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Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library

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Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library
LocationPatna, Bihar, India
TypeNational library
EstablishedMuhammadiya Private Library - 1842(181 years ago), Oriental Public Library - 1880, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library - 29 October 1891 (1891-10-29)[1]
Collection
Items collectedManuscripts, books, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints and drawings etc
Size2,082,904 printed books, ITU Collection (Arabic, Urdu & Persian) Periodicals (English, Urdu, Arabic & Persian)
35,000 manuscripts (21,000 rare manuscripts, 14,000 small manuscripts), 2195 Microfilms of Manuscripts, 752 Microfiche, 7000 Audio and Video Cassettes, 800 coins, 200 Instruments 700,000 Photographs, 150,000 Urdu, Arabic, English, Persian and Hindi Magazines
5,000,000 total items[2][3]
Legal depositYes, Institution of National Importance by Act of Parliament, 26 December 1969[4]
Access and use
Access requirementsOpen to anyone with a genuine need to use the collection
Other information
Budget150 million Rs Per Annum
DirectorDr.Shayesta Bedar (since April 2019)
Websitekblibrary.bih.nic.in

Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, in Patna, Bihar, is one of the national libraries of India.[5][6] It was founded in 1842 by Sir Muhammed Bakhsh and opened to the public on the 28th of October in 1891 by The Honourable Dr. Justice Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh.[7][8][9][10] Its collection started with 4,000 of Bakhsh's own manuscripts, of which he inherited 1,400 from his father, Sir Mohammed Bakhsh, a lawyer from Patna.[8][11][12][9]

The library has a large collection of Islamic, Sanskrit, Persian, Urdu, Hindi and Kashmiri manuscripts, and art. This includes 35,000 manuscripts (21,000 rare manuscripts and 14,000 small manuscripts), 2,082,904 printed books in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Turkish, Pushto, Sanskrit, Hindi, Punjabi, English, French, German, Russian, and Japanese.[7][8][9] It also curates more than 2,000 paintings made during the Rajput and Mughal eras of India.[8][13] The library has about 5,000,000 items in total.[2]

It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and is governed by a board with the governor of Bihar as its ex officio chairman. Day-to-day responsibility falls to the library director who presently is Dr. Shayesta Bedar. The library is also a designated Manuscript Conservation Centre (MCC) under the National Mission for Manuscripts.[14]

It is considered to have the best collection of Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Hindi Manuscripts and Literature. It is the 2nd Largest library in the world in term of Islamic literature collection.[15] It is considered to be the most prominent Oriental Public library in the world.[16]

History

Justice Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh

The Founder

Following in the footsteps of his father as a collector of manuscripts, Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh appointed an Arab named Muhammad Maki to acquire books and manuscripts for a monthly income of Rs. 50. Muhammad Makhi worked for Bakhsh for 18 years, visiting numerous cities in Egypt, Iran, Syria, and other locations to acquire rare manuscripts. The library opened in 1888[8] with Bakhsh as the first director until 1895 when he left to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nizam's Kingdom.[9][13] After a successful career in law in Hyderabad State for almost 3 years, he returned to Patna as the director of the library. Soon after his return, Bakhsh suffered an illness that caused paralysis and his activity was limited to the library.[17] Bakhsh donated the library to the people of India by a deed of trust. Due to his generous donation, he was given Rs.8,000 to liquidate his debt from the Government of Bengal. [11][12][9]

He was awarded O.I.E in 1903 for his generous act.[9] The library became Bakhsh's life-long achievement to which he was devoted and committed, until his death on 3 August 1908.[9]

History of the library

Official Logo of Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library. It is inspired by the Coat of Arms of House of Bakhsh.

