Securing the past: Concerted efforts are on to save Kashmir's prized manuscripts

Naseer A Ganai

Khawaja Mohammad Azem Dedmari is a key figure in the literary history of Kashmir. Born in 1692 in the Dedmari area of Srinagar, he spent 10 years writing his major work, ‘Tareeq Azmi-Waqiat-i Kashmir’, in Persian, completing it in 1747. His dedication to scholarship is evident in his work. As an important historian of post-medieval Kashmir, Dedmari is often quoted by scholars and the public alike.

What is less known, however, is his scholarly work on the flora and fauna of Kashmir — the only manuscript currently remains in a private collection. There are thousands of such manuscripts and books with potential historical value that are held in private collections, often with owners uncertain of how to preserve or utilise these treasures properly.

Kashmir has a rich history of scholarship and extensive private libraries. Bilhana, a 12th-century poet, mentions scholarly debates in towering buildings along the Jhelum. His contemporary, poet and historian Kalhana, used over 11 earlier manuscripts to write his famous ‘Rajatarangini’. In the 15th century, Zain-ul-Aabideen, a ruler of Kashmir, had many ancient Sanskrit texts, including Kalhana’s work, translated into Persian. In the 16th century, Shaikh Yaqub Sarfi, a renowned Islamic scholar, author and spiritual leader, maintained a grand library in Srinagar that had a collection of 15,000 books.

One of the main reasons for the large-scale production of handwritten books was Kashmir’s flourishing industry of handmade paper. When the Mughals arrived, they were astonished by the high-quality paper produced in Kashmir. In a letter, Mulla Badayuni, a renowned historian, praised the quality of Kashmiri paper and requested Shaikh Yaqub Sarfi to send him some.

At present, Kashmir’s oldest cultural treasures are in the form of manuscripts. These handwritten notes provide detailed insights into the trade, religion, science, medicine and, particularly, the politics of bygone eras. The people of the region have preserved these manuscripts for centuries.

As a historical cultural capital and a pivotal point along the Silk Road before the partition of the subcontinent, Kashmir saw traders from Central Asia and China pass through. Many locals accumulated old documents, offering rich historical knowledge.

Kashmiri writer and poet Avtar Mota writes that apart from Abhinavagupta, Khemraja, Kalhana, Anandavardhana and many more known names, he has counted over 700 Sanskrit scholars from Kashmir till the Lohara period (between 1003 and 1320), who have enriched the literature of Sanskrit the world over. Mota says they were poets, translators, scholars of Buddhism, rhetoricians, aestheticians, Shaiva-Darshana scholars, philosophers, astrologers, commentators, grammarians and logicians.

“Even if many original works have been lost, there are umpteen references to these lost works in many available Sanskrit manuscripts, some of which have been digitalised by American and European universities. I saw these during my visit to Princeton and some more universities in the US. I am told this digitalisation of scripts is happening in some Australian universities as well,” Mota writes.

During the colonial period, many valuable Kashmiri manuscripts were taken out of the region when British scholars recognised their significance. Historians and explorers like Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943) extensively collected these manuscripts during their time in Kashmir. Stein is a well-documented figure, known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia and India, including his work in Kashmir.

Stein was born in Budapest, Hungary, and spent significant periods in India, conducting multiple expeditions and collecting manuscripts, which contributed substantially to the understanding of Asian history and culture. He is known to Kashmiris and rest of the world for his classic translation of the chronicles of 12th-century Sanskrit poet Kalhana, ‘Kalhana’s Rajatarangini (3 Vols.): A Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir’.

Kashmiri historian M Aslam writes that in 1901, after the completion of the translation of ‘Rajatarangini’, Stein was appointed Inspector of Education by the British Resident in Kashmir to supervise the progress of education. But Stein preferred antiquarian searches till 1930 in Central Asia, Kashghar, and Yarqand, eastern Turkistan. He is credited with making several major archaeological excavations in the old cities of Khanates in Xinjiang province of China, writes Aslam.

Stein was also instrumental in the large-scale collection and export of Kashmiri manuscripts abroad, where they were deemed to be better preserved and studied. Stein’s personal collection, a substantial and invaluable repository of these texts, is now housed in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University. This continues to be a crucial resource for scholars studying the history and culture of Kashmir and the broader South Asian region.

While Kashmiris lost the treasure, the shifting of these manuscripts to international libraries has ensured their preservation and accessibility to a global scholarly community. However, it has also sparked discussions about cultural heritage and the rights of origin countries to their historical artefacts.

