How does Genealogy work in India?

answers1: Even in the States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and
Western Europe (the places that place the most importance on
genealogy), it is impossible for most people to trace most of their
ancestry. <br>
<br>
Most people place 100% emphasis on Government records; the problem is
that while Government records began in the mid-1800s in places
mentioned above, there really was little done to achieve that goal of
record-keeping, until Social Security came along. Even now, records
are no more accurate than the records that families keep; even less
accurate really. Folks that keep their own records make every effort
to insure accuracy; the Government simply doesn't care. <br>
<br>
When I move from place to place, it is the Government that simply
cannot/will not make the address changes or name corrections. <br>
<br>
That is why people need DNA testing to go with their results from the
paper trail; that won't provide dates/names/places, but it will give
an overview and confirm/disavow what your paper trail says. <br>
<br>
And, of course, lack of tombstones makes little difference; most
tombstones in Colonial times were wooden; most through the Civil War
were wooden; most people were buried in family plots (as on their own
property) or small cemeteries, obliterated later by building
roads/cities. <br>
<br>
So, it is probably next to impossible, but try any way. After all,
some have traced their ancestry back to Alexander the Great.
answers2: India tends to have very good 'parish' records, they are
often local to the area and on roll scripts...........so generally not
online and for civil registration <a
href="http://des.kar.nic.in/deskan/arc/cnl%20division.pdf"
rel="nofollow"class=Clr-b>http://des.kar.nic.in/deskan/arc/cnl%20d...</a>
<br>
<br>
Also with Portugal and Britain being in India for so long they also
put in place some organisation of documents/records. This website has
some UK/India links re records which may help <a
href="http://familytimeline.webs.com/apps/links/"
rel="nofollow"class=Clr-b>http://familytimeline.webs.com/apps/link...</a>
answers3: yes it sounds impossible
answers4: This link <br>
<a href="http://www.cyndislist.com/cyndislistsearch/?cx=partner-pub-3865931076334159%3A8oekij-g1td&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=india&sa=Search#1101"
rel="nofollow"class=Clr-b>http://www.cyndislist.com/cyndislistsear...</a>
<br>
will take you to Cyndi's List with links to information regarding
genealogical research for India. <br>
<br>
Cyndi's List is the premier "list of lists" for genealogical research.
The links that you will want to look at start below the box of Ads By
Google, by the way. <br>
<br>
This particular Cyndi's List link is for information on Asia and the
Pacific. India is grouped there. <br>
<a href="http://www.cyndislist.com/asia/"
rel="nofollow"class=Clr-b>http://www.cyndislist.com/asia/</a> <br>
<br>
This is the link to free Rootsweb.com genealogy message boards for India: <br>
<a href="http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.asia.india/mb.ashx"
rel="nofollow"class=Clr-b>http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.as...</a>
<br>
Plus, there may be Rootsweb.com message boards for some names you are
researching (names equivalent to what would be a "western" last name
or surname - Gandhi is the only example I can think of right now,
sorry.) This is the link the the main page for the Rootsweb.com
message boards: <br>
http://boards.rootsweb.com/ <br>
<br>
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<br>
Best wishes