BACSA, the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia, was set up in 1976 to care for, and to record, European cemeteries wherever the East India Company set foot. It is estimated that some two million European men, women and children are buried in the Indian subcontinent alone.

Many cemeteries desperately need protection

People sometimes think that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cares for all graves in Britain’s former Empire, but in fact the Commission only deals with the graves of soldiers killed in World War One and World War Two. The graves of European civilians, and soldiers who died before World War One, and between the two World Wars, generally have no-one to protect them, or to record their inscriptions, which is where BACSA comes in.

Our aim is to make positive interventions in areas where there is a strong local base of people willing to restore European cemeteries, with financial aid from BACSA.  BACSA members do not usually supervise restoration work themselves, in fact BACSA has always insisted that the impetus for restoration and the restoration work itself, must come from the local community. Only then is there a chance that the old cemeteries will survive, and not relapse back into ruin and desolation in a few more years.

Our BACSA members

BACSA has currently over 1,800 members world wide. Many are private individuals, other are organizations including Government; Churches; the Armed Services; Business; Museums & Libraries; Historical & Genealogical Societies. 

Members receive the BACSA journal Chowkidar, twice a year, which contains a lively blend of news, queries about ancestors, off-beat topics, illustrations and reviews of books about South Asia. Informal BACSA visits are arranged once or twice a year to places in Britain with Indian/Asian connections. To join BACSA, please go to the Application Form.

If you are travelling in South Asia and likely to visit European cemeteries, please download our Travellers & Tourists Form, which will show you what to look for. 

For more information about us, please email the Hon. Secretary Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones on rosieljai@clara.co.uk