LibGuides: South Asian Studies: Reference Sources

South Asia Reference at UIUC

The South Asian Studies Reference Collection is housed in the International and Area Studies Library. The collection includes bibliographies, encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, gazetteers, census reports, indexes, and more. These reference materials do not circulate except by special permission of the South Asian Studies Librarian.

Online Reference Resources

BBC Country Profiles
Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions.They also include audio and video clips from BBC archives.
CIA World Factbook: South Asia
The World Factbook is an annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The Factbook provides a two- to three-page summary of the demographics, geography, communications, government, economy, and military of 266 U.S.-recognized countries, dependencies, and other areas in the world.
DevInfo India
This database of official statistics originating from various Government of India ministries and departments will provide important insight on various socio-economic concerns for the development of the country and its human capital. Users can drill down through levels of disaggregated data at national, state, district and sub-district levels, and extract information to present the statistical measures of the indicators in the form of maps, graphs and tables using the intuitive built-in wizard.
Digital South Asia Library- Reference Sources
Key reference sources are available on DSAL (including the Archaeological Survey of India, and the Imperial Gazetteer of India).
States and Union Territories - Know India
Introductions to the states and union territories of India, a site put out of the government of India.

Digital Dictionaries

Digital Dictionaries of South Asia
Searchable dictionaries of South Asian languages.
Shabdkosh
This site works both as an English to Hindi dictionary as well as a Hindi to English dictionary. It also has links to Bengali, Gujurati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telegu dictionaries.