Archives Unbound:
Asian Studies

Archives Unbound: Asian Studies

With extensive coverage of Japan, China, and Korea from 1910 to 1950, this collection supports the study of colonialism, politics, nationalism, military actions, government systems, economics, and even geography of Asia during a critical period of engagement with the Western nations.

South Asia

Evangelism in India: Correspondence of the Board of Foreign Mission, 1833-1910 - Evangelism in India took the form primarily of village itineration where male and female missionaries ministered to the spiritual needs of the populace while simultaneously attending to their medical and educational needs. The collection documents the Board of Foreign Missions' tripartite ministry (Farukhabad, Punjab, and the West Indian missions) in India but also reflects the development of the modern Indian state in a broader sense. Reaction to foreigners generally and Protestant missionaries specifically, discontent with British rule and the development of the Independence movement, and racial and internecine religious warfare between Hindu and Muslim populations are well documented.

India from Crown Rule to Republic, 1945-1949: Records of the U.S. State Department - Comprising records of the State Department’s Central Classified Files, 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; the State Department's internal documentation, as well as correspondence between the Department and other federal departments and agencies, Congress, and private individuals and organizations; telegrams, airgrams, instructions, inquiries, studies, memoranda, situation reports, translations, special reports, plans, and official and unofficial correspondence. There is essential documentation on these subjects: political parties and elections; unrest and revolution; human rights; government; administration; fiscal and monetary issues; labor; housing; police and crime; public health; national defense; foreign policymaking; alliances; religion; culture; education; trade; industry; natural resources; communications; transportation; and many more. These State Department records offer authoritative, in-depth, and timely documentation and analysis that cannot be matched.

India-Pakistan Conflict: Records of the U.S. State Department, February 1963-1966 - Over 16,000 pages of State Department Central Files on India and Pakistan from 1963 through 1966 make this collection a standard documentary resource for the study of the political relations between India and Pakistan during a crucial period in the Cold War and the shifting alliances and alignments in South Asia.

Pakistan from Crown Rule to Republic: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1945-1949 - A companion archive to India from Crown Rule to Republic, 1945-1949, this collection traces the end of British India and the emergence of modern Pakistan. Representative documents with valuable details include the “Economic Survey,” dated April-June 1949, and issued by the Board of Economic Inquiry, West Punjab, Lahore, and “Dacca Newsletter,” dated July 1949. The collection is sourced from the Central Files of the General Records of the Department of State. The records are under the jurisdiction of the Legislative and Diplomatic Branch of the Civil Archives, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

The Hindu Conspiracy Cases: Activities of the Indian Independence Movement in the U.S., 1908-1933 - During World War I, Indian nationalists took advantage of Great Britain’s preoccupation with the European war by attempting to foment revolution in India to overthrow British rule. Their activities were aided politically and financially by the German Government. Indian nationalists in the United States were active in the independence movement effort through fundraising, arms buying, and propagandizing through the Hindustan Ghadar newspaper published in San Francisco. The Justice Department and U.S. Attorney records reproduced herein primarily concern the U.S. government’s prosecution of these nationalists in the “Hindu Conspiracy Case” for violations of the Espionage Act (40 Stat. 217-231) arising from two major incidents. The Immigration and Naturalization Service records reproduced herein relate to efforts to revoke the citizenship of certain Indians naturalized as U.S. citizens, as well as to general efforts to exclude Indians from admission to the United States and Canada.

The Indian Army and Colonial Warfare on the Frontiers of India, 1914-1920 - For generations of British and Indian Officers and men, the North-West Frontier was the scene of repeated skirmishes and major campaigns against the trans-border Pathan tribes who inhabited the mountainous no-man’s land between India and Afghanistan. This collection contains Army Lists; Orders; Instructions; Regulations; Acts; Manuals; Strength Returns; Orders of Battle; Administration Summaries; organization, commissions, committees, reports, maneuvers; departments of the Indian Army; and regimental narratives. This collection is a welcome addition to the new-flourishing literature on the military history of South Asia and the growing field of serious study of the British military experience in India.