1951 in India

Incumbents

• President of India – Rajendra Prasad
• Prime Minister of India – Jawaharlal Nehru
• Chief Justice of India – H. J. Kania, M. Patanjali Sastri

  Governors

• Assam:
• Bihar:
• Maharashtra:
• Odisha:
• Punjab:
• Rajasthan:
• Tamil Nadu:
• Telangana:
• Uttar Pradesh:
• West Bengal:

  Events

• 4-11 March, First Asian Games held in Delhi.
• 18 June – First Amendment of the Constitution of India says "state can make special provisions for advancement of any backward class"
• 5 November – Central Railway is formed by the merger of several government-owned railways.
• Western Railway is formed by merging smaller railways.

  Arts and literature

• 16 December – Salar Jung Museum is opened to the public by the Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru.

  Births

• 1 January – Nana Patekar, actor and filmmaker.
• 17 January – Bindu, actress.
• 1 March – Nitish Kumar, politician and Chief Minister of Bihar.
• 26 June - Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju, politician and member of parliament from vizianagram.
• 10 July – Narayanasami Sathyamurthy, scientist.
• 11 July - Naramalli Sivaprasad, politician and member of parliament from Chittoor.

  Deaths

• 15 February – Stephen Hector Taylor-Smith, rocket scientist.