Cambridge-India Partnership
Centre of South Asian Studies
The Centre of South Asian Studies is a hub that encourages interaction between scholars across the University. In particular it fosters a vibrant graduate community. Its collection of resources relating to South Asia is the largest outside India and London. It holds books and journals, as well as an archive of private papers, photographs, cinefilm and oral history recordings. It is used by undergraduates, postgraduates, researchers and scholars from around the world.
The first items listed in the Centre's library were part of a donation from the library of the novelist E M Forster. Since then the Centre has actively collected material and expanded its remit to cover Southeast Asia as well as South Asia. Its archive now holds 0.75 million items, many of them rare.
Digitisation of the oral history and film collections will make them accessible to researchers worldwide. The collection covers many landmark events in Indian history. Among them are: rare footage of the wedding of the Maharajah of Patiala in 1923, film of the effects of Partition in 1947, film of early autogyro flights over Lahore in the 1940s.
The oral history collection offers a unique insight into the recent history of India. It has recordings of interviews with Indian Civil Service officials, freedom fighters, clerics, soldiers and assassins, among others.
The new Director of the Centre of South Asian Studies, Professor Sir Christopher Bayly brings a wealth of experience and scholarship to the role. As Director his aim is to expand and enhance the influence and importance of Indian studies both within the University and throughout the academic world.
For more information, please visit the Centre's website. The Centre also offers two visiting fellowships annually to scholars from India.