Changes

India had no civil registration (including birth certificates) as such. The next best thing for a genealogist is to use Church Records. About 80% of all [[Birth (baptism) marriage and death (burial) records|baptism, marriage and burial records]] have survived today, and the good news is that they are all indexed and available on microfilm. Records of baptisms, marriages and burials are available 1698-1968. In 1930 the Anglican Church in India separated from the Church of England and became the autonomous Church of India, Burma and Ceylon, still within the Anglican Communion. From this time onwards the number of ecclesiastical records sent to England was smaller than previously, and continued to decline over time.

Some regiments of the [[British Army]] (not the [[East India Company Army|HEIC Army]]) chose to have their records included in the [[General Register Office]] records at what was formerly called St Catherine's House, in London. If your ancestor was in the British Army and you are unable to find your ancestor's baptism record in the church records held at the [[APAC]] or on microfilm, there is a chance that they will be available in the Army Ecclesiastical Returns of the General Registrar's Office. Indexes to these records are available in most genealogical libraries and family history societies.