Hyderabad, Sep 7 Conservation and digitalisation of rare Urdu and Persian historical manuscripts at the Telangana State Archives and Research Institute will be taken up under a joint Indo-Iranian project.
The Telangana State Archives and Research Institute, Hyderabad on Wednesday entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard with Noor International Microfilm Centre (NIMC), of Iran's Culture House, New Delhi.
Under the MoU, Iranian centre will take up the repair, conservation, digitalisation and cataloguing of manuscripts and documents which are a common heritage between India and Iran.
This initiativeAwill bring millions of historical documents to life, and give future generations a glimpse of the state's rich heritage.
It will also be a valuable asset for scholars from other countries who regularly collaborate with Telangana State Archives for their research on medieval and modern history of India and Telangana.
The entire process will be done at no cost to the state and will be entirely borne by the Iranian government, Telangana government officials said.
One of the leading archives of India, the Telangana State Archives and Research Institute has a collection of rare and historical records dating back to 1406 AD pertaining to the Bahmani, Qutb Shahi, Adil Shahi and Mughal dynasties that ruled over the region.
The Institute houses more than 43 million documents, of which 80 per cent of the records are in the classical Persian and Urdu languages owing to it being the official languages of the erstwhile dynasties of the Hyderabad Deccan region. The records also include the original copies of GOs, gazettes etc of unified Andhra Pradesh from 1956 to 2014.
India and Iran have enjoyed a shared history which has influenced both cultures and civilisations. The documents housed in the Telangana State Archives are important historical artefacts of both countries. Hence, it is important to preserve this valuable joint heritage, officials said.
The MoU exchange ceremony took place at T-Hub Phase 2.0, in the presence of Telangana's Minister for Industries and Information Technology, K.T. Rama Rao and Iranian Ambassador to India, Dr. Ali Chegeni.
The event was also attended by Telanagana's Principal Secretary, ITE&C and Industries, Jayesh Ranjan, Director of State Archives and Research Institute, Dr. Zareena Parveen, NIMC Director, Dr. Mehdi Khajeh Piri, and NIMC's Regional Director for South Indian States, Ali Niroomand.
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