SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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Arts and Humanities/General:

Agora (Uppsala universitetsbibliotek)

Agora is a Gateway to resources in the Arts and Humanities, run by Uppsala University Library. Among the resources of interest for South Asian studies are:
• History – South and Southeast Asia
• Religion – Indian and East Asian religions, and Islam
• Languages – Indo-Iranian languages

History:

World Wide Web Virtual Library – History

Ambitious collection of resources regarding historical material, maintained by the University of Kansas – complementary to South Asia World Wide Web Virtual Library Project mentioned above.
Consists of a large number of links to information on the respective country, arranged by subject, including numerous links to historical maps and city maps; languages and scripts; research centers, libraries, and museums, etc.

• Afghanistan
• India
• Sri Lanka

Religion:

Hinduism

About Inc offers links to Internet resources on a vast number of topics. Of special interest is its:
Guide to Hinduism, links service maintained by Subhamoy Das

Buddhist Studies WWW Virtual Library

Web page maintained by T Matthew Ciolek, Head of the Internet Publications and Studies Bureau at the Research School of Asian and Pacific Studies (RSPAS), Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Go to the Buddhist Studies WWW Virtual library.

Languages:

South Asia Language Resource Center, SALRC

• Based at the University of Chicago, but serving all the 11 universities currently designated by the U.S. Department of Education as National Resource Centers for South Asia. SALRC offers advanced language training courses in conjunction with the South Asia Summer Language Institute (in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Tibetan, and Urdu). Besides the Centre has created useful Internet resources, besiudes linking up to other such resources within the field of South Asian languages:

– Digital South Asian dictionaries (project closely affiliated with the Digital South Asia Library)
– Tibetan Language Learning Resources
– An Interactive Digital Reader and Grammar for Elementary Tamil
– Standard Proficiency/Competency Examination for Pashto

ETHNOLOGUE

• Information on languages spoken in the South Asian countries is offered by
ETHNOLOGUE, edited by Barbara F. Grimes, SIL International.

Dictionary Search

• Translation from English to Bengali is given by the Web Site Virtual Bangladesh.
• Translation from English to Punjabi is given by Punjab Online
• Translation from English to Urdu is given by UrduWord.com
• Links to on-line dictionaries for several Indo-Iranian languages, including Sanskrit, are offered by yourDictionary.com

Economics

Planning Commission of India

http://planningcommission.nic.in/. The Planning Commission, established in 1950, is responsible for India’s Five Year Plans. The web site includes much information on the economic situation in the country, including a mid-term appraisal of the 10th Five Year Plane for the period 2002–2007; Annual reports; and data and statistics. Links are also given to the Development Reports and Human Development Reports for each one of the Indian States and Union territories.
The Planning Commission web site also links up to other useful information sources, such as:

• The National Population Commission, showing the instant population of India

• Non-Governmental Organisations, a Voluntary Organisation Database on NGO’s in India

Reserve Bank of India

http://www.rbi.org.in/. Useful web site full of information and statistcics. Also including a database on Indian economy, built for the convenience of researchers and analysts. Go to the RBI’s Database on Indian Economy.

Research institutes with an economic focus: (economic data or economic research papers for download)

• Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, (IGIDR), Mumbai. Advanced research institute established by the Reserve Bank of India in 1986 for carrying out research on development issues from a multi-disciplinary points of views.

• EPW Research Foundation (EPWRF), Mumbai. Set up in January 1993 by Sameeksha Trust, publisher of the internationally-renowned social sciences journal Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) since 1966. EPWRF has built up expertise in some major areas of economic research and analysis. It presents current as well as long data series on such themes as national accounts, state domestic product (SDP), Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), physical infrastructure, money and banking, the country's external accounts and many others.

• Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi. Autonomous nonprofit research organisation engaged in policy oriented research, organising conferences within the framework of the South Asia Network of Economic Research Institute (SANEI), and publishing important policy papers on Indian economy.

• Research and Information Centre for the Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi. Autonomous research institution established with the financial support of the Government of India. It is India’s contribution to the fulfilment of the long-felt need of the developing world for creating a ‘Think-Tank’ on global issues in the field of international economic relations and development cooperation. RIS has a consultative status with UNCTAD, NAM and WTO has conducted policy research and other activities in collaboration with other agencies, including UN-ESCAP, UNCTAD, UNU, Group of 77, SAARC Secretariat, Asian Development Bank (ADB), The World Bank, and the South Centre. RIS publication programme covers books, research monographs, discussion papers and policy briefs. It also publishes journals entitled, South Asia Economic Journal, Asian Biotechnology and Development Review, and The New Asia Monitor.

Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID). National-level public funded research and educational institution affiliated to the Indian Council of Social Science Research. Hosting the NIC (National Informatics Centre) – ISID Center for Exchange of Databases.

Centre for Development Research, Thiruvananthapuram. Premier social science research institution engaged in interdisciplinary research on development problems in India. Publishes all its Working Papers, since August 1997, as pdf files to be downloaded from the web site.

