This online database provides information about South Asians in Britain from 1870 to 1950, the organizations they were involved in, their British connections, and the major events in which they participated.

Designed as an interactive tool, it offers engaging and innovative search and browsing options, including a timeline, location maps, and network diagrams modelled on social networking sites which demonstrate South Asians' interactions and relationships in Britain at the time. Some entries have extracts from archival sources with explanation of their content and relevance.

All information has been reproduced here for education and informational purposes only. Please use the landing page to navigate the site. The search box in the top right hand corner allows you to search the whole database for any type of entry:

Locations: You can navigate this Google map of the UK which has nodes indicating the locations where South Asians were based. The nodes provide links to the entry pages of individuals or organizations.

Individuals: This example of a network diagram demonstrates the connections between certain individuals. You can also browse the list of South Asian and British people through the link on the left hand pane. They are alphabetized by first name.

Events: The timeline allows you to browse the events in which South Asians were involved in Britain. Use the bottom banner to scroll through the decades. The top pane shows the years in which events took place. Click on an event in the top part of the timeline to see the full entry. You can also browse through the list of events using the link on the left.

Organizations: Here is an alphabetical list of organizations and publishing ventures that South Asians were involved with in Britain.

Each entry emphasizes the focus of the ‘Making Britain’ research project, highlighting the connections between South Asians and Britons that took place in Britain itself during the period 1870-1950. The information is not complete. Note in particular that any precise dates that are unknown are indicated with a ‘Y’ for yes under ‘Precise date unknown’ in an entry.

We welcome any feedback or further information that can enhance our database. Please email us at arts-making-britain@open.ac.uk. 

All efforts have been made to trace copyright holders. All visual materials are used by kind permission of the copyright holders.

Please reference any information you may use from this database according to convention: ‘Name of entry’, Making Britain Database [http://www8.open.ac.uk/research-projects/making-britain/nameofentry, accessed day month year] Copyright Notice ©

Further information: About the project | About the database team | Further Links