Hyderabad, April 27: Conservation and digitalisation of priceless manuscripts, paintings, Dastawez and other paper documents in the State Museum, Hyderabad will be taken up under a joint Indo-Iranian project.
The Department of Heritage Telangana, which is a custodian of rare manuscripts and paintings at the museum, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard with Noor International Microfilm Centre, Culture House of the Islamic Republic of Iran, New Delhi.
The MoU has been signed for repair, conservation, digitalization, documentation and cataloguing of the manuscripts, paintings and Dastawez kept in the State Museum.
Bharati Hollikeri, Director, Department of Heritage Telangana and Dr. Mehdi Khajeh Piri, Director, Noor International Micro Film Centre signed the MoU in the presence of Shailaja Ramaiyer, Principal Secretary to Government, Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture Department.
According to the department of heritage, some of the manuscripts, paintings, etc. are displayed at the museum while some are kept in a store room. The material of these documents is susceptible to fast deterioration beyond recognition. These documents are mine of information on history, society, language, religion and calligraphy of different periods. This information is very helpful in reconstructing political, social, linguistic, and religious history of the state.
The department has old technology, which is no longer useful for conservation of the rare collection. Noor International Micro Film Centre has expertise in treating the documents and preserving the paper documents with new herbal technology which is reversible and enhances the life span of the document beyond 100 years.
Noor International Micro Film Centre has collaborated with different national and international institutions including State Archives.
In 2022, conservation and digitalisation of rare Urdu and Persian historical manuscripts at the Telangana State Archives and Research Institute was taken up under a similar project.
The Iranian centre will take up the repair, conservation, digitalization and cataloguing of manuscripts and documents which is a common heritage between India and Iran.
This initiative is aimed at bringing millions of historical documents to life, and give future generations a glimpse of the state’s rich heritage.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 cost of the entire process will be entirely borne by the Government of Iran.
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 C.E. 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 percent 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.
