh
First Sikh Air Force Chief : Air Marshal Arjan Singh
First Muslim Air Force Chief : Air Marshal Idris Hasan Latif
First female officer to be court martialled: Anjali Gupta
First female jawan in the Army : Sapper Shanti Tigga