Commercial Databases on Indian Economy and Society

Indiastat.com. http://www.indiastat.com/. Indiastat.com, produced by the company Datanet India, and inaugurated in November 2000, provides a wealth of India-specific socio-economic statistical facts and figures culled from various secondary level authentic sources. It may be the largest repository of India-centric secondary level socio-economic statistical data on Internet, in the non-government sector. Over half-a-million pages of statistical data have been qualitatively analysed, condensed and presented in a user-friendly format. The data can be downloaded by institutional and corporate users. Researchers will find Indiastat.com an extremely useful virtual resource for their India-centric information needs. It is however a paid site accessible only to registered members.
A team of experts drawn from academia, research, media and industry have furthermore been consulted to produce and develop a number of sector-specific sites, on the same commercial basis. They include:

IndiaEconomystat.com. Time-series and latest available Data on Indian Economy covering Public Finance, Plans, Indices, Taxation, Foreign Trade, Balance of Payment, Banks & Financial Institutions etc.
IndiaAgristat.com. All about Indian agriculture statistical information viz. Principal Crops, Irrigation, Land Use, Livestock etc. in Time-series with regular updates.
IndiaTourismstat.com. The only website exclusively with statistical data on Indian Travel, Tourism and Transport sector.
IndiaHealthstat.com. Data on Indian Health Infrastructure, Manpower, Education, Diseases, Nutrition and Family Welfare etc.
IndiaIndustrystat.com. Comprehensive statistical data about Industrial Scenario of India with FDI, Production, Growth and details of major sectors etc.
IndiaNationalstat.com. Provides comprehensive statistical facts and figures on India culled from various secondary level authentic sources.
IndiaInfrastat.com. Data on Petroleum, Power, Telecom, Transportation, Coal etc. covering entire Indian Infrastructure sector statistically.
IndiaDemographics.com. Data about Population, Sex-ratio, Density, Fertility, Migration, Literates, Religion, Language and Workers etc.
IndiaEducationstat.com. Data on Literacy, Educational Infrastructure, Enrolment, Research & Development etc.
IndiaEnvironstat.com. Statistical Data on Indian Forests, Wildlife, Pollution Status in Environment Sector.
IndiaLabourstat.com. The only website exclusively with statistical data on Indian Labour and workforce.
IndiaWelfarestat.com. Statistical data of various welfare and development schemes of Government of India.
IndiaWomenstat.com. The only site providing women centric statistical data.
IndiaChildrenstat.com. Statistics Data on Indian Children, viz. Child Labour, Child Welfare Schemes, Population, Crime against Children etc.
IndiaRuralstat.com. Demographic Data of Indian Villages, Amenities and Infrastructure etc.
Indiaurbanstat.com. Provides comprehensive statistical facts and figures on Indian Urban sector culled from various secondary level authentic sources. Sub-sections available for • Functional Categories • Mega Cities • Migration • Number by population and Size • Slums • Towns • Urban Amenities, and • Urban Development Projects.
Indiacrimestat.com. Provides comprehensive statistical facts and figures on Indian Agriculture culled from various secondary level authentic sources.
IndiaEnergystat.com. Provides comprehensive statistical facts and figures on Indian Economy culled from various secondary level authentic sources.
IndiaHousingstat. Provides comprehensive statistical facts and figures on Indian Housing Sector culled from various secondary level authentic sources.
IndiaSCSTstat.com. Provides comprehensive statistical facts and figures on Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes in India culled from various secondary level authentic sources.

• Datanet India has also developed data base web sites for the Indian states. More information.

Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA)

The Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA), Reston, Virginia, USA provides resources, benefits and services to the international trade community and useful tools to help you do business globally. FITA runs a so-called Asia Trade Mini-Portal with resources for Asian countries, that includes Country Profiles for India and Pakistan.
     • FITA Country Profile India
     • FITA Country Profile Pakistan

FITA also provides pages with useful links for other South Asian countries:
     • Bangladesh
     • Nepal
     • Sri Lanka

Geography/Regional Cooperation

South Asia Transport Website

• www.worldbank.org/sartransport is a web site created by the World Bank, covering activities in the areas of transport and infrastructure maintenance. Rapid urbanization – the region has five cities with a population of over 10 million – together with the rapid increase in motorized transport leads to serious congestion on urban roads, creating new demands for transport infrastructure and services, over and above the existing backlog. The site cover these and many other transport and infrastructure-related issues.

World Bank/14th SAARC Summit

Ahead of the SAARC Heads of State Summit in New Delhi on 3–4 April 2007, the World Bank prepared a special web page highlighting the challenges and opportunities for closer regional cooperation in South Asia. Visit the webpage here

Social Sciences

Media Resources Center (MRC), University of California, Berkeley

• A South Asia Videography
• A guide to Selected Internet Resources on Social Movements in South Asia
• A guide to Nuclear Issues in India & Pakistan
• A Bibliography on South Asian Women Studies
• A bibliographical guide to the South Asian Diaspora

Bangladesh Sociological Society

Bangladesh Sociological Society is an association of sociologists from Bangladesh established for the promotion of sociological teaching, research and publication in Bangladesh. The primary objective of the Society is, to introduce works done by the Bangladeshi sociologists and “Sociology of Bangladesh” to the world academia. Research papers and articles are free to download from the Open Resources page.