The library originated in the private collection of a bibliophile, Muhammad Bakhsh Khan, a famous advocate and zamindar of Patna.[9] Muhammad Bakhsh Khan belonged to the House of Bakhsh, a noble family formerly affiliated with the Mughal Empire that still exists today.[12] Before his imprisonment after the 1st war of India's Independence movement, the 1857 rebellion, he inherited about 1,400 manuscripts[8][9] and 20,000 books from his family who were historically responsible for writing and keeping the records of the Mughal Empire.[12] Muhammad Bakhsh established a private library called Muhammadiya Library in 1842 which was named after him.[18] He bequeathed his collection to his son Khuda Bakhsh in the last days of his life. Muhammad Bakhsh told his son to establish a public library dedicated to the people of India, stating on his death bed, "If you do this, my soul will be at peace."[19] Following his father's will, Khuda Bakhsh spent all his money on expanding the collection and in 1880 had increased the number of manuscripts and books to 4,000.[12][8][20][13] The Bankipur Oriental Library was formally inaugurated by the Governor of Bengal, Sir Charles Alfred Elliott, Governor of Bengal[12] on 5 October 1891.[13][10] During World War 2, the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) led by Subhas Chandra Bose started attacking British occupied Burma from the Eastern Front. The Indian National Army conducted air raids on the Bengal Presidency to cut the Military logistics support of the British Indian Army. Since the colour of the library's building was red, it was bombed multiple times. Khan Bahadur Abdul Gafoor Khan shifted all the collections of the library to an Underground Bunkers in Patna before they bombings.[citation needed] While the majority of the buildings were destroyed, the collections were safe. After World War 2, the Government of India built multiple new buildings for the library and all the collections were returned. For this generous act of bravery, Abdul Gafoor Khan was awarded the honorary title of "Khan Bahadur". After the partition in 1947, Dr. S.V. Sohoni and Khan Bahadur Abdul Gafoor played a key role to ensure the collections were retained in India.[21] In 1969 through federal legislation the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library Act, an act of Parliament, the Government of India declared Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library a center of national importance dedicating funding, maintenance, and development of the library.[4][8][13] Today it continues to attract scholars from all over the world.[22][8][12]

The past directors and members of the library include the family descendants of Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh as well as renowned historians appointed by the Government of India like Dr. Sachidanand Sinda, Shahabuddin Bakhsh, Salahuddin Bakhsh, Anees Fatima, Khan Bahadur Abdul Gafur Khan (son of Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh).[23] When the library was recognized as Institute of National Importance by the Government of India a board committee was established where a new post of a director was created by an act of parliament passed in 1969.[24] Dr. Abid Reza Badger, former Director of the Raza Library, became the library 1st director in 1972 and remained there for more than 25 years.[10] Reza Bedar did some important work towards reviving the library along with his successors Dr. Habibur Rehman Chighani and Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed. Since April 2019, the director of the library has been Dr. Shayesta Bedar (daughter of Abid Reza Bedar).[25][10]

Collection

A leaf from painting from Tarikh-i-Khandan-i-Timuriyah This painting depicts the death of Timur, Made by the artists of Akbar's Court.

The Khuda Bakhsh Library consists of a rare collection of the records of the Timurid family, or “history of the Timurid family”, which is not found in any other library or museum around the world. Some of the notable manuscripts include Timur Nama (Tarikh e Khandan e Timuriyah), Shah Nama,[13] Padshah Nama, Diwan-e-Hafiz and Safinatul Auliya, carrying the autograph of Mughal Emperors and princes, and the book of Military Accounts of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The library also has specimens of Mughal paintings, calligraphy and book decoration, and Arabic and Urdu manuscripts,[8] including a page of Quran written on deer skin. It has a good collection of rare manuscripts including a page of the Holy Qur'an on parchment in Kufic script belonging to the 9th century AD, in addition to a collection of about forty Sanskrit manuscripts, written on palm leaf.[22][26]

There are 35,000 manuscripts (21,000 Rare Manuscripts, 14,000 Small Manuscripts) in the library of Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Turkish and Pashto languages.[8][7][2][12][9][13]

The library also has a manuscript of Sahih al-Bukhari hand-transcribed by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Yazdan Bakhsh Bengali in Ekdala, eastern Bengal. The manuscript was a gift to the Sultan of Bengal Alauddin Husain Shah.[27]

Shirin wa Khusraw, f. 66v, 1568, possibly Golconda (Khuda Bakhsh Library, Patna, No. 499

It has emerged as a notable research library embracing a big range of rare manuscripts. The library's collection includes the best original manuscript known within the international community of the "Tarikh e Khandan e Timuriyah".[28][7][29][12][10] It also contains the writing of Jehangir, the Jahangir Namah[13] written in 1611, with the signature and royal seal of Prince Sultan Muhammad, son of Aurangzeb Alamgir. According to historians, the Mughal emperor Jahangir wrote the 'Jahangir Namah' from his court secretary and gave it as a present to Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of Golkonda. However, in 1687, during the reign of Aurangzeb when the Mughals invaded and conquered Golkonda, the Jahangir Nama got into the hands of his son, Prince Sultan Muhammad.[20] The Divān of Hafez from which Emperor Humayun used to solid fortune-tellers all through his stay in Iran is also an adornment of this library. Other records in the collection include a copy of the King's Letter signed by King George V, the entire records of the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan with 25 stunning images (the remaining picture indicates Shah Jahan's funeral going to the Taj Mahal),[12] and 132 paintings by a docket of well-known artists of Akbar the great. It is also the only library in the world to have the original manuscripts from the Caliphate of Cordoba.

