Why does India want to demolish the 130-year-old God Bakhsh Library?

(Special writing on the occasion of World Book Day)

‘Nine years ago I heard about this beautiful library and since then I have been eager to visit it. I was very happy to see the precious treasure of rare and rare books here. I pay my respects to the great founder of this library who has given this invaluable treasure to India by spending every penny he has.’

These words belong to Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation of India, which he wrote on September 29, 1925, in the visitor’s book of the Khudabaksh Oriental Public Library located in the Ashok Rajpath area of ​​Patna, the capital of the northeastern state of Bihar.

But now the existence of a part of this unique historical library is in danger as the BJP government wants to demolish it and build a flyover here. Not only in India but people from all over the world have issued a petition on this to save this priceless heritage from destruction.

The ‘great founder’ mentioned by Mahatma Gandhi in his entry in the visitor’s book is Maulvi Khuda Bakhsh Khan who, following the will of his father Maulvi Muhammad Bakhsh Khan, collected 14 hundred rare and rare manuscripts and books. In addition, he established a library in his private house which was first called Bankipur Oriental Library and later Khudabaksh Oriental Public Library.

Opened to the public on October 29, 1891 with a few thousand manuscripts and books, this library currently has 21 thousand manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Sanskrit, Pashto and Turkish languages, more than 2 thousand masterpieces of painting and calligraphy, 3 lakh There are over 50,000 books and over 50,000 magazines.

According to the director of Khuda Baksh Library, Dr. Shaista Bidar, there are thousands of these manuscripts, painting and calligraphy works, books and magazines which are not available in any other library.

In addition to Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Viceroy of India Lord Curzon, India’s first Governor General Lord Mountbatten and eminent Orientalist of Scotland VC Scott O’Connor have written golden words in praise of this 130 years old historical library.

Also, almost all elected Indian presidents, including current President Ram Nath Kovind and India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, have visited this library and speak highly of it.

On December 26, 1969, the Government of India declared the Khuda Baksh Library as an Institution of National Importance and formally enacted an Act through the Parliament and took responsibility for providing funds for its development and expansion. Under the law, it is an autonomous body whose chairman is the Governor of the state of Bihar.

Clouds of destruction

The state of Bihar, which is ruled by the Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance or NDA, has planned to build a two-kilometre flyover from Kargil Chowk to NIT Mor in Patna.

If the project goes ahead, it will demolish the historic Curzon Reading Room of the Khudabaksh Library, and the front garden is also slated for a flyover.

The voices raised from Patna against the NDA government’s decision have turned into a movement in which heritage activists, historians, scholars, writers, poets and politicians from South Asia are taking part.

In India, an organization called the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTEC) works for the preservation of cultural heritage buildings and sites.

In a letter to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, JK Lal, convenor of the Patna branch of the organisation, requested him to cancel the flyover construction project.

He wrote in the letter: ‘Demolition of any part of Khuda Baksh Library will not only damage Patna but also world heritage. Also, the glory of this institution will disappear forever.’

Speaking to Independent Urdu, JK Lal said that our efforts to save Khuda Baksh Library will continue in any situation.

We have also informed our headquarters in New Delhi. The chairman told us from there that every possible effort should be made to save the library. We will not allow the library to be demolished under any circumstances.’

“We have sent a good proposal to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar but no positive news has come from there yet,” the intake convenor said.

“We have said in our proposal that the Ganga Path Road has been built which is barely a few hundred meters away from the proposed site of the flyover. Ganga Path can be used to increase traffic volume on Ashok Raj Path.

“The government can easily control the traffic pressure by constructing approach roads between Ashok Raj Path and Ganga Path. It won’t cost much money either.’

JK Lal said that the building of Khuda Baksh Library is unique in terms of heritage but the manuscripts, books and masterpieces of painting and calligraphy inside it are not found anywhere in the world.

“Today, if anyone comes to Patna from abroad, he must go to God Bakhsh Library. What could be greater for us? From Viceroy Lord Curzon to Mahatma Gandhi and heads of various countries have visited this library and written beautiful words in its praise.

JK Lal said that if the government persists in its decision, not only Khudabakhsh Library but many other heritage buildings and institutions like Patna College, Patna Science College, Patna University, Patna Medical College and Hospital, Bihar Urdu Academy, B.N. College, Catholic Church, Bihar Young Men’s Institute and Patna Dental College will deteriorate.

‘Patna itself is a heritage city. There is no need to erase history or the city’s identity. We request that steps should be taken to enhance the beauty of the heritage buildings instead of demolishing them. Also an immediate announcement to abandon this proposed project.’

‘This is the temple of knowledge’

Khuda Bakhsh Library Director Dr. Shaista Bidar told Independent Urdu that if the flyover is built as per the plan, the entire front part of the library and half of the Curzon Reading Room will be demolished.

‘We have written to the government and hope that this heritage building will be saved from demolition.’

Dr. Shaista said that the concerned body constructing the flyover has asked the library for a no-objection certificate or NOC.

