The Omar Khalidi Hall, eponymously named after the renowned Hyderabadi scholar, at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University’s H K Sherwani Centre for Deccan Studies (HKSCDS), was inaugurated on Thursday, and his personal library, from where he authored several books, was made available to the public.
Mr Khalidi, later moved to the USA, where he worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The hall is a collaborative effort of the HKSCDS, the US Consulate General, Mr Khalidi’s daughter Aliya Khalidi and wife Nigar Sultana Khalidi, and philanthropist Abdul Raheman Nakedar. The hall was inaugurated by MANUU Vice-Chancellor Prof Syed Ainul Hasan and US Consul General Jennifer Larson.
“It is an honour to recognise the contributions of Dr Omar Khalidi and play a part in bringing this marvellous collection of literature to Hyderabad. Dr. Khalidi’s life and career acted as a bridge between India and the United States in academic and social circles,” Ms Larson said.
According to Prof Salma Farooqui, Mr Khalidi’s library which was shipped from the USA to the HKSCDS contains 1,649 books and newspapers. Cataloguing is in progress, and these books would be digitised by the last week of September. “There was a clamour for Dr Khalidi’s books. Many universities, and people wanted them. It was really nice of Aliya Khalidi and Nigar Khalidi to think of donating this entire collection to a place in Hyderabad,” she said, adding that library would be open to members of the public who are interested in research.
As a part of the event, Canada-based scholar Mohammed Ayub Ali Khan sought to reconcile several stories about the Asaf Jahi flag. In a pre-recorded video, Mr Khan said that are different narrations and theories that name different Sufi saints as giving Nizam-ul-Mulk kulchas. Touching upon the complexities of these narrations, he also spoke of the account of Mansaram, the Peshi Secretary of the Nizam, who quoted the Nizam as saying. “My name is Qamruddin, that means the moon of my faith. Though the mark on the standard represented the moon, people thought it represented a round piece of bread. This has been continuing from the time of my grandfather the late Abid Khan and my father Feroz Jung. This legend about the bread on the flag is not true, though commonly believed,” he said.
Mr Khan said that these contradictory narrations give insights on how “people believing them, or promoting them, utilise them. It also shows the importance of these symbols for rival, spiritual, and social orders,” he said.
