Rampur library houses rare Persian Ramayan manuscript

RAMPUR: Most versions of Ramayan, the epic Hindu scripture on lord Ram’s life, begin with ‘Om’, but how about one that begins with ‘Bismilla-e-rahman-e-rahim’ and is written in Persian in gold?
Rampur’s Raza Library holds the 300-old manuscript of Ramayan written by famous scholar Sumair Chand in Persian in 1715 AD during the reign of Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar. The Persian Ramayan was written in gold and precious stones were used for illustration of miniatures by Chand.
Islamic scholars of renowned institutions are studying the book kept in this library known for its 17,000 ancient manuscripts. The Raza Library has also published the Hindi translation of the centuries-old Persian language Ramayan in three volumes.
The Persian Ramayan starts with the Arabic Islamic verse ‘Bismilla-e-rehman-e-rahim’ (In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful), like other Islamic religious books, including the holy Quran. In the 19th century, during the period of Nawab Yusuf Ali Khan of Rampur state, this 300-year-old Ramyan was brought to the Raza Library.
Professor, SM Azizuddin Husain, director of the library, told TOI: “During the revolt of 1857 against the British, the English Army captured and ransacked Delhi and Lucknow libraries and looted the precious manuscripts. Rampur nawabs were great patrons of valuable manuscripts and they had purchased these manuscripts, include this Persian language Ramayan of Mughal era, for the scholars.”
Scholars from countries like Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, as well as central Asian countries, like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, come to the library to study the Persian language Ramayan. Rohillkhand university scholar Syead Naved Qaiser said, “This Ramayan possesses the cultural values of our society, expressed by the writer of this manuscript in illustrations. He has tried to define the feelings, attitudes and manners which depict the culture of this subcontinent in this Persian Ramayan.”
A scholar from Lucknow University, Mohammad Irshad Nadwi, added, “Islam has never said teachings of other religions cannot be studied. In the contemporary world, comparative studies of different religions is a burning issue. People are searching for facts of genuine religion and Islam has encouraged and invited the whole world to study all the religious books for the welfare of mankind.”
The translation of the Hindu religious books during the Mughal era has a rich history. Professor SA Azizuddin Husain, a noted historian of India, says, “Mughal emperor Akbar decided to translate all the 'Indic religious' books and for this, he had established the department of translation called 'Darut Tarjuma' at Fatehpur Sikri. Mahabharat and Ramayan were translated into Persian language.” He added that Sher Jallaluddin of Thanesar, presently the area of Kurukshetra, also translated Mahabharat into Persian and Sheikh Saadullaha of Panipat did a poetic translation of Ramayan and this tradition was followed by Sumair Chand during the 18th century.