Kashmir’s rich history is intricately bound with its manuscripts. Despite their historical value, these manuscripts often languished under the care of people without adequate means for preservation. Historically, there has been a realisation of the need to preserve these precious documents, yet concerted efforts to do so were lacking.

The urgency for preservation became painfully apparent during the floods in 2014, when devastating waters submerged large parts of Srinagar city, resulting in the loss of thousands of these invaluable documents. This disaster underscored the vulnerability of Kashmir’s manuscript heritage and prompted a renewed focus on its conservation. Kashmir hosts three main centres that store and preserve a wide range of historical and literary manuscripts. The Oriental Research Library, founded during the Dogra period, initially aimed to protect manuscripts written in the Sharada script and those written in Sanskrit. The Sharada script emerged from the Gupta Brahmi around the 7th century. This ancient alphabet held particular prominence in Kashmir during the early medieval period, serving as the primary script for writing Sanskrit for approximately seven centuries, from the Karkota era through the Sultanate period. Its enduring popularity and utility in preserving the written tradition of Sanskrit in the region underscore its cultural and historical significance, hence the need for its preservation.

The research library later also started preserving manuscripts in Arabic and Persian.

Founded in 1814, the SSP Museum holds hundreds of manuscripts. It preserves Gilgit manuscripts, ancient Buddhist texts from the 5th and 6th centuries, discovered in 1931 in the Gilgit region. These texts are vital for understanding Mahayana Buddhism and provide deep insights into Buddha’s teachings.

In 1947, during the India-Pak war, a large number of manuscripts were moved to Delhi for safekeeping. These have not been returned despite repeated requests from the erstwhile state governments of J&K.

In Kashmir, years of neglect and the devastating floods of 2014 severely damaged some of these invaluable documents.

Saleem Beg, head of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Jammu and Kashmir, refers to these manuscripts as endangered, with only about 26 per cent in satisfactory condition while the rest face preservation challenges. The floods also badly damaged the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages’ great repository of manuscripts.

A survey by the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, Jammu and Kashmir, 20 years ago revealed that about 40,000 manuscripts remain in private collections. Peerzada Muhammad Ashraf, who carried out this survey in Kashmir under a government project, found that many owners were hesitant to share details or were unable to safely store them.

Now, responding to what Beg has termed a “cultural crisis”, the National Mission for Manuscripts, a Government of India initiative, has stepped in to protect the remaining manuscripts. In collaboration with INTACH, Jammu and Kashmir, it has established the National Manuscript Centre in Srinagar, which plays a critical role in the preservation and restoration of historical manuscripts. Residents are encouraged to bring manuscripts to the centre, some of which date back as far as 300 years.

Many of these documents arrive in fragile conditions — suffering from issues like insect infestation, tearing, and general deterioration due to age and environmental factors. At the centre, experts employ a range of sophisticated conservation techniques to restore these manuscripts. The restoration process includes careful cleaning, stabilisation of the paper, mending tears, and treating the manuscripts to prevent future damage from insects and other harmful elements. This meticulous work not only preserves the physical integrity of the manuscripts, but also enhances their legibility and longevity.

Once restored, the manuscripts are properly folded and returned to their owners. To ensure further protection, the centre provides an outer cover for each manuscript, often in the form of a durable case. This not only helps in preserving the restored manuscripts from future damage, but also makes these more manageable for storage and study.

Beg says specialised materials and skills are involved in manuscript conservation efforts. He says the paper used for conservation is imported, a quality that ensures long-term preservation, but is not readily available in local markets. “These materials are typically reserved for institutions. Thanks to our national partnership with the National Mission for Manuscripts, we not only have access to these high-quality resources, but also benefit from a pool of trained professionals,” Beg says.

In the Kashmir valley, it is common to find shawls that have been preserved by families for around 100 years. However, Beg says that the cultural heritage of the manuscripts is of even greater value. “While textiles like shawls do represent a significant aspect of our cultural identity, the manuscripts offer a more profound insight into our history and legacy. They contain knowledge and narratives that are irreplaceable and invaluable,” he says.

Beg, who is quite passionate about this cause, organised a workshop last month dedicated to manuscript conservation, highlighting ongoing efforts to preserve the rich intellectual heritage of the region. The event, he says, served as an eye-opener for many scholars, students and traders attending it. There are numerous old manuscripts still in private hands and neglected for years without proper care. He urged owners of these valuable texts to step forward, assuring support. “These manuscripts are not just paper; they are vessels of our collective knowledge and we have to preserve them for future generations,” says Beg.

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