Agriculture

Illinois University at Urbana-Champaign

• Agricultural Gateway to India. Provides information designed for scientists, researchers, extension personnel, farmers, etc. Covers animal science, crop science, agricultural economics, fisheries, gender issues in agriculture and develop, etc. Has links to maps, agricultural and veterinary libraries, weather resources, audio files (in Telugu)

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington

IFPRI's mission is to provide policy solutions that cut hunger and malnutrition. It offers an extensive web site with global links to research on agriculture, hunger, poverty and the environment. http://www.ifpri.org/

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO

The Agriculture Department of FAO presents a web site full of information and resources useful for South Asia oriented researchers. By distributing knowledge FAO aims at helping developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. Special attention is given to developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. http://www.fao.org/ag/

World Bank/Agriculture in South Asia

In conjunction with the 3rd International Conference on Linking Markets and Farmers, underway in March 2007 in New Delhi, the World Bank launched a new website on agriculture in South Asia. Access the website for data, analysis, and projects on agriculture in South Asia.

Environment

World Resources Institute, Washington

provides facts and figures on Environmental Data for all countries, at the Environmental Information Portal, EarthTrends – as pdf-files. The topics covered are Agriculture and food; Biodiversity and protected areas; Climate and atmosphere; Coastal and marine ecosystems; Economics, business and the environment; Energy and resources; Environmental governance and institutions; Forests and grasslands; Population and health; and, Water resources and freshwater ecosystems.
For each topic selected country profiles are available for all the South Asia nations.

Public Health

World Wide Web Virtual Library – Public Health

An ambitious collection of resources regarding Public Health was maintained by Eberhard R Wenzel – complementary to the South Asia World Wide Web Virtual Library Project mentioned above. After Wenzel’s death the resources have been taaken over by the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia.

World Bank/FACTS: HIV/AIDS in INDIA

In conjunction with the signing in New Delhi in July 2007, of the Third National HIV/AIDS Control Project, the World Bank has prepared a special section online with useful information about HIV/AIDS in India. Go to the web page.

Human Rights situation & Corruption

Amnesty International

keeps track on the human rights situation in the South Asian countries, and publishes yearly reports:

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of
people around the world. It investigate and exposes human rights violations and hold abusers accountable, not the least in South Asia:

Transparency International

Transparency International provides processed information in the area of corruption and governance. The extensive material includes links to Reports, Books and Periodicals; Legal texts; Research studies and Conference documents; and a media archive containing news and analysis from leading newspapers and magazines from all over the World. Special web pages devoted for the most affected countries in South Asia:

In December 2002 Transparence International published a report on ”Corruption in South Asia – Insights & Benchmarks from Citizen Feedback Surveys in Five Countries”, a household survey reporting high levels of corruption in public institutions in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Of the seven major public institutions, the police emerged as the most corrupt in all the countries, and the judiciary was identified as the second most corrupt area in all countries except Pakistan, where land administration and the tax authorities were identified as the as the second and third most corrupt areas respectively. Go for the report!

Drugs situation

Centre for Geopolitical Drug Studies

The Centre for Geopolitical Drug Studies (Observatoire Géopolitique des Drogues), based in Paris, publishes regular reports on the drugs situation in countries around the World. Lots of information on Afghanistan; India; Pakistan; and Nepal.

Geopium; Geography and Opium

A website dedicated to the academic study of the geopolitics of illicit drugs in Asia. Various documents are freely available, in French as well as in English: Dissertations, scientific articles, bibliography, maps, links. Newly released books are also presented.

Gender

onlinewomeninpolitics.org

onlinewomeninpolitics.org was borne out of the vision of Asian Women Leaders to explore creative ways in organizing a network of Asia Pacific women involved in politics, governance, decision-making and transformative leadership. 
This informative web site is meant for communication, networking and consensus-building amongst women leaders and organizations in Asia. In 1999, the Asian women leaders who were gathered during the Global Conference on Women in Politics agreed on utilizing these tools to stay linked together for the advancement of their goals. This consensus led to the development of onlinewomeninpolitics.org, which is mainly a one-stop shop for online resources on Asia Pacific women in politics, governance, decision-making and transformative leadership. It provides data, information and other resources about women in the region involved in  politics, governance and decision-making. The project is initiated and managed by the Center for Asia-Pacific Women in Politics (CAPWIP) with initial support from the Asia Pacific Gender and Equality Network (APGEN) Program of the United Nations Development Programme.

WomenWarPeace.org

WomenWarPeace.org is a web portal on Women, Peace and Security around the World, established by the United Nations Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM. Useful country profile information, reports and fact sheets have been produced for three South Asian nations, Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

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SASNET - Swedish South Asian Studies Network/Lund University
Address: Scheelevägen 15 D, SE-223 63 Lund, Sweden
Phone: +46 46 222 73 40
Webmaster: Lars Eklund
Last updated 2011-01-11