Centre of South Asian Studies (Cambridge South Asian Archive)

Title: Centre of South Asian Studies (Cambridge South Asian Archive)

Description: The Centre of South Asian Studies was established in May 1964. It was initially responsible for promoting within the University the study of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Himalayan Kingdoms and Burma, but has also, over the last twenty years, extended its activities to include Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, the Philippines and Hong Kong. The library has a unique collection of some 40,000 items, a large number of newspapers on microfilm, a significant paper and photographic archive as well as a collection of archival cinefilm, which is now available on DVD and digibeta. A collection of official publications from the India Office Library is available on microfilm and fiche. The archive also has a large collection of oral history interviews. A complete handlist of the archive is available on the Centre's web site at http://www.s-asian.cam.ac.uk, which also has a searchable database of the film and photographic collections.
Much of the archive collection focuses on the period of the British Raj and on Britons in India, although it also contains a significant number of interviews and some collections of papers which are concerned with the Asian experience of the colonial period. Although the Centre does not have a specific collection on the history of Asian people in Britain, many of its books, audio-visual resources and archive materials are pertinent to South Asian diaspora studies.

Strengths: The Centre's principal strengths are in Indian economic and political studies, especially in works about the transfer of power in 1947.

Size:

Catalogue: Online Public Access Catalogue

Catalogue URL: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Catalogues/OPAC/union.shtml

Main URL: http://www.s-asian.cam.ac.uk

Access: Access is open to members of the University. Non-members should supply a letter of introduction from their institution or apply in writing to the archivist.

Acquisition dates: 1968 - present.

Note: The Centre's Handlist to the Cambridge South Asian Archive (6 vols.) is available on the web site at http://www.s-asian.cam.ac.uk.

Interest: Asian

Complete: Complete

Subjects

Politics

Social history

Economic history

Colonialism

Colonial countries

Asian peoples

Personal/Corporate names

Places

South Asia

India