‘Over 70,000 manuscripts preserved in Bihar'
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The state's ancient manuscripts hold echoes of civilisations, cultures and beliefs that have shaped history. In a conversation with TOI's B K Mishra, former director of the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Shayesta Bedar, speaks about the importance of preserving these treasures.
Excerpts:
What is the approximate number of manuscripts preserved in Bihar's major libraries? Which types are more common?
There are over 70,000 manuscripts preserved across the state archives and various libraries in Bihar. Most of them are paper manuscripts, though palm-leaf manuscripts, especially those in Pali, are still available in considerable numbers.
Why is it necessary to preserve these manuscripts? What makes them historically significant?
Manuscripts form the cultural foundation of a nation.
They are historically significant because they serve as primary sources for understanding past civilisations. Through them, we learn about ancient lives, beliefs, and achievements. Preservation is vital as these documents embody the accumulated wisdom and creativity of great thinkers, scholars and inventors. Moreover, they are crucial for exploring traditional knowledge systems that remain relevant for sustainable development today.
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What preservation efforts are being undertaken at Khuda Bakhsh Library? Has digitisation been completed?
Like other major libraries in the country, Khuda Bakhsh has its own preservation and conservation laboratory, managed by trained staff. In recent years, we have accelerated the digitisation of rare manuscripts. Over 15 lakh pages have already been digitised through the National Manuscripts Mission and we are working to digitise the remaining materials.
Our aim is to make all 21,000 valuable and rare manuscripts in our collection accessible to scholars globally.
So far, around 3.58 lakh folios have been processed for public use.
What about miniature manuscripts and historical correspondence? Have they been digitised too?
Yes, we have digitised more than 14,000 miniature manuscripts. We have also preserved the original letters of important figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Allama Iqbal, Abid Hussain and Ziauddin Desai.
In addition, we have created digital albums that feature miniature paintings of South Indian deities, samples of exquisite calligraphy, and themed works on the life and reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq.
Has the library undertaken translation work to make old manuscripts more accessible across languages?
Yes, translation is an important part of our work. We are engaged in translating significant manuscripts and books into various Indian and international languages. For example, Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi by Ziauddin Barani, a noted political thinker from the Delhi Sultanate, is being translated from Persian into English. We have also translated more than 200 manuscripts on Hindu religion, sourced both from our collection and from Aligarh Muslim University—into Hindi.
Other ongoing projects include the Hindi translation of Hindu Dharm in Bihar (1846-1927) by Shad Azimabadi, and the translation of Sanskriti Ke Char Adhyaya by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar into Arabic and Persian.
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