Research Guides: South Asian History: Primary Sources

History of South Asia
- Secondary Sources
- Primary Sources

Primary Sources for South Asian History

These books, databases, and websites provide access to a wide range of primary sources for the study of South Asian history.

ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new window
Database of archival collection descriptions, including historical documents, personal papers, and family histories around the world

Britain in India, 1765-1905 by John Marriott (Editor); Bhaskar Mukhopadhyay; Partha Chatterjee (Consultant Editor) Seeks to explore the nature of the relationship between Britain and India at the height of imperial expansion. This collection is of interest among academic communities exploring British and Indian history. It is useful for literary, cultural and urban historians working in this area.
Call Number: Knight Library DS463 .B75 2006
ISBN: 9781851968152
Publication Date: 2006

Center for Research Libraries
The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) is an international consortium of university, college, and independent research libraries. Founded in 1949, CRL supports original research and inspired teaching in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences by preserving and making available to scholars a wealth of rare and uncommon primary source materials from all world regions. Materials from the CRL's collections can be ordered through Interlibrary Loan, and many materials have been digitized.
Centre of South Asian Studies Film Archive
A collection of films, often home movies, made in India in the first half of the 20th Century
Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Online
A freely available digital collection of all of the writings Mahatma Gandhi produced in his life.
Digital South Asia Library (DSAL)
The Digital South Asia Library provides digital materials for reference and research on South Asia to scholars, public officials, business leaders, and other users.

Empire Online This link opens in a new window
Spanning five centuries, and charting the rise and fall of empires around the world, Empire Online enables students and researchers to explore colonial history, politics, culture and society. With primary source material from American, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, German and British perspectives, Empire Online provides varying points-of-view for comparative research. Documents from Africa, India and North America are also featured.

The Essential Writings of Jawaharlal Nehru by Jawaharlal Nehru; S. Gopal (Editor); Uma Iyengar (Editor) This anthology of Nehru's writings, edited by S. Gopal, is a comprehensive and first rate selection. It has been compiled mainly from his speeches and writings. The compilation indicates the evolution of his mind and personality and gives some idea of his enormous range of interests.
Call Number: Knight Library DS481.N35 A25 2003
ISBN: 9780195653243
Publication Date: 2003

Government of India Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Includes a wide range of documents about city planning and urban development in India.

International Historical Statistics This link opens in a new window
Collection of statistical data from around the world, covering a wide range of socio-economic topics.
The collection includes data on the Americas and Europe, but also hard-to-find data on Africa, Asia and Oceania.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Online archive of peer reviewed/scholarly journals in all disciplines.

Letters to Chief Ministers, 1947-1964 by Jawaharlal Nehru; G. Parthasarathi (Editor); Rajiv Gandhi (Foreword by) Written in the critical months following the partition of India in 1947, Nehru's fortnightly letters through December of 1949 throw new light on the way he faced the deepening crises of the period: the massacres, migrations, fragmentation of states, and the conflagrations in Junagadh, Kashmir, and Hyderabad.
Call Number: Knight Library DS480.84.N39 1985
ISBN: 9780195618815
Publication Date: 1988

Microfilmed World History Sources at the UO
These are collections of microfilmed primary source materials useful for studying world history.

PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
Indexes journal articles, books and book chapters, conference proceedings, government documents, and statistical directories in the area of public affairs.
Topics covered include government, international relations, environment, political science, public administration and more.

Selected works of Jawaharlal Nehru by Jawaharlal Nehru 1889-1964; Madhavan K. Palat editor V. 1. September 1946 to January 1947 -- v. 2. February to May 1947 -- v. 3. 2 June to 15 August 1948 -- v. 4. 15 Aug. 1947 to Dec. 1947 -- v. 5. 3 Jan. 1948-6 April 1948 -- v. 6. [7 April to 30 June 1948] -- v. 7. [3 July 1948 to 26 August 1948] -- v. 8. [6 Oct. 1948 -- 19 Dec. 1948] -- v. 9. 20. [Dec. 20 1948 to Feb. 1949] -- v. 10. [19 February 1949 to 14 April 1949] -- v. 11. [May 30, 1949 -- June 17, 1949 -- v. 12. [23 June 1949 -- 15 August 1949] -- v. 13. [28 August -- 14 November 1949] -- v. 14. pt. 1. [15 November 1949 -- 8 April 1950] -- v. 14. pt. 2. [8 April -- 31 July 1950] -- v. 15. pt. 1. [1 August -- 25 October 1950] -- v. 15. pt. 2. [26 October 1950 -- 28 February 1951] -- v. 16. pt. 1. 1 March 1951 -- 30 June 1951. pt. 2. 1 July 1951 -- 31 October 1951 -- v. 17. 1 November 1951 -- 31 March 1952 -- v. 18. 1 April -- 15 July 1952 -- v. 19. 16 July -- 18 October 1952. V. 20. 19 October 1952 -- 31 December 1952 -- v. 21. 1 January 1953 -- 31 March 1953 -- v. 22. 1 April 1953 -- 30 June 1953 -- v. 23. 1 July 1953 -- 30 September 1953 -- v. 24. 1 October 1953 -- 31 January 1954 -- v. 25. 1 February 1954 -- 31 May 1954 -- v. 26. 1 June 1954 -- 30 September 1954 -- v. 27. 1 October 1954 -- 31 January 1955 -- v. 28. 1 February -- 31 May 1955 -- v. 29. 1 June 1955 -- 31 August 1955 -- v. 30. 1 September -- 17 November 1955 -- v. 31. 18 November 1955 -- 31 January 1956 -- v. 32. 1 February-30 April 1956 / edited by H.Y. Sharada Prasad and A.K. Damodaran -- v. 33. 1 May 1956-20 June 1956 / editors, H.Y. Sharada Prasad, A.K. Damodaran, Mushirul Hasan -- v. 34. 21 June-31 August 1956 / editors, H.Y. Sharada Prasad, A.K. Damodaran, Mushirul Hasan -- v. 35. 1 September-30 November 1956 / editors, H.Y. Sharada Prasad, A.K. Damodaran, Mushirul Hasan -- v. 36. 1 December 1956 -- 21 February 1957 -- v. 37. 22 February -- 30 April 1957 -- v. 38. 1 May -- 31 July 1957 -- v. 39. 1 Aug. -- 31 Oct. 1957 -- v. 40. 1 Nov. -- 31 Dec. 1957 -- v. 41. 1 January -- 31 March 1958 -- v. 42. 1 April -- 30 June 1958 -- v. 43. 1 July -- 31 August 1958 -- v. 44. 1 September -- 31 October 1958 -- v. 45. 1 November -- 31 December 1958 -- v. 46. 1 January -- 28 February 1959 -- v. 47. 1 -- 31 March 1959 -- v. 48. 1 -- 30 April 1959 / editor Madhavan K. Palat -- v. 49. 1 May -- 30 June 1959 / Madhavan K. Palat -- v. 50. 1-31 July 1959 / editor Madhavan K. Palat -- v. 51. 1-31 August 1959 / editor Madhavan K. Palat -- v. 52. 1-30 September 1959 / editor Madhavan K. Palat -- v. 53. 1-31 October 1959 / editor Madhavan K. Palat -- v. 54. 1-30 November 1959 / editor Madhavan K. Palat -- v. 55. 1-31 December 1959 / editor Madhavan K. Palat -- v. 56. 1-25 January 1960 / editor Madhavan K. Palat -- v. 57. 26 January-28 February 1960 / editor Madhavan K. Palat -- v. 58. 1 March-25 March 1960 / editor Madhavan K. Palat.
Call Number: Knight Library DS481.N35 A25 1984
Publication Date: 1984-

