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*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2005-10/1129649749 post] dated 18 October 2005 advises “Every town, small or big, has its own independent machinery under individual state (provincial) laws to keep a record of births and deaths in a local area(usually it's the municipal corporation)” but also advises that for old records there is no guarantee that a particular record would be available or in good shape for being copied.
*This later India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-12/1261288775 post] indicates that some records of European births may be obtained from the Birth Registers held by Indian authorities.
*This India British Raj List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ/2009-10/1256787241 post] also indicates the local municipality issues copies from the Birth Registers.
*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2005-11/1133193187 post] indicates that not many births may have been registered.
*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2000-04/0955734306 post] mentions a document taken from the "Birth Register for Europeans and Eurasians of the Delhi Municipality" dated 1912 and a later document from 1939
The Recent copies of Birth Registration birth registration entries mentioned in the India List posts all appear to have been obtained many years ago. Recent copies have been obtained from the Shimla Municipal Corporation, after a visit there in 2013, see the article [https://web.archive.org/web/20131117103647/http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=166043 Shimla: Manual record-keeping that's eye-popping efficient] (daijiworld.com). However, it is not known how generally available these documents are or what time period is covered by records in existence in India. The Birth Registration system, which was only compulsory in some areas, always has been based on the local municipality, so it is necessary to know where a person was born before attempting to obtain records.
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===Records forwarded to the India Office===
These records do not frequently appear in the [[India Office Records]]. As the the [[British Library]]'s page on [http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecordsfamilyhistory/ecclesiastical/eccrecords.html Ecclesiastical Records] explains, “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].
Based on her own experience, Sylvia Murphy advised: "Within the general set of copies of presidency ecclesiastical records, is also to be found evidence that some British Subjects actually registered their children’s births. These are identified by the use of forms headed 'Office of the Marriage Registrar, Calcutta' (for example), and although a baptism date is given, there is no Church name included to show where the child may have been baptised. It may be the case that such entries reflect births and baptisms of children whose parents belonged to a non-conformist denomination which did not make its own returns to the India Office. Other indications of Birth Registration occur in the 1940s and after independence. Lists of names and dates of birth of infants registered are to be found at least in the N/3 (Bombay) ecclesiastical returns for this period, but no detailed copies of actual registration information are available. Presumably these have been retained in the office(s) of the Registrar(s) in India".
===Copies of Birth Registration entries in India===
Some websites for Municipal Corporations are listed below. The website for Shimla includes a standard letter for requests for certificates, to be sent to The Registrar, Birth & Death MC Shimla. The website for Chennai includes an online certificate application, for births and deaths from 1930, but you need to know the relevant date. Note the additional comments. The website for Coimbatore indicates the Commissioner is responsible for records, which are held from 1871. There may be websites for other Municipal Corporations which also have an online facility. For smaller towns, the terminology may be 'Municipal Board' or Municipality.<br>
