Hyderabad: Archives museum set for new look
Not just official orders, there are priceless manuscripts, photos, maps and other important historical documents and records that will be displayed for visitors in the museum
Hyderabad: Want to have a look at one of the oldest farmans (order) in the country? Head to the Telangana State Archives and Research Institute in Tarnaka. With the institute taking up a major revamp of its Archival Museum, all those interested in history can catch up with the farman of Firoz Shah Bahmani of the Bahmani Sultanate that ruled the region in the 14th century and later.
The farman, dating way back to May 14, 1406 AD, was handwritten in Persian language and was for granting land as ‘inam’ to Moulana Muhammad Qazi. The document, brownish yellow with age, the sides and edges in tatters, still has the writing visible, with the official emblem or letterhead still intact. The black ink is yet to fade, with even a red stamp on the paper withering the tests of time.
Not just official orders, there are priceless manuscripts, photos, maps and other important historical documents and records that will be displayed for visitors in the museum. The museum located in the institute, Tarnaka, is undergoing a complete renovation. For history buffs, genealogists, students, research scholars and general public, there will be 100 to 120 important historical records and documents showcased in the museum.
“The department is developing the museum with modern lighting and galleries. It will be opened soon for research scholars, students and others in the presence of a custodian,” an official said. The State Archives Department has been conserving and preserving a treasure trove of over 43 million documents, of which 90 per cent were in Persian and Urdu languages.
Of these, over 1.5 lakh documents and records pertain to the Mughal era, which is the maximum number of records from any particular period. The institute is also preserving all administrative records of the Nizam’s rule. Not just from within the country, research scholars and historians from countries including the US, the UK, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Russia and France visit the institute for their research purposes. Before the pandemic, the institute received at least 400-500 applications every year from research scholars seeking access to historical records.
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