| Level | Sub-series |
| Finding Number (Click this to view full catalogue structure) | CMS/B/OMS/C/I4 |
| Title | 'Punjab and Sindh mission' later 'West Pakistan mission' |
| Extent | 23 volumes, 32 boxes, 35 files |
| Date | 1878-1934 |
| Description | Records compiled by the committees of the CMS Overseas (Foreign) Division, London, up to 1934.
Comprising papers under the Committee of Correspondence 1878-1880, and under the West Asia (initially 'Group 2') Committee 1880-1934. Including incoming correspondence from the mission to the CMS in London 1878-1934, outgoing correspondence from the CMS in London to the mission 1878-1934, office copies of the incoming correspondence 1878-1880, and office summaries (précis) of the incoming correspondence 1881-1934.
Papers under the West Asia and Asia committees for the years 1935-1959 are catalogued separately. Details are given below under ‘Finding Aids’. |
| Notes | Former Tree Number reference: XCMS/B/OMS/I4 |
When the catalogue was created names of mission stations were standardised but there was no attempt to give present-day place names where these differ from place names in the records. The bulk of names in the sub-number references are the spellings used in the documents.
Work is underway to address outdated, discriminatory, and offensive language in finding aids used by the Cadbury Research Library, and to improve accessibility of the online catalogue in line with current standards including adding present-day place names standardised according to 'The Times Atlas of the World', comprehensive edition, 2023. Copies of the original catalogues have been retained as a record. |
| Arrangement | Papers under the Committee of Correspondence are arranged as:
L: Letter-books 1878-1883 (outgoing)
M: Mission books 1878-1880 (incoming: copies)
O: Original papers 1878-1880 (incoming)
Papers under the West Asia (initially Group 2) Committee are arranged as:
L: Letter-books 1883-1934 (outgoing)
O: Original papers 1880-1934 (incoming)
P: Précis books 1881-1934 (incoming: summaries)
The letter-book started under the Committee of Correspondence continued to be used after the day-to-day administration of the mission passed from the Committee of Correspondence to the Group Committee. Researchers interested in outgoing correspondence dating from 1881 to 1883 will need to use the letter-book held under finding number CMS/B/OMS/C I4 L1. |
| Finding Aids | Click on the Finding Number to display the full online catalogue of the Overseas Division mission series up to 1934, including the lower level entries for Punjab and Sindh mission. Alternatively, the original paper catalogues for the mission series can be consulted in the Cadbury Research Library and CMS (Oxford). The Punjab and Sindh mission papers 1878-1934 are listed in the ‘West Asia (Group 2) Missions’ catalogue, volume two: North India.
The ‘Catalogue to the Papers of the Overseas Division’, which includes a listing of the Punjab and Sindh (West Pakistan) mission series 1935-1959, is not available online. A paper copy of the catalogue is available to view in the Cadbury Research Library and CMS (Oxford). Copies can also be supplied on request (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). |
| Access Status | Open |
| Physical Description | The archive reference numbers for the pre-1880 incoming papers are marked in pencil on the back of each individual item, for example, C I4/O2/9. The post-1880 incoming papers are each individually marked in red ink, and this number, plus the year, comprised the original archive reference for each item, for example, G2 I4/1902/24. When the records were transferred to the University of Birmingham and the online copy of the catalogue was created the archive finding numbers for the records of the Overseas Division were extended: the letters CMS/B/OMS were added at the beginning of the original filing numbers (denoting records of the Church Mission Society Archive: Overseas Division: Overseas Mission Series). In addition, for the papers under the West Asia (Group 2) Committee, a letter denoting the type of record (O for Original papers or L for Letter-book, etc) was added after the mission reference, for example, CMS/B/OMS/G2 I4/O 1902/24. |
| Administrative History | CMS work in North India began in Kolkata ('Calcutta') in 1816. The 'North India mission' covered the whole of North India until 1878. Between 1878 and 1904 autonomous missions were set up for the Punjab, United Provinces, North-West Provinces, and Central Provinces (see CMS/B/OMS/I India General). The area remaining comprised Bengal with Nadia district and Bihar with 'Santalia'.
CMS work in Punjab began in 1851 at Amritsar. Work in Sindh began at Karachi in 1850. In 1878, work in the two areas was amalgamated and an autonomous mission was established covering a wide geographical area including parts of present-day India and Pakistan. Initially under the name 'Punjab and Sind' mission later 'Punjab and Sindh' mission, from 1950 work continued under the name 'West Pakistan' mission. The activities of the mission spread from Amritsar through the Punjab to Kashmir, present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan (at the time 'North-West Frontier Province'), and 'Baluchistan' [alternatively: Balochistan].
Main stations in Punjab (listed by start date and giving present-day place names or alternatives in square brackets):
1856 Multan
1859 Narowal
1867 Lahore
1873 Clarkabad
1878 Batala
1885 Tarn Taran
1917 Pattoki
Main areas of work in Kashmir:
1863 Srinagar
1902 Islamabad
Main areas of work in the Himalayas:
1844 'Kotgur' [Kotghar]
1845 'Simla' [Shimla]
Mission stations in 'North-West Frontier Province':
1854 Peshawar
1862 Dera Ismail Khan
1865 Bannu
Mission stations in 'Baluchistan' [Balochistan]:
1886 Quetta
Areas of work in Sindh:
1850 Karachi
1856 Hyderabad
1859 'Sukkur' |
| Archival Note | Catalogued by Rosemary A. Keen, CMS 1962-1963. Handlist revised and expanded by Rosemary Keen, 1984-1985. Copied to the University of Birmingham online archive catalogue, 2000. Updates underway, 2024. |
| Related Material | Records of the CMS Overseas Division: 'India General' series (CMS/B/OMS/I); North India ('Bengal') mission series (CMS/B/OMS/I1); Western India mission series (CMS/B/OMS/I3); Central Provinces mission series (CMS/B/OMS/I8); Punjab and Sindh mission 1935-1950 and West Pakistan missions 1950-1959 series (CMS/B/AS35-59/G2 I4). |