South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)
SAADA (South Asian American Digital Archive) is an independent national non-profit organization working to create a more inclusive society by giving voice to South Asian Americans through documenting, preserving, and sharing stories that represent their unique and diverse experiences. There are 2,434 unique items available online in SAADA.
World Digital Library
The World Digital Library (WDL) is a project of the U.S. Library of Congress, carried out with the support of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), and in cooperation with libraries, archives, museums, educational institutions, and international organizations from around the world. The WDL makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from all countries and cultures.

South Asian Newspapers (Readex) This link opens in a new window
Provides access to 19th and 20th century newspapers from South Asia. Featuring titles from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Historic South Asian Periodicals in the UO Libraries Collections

These are historic general interest news and literary periodicals from India and Pakistan held in the UO Libraries collections.

Calcutta review by University of Calcutta UO Libraries holdings: 3rd ser., v.170-173 (1964)-v.178-181 (1966); n.s. v.1 (1969-1970)-v.3 (1973)
Call Number: AP8 .C2
Publication Date: 1844-
Herald (Karachi, Pakistan) by Pakistan Herald Publications UO Libraries holdings: v.17 no.1 (1986)-v.35(2004)
Call Number: AP8 .H4
Publication Date: 1970-
The Illustrated Weekly of India by Times of India Published in Bombay, UO Libraries holdings: v.74 no.30-36 (1953)-v.114 no. 36-46 (1994)
Call Number: AP8 .I25
Publication Date: 1929-
The Illustrated Weekly of Pakistan by Pakistan Herald Publications Published in Karachi, UO Libraries Holdings: 1964-1969
Call Number: AP8.I27
Publication Date: 1948-
Indian Literature by Sahitya Akademi Electronic access for 1957-2011 through JSTOR, print copies of v.6 (1967)-v.57 no. 1-3 (2013) available in Knight Library
Call Number: AP8 .I395
Publication Date: 1957-
Link by Edatata Narayanan ed. Published in New Delhi, UO Libraries holdings v.1 (1958)-v.37 (1994)
Call Number: AP8 .L47
Publication Date: 1958-
Modern Review by Ramananda Chatterjee 1865-1943 Published in Calcutta, UO Libraries holdings v.115 (1964)-v.135 (1974), v.137 (1975)-v.159 (1995)
Call Number: AP8 .M6
Publication Date: 1907-
Orient Review Published in Calcutta, previous title Orient Review and Literary Digest, UO Libraries holdings v. 5: 1-12
Call Number: AP8.O74
Publication Date: 1958-
Orient Review and Literary Digest Published in Calcutta, changed title to Orient Review in 1959, UO Libraries holdings v.1 (1955)-v.4 (1958)
Call Number: AP8.O74
Publication Date: 1955-1958
Perspective by Pakistan Publications Published in Karachi, UO Libraries holdings v.1 (1967-1968)-v.6 (1972)
Call Number: AP8.P4
Publication Date: 1967-
The Statesman by Mohammad Owais Published in Karachi, UO Libraries holdings v.12 no.21-53 (1967)-v.31 no.1-4
Call Number: AP8 .E75
Publication Date: 1955-
The Visva-Bharati Quarterly by Rabindranath Tagore 1861-1941.; Surendranath Tagore 1872-1940.; Hirendranath Datta 1903-; Visva-Bharati Published in Santinketan, India, UO Libraries holdings v.15-16 (1949-1951)-v.50 (1984)
Call Number: AP8 .V5
Publication Date: 1923-

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