Tracing South Asian Medical Ancestors

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many South Asian medical practitioners trained in Britain or obtained British medical qualifications. While some of these doctors continued to practise in the UK, others returned to practise in what was then British India or travelled to work in other nations within the British Empire. When tracing the careers of these doctors, information can be obscured by the way their names were recorded.

We also have a Tracing Medical Ancestors webpage, for more general guidance.

Transliteration and Recording of Names

South Asian naming conventions do not always correspond to the forename and surname formats used in British records. For example, individuals may have names which include a place of origin, father’s name, caste, occupation, or an honorific. However, these names may be misrecorded as forenames, surnames, or be absent, depending on the record kept. Some doctors also practised under abbreviated, entirely initialised, or partially anglicised names at points of their career.

The spelling and order of South Asian practitioners’ names also at times appear in a variety of forms in historical records. Forenames, family names, and initials are sometimes used interchangeably, and transliterated spellings recorded inconsistently. Name spellings might also change during an individual’s lifetime, meaning that the same person may appear under several variants across sources. 

For example, ‘Freany Khurshed Rustomjee Cama’ may also appear as ‘Freamy Khivisidgee Cama’, or ‘F. K. R. Cama’.

• When researching for South Asian medical ancestors it may be helpful to:
• Consider phonetic or anglicised spelling variants
• Search by partial names or initials
• Check blended names and alternative name orders
• Check multiple names as the primary entry

Useful Resources 

• Indian Medical Gazette (1866–1955). A major English-language medical monthly published in India, which includes hospital appointment notices, obituaries and notices of South Asian and British medical professionals in British India
• Indian Medical Service (IMS). The IMS was a military medical service branch of the British administration that recruited both European and Indian doctors. Officers’ names appear in The London Gazette, army lists, and in the Indian Medical Gazette. Records of Licentiates, Members and Fellows may include names with “IMS” after their credentials
• Countess of Dufferin’s Fund Reports (1885–1947). ‘The National Association for Supplying Medical Aid by Women to the Women of India for female medical training and hospitals in colonial India’. Annual reports can be found through the Internet Archive and the Wellcome Collection
• Passenger Lists and Census Records. Available through genealogical databases such as Ancestry and FindMyPast, these are useful for tracing South Asian doctors who travelled to or resided in Britain for medical training.
• Medical college records at institutions such as Calcutta Medical College, Madras Medical College and Grant Medical College. Including graduation lists and Professor appointment records.
• The India Papers / Medical History of British India Collection (1850–1950). Hosted by the National Library of Scotland, this collection includes broader information from government reports, hospital statistics, and public health material from across British India