Persian Manuscripts in Bengal (The Hub of Indo-Persian Cultural Heritage)

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

Persian language came in contact with Bengal in 13th Century and continued till 1837 when it was finally abolished as the official language of India . In this vast period of six hundred years, thousands of books were written in Persian, and tens and hundreds of poets composed their poems in this sweet language. During this period, Persian language and literature reached the highest stage of its development, which yielded a huge collection of manuscripts, documents, miniature paintings and other artifacts to Bengal and made her Sonar Bangla.
The large-scale acquisition of manuscripts by Indians and British officials in Bengal gave birth to rich library collections that can sustain academic research in Persian Studies not only in Bengal but internationally. The cataloguing of these collections has preserved the fruits of knowledge of Persian literature. The most important collections of Persian manuscripts are to be found at the Asiatic Society, Victoria Memorial, National Library and Hazarduari Palace Library in Murshidabad etc. Though these collections have been documented to an extent by their cataloguers but many of them still need proper documentation, care and conservation treatment. But their best fruition lies in their consumption for cultural studies as it is proverbially believed that the proof of pudding lies in its eating.

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References

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