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These ‘Vital Records’ include not only '''Births, Marriages and Deaths''' but more particularly in India, '''Baptisms/Christenings, Marriages and Burials'''. There was no general registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths (BMDs) in British India, but see below.
There are a number of sources for locating birth, marriage or death information. This article provides an overview of these. See the links to the main article for each source for more in depth information.
[[British Army#Ecclesiastical returns|British Army Ecclesiastical returns]] and [[Chaplains Returns]] detail sources other than the N series for India BMDs pertaining to British Army soldiers and their families.
==Birth Registration==
This British Library link [http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecordsfamilyhistory/ecclesiastical/eccrecords.html Ecclesiastical Records] mentions Birth Registration in the context of those records. It says “Registration of births was not compulsory and very few are entered in the records. Registrations do not generally appear until the 1920s. Entries show date and place of birth, child's name, parents' names and their nationality and religion, father's occupation, date of registration.” An example of European Children entered in the Birth
Register, appearing in the Ecclesiastical Records at the British Library, is given in this India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-12/1260877078 post].
However this India List post indicates that some records of European Births may be obtained from the Birth Registers held by Indian authorities, namely the local municipality. The [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-12/1261288775 post] says ‘I was born in the Govt. Hospital in Ootacamund, and all I have as evidence is a birth register. No Birth certificate was issued, because they did not have such things. (Basically, this is a form that is filled out and copied from their register.) From what I understand, this is the norm and you would probably have to investigate the local government office of BMD's to get a copy’. This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2007-07/1184123043 post] indicates that the local municipality is the responsible body.
It appears that Birth Registration has existed since the mid 19th century in some areas, but it is unknown to what extent records are available in India.
Also refer [[Researchers and Document Services in India and the UK]]
==See also==
