HYDERABAD: Persian association with the Deccan dates back to the 14th century and the present Deccani culture is an offspring of Indian and Persian civilisations. As such, it is unique and distinguishes Hyderabad from other major cities in the world. These and other ideas were discussed at the inaugural of the fifth biennial convention of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies (ASPS) here on Wednesday.
The four-day conference is being held at the Moulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), the Iran Heritage foundation and the Roshan foundation for Persian studies at the University of Maryland, USA. Over a hundred scholars from Afghanistan, Canada, England, France, Germany, Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia, the USA and Uzbekistan, will be presenting papers over 22 sessions at the conference.
Prof Said Amir Arjomand, founder-president of ASPS, while pointing out the age old relations between Indian and Persian Civilizations said, “Both have immensely contributed to the world heritage and culture. Hyderabad and the Iranian city of Asfahan both relatively new cities of ancient civilization, incidentally share the same age. Both were founded the same year”.
Dr Habib Borjian, secretary of ASPS, praising the heritage of Hyderabad and its similarities with the Persian culture, said, “Over 1000 manuscripts of Persian literary works are preserved in the Hyderabadi archives and its art has been evidently displayed in Hyderabadi museums”.
According to him, it was the co-existence of medieval Bhagyanagar and the contemporary Cyberabad, which compelled ASPS to hold the conference in Hyderabad. Some of the themes for the paper presentations would be Indo-Persian Historiography, Persianate court culture in India, Hyderabad: society and culture