← 1838 1837 1836 1839 in India → 1840 1841 1842
Centuries:	17th 18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s
See also:	List of years in India Timeline of Indian history

This article details events occurring in the year 1839 in India. Major events include the reduction of the Khanate of Kalat to a subsidiary ally of the British, and the capture of Aden in Yemen by the East India Company, creating an important stopover for voyages between Europe and India.

Incumbents

• The Earl of Auckland, Governor-General, 1836-42.^[1]
• Alexander Cunningham, aide-de-camp to Lord Auckland, 1836-1840
• Sir John Keane, Lieutenant-General of the Bombay Army, 1834-1840
• Zirat Prasad, regent of Bhaisunda, 1829-1840
• Nau Nihal Singh, Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, 1839-1840
• Bhao Rao Phanse, Dewan of Indore State, 1839-1840
• Raghuji Bohonsle III, Maratha of Nagpur, 1818-1853
• Gaya Prasad, Chaube of Taraon State, 1812-1840
• Anand Rao Puar "Rao Sahib", Raja of Dewas State, 1817-1840
• Dariao Singh, Rao of Paldeo, 1812-1840
• Shiv Saran Singh, Rana of Baghal State, 1828-16 January 1840
• Jashwant Singh, Raja of Nabha State, December 1783-21 May 1840
• Kandhaji IV, Thakur Sahib of Palitana State, 1820-1840
• Nonghanji IV, Thakur Sahib of Palitana State, 1824-1860
• Henry Fane, Commander-in-Chief, India, 1835-1839
• Gaya Prasad, Chaube of Taraon State
• Anand Rao Puar "Rao Sahib", Raja of Dewas State
• Shiv Saran Singh, Rana of Baghal State
• Jashwant Singh, Raja of Nabha State
• Ahmed Shah, King of the Maqpon dynasty
• Chandrasinhji II Kesarisinhji, Maharana Raj Sahib of the Wankaner State, 1787-1839
• Vakhatsinhji Chandrasinhji, Maharana Raj Sahib of the Wankaner State, 1839-1842
• Ranjit Singh, founder and Maharajah of the Sikh Empire, 1780-1839
• Kharak Singh, Maharajah of the Sikh Empire, 1839-1840
• Jashwant Singh, Rana of Alirajpur State, 1818-17 March 1862
• Raja Zalim Sen, Raja of Mandi State, 1826-1839
• Raja Balbir Sen, Raja of Mandi, 1839-1851
• Bhup Deo, Raja of Kanker State, 1818-1839
• Padma Deo, Raja of Kanker State, 1839–1853
• Major-General William Henry Sleeman heads the Thuggee and Dacoity Department from February 1839
• Thug Behram, ruler of a Thugee death cult

Events

• First Anglo-Afghan War, 1837–1842^[2]
• Battle of Ghazni, part of the First Anglo-Afghan War, occurs on 23 July 1839 in Ghazni, Afghanistan
• East India Company forces capture Aden to provide a coaling station for ships en route to India, founding the Aden Colony
• Khanate of Kalat is reduced to a subsidiary alliance with the British Empire, self-governing under Khans
• British India Society is founded in England
• Jessop & Company work on construction of the first iron bridge in British India, Loha-ka-Pul over River Gomti at Lucknow, 1812–1840
• 36th Jacob's Horse, a unit cavalry of the British Indian Army, is established
• Feast of Saint Raphael, Ollur is held for the first time in Ollur, near Thrissur, Kerala
• The cornerstone for St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata is laid
• Bishop Hodges Higher Secondary School is established
• St. Mary's Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School is established
• St. Paul's Church, Landour is established
• Thomas John Newbold is appointed deputy assistant adjutant-general and postmaster to the field force of the East India Company
• John Nicholson, then a cadet in the East India Company's Bengal Infantry, reaches India
• Sambad Prabhakar, a weekly newspaper, became a daily newspaper
• The Statue of Thomas Munro was shipped to Madras
• Mr. Grange (Sub Assistant to the Commissioner at Nowgong) lead the first expedition to the Naga Hills (Mezoma and Khonoma)

Law

• Interest Act

Births

• July - Baba Jaimal Singh, Founder of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (died 29 December 1903).
• Allan Webb in Calcutta, second Bishop of Bloemfontein, baptised on 17 November
• William Francis Frederick Waller, recipient of the Victoria Cross, born at Dagoolie, India on 20 August 1839
• Hanson Jarrett, recipient of the Victoria Cross, on 22 March in Madras
• Hugh Shaw, recipient of the Victoria Cross, on 4 February in Madras
• Jamsetji Tata, pioneer industrialist, who founded the Tata Group, India's biggest conglomerate company, on 3 March in Navsari, Baroda, Bombay Presidency

Deaths

• Ranjit Singh, first Maharajah of the Sikh Empire, on 27 June 1839 in Lahore, Punjab, Sikh Empire
• Sankara Varman, astronomer-mathematician belonging to the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics
• George Havell, a painter
• Chandrasinhji II Kesarisinhji, Maharana Raj Sahib of the Wankaner State
• Jean-François Allard, French soldier and adventurer, in Punjab, Sikh Empire
• William Francklin, English orientalist and army officer, on 12 April
• Raja Zalim Sen, Raja of Mandi State, died in June 1839
• Bhup Deo, Raja of Kanker State