Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980

Sourced from the British Foreign Office files, this is an outstanding resource for the political and social history of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan in this period.

There is excellent content on Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Kashmir, as well as other frontier regions. The threat posed by China and the Soviet Union is analysed in detail. Other files look at the impact on UK, US and European trade, industrial policy, education and the media. There is an immense variety of material including diplomatic dispatches, inward and outward telegrams, newspaper cuttings and transcripts, maps, photographs, political and economic reports, accounts of visits and tours, minutes of meetings, conference proceedings, letters, leaflets and other ephemera.

This project comprises the following three sections:

Independence, Partition and the Nehru Era, 1947-1964

South Asian Conflicts and Independence for Bangladesh, 1965-1971

Afghanistan and the Cold War, Emergency Rule in India, and the Resumption of Civilian Rule in Pakistan, 1972-1980

Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan is an Archives Direct project. Please see this link for further information on our other Archives Direct collections.

Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980

Independence, Partition and the Nehru Era, 1947-1964

The birth and development of the Indian and Pakistani states, the problems of partition and the tensions over Kashmir, are
examined in great detail, from 1947 through to the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964. These were traumatic years for the
region, with the violence of partition and its aftermath erupting into full scale war between India and Pakistan.

Other topics include:

Refugees and civil disturbances
The strategic position of Afghanistan
The evolution of Indian political relations with China
Reactions to the deaths of Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Nehru’s visit to the US
US economic aid to India
UK arms supplies to India and Pakistan
The assassination of the Pakistani prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, in 1951
Indian land reform
Communism in South Asia
The declaration of martial law in Pakistan
The political implications of Nehru’s death and the succession crisis in the Congress Party
The future of the Gurkhas in the British Army

South Asian Conflicts and Independence for Bangladesh, 1965-1971

Continued fighting over Kashmir and the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan meant that further conflict dominated this period. It saw Indira Gandhi, Nehru’s daughter, gain power in India, whilst the military government of Pakistan wrestled with political disturbances, military crises and issues in East Pakistan.

Other files look at:

Asian immigration to the UK
The internal political situation in India, Pakistan, Bhutan and Ceylon
The Tarbela Dam project in Pakistan
US arms sales to India and Pakistan
British policy on aid and development in the region
British economic assistance for Afghanistan
Ceylon’s intention to become a Republic
President Nixon’s visit to Pakistan in 1969
Reports on events in individual Indian states
The development of television and films in India
Nuclear policy in India
Indo-Soviet relations
Events leading up to the declaration of independence for Bangladesh
UN debates - India, Pakistan and the dispute over Kashmir
Military situation, refugee crisis and famine relief in East Pakistan

Afghanistan and the Cold War, Emergency Rule in India, and the resumption of Civilian Rule in Pakistan, 1972-1980

There is excellent material on the government of Indira Gandhi - increasingly dictatorial, jailing hundreds of opponents and
declaring a state of emergency in 1975. Two years later her government fell and India elected its first non-Congress prime
minister. This decade also saw India develop nuclear weapons and Pakistan begin its own developments in response.

Other files cover:

Political parties in India and Pakistan
Industrial unrest in Karachi
US, British and Commonwealth policy towards South Asia
Coups in Afghanistan
International recognition of Bangladesh
The establishment of a Republic in Ceylon - Sri Lanka
Consequences of the withdrawal of Pakistan from the Commonwealth
Narcotics and drug trafficking in Afghanistan
The foreign relations and internal security of Bangladesh
British food airlifts to Nepal
The new Pakistani constitution of 1973
Henry Kissinger’s visit to South Asia in 1974
Civil disturbances in Sri Lanka in 1977
Military situation in Afghanistan, 1979-1980

Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980

'As well as tracing the international connections between India, the Commonwealth and the wider world, this collection/resource offers unique insights into political movements and cross-border tensions that were central to the modern state's preoccupation with stability and national unification.'

William Gould, Senior Lecturer in Indian History, University of Leeds

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Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980

Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980

Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980

Pricing Details

Trial our collections

Other Archives Direct Collections