“When we were asked for NOC, we called a board meeting and got everyone’s opinion on the matter. As part of the decision to be taken in the meeting, we wrote to the District Magistrate to work on the already existing alternative options to save the library. We have also written and sent four alternative options to the District Magistrate from here. We hope they will choose one of them. We also had a meeting with the District Magistrate recently. He said that he would consider these options or suggestions.

According to Dr. Shahista Bidar, Khuda Bakhsh Library is not only the center of Indian civilization but also the temple of knowledge.

This library is the center of Indian Sanskriti (culture). It belongs not to one, but to all of us. We all have a duty to maintain it in our state. I would like to say it is a temple of knowledge. It emits light. Thousands of manuscripts, written not only on paper but also on cloth, palm leaves and deer skins, are researched here. This library has published some important books for the promotion of interfaith harmony. The aim of the library has always been to bring distant communities closer together.’

The director of the library said that the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, visited this library in 1903 and after seeing the priceless treasure of manuscripts, he took concrete steps to preserve them.

‘Lord Curzon hired the renowned orientalist and linguist Sir Edward Denyson Ross, who cataloged the Arabic and Persian manuscripts in the library. These catalogs of manuscripts, numbering more than 40, make the library famous throughout the world today. These catalogs are now also available on the library website. The Curzon Reading Room was built in 1905 in honor of Lord Curzon’s character.

Former Director of Khuda Bakhsh Library and Historian Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed told Independent Urdu that Lord Curzon was extremely impressed by the rare manuscripts in the library.

‘It was Lord Curzon who not only hired Edward Denyson Ross to catalog the manuscripts but also provided the funds to carry out the work. Seeing Lord Curzon’s generosity, God Almighty named a large hall after him.’

Dr. Imtiaz said that the Curzon reading room is always full of students who are eager to study and youngsters who are busy preparing for various exams.

‘When I was the director of the Khuda Baksh Library, the Curzon Reading Room was open from eight in the morning till late at night. 1200 to 1500 study enthusiasts used to visit here on a daily basis. This number never went below nine hundred.

‘Senior citizens used to come to read newspapers and magazines. There is no such reading room in Patna. To break it in half means to narrow the place of those who benefit from it.’

Dr. Imtiaz is a former professor of history at Patna University. He said that Khuda Baksh Library is not an ordinary library but a dynamic educational, cultural and research center.

‘The library is already facing a space crunch. It is frequented by famous and very important personalities. If the land of the library is narrowed, it will be difficult to make security arrangements for these personalities. When I was the director of the library, Nitish Kumar (current Chief Minister) came here five or six times. They know everything. We hope that the government will take a positive decision to save the library.

Protest against proposed demolition

Amitabh Kumar Das is a former Indian Police Service or IPS officer from the state of Bihar. He has returned his police medal to the President of India as a protest against the proposed demolition of Khuda Baksh Library.

Amitabh Kumar Das in his letter to the President of India has said: ‘Bihar’s incompetent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has decided to raze parts of the historic Khudabaksh Library in Patna at the behest of corrupt contractors and tender mafia. God Bakhsh Library is the heritage of all humanity. India’s Ganges is a symbol of the Jumni civilization. The whole of Bihar is proud of it.

“As a book lover, I am deeply shocked by the government’s decision. I have served the country as an IPS officer for years. Against the decision of the Nitish government to raze the Khuda Baksh library in Patna, I am returning the police medal given to you by the Indian government.’

Dozens of personalities from various walks of life, including Amitabh Kumar Das, have started an online petition against the proposed demolition of Khudabaksh Library, which has so far been signed by 5,000 people.

The petition requested the Bihar Chief Minister to consider other options of constructing a flyover to preserve the internationally renowned Khuda Bakhsh Library and other historic buildings.

Those who started an online petition have also launched a protest movement called ‘Save Da Khuda Baksh Library – Save the Heritage Front’ to save the library from demolition.

The protest movement is being led by left-wing party CPI (ML) MLA Sadama Prasad, who is also the chairman of the library committee in the Bihar Assembly.

Sudama Prasad has also personally written a letter to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in which he has appealed to save the historic Khudabaksh Library from demolition.

A priceless treasure of manuscripts and books

The Khuda Bakhsh Library has a rare copy of the history of the Timuriya dynasty or ‘Tarikh dynast Timuriya’ which is not available in any library or museum in the world.

This manuscript is written in Khat Nastaliq. It contains 132 paintings by famous painters from the court of Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar.

The library also preserves the ‘Jahangir Nama’ written in 1611 bearing the signature and royal seal of Prince Sultan Muhammad, son of Aurangzeb Alamgir.

According to historians, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir wrote the ‘Jahangir Nama’ as a gift to Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of Golconda after writing it from his court scribe.

However, in 1687 during Aurangzeb’s reign, when the Mughals invaded Golconda and conquered it, the ‘Jahangir Nama’ came into the hands of his son Prince Sultan Muhammad.

