Indian
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Information relating to ancestors who were Indian.
Religion
It is critical to know the religion of your Indian ancestor in order to begin research. If you know your ancestor's name, it is often possible to determine their religion by examining the distribution of the name. For example, persons with names like Gopal and Kumar are likely to be Hindus, whilst people with names like Mohammed or Ali are likely to be Muslims. There are numerous websites devoted to Indian names, which may help you to decide on the origin of your Indian ancestor. These include Indian Baby Names, Hindu Baby Names and Armenian names.
Hindu Records
If your ancestors were Hindus, they may have made pilgrimages to sacred sites, where their family details were recorded. The LDS have microfilmed hundreds of such pilgrimage records, which may be hired at Family History Centres.
Christian Records
See also general article: Church records
If your ancestors converted to Christianity and were baptised, married or buried in a European church in British India, then the church records should have been transcribed and sent to the capital of the Presidency, where they would later have been forwarded on to London. If your ancestors were mixed race (Indian and European) then they would generally have been recorded in European churches. These records were indexed and about 80% of church records in British India are believed to have survived. You can access these records at the British Library, or at LDS Family History Centres.
Many Christian denominations had separate "European" and "Native" congregations. The records of "Native" congregations were not usually returned to London and so are not part of the British Library holdings. However, a large number of records of non-British churches have now been microfilmed by the LDS. A listing of Non-British Church Records has been made available by FIBIS.
The Syrian Orthodox Church of India has existed for several centuries, and possibly a millennium or more. At present, there is only one microfilm of their church records available. They are the Syrian Orthodox Church records of Kottayam, Kerala. They cover the period 1833-1992, but this varies from church to church.
Muslim Records
The LDS have microfilmed some Islamic marriage records, including those of Meerut (1881-1982) and Bulandshahr (1921-1955). Microfilm nuymbers start at 1307221.
Emigration
Many records have been microfilmed by the LDS and are available at LDS Family History Centres. The following are related to emigration from India:
Indian immigration passes to Fiji, 1879-1916. There are 42 microfilms and the index is microfilm no. 833098. Unfortunately, this microfilm can only be viewed at the LDS Family History Centre in Salt Lake City, although I believe that the original records are kept by the Central Archives of Fiji & Western Pacific High Commission
Register of deaths of Indian immigration (by plantation), 1899-1922. Microfilm nos. 833149-833150. These are also available only in Salt Lake City.
Genealogy
Many records have been microfilmed by the LDS and are available at LDS Family History Centres. The following are related to genealogy of Indians :
Maithil Brahmin genealogical records. There are 71 microfilms of Microfilm of original records of Pandit Chandrakant Mishra at Saurath, Madhubani District, Bihar, India. Microfilm nos. start at 1785629.
Karn Kayast genealogical records. There are 51 microfilms of Microfilm of original records Pandit Shivanand Mallik, Shivi Patti Village, Madhubani District, Bihar, India. Microfilm nos. start at 1997293.
Genealogical records of medieval India by S. A. I. Tirmizi. Microfiche no. 6085867.