A Proud moment for India as Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru attends the first convocation at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).  The founders of the IITs were clear in their aims. The institutes were being set up not only to produce the country's best engineers but also to produce leaders who would build modern India.

In 1956, the Dalai Lama had entered India through a high mountain pass. He is seen in the ceremonial dress. He is followed by the Panchen Lama. Since then Dalai Lama settled in Dharamshala which a picturesque city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. China and India have clashed many times on this issue but India always stood beside Dalai Lama.

On 14 October 1956, less than two months before he died, B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of India’s Constitution and one of the towering intellects of modern India, converted to Buddhism along with some 365,000 of his followers in Nagpur after a traditional ceremony.

For the first time, India met Pakistan, in the 1956 Olympic final. Midway through the second half, India was awarded a penalty corner. The ball was pushed out by Udham Singh and stopped by Raghbir Singh Bhola. Udham Singh scored 15 goals for India in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics - the highest tally by an Indian at an Olympics till that date.

1956 Filmfare Awards: Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar receives the Best Actor award for his performance in 'Devdas' and actress Nutan receives the Best Actress award for her role in 'Seema'.