← 1937 1936 1935 1938 in India → 1939 1940 1941
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s
See also:	List of years in India Timeline of Indian history

Events in the year 1938 in India. Indian independence – Government of India Act gives Indians a role in governing their provinces.

Incumbents

• Emperor of India – George VI
• Viceroy of India – Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow

Events

• National income - ₹29,799 million
• Minor engagements on the North West Frontier throughout the year.^[1]

Law

• December – Announcement that the Ottawa trade agreement would not be continued after 31 March 1939.^[2]
• Good Conduct Prisoners' Probational Release Act
• Insurance Act
• Manoeuvres, Field Firing and Artillery Practice Act
• Cutchi Memons Act

Births

• 7 January – B. Saroja Devi, actress
• 13 January
  • Shivkumar Sharma, musician. (died 2022)
  • Nabaneeta Dev Sen, novelist, children's author and poet (died 2019)
• 10 March – Ijaz Butt, Pakistani cricketer (died 2023)
• 18 March – Shashi Kapoor, Bollywood actor. (died 2017)
• 31 March – Sheila Dikshit, politician and Chief Minister of Delhi (died 2019)
• 9 April – Ahmad Kamal, Pakistani diplomat (died 2023)
• 23 April – S. Janaki, playback singer.
• 5 May – Chandrama Santha, politician (died 2021)
• 19 May – Girish Karnad, writer, playwright, actor and director. (died 2019)
• 10 June – Rahul Bajaj, businessman (died 2022)
• 12 June – Yesudasan, political cartoonist (died 2021)
• 1 July
  • Hariprasad Chaurasia, classical flutist
  • Durai Murugan, lawyer and politician
• 9 July – Sanjeev Kumar, actor (died 1985).
• 13 July – Thomas Savundaranayagam, Sri Lanka Tamil priest, former Roman Catholic Bishop of Jaffna
• 15 July – Pilot Baba, Indian Air Force fighter pilot, later guru
• 18 July – R. K. Krishna Kumar, business executive (died 2023).
• 19 July
  • Dom Moraes, poet, writer and columnist (died 2004)
  • Jayant Narlikar, astrophysicist
• 25 July – Sudhir Kakar, psychoanalyst and writer.^[3] (died 2024)
• 8 September – Poornachandra Tejaswi, writer and novelist (died 2007)
• 24 September – Piloo Reporter, cricket umpire (died 2023)
• 17 November – Shamim Hanafi, Urdu scholar (died 2021)
• 11 December – T. S. R. Subramanian, politician (died 2018)

Full date unknown

• Shashi Deshpande, novelist.
• Manohar Singh, theatre director and actor. (died 2002)

Deaths

• 16 January – Sharat Chandra Chatterji, novelist (born 1876).
• 14 November – Mahatma Hansraj, educationist, Arya Samaj leader (born 1864)