Cemeteries
One of the hardest problems is working out where the cemeteries are, since most of them are old and neglected. This page is a list of some of the cemeteries in India, with details on how to find them, and a few photos. If you would like to add some information to this page (or another one on North India, Burma, Pakistan or Bangladesh) please do.
Some Cemeteries in South India
Cemeteries and monumental inscriptions reading list
British Library Records
This link gives information about the records called Monumental Inscriptions and Monuments IOR/V/27/74 1848-1946. Many of these items are books on the open access shelves.
Two of these books, items IOR/V/27/74/69 -70, A list of inscriptions on Christian tombs or monuments in the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Kashmir and Afghanistan possessing historical or archaeological interest Part 1 by Miles Irving (1910) and Part 2 by George William De Rhe-Philipe (1912), the latter containing biographical information, have been reprinted by the Naval and Military Press under the title Soldiers of the Raj.
Online Books
- List of Inscriptions on Christian Tombs and Tablets of Historical Interest in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh by Sir Edward Arthur Henry Blunt 1911 Archive.org
- List in Bengal, Past and Present Volume 41, Part 2, April-June 1931 called "Monumental Inscriptions in the United Provinces Part 2" pages 148-156 by Captain H Bullock (computer page 72) Archive.org. Includes some corrections to Blunt transcriptions.
(Part 1 is pages 58-67 Volume 41, January-March 1931, unfortunately not online, but available at the British Library) - Jesuit Missionaries in Northern India and Inscriptions on their Tombs, Agra (1580-1803) 1907 Archive.org
Other Links
Ronnie Johnson is a very enthusiastic worker at attempting to restore the Agram Cemetery, or Old Protestant Cemetery, in Bangalore. He has several pages which are worth a browse, and he has done some transcription work on some of the surviving headstones. He also has a useful webpage on the Baithkol Cemetery, near Mangalore, with photos and inscriptions of the 24 graves there.
- Photos of Agram Cemetery, Bangalore
- Agram Cemetery, Gravestone Inscriptions 1806-1866
- Photos of the Agram Cemetery Bangalore
- Baithkol Cemetery
Barry Lewis has visited Ramandroog, a former hill station in the Sandur Hills, Bellary District and has photographed and transcribed all the existing gravestones.
Andy Nicoll from Scotland has transcribed all the Church of Scotland burials in the cemetery in Assam for the period 1939-1959.
Many French people lived and died in India, and some cemetery transcriptions have been done for French cemeteries. They are in the French language, but an English-speaker should be able to work out the lists.
Fredie and Bas from the Netherlands have transcribed all the names from the records of the Dutch Church at Cochin.
- Sumit Raj Vashisht's blog Cemeteries In Shimla gives information about Sanjauli Cemetery,Simla established 1921.Includes a list of names. Nothing remains of an earlier cemetery. This link also mentions the churches and cemeteries in Simla and the surrounding area.
- Burials in Sirajganj, Bangladesh from the website Jute in India
- Dibrugarh Cemetery (in North East Assam) from the 1800's from the website Koi-Hai together with an article Graves, with photographs, from the same website.
A very useful resource for locating ancestors buried in South Asia is the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia (BACSA). This organisation is dedicated to preserving European cemeteries in the region and has completed many projects to preserve cemeteries. In addition, BACSA publishes many useful books on the subject of South Asia, including complete transcriptions of all the monuments in many cemeteries.
If your ancestors died this century whilst serving with Commonwealth armed forces (e.g. Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand) then their graves will be maintained in special cemeteries by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. These are scattered throughout Asia (and other parts of the world) and are beautifully maintained.