Historical Heritage - A Bibliographical Survey of The Rare Manuscripts (An Old And Rare Book)

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I feel great pleasure in writing this foreword to the Historical Heritage published by Arabic and Persian Research Institute Rajasthan, Tonk under the editorship of Shri Shaukat All Khan. The collection is indisputably an outstanding historical and cultural heritage. The title of the brochure has been rightly chosen by the Editor.

The Editor has called the Institute a centre of orientalogy, but to my mind it is more than a centre of advanced studies. That is why the Chief Minister Shri Bhairon Singhji Shaikhawat decided to trans- from it into a separate Institute of Oriental Research in Arabic and Persian Studies. We are proud of having such an invaluable mass of manuscripts catering to varied interests. It is one of the best collections in India. It enhances the national image while feeding rare oriental source material to the scholarly community the world over. The excerpts and commendable comments in the bibliography speak for themselves. The bibliography represents the intermingled and inerwoven cultural impacts of Indo-Iranian and Indo-Arab relations since the remote past.

The manuscripts, elegant and ornate, represent 5th/11th to 13th. 19th centary circa. They are priceless works of Princes and ordinary of poets and scholars.

Shri Shaukat Alt Khan, its Editor, has won many laurels for this Directorate, the greatest being the creation of the Institute itself. The idea of a separate Arabic and Persian Research Institute seemed to me to be tenable. Hence its creation.

The establishment of this nascent Directorate keeps a thrilling and exhilarating history of its origin, re-organization and reorientation of climactical character. It passed through various turmoils, trials, triumphs and on 4th December, 1978 it stood as a fulfledged Direct- orate under the caption Arabic and Persian Research Institute Rajasthan, Tonk. It is the greatest achievement of the Rajasthan Government for which credit squirely goes to Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Ex-Chief Minister and Shri G. K. Bhanot, Chief Secretary of Rajasthan-the symbols of art and culture-who generously made an epoch-making decision for promoting and cultivating the cause of Arabic and Persian Research Studies at an accelerated pace. The Arabic and Persian speaking world feel a deep debt of gratitude over this splendid achievement of the Government. We are extremely grate- ful to Shri K. S. Rastogi, the generous Education Commissioner, Shri K. K, Bhatnagar, Special Secretarys Education who implemented. the wisely planned and concieved scheme of Mrs. Jumki S. Kumar, Ex-Collector of Tonk and Shri Abhimanyu Singh the present collectar. I am also personally obliged to Shri Ram Sawroop Sharma, Deputy Secretary of Education and Shri S. C. Jain, Section Officer who extended the fullest cooperatio