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Research Guides

South Asian Studies: Library News

South Asian Studies is the study of South Asian Countries - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan.

Library News - Database Acquisitions by South Asia Section

 1. Database Acquisitions

The South Asia section of UW Libraries has acquired quite a few significant databases in 2014/15. This was possible through Libraries’ Allen Signature funding  and South Asia  Center’s Title VI funding. These databases are accessible from South Asian Studies Research Guide - http://guides.lib.uw.edu/c.php?g=341340&p=2298221

 The description of the databases are as follows.

Foreign Office Files India , Pakistan and Afghanistan - 1947-1982 (Adam Matthew Publication)

This digital collection focuses on the political and social history of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The materials are sourced from the British Foreign Office files at The National Archives and the UK government's official archive,  

This database comprises of the following three sections:

  1. Independence, Partition and the Nehru Era, 1947-1964

       This section covers birth and development of the Indian and Pakistani states. The problems of partition and the tensions over Kashmir are examined in great detail, from 1947 through to the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964.

  1. South Asian Conflicts and Independence for Bangladesh, 1965-1971

This section covers the conflict dominated era of continued fighting over Kashmir and the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan

  1. Afghanistan and the Cold War, Emergency Rule in India, and the Resumption of Civilian Rule in Pakistan, 1972-1980

This section has an excellent coverage on the government of Indira Gandhi - increasingly dictatorial, jailing hundreds of opponents and declaring a state of emergency in 1975.

South Asia Archives (Taylor and Francis)

The archive contains millions of pages of digitized primary and secondary material about South Asia region in a mix of English and vernacular languages dating back to the start of the eighteenth century, up to the mid-twentieth century. It is not merely a repository, but also allows content discovery.
 

Hindu Conspiracy Cases: Activities of the Indian Independence Movement in the U.S., 1908-1933 (Archives Unbound, Gale/Cengage)

Date Range: 1908-1933
Source: U.S. National Archives and the Justice Department Library

The Justice Department and U.S. Attorney records within Hindu Conspiracy Cases: Activities of the Indian Independence Movement in the U.S., 1908-1933 primarily cover the U.S. government’s prosecution of nationalists in the “Hindu Conspiracy Case” This collection provides a wealth of information necessary for research in Asian and South Asian Studies, International Affairs, Diplomatic History, Law and Legal History, Global Studies, Conflict Studies, and Political Science.

Possible research/dissertation topics inlude:

  • Indian Nationalist movement in the U.S.
  • Neutrality and harboring revolutionaries
  • South Asian American support for the Independence Movement
  • Anglo-American relations and Indian nationalism

Afghanistan and the U.S.: Records of the U.S. State Department Classified Files, 1945—1963 (Archives Unbound, Gale/Cengage)

Date Range: 1945-1963
Source: U.S. National Archives

These files are the definitive source of American diplomatic reporting on worldwide political, military, social and economic developments including Afghanistan in the 20th century.

This collection of State Department files contain a wide range of materials from U.S. diplomats, including:

  • special reports on political and military affairs
  • studies and statistics on socioeconomic matters
  • interviews and minutes of meetings with foreign government officials
  • court proceedings and other legal documents

India from Crown Rule to Republic, 1945-1949: Records of the U.S. State Department (Archives Unbound, Gale/Cengage)

Date Range: 1945-1949
Source: U.S. National Archives

This collection contains records relating to the internal affairs of India, during the period 1945-1949. The records include instructions sent to and correspondence received by the State Department. There is essential documentation on the subjects such as: political parties and elections; unrest and revolution; human rights; government; labor; housing; police and crime; public health; national defense; foreign policymaking; culture; education; trade; industry; natural resources;  transportation; and many more. 

Four Additional Interviews for South Asian Oral History Database

Four Additional Oral History Interviews for South Asian Oral History Database

The four new interviewees represent Sri Lanka and India. The interviewees are Ms Vasantha Daniels, Ms Ira Sengupta, Sujatha Werake and Mahinda Werake.  They all immigrated to Pacific Northwest in late 60s or early 70s. The South Asia section of UW Libraries is in the process of editing the digital audio video files. The interviews will be added to the database by March 2016. 

UW Libraries Search and WorldCat: What's the difference?

UW Libraries Search serves as our main tool for finding books, articles at UW and Summit Libraries. In addition to searching the UW Libraries and Summit collections, it also includes citations to journal articles, providing a one-stop shop for a wide variety of materials.

OCLC, our vendor that created WorldCat Local , has now  implemented this new interface, replacing the old version of WorldCat. WorldCat now  is the primary tool for identifying and requesting materials not available at UW or Summit. It no longer includes citations to journal articles, nor does it include real-time availability or call numbers for UW materials. For identifying and requesting UW and Summit materials, use UW Libraries Search. 

Library News - Digitization of Prof. R Nath Mughal Architecture Collection

Professor R. Nath Mughal Architecture Collection
http://content.lib.washington.edu/icweb/nath.html

The South Asia section of UW Libraries completed the digitization of Mughal Architectural images collected and donated by Professor R Nath  in collaboration with Specials Collections and Digital Initiatives.  Prof, R  Nath is considered to be one of the top -ranking scholars and art-historians in India and an authority on Mughal Architecture
.

South Asian Studies Librarian

Profile Photo
Deepa Banerjee
Contact:
Room 138, Suzzallo Library !st Floor
206-685-1433