South Asian Studies

A bibliography dedicated to South and Southeast Asian prehistory, archaeology of the historical period, art, crafts and architecture, inscriptions and palaeography, coins and seals of these regions.

The Afghan Central Press collection brings together four national, Kabul-based publications of Afghanistan whose long runs and prominence provide a concentrated vantage point for understanding developments in Afghanistan for much of the twentieth century. The English-language Kabul Times is presented alongside Pushto publications Anīs, Hewād, and Iṣlāḥ. The archives of these newspapers provide a chronicle of events from the fall of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, the establishment of the People’s Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, the Soviet invasion, the rise of the Mujahedeen, the establishment of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, invasion by the United States and the ensuing period of reconstruction from the view of the capital.

This is a collection of partisan serials from the Wahdat Library, a private collection of rare newspapers and journals from Afghanistan. It includes more than 2,500 individual issues of 46 newspapers and journals published in Persian, Pushto, Arabic, Urdu, and English. Documenting the breadth of Afghanistan’s political epochs, the Afghan Serials Collection covers the use of the press by many groups that sought to shape Afghanistan’s social and intellectual landscape including the Communist People’s Democratic Party (PDPA); exiled loyalists to the deposed Afghan monarchy; independent humanitarians and intellectuals seeking to better their country; anti-Soviet mujaheddin groups from a range of political movements; the Taliban; and minority political parties that have emerged following the post-2001 transition towards democracy.

This collection consists of primary documents from the key periods of the 20-year U.S. war in Afghanistan. Largely the product of decades of FOIA requests and appeals, these records obtained from the State Department, CENTCOM, the DIA, and other agencies detail many of the problems that beset the American-led occupation, including reconstruction efforts, diplomatic relations with the Afghan government, relations with Pakistan, Taliban-al Qaeda relations, corruption, and narcotics.

South Asia-related collections include:
- Afghanistan in 1919: The Third Anglo-Afghan War
- Afghanistan and the U.S., 1945-1963: Records of the U.S. State Department Central Classified Files
- Evangelism in India: Correspondence of the Board of Foreign Missions, 1833-1910
- Hindu Conspiracy Cases: Activities of the Indian Independence Movement in the U.S., 1908-1933
- India from Crown Rule to Republic, 1945-1949: Records of the U.S. State Department
- Indian Army and Colonial Warfare on the Frontiers of India, 1914-1920
- India-Pakistan Conflict: Records of the U.S. State Department, February 1963-1966

Digital library of more than one million images in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and social sciences with a set of tools to view, present, and manage images for research and pedagogical purposes.

See the following for South Asia:
The Archives of the Church in North India - Archival Collection
The Archives of the Church in North India - Monograph Collection
Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, and Marathi Jewish Printing in India Online
Lithographed Editions of Firdawsī's Shāhnāmah Online
U.S. Intelligence on Asia, 1945-1991

Covers many topics related to South Asia from mid-eighteenth century to mid-twentieth century.

South Asia-related collections include:
- The atheist politician and his anti-war daughter: the Bradlaughs, 1833-1948
- Colonial women missionaries of the Committee for Women's Work, 1861-1967
- India, business and control 1806 to 1814: in the records of the Governor-General
- India, uprising and reform 1879 to 1910: in the records of the Governor-General
- Indian and Sri Lankan records from colonial missionaries, 1770-1931
- Indian Communists and Trade Unionists on Trial: The Meerut Conspiracy, 1929-1933
- Taking India, how the military established Company rule, 1752-1774 (Indian Papers of Clive and Carnac)
- World News in Indian Newspapers, 1782-1908 (includes three English language newspapers published in India during the period 1782-1908: The India Gazette (1782-1834); The Bengal Hurkaru and Chronicle (1822-1866); and The Bengal Times (1876-1908)).

Database of investment projects that involve the setting up of new capacities in India. Captures only those projects that entail a capital expenditure of Rs.10 million or more. 1995+

This collection of Foreign Office files explores the history of Persia (Iran), Central Asia and Afghanistan from the decline of the Silk Road in the first half of the nineteenth century to the establishment of Soviet rule over parts of the region in the early 1920s. It encompasses the era of “The Great Game” - a political and diplomatic confrontation between the Russian and British Empires for influence, territory and trade across a vast region, from the Black Sea in the west to the Pamir Mountains in the east.

