Our Persian Heritage Needs To Be Translated

Z.G. Muhammad

 My Rambling Thoughts.

  I am amazed that translators receive less credit for their work than creative writers. However, had Arabs not institutionalised the translation of great works and philosophy between the eighth and tenth centuries, much of this literature might never have reached South Asian audiences.

Looking at our heritage, we also have a strong translation tradition. The Sultans of Kashmir focused on translating Sanskrit literature into Persian and Persian literature into Sanskrit, creating a vast reservoir of literature that might otherwise have been lost. As late as the twentieth century, Maharaja Pratap Singh established a translation bureau under the aegis of the Jammu and Kashmir Libraries and Research Department. This bureau not only worked to preserve Sanskrit literature but also facilitated the translation of classic Sanskrit works produced in the State into Persian and modern languages.

For more than five hundred years, Persian was the official language and the language of the elite in Kashmir—naturally, it was also the language of the pulpit. Almost all major religious, historical, and literary works were composed in Persian- hundreds of Persian poets of repute enriched our literary landscape- to honour them, even after death, a separate graveyard had been created. While we rightfully recognise Kalhana as a literary giant, we also acknowledge Gani Kashmiri and Sheikh Yaqoob Sarafi as minarets of intellectual heritage and towering figures of our literary identity—both wrote in Persian. Thanks to young scholars like Mufti Mudasir, Gani’s works have been translated into modern languages. However, how many of us have read Sheikh Yaqoob Sarafi or heard of his extensive works comparable to Rumi and Saadi Shirazi?

I was reminded of this yesterday when I came across a book in my small collection titled Saifia Sultani. Originally based on the Persian’ Panch Gunj’ by Mullah Bahaudin Matoo, it was first translated into verse in Kashmiri by Wahab Parry in 1899 and later into prose in Urdu by Prof. Shams-u-Din Ahmad. The 377-page book, published decades ago by City Book Centre, is undoubtedly a comprehensive work on our second major native saint, Hazrat Sultan-ul-Arifeen Sheikh Hamza Makdoom Sahib (c. 1494 – c. 1576).

The late Prof. Shams-u-Din Ahmad Sahib, formerly Head of the Persian Department, made invaluable contributions to our literature by translating significant Persian works into Kashmiri and Urdu. His role should have been celebrated by institutions dedicated to culture and education.

This piece aims to advocate for reviving the Research Department and initiating efforts to translate our immense literary treasure in Sanskrit, Arabic, and Persian into modern languages.