Apart from ‘Jahangir Nama’, the copy of Hafiz’s Diwan is also an adornment of this library, from which Emperor Humayun used to read fortunes during his stay in Iran.

A copy of the ‘Badshah Nama’ signed by King George V is in this library. This is a complete history of the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. This recipe contains 25 very beautiful pictures. The last picture shows Shah Jahan’s funeral going to the Taj Mahal.

There are also some historical copies of the Qur’an, including a beautiful copy of the Qur’an decorated with the calligraphy of the famous Abbasid calligrapher Jamaluddin Yaqut Mustasami, which bears the seals of the Mughal emperors Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.

Khuda Bakhsh Library also has a manuscript from the era of the Companions which was written on deerskin in which some verses of Surah Ibrahim are written in Kufi script attributed to Hazrat Ali.

In addition to Tarikh dynasty Timuriya and Jahangir Nama, Shahnama Ferdowsi, Jami al-Tawareikh and Safinat Awalia manuscripts are preserved in the library.

Apart from the only copy of the 8th Dewan of Ghulam Ali Hamdani Mushafi, there are books written by the hand of some prominent people which increase the importance and usefulness of this library.

Persian translations of Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Puranas and the Maha Bharata are also preserved.

The collection of this library also includes seven thousand pen images. Books on Islamic Studies, Greek Medicine, History, Sufism, Comparative Religions, Medieval History, History of South and East Asia, Medieval Science and Freedom Movement add to the library’s holdings.

This library also has 800 coins of Tughluq dynasty, Mughal emperors Akbar, Shah Jahan and Shah Alam. It contains rare examples of Mughal, Rajput, Turkish and Iranian paintings along with some paintings of Hindu deities.

Khuda Bakhsh Library has very valuable and rare manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Turkish, Pashto, Hindi and Sanskrit languages, which number about 21 thousand, which contain various subjects of civilization and culture.

Apart from these, there is also a large collection of printed books which number more than three lakhs. These books are in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Punjabi, French, German, Russian and Japanese languages.

The library has rare Urdu periodicals which add to its importance and usefulness. The number of volume magazines is about 50 thousand.

A quarterly magazine called ‘Khoda Bakhsh’ is published by the Publication Department of the Library. This magazine is multilingual and has been published since 1977.

This library has such a valuable collection that the British Museum offered a large sum of money to Maulvi Khuda Baksh for it, but he did not accept the offer.

When and how was the Khudabakhsh library established?

Khuda Bakhsh Library is one of the things that identify the city of Patna in the state of Bihar in India and abroad.

The library is located between Patna University and Patna Medical College and Hospital on Ashok Rajpath Road passing through the densely populated Ghaniabadi on the banks of the Ganges River in Patna.

This library in its early days was a private library of Maulvi Muhammad Bakhsh Khan, father of Maulvi Khuda Bakhsh Khan.

Muhammad Bakhsh Khan was very fond of books. He had collected about 1400 manuscripts and books during his lifetime and established a private library called ‘Kitab Khana Muhammadiyah’.

Muhammad Bakhsh, who intended to build a large library, bequeathed to his son Khuda Bakhsh in the last days of his life to ‘add to these books and establish a library dedicated to the people. If you fulfill this desire of mine, my soul will find peace.’

Following his father’s will, Khuda Baksh spent his entire capital to expand the library and in 1880 the number of manuscripts and books reached four thousand.

Khuda Baksh hired a man named Muhammad Makki on a monthly salary of fifty rupees to collect the books and manuscripts, who performed his services for 18 years.

Muhammad Makki visited different cities of Egypt, Iran, Syria and Arab countries and obtained rare manuscripts. This is the reason why there are also manuscripts from the libraries of Cordoba in Khuda Baksh Library.

Khuda Baksh, a lawyer by profession, spent so much money on the purchase of rare manuscripts and books that at one point he had to take a loan for his treatment.

In 1890, Khuda Bakhsh constructed a magnificent two-storied building of the library by spending 80 thousand rupees. Then on January 14, 1891, he dedicated this treasure of rare manuscripts and books to the public through a formal dedication letter.

This public library was formally inaugurated by the Governor of Bengal Charles Alfred Elliott on 5th October 1891 under the name ‘Bankipore Oriental Library’.

Khuda Bakhsh was the director of this library for life, but in between he also held the post of Chief Justice in the Hyderabad Deccan during the reign of Nizam VI Nawab Mir Mehboob Ali Khan for three years from 1895.

For his great achievements, Khuda Baksh was awarded the title of ‘Khan Bahadur’ in 1891 and CIE in 1903 by the British government. When Khuda Bakhsh died on August 3, 1908, he was buried in the library premises. After his death, his heirs took over the management and maintenance of this library for several decades.

After the partition of India, eminent scholar of Sanskrit and Antiquities Dr. SV Sohoni protected this collection of books and did not allow it to be transferred to any other country.

On December 26, 1969, the Government of India took over the financial responsibilities of the Khudabaksh Library by including it in the list of national libraries. Currently, this library is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.