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| Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library | |
|---|---|
| Name | Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library |
| Established | 1891 |
| Location | Patna, Bihar, India |
| Type | Public library, Manuscript repository, Research library |
| Collection size | Manuscripts, rare books, prints |
| Director | (varies) |
Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library
The Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library is a historic public manuscript repository and research library founded in the late 19th century in Patna, Bihar, India. It grew from a private collection into an institutional archive noted for holdings in Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Sanskrit, and Ottoman literatures and for connections to collectors, scholars, and institutions across South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The library has played roles in regional cultural networks involving figures such as Muhammad Shah patrons, Bahadur Shah Zafar era scholars, and exchanges with repositories like the British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and Soviet Academy of Sciences.
The library originated when the judge and book-collector Mohammad Khuda Bakhsh assembled manuscripts during the era of the Nawabs of Awadh, interactions with the courts of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II, and correspondence with collectors in Lucknow and Delhi. Early benefactors included relatives with ties to the East India Company administrative milieu and contacts in the Calcutta intellectual scene. In the early 20th century the library engaged with scholars linked to Aligarh Muslim University, Darul Uloom Deoband, and the University of Oxford Orientalists such as Sir William Jones’s intellectual heirs and later with philologists from Leiden University and Cologne. During the independence era institutions like the Indian National Congress and personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru took an interest in safeguarding regional heritage; post-independence policy changes involved the Government of Bihar and national agencies including the Archaeological Survey of India. The library sustained relationships with international cultural bodies like UNESCO, the All-India Oriental Conference, the Royal Asiatic Society, and later collaborations with the Smithsonian Institution and UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
The collections encompass manuscripts, early printed books, lithographs, paintings, numismatics, and archival correspondence tied to figures like Mirza Ghalib, Ibn Sina, Al-Farabi, and compilations associated with the courts of Tipu Sultan, Hyder Ali, and the Mughal Empire. Holdings show overlap with catalogues from the Bodleian Library, Vatican Library, and regional repositories such as the Raza Library and Salar Jung Museum. The library houses works in Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Sanskrit, Turkish, and Pashto, and connects to scholarship by Fazle Hasan-era scholars, philologists allied with Nizami, and historians influenced by William Dalrymple and Romila Thapar methodologies. Collections include correspondence referencing Allama Iqbal, commentary traditions linked to Ibn Khaldun, and legal texts resembling manuscripts kept in the Topkapi Palace Museum archives.
Manuscripts range from illuminated Qur'ans attributed to schools tied to Ottoman Empire ateliers to Persian poetry compilations by poets such as Hafez, Rumi, Saadi, and Ghaznavid authors linked to Masud Sa'd Salman. Scientific treatises include works reminiscent of Al-Biruni and medical texts in the tradition of Ibn al-Nafis. Rare copies include philosophical works parallel to manuscripts in the collections of Ibn Rushd commentators, Sufi treatises associated with lineages of Moinuddin Chishti and Nizamuddin Auliya, and histories comparable to chronicles held by the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (St Petersburg). The library’s marginalia reveal networks of annotation similar to those in the holdings of Cambridge University Library, Trinity College Dublin, and Harvard University South Asian collections. Coins and numismatic items complement texts, aligning with catalogues from the British Museum and American Numismatic Society.
The building exemplifies Indo-Islamic and colonial-era architectural synthesis with references to design vocabularies seen in the Hazratbal Shrine, Chota Imambara, and colonial libraries like the National Library of India structure in Kolkata. Facilities include climate-controlled stacks, exhibition galleries akin to those in the Victoria and Albert Museum, reading rooms modeled after the Bodleian Library reading spaces, and conservation labs inspired by those at the Conservation Center, Smithsonian. Grounds and layout echo planning from civic projects associated with municipal schemes in Patna and the architectural debates of the British Raj.
Governance historically involved trustees drawn from regional elites, legal figures, and educationalists connected to Patna University, Aligarh Muslim University, and provincial ministries. Administrative oversight has interacted with legislative instruments enacted by the Bihar Legislative Assembly and national cultural agencies such as the Ministry of Culture (India), while engaging advisory committees with scholars from institutions like the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the Indian Council of Historical Research. International partnerships have been formalized through MOUs with entities similar to the Getty Foundation and research exchanges with the University of Chicago and SOAS University of London.
Conservation programs draw on techniques promoted by UNESCO and training models from the National Archives of India, the British Library conservation department, and the Library of Congress preservation labs. Digitization initiatives coordinate with digital humanities centers at Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing to create digital surrogates for manuscripts and printed works, enabling comparative projects with datasets from Gallica and the Europeana platform analogues. Metadata standards and cataloguing practices reflect frameworks used in projects by OCLC, WorldCat, and the International Council on Archives.
Public engagement includes exhibitions, lectures, and seminars featuring scholars associated with Wilhelm Halbfass-style Indological studies, historians in the tradition of Sheldon Pollock, and poets in the lineage of Faiz Ahmad Faiz; events collaborate with cultural festivals like the Patna Sahib Festival and academic conferences such as the All-India Oriental Conference and symposia hosted by Jawaharlal Nehru University. Research fellowships attract postdoctoral researchers from University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, University of Leeds, and regional doctoral candidates from Patna University and Banaras Hindu University. Educational outreach extends to school programs coordinated with the State Council of Educational Research and Training (Bihar) and manuscript study workshops linked to the International Dunhuang Project model.
Category:Libraries in India Category:Manuscript collections Category:Patna