Hyderabad: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started digitising the Arabic and Persian estampages preserved in the directorate of epigraphy in Nagpur under the Bharat SHRI project. The digitised records will be uploaded online for access to scholars and the public.
One of the lesser known inscription details from the state collection is the Arabic and Persian inscription from the Muhyiuddin Mosque in Hyderabad. It records the construction of the mosque by Haji Hussain, a court noble of the Qutb Shahi Sultanate, during the reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah in 1045 AH corresponding to 1635 CE. The inscription in the Naskh script was composed by Mir Ali, son of Mir Jan Mashhadi. The mosque is located on the Puranapul-Karwan road near Hara Darwaza. The inscription was copied in the year 1952.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle Dr K. Muniratnam Reddy, ASI director (epigraphy), said around 2,000 new inscriptions have been received in recent years. There are nearly 12,000 inscriptions of Persian and Arabic across the country, he said, adding that experts have commenced the digitisation of the estampages.
He noted that around 1,000 inscriptions, including Asaf Jahis, Qutub Shahis, Bahmanis, Adil Shahis and Mughals, were from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Inscriptions related to the mosque built by Aurangzeb were also in the collection. Simultaneously, all the Arabic and Persian estampages, transcripts and metadata will be uploaded online for easy access to the scholars & public. The ASI has already made 23,000 inscriptions available.
History enthusiasts said Hyderabad has several historic structures carrying inscriptions, but many people are unable to read them as Persian is not widely known today and they have to approach experts to understand their meaning. They said making the inscriptions available online would help people learn about lesser-known facts and aspects of the region’s history.
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