South Asian History and Culture indexes hundreds of thousands of documents from over 500 collections and links to the original sites—and adds newly digitized materials.
Reports, journals, videos, audio files, newspapers, magazines, letters, diaries, and other primary-source materials support studies in history, gender studies, religion, language, political science, and South Asia—with local-language interfaces and mobile access.
At a glance
520,000
More than half a million documents, millions of pages, and the database will continue to grow.
500+
More than 500 source organizations so far, and growing.
Preserves at-risk content
Where rights permit, we preserve the content with copies. If an item disappears or website is down, the user can access our backup file.
We contribute a portion of sales dollars to further digitization of rare content. A preservation archive of 50,000 pages of newly digitized materials is available as an optional purchase with perpetual rights.
And early in 2026, we'll provide free access to a new project, The Iran Society Archive, a collection of rare, never-before-digitized material. More information is here.
Reflections on Bhiwandi Riots of 1970, Sajjad Zaheer Digital Archive, The University of Texas at Austin
Free hosting
South Asian History and Culture is a project to help discover, disseminate, and preserve South Asian materials.
Registered users can quickly and easily upload their own items (where they have copyright) or add links—to find a safe and permanent home for their content while contributing to the growth of the project.
Research example: India's Long Emergency
From 1975 to 1977, Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency. Elections were canceled and civil liberties suspended. Most of Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned, and the press was censored. Coverage in South Asian History and Culture includes government reports, recorded testimonials, newsreels from The Emergency India State Films Division, newspaper articles, and more.
Editorial Board
We extend our heartfelt appreciation to our dedicated six-member editorial board, whose expertise and engagement have greatly contributed to our projects.
Partha Sarathi Das, PhD, National Library of India, Ministry of Culture, Government of India New Delhi, India
Swaguna Datta, PhD, Jadavpur University, West Bengal, India
William Gould, PhD, Professor of Indian History, University of Leeds, England
Aruna P. Magier, PhD, New York University, New York, NY
Alka Rai, PhD, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Delhi, India
J. Shivarama, PhD, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
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