India Civil Registration

Civil Registration
Record type: Births and deaths

Time period: 1751 to the present. However, not until 1969 was there a uniform registration for all of India excepting the 1886 Act for voluntary registration.

Contents: Birth: name, occupation, caste and religion of father, name sex, date and place of birth of the child and particulars of informant. Death: name, sex, age, caste, religion and occupation of deceased, the date, place and cause of death and particulars of informant. Some states also collect information about age of mother and order of birth. In the case of death some states provide name of father or husband of deceased, if married. Sometimes birth records do not have child’s name recorded as it is customary to give children names two or three weeks after birth. Virtually no registration of marriages except Christians.

Location: Not centrally located. Some are in the capitals of the state, but others are scattered in municipal, district offices.

Percent in Family History Library: Filmed transcripts at the India Office in London, 50%. Records housed in India not available in the Family History Library.

Population: Estimated total of less than 60% from earliest registration to the present.

Reliability: Good