Approximately 50 individual collections totaling 80 hours of footage, mostly home movies.

Documents missionary work from the 19th to the 21st century. The periodicals include news, journals and reports related to the CMS in South Asia.

Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Features films from the British Film Institute, the Imperial War Museum, and the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum.

A rich site focused on Indian visual and performing arts that promotes exhibitions, features interviews, and provides access to a number of articles on topics like photography, gender, film, and related to specific artists. The 20th-century articles accessible here are likely not widely available otherwise.

Multimedia anthropological information from the Himalayan region including texts, maps, films, music, and journals.

Digital materials for reference and research on South Asia: dictionaries, texts, images, maps, statistics.

Documents on some Chinese frontier regions from the perspective of British India, 1869-1950.

Digital library of early printed books in Arabic script. Covering religious literature, law, science, mathematics, astrology, alchemy, medicine, geography, travel, history, chronicles, and literature, and including European translations of Arabic works and Arabic translations of European books, it exemplifies the long exchange of ideas and learning between Europe and the Arabic-speaking world. 1475-1900

A collection by Adam Matthew. Offers access to India Office Records from the British Library. Contains royal charters, correspondence, trading diaries, minutes of council meetings and reports of expeditions, among other document types. Charts the history of British trade and rule in the Indian subcontinent and beyond from 1599 to 1947.

A collection by Adam Matthew. Digital edition of journals and newspapers published between 1685-1815 in England, Scotland, Ireland, Jamaica, and British India. South Asian titles include the Bombay Courier, the Calcutta Gazette, or, Oriental Advertiser, the India Gazette, or, India Public Advertiser, and others.

Provides electoral information for 543 parliamentary constituencies, 4120 assembly constituencies, 640 districts, 5924 sub-districts, 7933 towns, 640930 villages and 927553 polling stations of India.

A collection by Adam Matthew. Brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of 'Empire' and its theories, practices and consequences. The materials span across the last 5 centuries and are accompanied by secondary learning resources including scholarly essays, maps and an interactive chronology.

Interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish), full-text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press.

Covers every region of the world and features the work of many of the most influential documentary filmmakers of the 20th century, including interviews, previously unreleased raw footage, field notes, study guides, and more for the study of human culture and behavior.

Translation service of the U.S. Government, usually attributed to the Central Intelligence Agency. It covered political, military, economic, environmental and sociological news and commentary, as well as scientific and technical information. Can narrow results geographically. For later years see World News Connection.

Material from the British government on the countries of South Asia from shortly before Indian partition and independence up to 1980. Includes DO 133, DO 134, FO 371 and FCO 37 files from The National Archives, Kew.The Foreign Office was created in 1782 and became the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1968. It was the government department responsible for the conduct of British relations with nearly all foreign states between those dates (British colonies and dominions were dealt with by separate departments)

Hindustan Times is one of the largest newspapers in India and was founded in 1924 by the leader of the Akali movement, Sunder Singh Lyallpuri. Introduced at the opening ceremony by Mahatma Gandhi and edited by his son, Devdas Gandhi, the Hindustan Times played an essential role in the Indian independence movement. The digital archive of this newspaper serves researchers interested in colonialism and post-colonialism, British and world history, class and gender, international relations, comparative religion, international economics, and more. Hindustan Times is the second most widely read English newspaper in India (after The Times of India).

Over two million images of objects, events, places, works of art, sports, and scientific pursuits, from dozens of collections such as Getty Images and the National Geographic Society. Each image includes full citation and copyright information. Rights have been cleared for education use.

A collection by Adam Matthew. Digitized manuscripts from the National Library of Scotland, from the foundation of the East India Company in 1615 to the 1947 Independence of India and Pakistan.

Focusing on the North-West Frontier, this collection contains Army Lists; Orders; Instructions; Regulations; Acts; Manuals; Strength Returns; Orders of Battle; Administration Summaries; organization, commissions, committees, reports, maneuvers; departments of the Indian Army; and regimental narratives. Reproduction of the originals from the British Library. Date range of documents: 1914-1920.

