Both variants are possible.  They simply are used in different contexts.

The first variant is the simple past (простое прошедшее).  The second is the past perfect (прошедшее совершенное).

The first variant is correct in this type of context:

A.   "Did you ever go to India?"

B.   "Yes.  I was in India in 2011."

The second variant is correct in this type of context:

A.    "You told me that you went to India in 2014.  Had you ever been to India before 2014?"

B.    "Yes.  I had been to India in 2011."

If you look at the following page, it will explain the use of the past simple and past perfect much better than I can.  And it will explain it in both English and Russian.

http://usefulenglish.ru/grammar/the-key-to-the-past-tenses