Documents included in the South Asian Archive can be divided into five main categories covering all available publication types:
Substantial runs of more than two hundred journals in a range of subjects published from India and South Asia, including early journals such as Asiatic Researchers (first published in 1788), Indian Review, Modern Review, and Calcutta Gazette. There is also an array of vernacular journals such as: Bharatbarsha, Prabasi, Manasi, and Sachitra.
A diverse collection of reports from colonial and post-colonial India, including volumes of the 1901, 1911, 1931, and 1951 Indian Census documents, and the near complete set of Calcutta Riots of 1946 Gazetteers from a range of Indian states such as Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharastra are also available.
An extensive range of books consisting of series such as The Bibliotheca Indica, a collection of oriental works published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal. It includes translations of the Upanishads, commentaries on Sanskrit grammatical, philosophical, and legal treatises, and such works as the Suddhikaumudi, a Sanskrit treatise on Hindu laws of defilement and purification.
Legislations, Acts, regulations, law books/cases
A myriad collection of legislations, Acts, regulations, and case documents from the colonial period, invaluable for any work on colonial Indian history.
Indian film booklets, 1930–1949
A collection of rare publicity booklets in a mixture of English, Hindi, Urdu, and Bengali, as sold outside India film theaters. Highlights from the collection include: Mukti, Street Singer, My Sister, Devdas and Sita. Each booklet includes lists of the film's cast and leading technical personnel, a plot summary, photographs of the lead actors or key moments in the film, and song lyrics.