Subject Guides: South Asian Studies: Featured Resources

Hanuman before Rama

A 17th century painting depicting Hanuman worshiping Lord Rama and his wife Sita.

South Asian Reference

Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism
Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism presents the latest research on all the main aspects of the Hindu traditions. Its essays are original work written by the world’s foremost scholars on Hinduism. The encyclopedia aims at a balanced and even-handed view of Hinduism, recognizing the divergent perspectives and methods in the academic study of a religion that is both an ancient historical tradition and a flourishing tradition today.

The 5-volume print edition is located in Main Reference Collection BL1105 .B75 2009.
Encyclopedia Iranica
The Encyclopædia Iranica is dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The academic reference work will eventually cover all aspects of Iranian history and culture as well as all Iranian languages and literatures, facilitating the whole range of Iranian studies research from archeology to political sciences.

Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies (print)
The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies is an ongoing project to assemble and summarize information on the various systems (darśana) of Indian philosophy. Initiated forty years ago, the entire series is planned to consist of some 28 volumes: 26 dealing with particular philosophical systems, an introductory Bibliography, and a concluding Glossary/Index. Karl H. Potter is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Washington.

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Each volume in the series contains an Introduction by its Editor(s), followed by summaries of all the philosophical texts of the system known to exist in Western language translation, or extant only in editions, or in a few cases available only in manuscript. These summaries are arranged in the chronological order in which the texts appear to have been written, and provide a guide to the literature together with a flowing account of the development of thought through the history of the system being covered. The summaries are solicited from specialists in the field from throughout the world who have an intimate knowledge of the texts being summarized.

For purposes of control, "Indian philosophical works" as understood for the project is confined to treatises which are (1) of philosophical interest throughout; (2) theoretical rather than purely practical in their intended function, and (3) polemical or at least expository in a context where defense of one view among alternatives is appropriate.
New Cambridge History of India
This unique historical reference compendium allows instant access to the renowned texts of the Cambridge Histories series. With access to the most up to date and authoritative scholarly content, Cambridge Histories Online is an invaluable resource, for undergraduates, graduates, lecturers and researchers alike.All the available volumes are grouped into topics, making it quick and easy to search and browse through an array of historical subject areas. The extensive bibliographic referencing and other leading functionality, enhances usability and makes this resource ideal for any type of historical research.

South Asian Studies Program (SASP)

The South Asian Studies Program (SASP), a unit within UI International Programs, is devoted to the enhancement of instruction and research and the dissemination of knowledge about India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Getting Started

Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS)
This on-line version of the Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) contains over 767,255 records on all subjects (especially in the humanities and the social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide from 1971 to the present. Through the 1991 printed version, the BAS included citations to Western-language periodical articles, monographs, chapters in edited volumes, conference proceedings, anthologies, and Festschriften, etc.

Sarai: South Asian Resource Access on the Internet
A portal to Internet resources on South Asia, provided by Columbia University Libraries.
Hinduism (Oxford Bibliographies)
The study of Hinduism is diverse—it combines religion, philosophy, history, and textual studies, as well as informing a variety of comparative studies. Because the field comprises so many varied aspects, research and scholarship is wide-reaching in its response to different interpretations. Much of this work has moved online so that students and researchers have ready access to key primary source texts and a range of other electronic resources. Rather than sifting through these ever-expanding mountains of information that may or may not yield relevant results, students and researchers alike can rely on Oxford Bibliographies in Hinduism to offer a reliable, up-to-date, and authoritative guide to the best literature in the field.
Guide to Indian Periodical Literature, 1964- (print)
Author-subject bibliography of Indian periodical literature in social sciences and humanities, arranged alphabetically in dictionary pattern. The Main Library holds the annual volumes in print from 1964 to present, located at AI19.I5 G8.
South Asian Periodical Index (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
The South Asian Periodicals Index provides bibliographic citations to the extensive periodical literature published in and about South Asia. An ever growing resource, the South Asian Periodicals Index strives to be inclusive in terms of subject matter, geographic heritage and linguistic origin.

Primary Sources for Historical Research

Afghanistan Digital Library
The immediate objective of the Afghanistan Digital Library is to retrieve and restore the first sixty years of Afghanistan’s published cultural heritage. The project is collecting, cataloging, digitizing, and making available over the Internet as many Afghan publications from the period 1871–1930 as it is possible to identify and locate. In addition to books, this will eventually include all published serials, documents, pamphlets, and manuals.

British Online Archives: Colonial and Missionary Records
Includes the following collections: African Blue Books, 1821-1953; Early colonial and missionary records from West Africa; Papers of the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies, 1694-1709; Universities' Mission to Central Africa; Papers relating to the Jamaican estates of the Goulburn family of Betchworth House; Records of the Committee on Women's Work, 1861 - 1967; South American Missionary Society records, 1844-1919; Archives of the Associates of Dr Bray to 1900; Indian papers of Colonel Clive and Brigadier-General Carnac, 1752-1774; Indian papers of the 4th Earl of Minto; Papers of Sir Mark Sykes, 1879-1919: the Sykes-Picot Agreement & the Middle East; and United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG) records for the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia, South Asia, and West Indies.

Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Online 1888-1947
Digital South Asia Library
On-line information about contemporary and historical South Asia including full-text documents, statistical data, electronic images, cartographic representations, pedagogical resources for language instruction, and Internet-based indexes to highly select journals in the regional languages of South Asia.
Economic and Political Weekly
The Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) is a left-leaning Indian magazine published from Mumbai by the Sameeksha Trust, a charitable trust. The magazine was first published in 1949 as the Economic Weekly (edited by Sachin Chaudhuri) and since 1966 was re-christened the Economic and Political Weekly. The EPW publishes both scholarly research and information about current events.

Empire Online
This resource brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of 'Empire' and it's theories, practices and consequences. The materials span across the last five centuries and are accompanied by a host of secondary learning resources including scholarly essays, maps and an interactive chronology.
Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan
These three collections consist of the British Government’s files on the countries of South Asia from shortly before Indian partition and independence up to 1980. Section I. Independence, partition, and the Nehru era, 1947-64 - - section II. South Asian conflicts and independence for Bangladesh, 1964-71 - - section III. Afghanistan and the Cold War, emergency rule in India, and the resumption of civilian rule in Pakistan, 1972-80.
Global Commodities: Trade, Exploration, and Cultural Exchange
This resource brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of global commodities in world history.
History of Afghanistan online
The most important history of Afghanistan ever written (originally written in Persian), Sirāj al-tawārīkh or The History of Afghanistan. The roots of much of the fabric of Afghanistan’s society today—tribe and state relations, the rule of law, gender issues, and the economy—are elegantly and minutely detailed in this immense work.

Indian Review (Madras/Chennai) (print)
Founded in 1900 by G. A. Natesan, the Indian Review would become one of the most respected journals in southern India. While covering mostly nationalistic themes, it also included literary reviews, illustrations and sections on economy and agriculture.
Modern Review (Calcutta/Kolkata) (print)
The Modern Review was a monthly magazine published in Calcutta (Kolkata) since 1907. Founded by Ramananda Chatterjee, it soon emerged as an important forum for the Indian Nationalist intelligentsia. It carried essays on politics, economics, sociology, as well as poems, stories, travelogues and sketches. With a broadly nationalistic outlook, it did not follow the line of any particular political party. This meant that it could act as an all-India forum and that it stood apart from party journals concurrently run by the Indian National Congress, the Communists, the Muslim League, the Khaksar Tehrik Hindu Mahasabha and the Scheduled Castes Federation.
Panjab Digital Library
The mission of the Panjab Digital Library (PDL) is to locate, digitize, preserve, collect and make accessible the accumulated wisdom of the Panjab region, without distinction as to script, language, religion, nationality, or other physical condition.
Political Pamphlets from the Indian Subcontinent (microform)
The pamphlets span from 1916 through 1990 with a concentration on the 1946–1980 period. See bibliographer for assistance.
South Asia Microform Project (SAMP)
The South Asia Microform Project (SAMP) acquires and maintains a readily accessible microform collection of unique materials related to the study of South Asia. Materials are collected both through the project’s filming efforts and through the purchase of positive copies of materials filmed by other groups, institutions, and companies. UI researchers may borrow SAMP materials; contact the bibliographer for details.
South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)
The South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) was founded in 2008 in order to document and provide access to the diverse and relatively unknown stories of South Asian Americans. The collection reflects the vast range of experiences of the South Asian diaspora in the United States, including those who trace their heritage to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the many South Asian diaspora communities across the globe.

South Asian Newspapers
Published by Readex in partnership with the Center for Research Libraries.South Asian Newspapers is the third collection module of the World Newspaper Archive, created in partnership with Readex, a division of NewsBank. It will provide more than 400,000 fully searchable pages of newspapers published in South Asia between 1864 and 1922.
Times of India (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
The Times of India (1838-2001) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue.
Women and Social Movements, International— 1840 to Present
Online archive of published and manuscript primary sources focusing on women’s international activism since the mid-nineteenth century. The archive includes proceedings of women’s international conferences, books, pamphlets, articles from newspapers and journals, as well as correspondence, diary entries, and memoirs. Also contains numerous online publications of contemporary Non-Governmental Organizations.

South Asian Studies Librarian

Min Tian

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Subjects:Chinese Studies

South Asian Cinema

Asian Film Online
Asian Film Online is an online streaming video collection of nearly 600 narrative feature films, documentaries, and shorts. With Asian voices addressing Asian issues, and through works selected by Asian film experts, the collection offers highly relevant perspectives and insights. Its themes—such as modernity, globalization, national identity, female agency, inequalities in opportunity amid social and political unrest, and cultural and sexual identity—are central to any meaningful discussion of Asian culture.

Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema (print)
One of the most comprehensive, influential and thorough encyclopedias on Indian cinema, this volume is the earliest attempt to put together a reference source for the largest film industry in the world. Meticulously researched, Rajadhyaksha and Willeman have put together biographies of directors, actors, composers, scenarists and lyric writers, alongside brief entries on most major film studios, genres and art movements.
philip's fil-ums: notes on Indian popular culture
An excellent set of Indian film reviews by Professors Philip Lutgendorf and Corey Creekmur of the University of Iowa.