The Islamic Studies Library owns a significant (approximately 9,000 volumes) and valuable Urdu collection made of:
Please note a number of Urdu books from the rare collection have been digitized over the years, and are available through the Islamic Studies Library Internet Archives collection.
Interrogating Colonial Documents and Narratives includes tools (books and videos) introducing key approaches and methodologies of working with colonial documents.
Adam Matthews Explorer makes available a number of collections of documents from the British National Archives:
Central Asia, Persia and Afghanistan, 1834-1922 : from Silk Road to Soviet rule explores the region, from the decline of the Silk Road, through the diplomatic confrontation between the British and Russian Empires known as the "Great Game", to the influence of the emergent Soviet Union in the 20th century.
Church Missionary Society Periodicals (second module) features publications from the Church Missionary Society (CMS), and the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society (CEZMS) in Asia and the Middle East between 1804 and 2009.
Empire Online is made of five sections (I: Cultural Contacts, 1492-1969, II: Empire Writing & the Literature of Empire, III: The Visible Empire, IV: Religion & Empire, V: Race, Class, Colonialism, Imperialism) exploring all the facets of European imperialism and colonialism.
India-Pakistan Conflict: Records of the U.S. State Department, February 1963-1966 documents the political relations between India and Pakistan during a crucial period in the Cold War and the shifting alliances and alignments in South Asia.
India, Raj & Empire draws upon the wonderfully rich and diverse manuscript collections of the National Library of Scotland this resource will be of great value to all those teaching or researching into the History of South Asia between the foundation of the East India Company in 1615 and the granting of independence to India and Pakistan in 1947.
Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan (1947-1980) focuses on the political and social history of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Foreign Office Files for the Middle East (1971-1981) documents events in the Middle East during the 1970s.
Travel Writing: Spectacle and World History brings together hundreds of travel accounts from the early 19th century to the late 20th century authored by women.
The Digital South Asia Library (DSAL) provides free access to digital materials for reference and research on South Asia.
Gale Primary Sources includes a number collections within the Archives Unbound collection.
Afghanistan and the U.S., 1945-1963: Records of the U.S. State Department Central Classified Files allows to better understand the history, internal political development, foreign relations, and existence of Afghanistan as an independent state.
Afghanistan in 1919: The Third Anglo-Afghan War is a collection of India Office records documenting the conflict.
Decolonization : Politics and Independence in Former Colonial and Commonwealth Territories brings together material from within former British colonies and Commonwealth nations to provide valuable primary source material created for local audiences by local actors during a period of global change.
Evangelism in India: Correspondences of the Board of Foreign Missions (1833-1910) documents both the Board of Foreign Missions’ tripartite ministry (Farukhabad, Punjab, and the West Indian missions) in India and the development of the modern Indian state (attitudes towards foreigners and missionaries, development of the Independence movement, and racial and internecine religious warfare between Hindu and Muslim populations).
Indian Army and Colonial Warfare on the Frontiers of India (1914-1920) focuses on the military history of South Asia and the British military experience in India.
Indian Trade in the Southeastern Spanish Borderlands: Papers of Panton, Leslie and Company gives access to more than 8,000 legal, political and diplomatic documents recording the company’s operations between 1763 and 1901.
Pakistan from Crown Rule to Republic: Records of the U.S. Department of State (1945-1949) documents the end of British India and the emergence of modern Pakistan.
War Department and Indian Affairs, 1800-1824 includes the letters received by and letters sent to the War Department, including correspondence from Indian superintendents and agents, factors of trading posts, Territorial and State governors, military commanders, Indians, missionaries, treaty and other commissioners, Treasury Department officials, and persons having commercial dealings with the War Department, and other public and private individuals.
South Asian Newspapers is a digital collection made available to the McGill Library by the Center for Research Libraries. It includes thousands of issues from titles published in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka from 1864-1922.
PAIS Archive (1915-1976) consists of indexing and abstracting of articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs.
Perso-Indica is an analytical Survey on Persian Works on Indian learned Traditions.
The South Asia Commons includes two modules: History and Culture, an online resource to help discover, disseminate, and preserve South Asian historical and cultural materials. and South Asia Archive. a collection of 4.5 million pages of books, journals and documents from India, Pakistan, Burma, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh from 1700 to 1953.
McGill Libraries • Questions? Ask us!
Privacy notice