Pulling it All Together - Printed Reference Works

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Printed Reference Works

The following is list of books and documents are available at the British Library, OIOC, with a few of them also at the National Archives. These can be extremely fruitful for family history research.

There are lists of Asian inhabitants in Thacker's Indian directory from 1887. Asians are recorded along with Europeans in Madras directories until 1903, after which there are separate lists. There are separate lists of Parsee inhabitants in Bombay directories from 1875, and of Hindu and Muslim inhabitants from 1883. Asians also appear in the commercial sections.
For distinguished Asians check the biographical dictionaries and the confidential/political compilations in the Military Department Library IOR: L / MIL /17, the Political and Secret Department Memoranda and Library IOR: L/ P and S / 18 and 20 and Official Publications.
Asian Christians are occasionally recorded in the Ecclesiastical Returns IOR: N, which also includes civil marriages between Europeans and Asians.
Asian inhabitants are to be found throughout the general series of wills and administrations (IOR: L / AG / 34 / 27 and 29). There is also a specific index to wills and administrations for natives of Northern India, 1890-1900.
Biographica Encyclopaedia of Pakistan (Lahore, 1970)
Pran Nath Chopra (Ed.), Who's Who of Indian Martyrs (New Delh.i 1969-73); covers the Mutiny 1857-59 and the independence movement, 1885-1947
Charles Edward Buckland, Dictionary of Indian Biography (London, 1906), (held at the National Archives and BL)
Eminent Mussalmans (Madras, c. 1925)
Indian Who's Who (Bombay 1937-38)
Raj Khosla (Ed.), Distinguished Teachers in India (New Delhi, 1968)
C. Hayavadana Rao, The Indian Biographical Dictionary (Madras, 1915); deals with distinguished Europeans and Asians
William Noel Sainsbury (Ed.), Calendar of State Papers , Colonial Series, East Indies 1513-1634, 5 vols (London, 1862-92), (held at the National Archives and BL)
Scientists and Technologists of Pakistan (Karachi, 1966)
S.P. Sen (Ed.), Dictionary of National Biography 4 vols (Calcutta, 1972-74); covers distinguished Asians, living and dead, in undivided India from the 18th century to 1947
Jagdish Saran Sharma The National Biographical Dictionary of India (New Delhi, 1972), (held at the National Archives and BL Libraries)
Who's Who in India with first and second supplements, (Lucknow, 1911-14)
Who's Who in India, Burma and Ceylon (Bombay 1940-41)
The Ceylon Almanac and Annual Register (Colombo) ; includes the names of the native chiefs and headmen of the governor's gate, western, north-western, southern, eastern, northern and central provinces.
The India Office and Burma Office List , HMSO, London; it gives a brief working history of Indians who were in the all-India services, Indian Political Service and Indian Ecclesiastical Establishment, such as Indian police, Indian Service of Engineers, Indian Forest service, Indian civil service ICS collectors etc., (held at the National Archives and BL Libraries)

Creators: Abi Husainy

There are lists of Asian inhabitants in Thacker's Indian directory from 1887. Asians are recorded along with Europeans in Madras directories until 1903, after which there are separate lists. There are separate lists of Parsee inhabitants in Bombay directories from 1875, and of Hindu and Muslim inhabitants from 1883. Asians also appear in the commercial sections.
For distinguished Asians check the biographical dictionaries and the confidential/political compilations in the Military Department Library IOR: L / MIL /17, the Political and Secret Department Memoranda and Library IOR: L/ P and S / 18 and 20 and Official Publications.
Asian Christians are occasionally recorded in the Ecclesiastical Returns IOR: N, which also includes civil marriages between Europeans and Asians.
Asian inhabitants are to be found throughout the general series of wills and administrations (IOR: L / AG / 34 / 27 and 29). There is also a specific index to wills and administrations for natives of Northern India, 1890-1900.
Biographica Encyclopaedia of Pakistan (Lahore, 1970)
Pran Nath Chopra (Ed.), Who's Who of Indian Martyrs (New Delh.i 1969-73); covers the Mutiny 1857-59 and the independence movement, 1885-1947
Charles Edward Buckland, Dictionary of Indian Biography (London, 1906), (held at the National Archives and BL)
Eminent Mussalmans (Madras, c. 1925)
Indian Who's Who (Bombay 1937-38)
Raj Khosla (Ed.), Distinguished Teachers in India (New Delhi, 1968)
C. Hayavadana Rao, The Indian Biographical Dictionary (Madras, 1915); deals with distinguished Europeans and Asians
William Noel Sainsbury (Ed.), Calendar of State Papers , Colonial Series, East Indies 1513-1634, 5 vols (London, 1862-92), (held at the National Archives and BL)
Scientists and Technologists of Pakistan (Karachi, 1966)
S.P. Sen (Ed.), Dictionary of National Biography 4 vols (Calcutta, 1972-74); covers distinguished Asians, living and dead, in undivided India from the 18th century to 1947
Jagdish Saran Sharma The National Biographical Dictionary of India (New Delhi, 1972), (held at the National Archives and BL Libraries)
Who's Who in India with first and second supplements, (Lucknow, 1911-14)
Who's Who in India, Burma and Ceylon (Bombay 1940-41)
The Ceylon Almanac and Annual Register (Colombo) ; includes the names of the native chiefs and headmen of the governor's gate, western, north-western, southern, eastern, northern and central provinces.
The India Office and Burma Office List , HMSO, London; it gives a brief working history of Indians who were in the all-India services, Indian Political Service and Indian Ecclesiastical Establishment, such as Indian police, Indian Service of Engineers, Indian Forest service, Indian civil service ICS collectors etc., (held at the National Archives and BL Libraries)


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