| Date | Event Name |
| 05/17/1498 |
Admiral Dom Vasco-da-Gama (c.1469-1524)-I, Portuguese navigator, arrived in India. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope to Calicut, Kerala with three vessels and was the first Westerner to sail to India from Europe. |
| 05/17/1540 |
Sher Shah defeated Humayun for the second time at Hardoi in U.P. in the battle of Kanauj. |
| 05/17/1775 |
Marathas were badly mauled in the battle of Arras by Col. Keating in the first Anglo - Maratha war. |
| 05/17/1857 |
Bahadhur Shah II declared as the emperor of India. |
| 05/17/1865 |
Raobahadur Govind Sakharam Sardesai `Riyasatkar' was born. |
| 05/17/1873 |
Hindi daily 'Bharat Mitra' started from Calcutta. |
| 05/17/1887 |
Ranglal Bandopadhyay, Bengali poet, essay-writer and journalist, passed away. |
| 05/17/1897 |
Dhirendra Varma, famous linguist, was born. |
| 05/17/1916 |
Gurusiddappa Sivappa, great industrialist, was born at Bangalore. |
| 05/17/1927 |
A.N. Radhakrishnan, great educationist, was born. |
| 05/17/1949 |
India decided with only one dissent vote to remain within the Commonwealth of Nations. |
| 05/17/1957 |
Nehru, who went to Ceylon to celebrate the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of Buddhism, calls for an end to nuclear tests. |
| 05/17/1974 |
Durgadas, famous Indian journalist, passed away. |
| 05/17/1976 |
4 Indians successfully skied down from the slope of Trishul peak. |
| 05/17/1980 |
V. S. Kumar Anandan sets record of balancing on one foot for continuous 33 hrs. |
| 05/17/1991 |
Prabhakar Machve, great litterateur, passed away. |
| 05/17/1992 |
Import of 106 life-saving drugs and 37 equipments allowed. |
| 05/17/1992 |
R. Venkataraman, President, leaves for a six-day visit to China. |
| 05/17/1993 |
Ravi Naik, Goa CM, resigns; Dy. CM Wilfred D'Souza elected to succeed. |
| 05/17/1993 |
Visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres signs an MOU with his Indian counterpart to end nearly 4 decades of inactivity in bilateral relation. |
| 05/17/1994 |
Nar Bahadur Bhandari voted out in Sikkim; Sikkim Sangram Parishad leader Sanchaman Limboo takes over as CM. |
| 05/17/1995 |
Three North Eastern States removes restricted area permits (RAP). |
| 05/17/1996 |
Four members (Sange Sherpa, Hira Ram, Tashi Ram, Nadre Sherpa) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police expedition climb Mount Everest from the Chinese side. |
| 05/17/1996 |
Rusi Modi, cricketer (736 runs 10 post-war Tests for India), passed away. |
| 05/17/1997 |
Two workers belonging to Mamsapuram near Srivilliputtur ''burnt alive'' at neighbouring Edayankulam by its residents who took them hostage. |
| 05/17/1998 |
US President Bill Clinton wants India and Pakistan to sign CTBT. |
| 05/17/1999 |
Sonia Gandhi resigns as Congress president but the CWC(I) rejects it. |
| 05/17/2000 |
The Union Cabinet clears a proposal for setting up a new appellate tribunal for foreign exchange following the repeal of the FERA and the enactment of FEMA in its place. |