Future

Stamp of India - 1994 release by Govt of India for the library's Commemoration day

Khuda Bakhsh Library is on its way to become India's first library to computerize its handwritten collection for dissemination online.[30] Honoring the desires of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru which he expressed in the library's visitor book on 1 November 1953, writing "I would like to see them reproduced by the contemporary strategies so that others can see them and share this marvelous knowledge".[31][7]

The library is dedicated to ongoing efforts to accumulate and preserve manuscripts and books and disseminate them widely. Scholarly workshops, symposia, talks, lectures, and seminars are organized to create research-primarily based awareness of expertise both on countrywide and global levels. The library promotes research activities in particular areas which include Islamic studies, Arabic, Persian and Urdu Literature, Comparative Religion, Tibb or Unani medicinal drug, Tasawwuf of Mysticism,the history of the Islamic land, Medieval Indian history and culture and the country wide movement. On a larger scale, the library has been publishing its rarities, research, and work in digital platforms. A quarterly research magazine is also being published.

Khuda Bakhsh Library is one of the richest repositories of the intellectual and cultural heritage of South and Central Asia.[7][13] At the same time it is a major center for dissemination of knowledge all over the world. Indeed, the library has a glorious past, a splendid present and, a brilliant future.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library (Historical Perspective)". kblibrary.bih.nic.in. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library". Ministry of Culture: Government of India. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Homepage". Publications Khuda Bakhsh O. P. Library. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b "The Khuda Bakhsh Orient Public Library Act, 1969" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Destinations :: Patna". Archived from the original on 18 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Patna's Khuda Bakhsh library continues to draw foreign scholars". 10 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Khuda Baksh Oriental Library". Bihar Tourism. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Khuda Baksh oriental Public Library". Incredible India. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Historical Perspective". KB Library. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e Agha, Eram (14 April 2021). "'Heritage Not Seen Holistically': Khuda Bakhsh Library Director Urges Bihar Govt to Stop Razing". News 18. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library". kblibrary.bih.nic.in. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Chavan, Akshay (2 May 2019). "Khuda Bakhsh Library: Patna's Treasure House". Peepul Tree. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Treasure Trove of Manuscripts". Deccan Herald. 19 November 2018. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Manuscript Conservation Centres". National Mission for Manuscripts. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  15. ^ Majid, DR. Abdul. "The founder of the world-famous Oriental Public Library. (Paragraph 2 Line 5 - 6)". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ^ AL, JAZEERA. "Khuda Bakhsh library's importance to the world". Al Jazeera. pp. 1–2.
  17. ^ "Khuda Baksh Khan | District Siwan, Government Of Bihar | India". Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  18. ^ Akhtar, Mohammed Sultan. "Khuda Bakhsh Khan, the founder of Khuda Bakhsh library.pdf" (PDF). Bharat Samachar. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  19. ^ "Historical Perspective". kblibrary.bih.nic.in. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  20. ^ a b Sakhawat, Muhammad (23 April 2021). "Why does India Want to Demolish the 130-year-old Khuda Bakhsh Library?". Lessons from History. Medium. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  21. ^ Godbole, Sanjay (31 March 2002). "Nirapekśa Samśodhaka (निरपेक्ष संशोधक)". Lokasatta (लोकसत्ता) (Mumbai), Lokaraṅga supplement (लोकरंग पुरवणी). p. 3.
  22. ^ a b "Islamic knowledge house, Khuda Bakhsh Library retains glory". Outlook. 8 July 2005. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013.
  23. ^ Sagar, Umang (15 September 2021). "Biography Of Sachchidanand Sinha | Who Was Sachchidanand Sinha? | Know Everything About Sachchidanand Sinha- 13angle | नई उमंग". 13angle. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  24. ^ "Legislation of Khuda Bakhsh Library". kblibrary.bih.nic.in. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  25. ^ "Khuda Bakhsh Library in Patna gets director after five years". Hindustan Times. 19 April 2019. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  26. ^ "Ahluwalia, wife visit Khuda Bakhsh Library". The Times of India. 19 November 2009. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012.
  27. ^ Mawlana Nur Muhammad Azmi. "2.2 বঙ্গে এলমে হাদীছ" [2.2 Knowledge of Hadith in Bengal]. হাদীছের তত্ত্ব ও ইতিহাস [Information and history of Hadith] (in Bengali). Emdadia Library. p. 24.
  28. ^ "Tarikh-E-Khandan-E-Timuriyah". INDIAN CULTURE. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  29. ^ "Tarikh-E-Khandan-E-Timuriyah". UNESCO Mediabank. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  30. ^ "Pride of Patna". Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library. NIC Bihar State Unit. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  31. ^ "Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Jawahar Lal Nehru section given below the founder's image". kblibrary.bih.nic.in. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

Further reading

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