LibGuides: HIS 356: Indian Republic 1947-Present: Primary Sources

Finding Print Primary Sources

UT Libraries has many print primary sources related to independent India. Adding general and subject keywords will help you find primary sources. For example, terms like "personal narratives" often include diaries and memoirs, "sources" typically includes collections of primary documents, etc.

Helpful terms to add to catalog searches for this class include:

Biography
Diaries
Letters
Journal
Personal narratives
Sources

For example, potentially helpful subject terms and combinations might include:

Online Primary Sources

Hindustan Times
(also microfilm)
Indian Express
1933-1994

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
Updated continually. Nexis Uni™ features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis®—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790—with an interface that offers discovery across all content types, personalization features such as Alerts and saved searches and a collaborative workspace with shared folders and annotated documents.
PressReader This link opens in a new window
60 day archive. 3 users.
Updated daily. Provides a full-color and full-page collection of newspapers from around the world,. Includes over 1000 titles from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the United States. A 60-day archive is also available to browse by country, language, and newspaper title, and to search full text of articles, photograph captions, and headlines.
Once inside the newspaper, click on a headline to read the article or zoom in to read the article as it appears in print.
We have a limited number of users for this database. Please select the logout option before you leave your session. When the limit is reached, a username and password prompt will probably be displayed. If this happens, simply wait 15 minutes and then try the link again.
Times of India (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1838 - 2005. Unlimited users.
The world’s most widely circulated English daily newspaper was founded in 1838 to serve British residents of West India.Today this historical newspaper serves researchers interested in studying colonialism and post-colonialism, British and world history, class and gender issues, international relations, comparative religion, international economics, terrorism, and more.
Covers key historical events such as the Sepoy Mutiny, which led to British rule in India; the formation of the Indian National Congress; and the rise of Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement. It captures the 1947 partitioning of India and Pakistan, the war over the Kashmir region, and the creation of Bangladesh. It reports on the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi; the Bhopal industrial disaster, which resulted in thousands of deaths; and the rise of Pakistan as a nuclear power. And, it provides coverage of sports, the Indian film industry, and other stories of everyday life.

Manupatra This link opens in a new window
Coverage varies. 1 user.
Manupatra provides full-text and searchable access to Indian and International legal documents including judgments from the Supreme Court, High Courts, and Tribunals, as well as a database of Central & State Acts, Business Policies, Bills, Notification & Circulars, and more.

Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan This link opens in a new window
1947 - 1980. Unlimited users.
This collection of files from the British Foreign Office (later the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) and Dominions Office focuses on the political and social history of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Events covered include independence and partition, the Indian annexation of Hyderabad and Goa, war between India and Pakistan, tensions and war between India and China, the consolidation of power of the Congress Party in India, military rule in Pakistan, the turbulent independence of Bangladesh and the development of nuclear weapons in the region. See Nature and Scope for a more detailed description of the collection.
Search across Adam Matthew primary source databases using AM Explorer

Lok Sabha Election Results
National Family Health Survey
Open Government Data Platform
Prasar Bharati Archives
Includes documents related to the Constitution and Political Speeches
State Assembly Election Data

How to Analyze Primary Sources

While primary sources are often desirable for the raw, non-interpreted information they provide, it is important to analyze them for your research. Ask yourself these questions:

Who is the creator and what was their relationship to the event or issue?
Why did the creator produce this source?
Was the source for personal use? For a large audience?
Was the source intended to be public (newspaper) or private (correspondence)?
Everyone has biases. What biases or interests might have influenced how the source was created?
Can the source be substantiated by other primary sources? Can you confirm what the creator is saying?