Socio-economic statistical facts and figures for India at the national and state level.NOTE: Click on "IP Login" to access. One concurrent user.

English-language archive of U.S. government translations of foreign scientific, technical, and social science monographs, reports, journal and newspaper articles, and radio and television broadcasts. Can narrow results geographically. Companion to Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports, 1957-1995.

Khabar Lahariya is a women-run independent rural news outlet in India. The sign-in provides access to KL Hatke, Khabar Lahariya’s premium content.

Free, independent and non-profit access to 109 databases of Indian law.

Provides digital access to historical legal treatises and commentaries covering the law in a variety of foreign jurisdictions including Afghanistan, India, and Sri Lanka as well as international, comparative and religious (Canon, Jewish, and Islamic) law topics.

The MARG Magazine began in 1946 and is published four times a year. It’s founding editor was writer Mulk Raj Anand, who intended it to be a loose encyclopaedia of the arts of India and related civilizations. Now it is a quarterly, produced in Mumbai.

Tools and resources for the historical study of law in South Asia.

Provides full-text of many USA and international newspapers. Can narrow geographically.

Also, see the alternative interface Artemis Primary Sources that allows users to analyze content using frequency and term-relationship tools.

The Pakistan Law Site is a repository of statutes, rules and cases related to Pakistan. The repository also contains academic articles published in the law-reporting journals of PLD Publishers.

Daily stock price data and detailed fundamentals data for companies in India. Both private and public companies are included. Produced by Centre for the Monitoring of the Indian Economy (CMIE). Also contains data on Ownership and governance (board composition, meetings, major stakeholders, subsidiaries etc.) and mergers & acquisitions. 1989+

University of Heidelberg information gateway for South Asian Studies.

Extensive searchable database of Indian case law and statute law. Contains some secondary source material and some pre-statehood material as well. NOTE: Must register for an account before first use.

Reservoir of theses from India.

The South Asia Archive is a resource for students and scholars across the humanities and social sciences, and the historical documents within it cover colonial and early post-colonial India and the wider sub-continent. Comprising material sourced from collectors and archivists by the South Asia Research Foundation, this Archive brings together primary and secondary content.

Chronicles conflicts as well as contemporary perspectives on independence movements, early statehood, and the extensive economic and social growth taking place in South Asia. The collection covers several countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, and features multiple languages such as Bengali, Dari, English, Nepali, and more.

Daily Business Post, 1963-1973
Dainika Basumati, 1962-1992
Dnyanaprakasa, 1914-1938
Eastern Examiner, 1962-1973
Kerala Chronicle, 1962-1963
Lahore Chronicle, 1850-1868
Malabar Herald, 1962-1972
Pakistan Observer, 1962-1971
Samaja, 1978-1983

Fiction & poetry written in English by authors from South & Southeast Asia & their Diasporas. Focusing on works composed during the late-colonial & postcolonial eras, the collection will also feature author interviews & manuscript materials.

Demographics, infrastructure, investment, economic, socio-economic and political data on India. Includes states, union territories, and districts.

Provides digitized copies of a range of Tibetan texts from the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center.

Covers The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce, The Bombay Times and Standard, and The Times of India, 1838-2009.

Covers August 2001+

Includes the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers from 1715 to the present (with supplementary material back to 1688) and the House of Lords Papers from 1715-1910. Includes searchable full text and subject indexing. The Parliamentary Papers are an essential primary source for Britain, its colonies, and the wider world. They are the working documents of government for all areas of social, political, economic, and foreign policy. 1688+

Designed to track the rise or decline of radical Islam on a national, regional and global level. Focuses on the nature of the contemporary Islamist threat around the world, and on the current activities of radical Islamist movements worldwide.

Historical newspapers include Amrita Bazar Patrika (Calcutta, 1870-1922), Bankura Darpan (Bankura, 1903-1908), Ceylon Observer (Colombo, 1864-1922), Indian People (Allahabad, 1903-1909), Kayasare hinda (Bombay, 1882-1922), Leader (Allahabad, 1909-1922), Madras Mail (Madras, 1868-1889), Pioneer (Allahabad, 1865-1903), and Tribune (Lahore, 1881-1922).