Tag Archives: Karimi Library – Anjuman-e-Islam

Karimi Library Mumbai Restores Rare Urdu and Persian Translations of Hindu Scriptures

Museums, Libraries (wef. April 16th, 2022), Uniquely Indian - Inter Faith (wef. February 08th, 2023), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Mumbai:

Inside a century-old building overlooking the streets of south Mumbai, a quiet effort is underway to save rare Persian and Urdu translations of Indian scriptures, the last surviving records of the country’s multi-cultural past.

The Karimi Library, housed within the 152-year-old Anjuman-I-Islam institute near the iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, has launched a restoration drive to rescue more than 32 sacred Hindu texts. These include the Mahabharat, Ramayan, Bhagavad Gita, and Shiv Puran, all printed between 1867 and 1896.

The library was established in 1898 after merchant Kazi Abdul Karimi Porbandari donated 4,500 valuable texts, and it was named after him. Padma Shri Dr Zahir Kazi, president of Anjuman-I-Islam, founded by Badruddin Tyabji in 1874, shared this history while speaking about the ongoing project.

The archive holds books, manuscripts, and newspapers in Sanskrit, English, Urdu, Persian, Marathi, Pashto, and Arabic, covering history, philosophy, theology, literature, and geography. It also features rare newspapers dating back to 1875, including the Jaipur Gazette, Ambala Gazette, and Cairo’s Al Kaira, alongside royal decrees from Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

“The books have become old and pages brittle. They need to be treated with special chemicals to weed out fungus and pests. Books that are not in good shape are pasted with special paper for preservation,” Kazi said.

A team of experts is handling the digitisation process, with pages being uploaded to Anjuman-I-Islam’s cloud account.

“These books reflect so much of tolerance. It is an eye-opener for Indians that the country’s heritage is very much there in this library,” Kazi said.

Library in-charge Mohammad Ghalib Mulla confirmed that more than 100,000 book pages and 70,000 pages from newspapers and periodicals have been digitised, leaving only 2,250 pages to complete the archiving project.

“The newspapers give details about the initial days of the freedom struggle, the social and political situation of those times, how journalism was, pro and anti-British,” Mulla said.

Several freedom fighters were part of Anjuman-I-Islam’s management, and the library witnessed many of their meetings, according to Kazi.

The library building is also undergoing renovation, with efforts to retain its original look and feel. “We intend to reopen the restored library by October 2, subject to completion of work. We also plan to host many national and international events in this library,” Kazi said.

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Uncategorized / by Radiance News Bureau / August 31st, 2026

Muslim advocates create forum to fight injustice

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Mumbai :

Over 300 Muslim advocates from across the state joined hands on Friday to create a forum to stridently fight cases of “injustice” done to the members of community. At a well-attended meet, with participants coming from different districts and talukas of the state, the Muslim advocates resolved to stay united and plead for the rights of minorities as guaranteed in the constitution.

The mood in the spacious Karimi Library’s hall of Anjuman-e-Islam near CST was electric with dozens of young advocates listening with rapt attention to senior legal luminaries, even as the speakers quoted the Quran, Urdu poetry and the minority rights copiously. Two former judges of Bombay high court, Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice Shafi Parkar, were also present. distributed gyaan.

Senior advocates like Saeed Akhtar pressed the need for unity among Muslim advocates. “We must stay united if we want to become an influential force,” said Akhtar, who didn’t find it odd to be associated with an exclusive forum of Muslim advocates. “Advocates can have multiple affiliations and I know many of my non-Muslim colleagues who are members of organizations set up by their respective castes and religions,” added Akhtar.

Many advocates sympathized with the accused of Malegaon 2006 blasts currently languishing in jail despite Swami Aseemanand’s confession that several blasts across India, including those at a Muslim cemetery in Malegaon in 2006, were carried out by activists of Hindutva organizations.

Giving the reason why an exclusive forum of Muslim advocates was needed, advocate Abdul Kalam from Thane said: “After the communal riots, it has been found that Hindu advocates are reluctant to fight cases of Muslim victims or accused. We don’t say that all non-Muslim advocates are biased, but during moments of crisis, many upright advocates have developed cold feet.”

Dr Zaheer Kazi, president of Anjuman-e-Islam, reminded the congregation of the need to be aware of several latches in the recent bills like Right to Education Bill and New Direct Tax Code Bill which will soon be turned into laws. “The New Direct Tax Code Bill has some sections which will harm the interest of minority-run institutions. The institutions which run on donations will be unnecessarily taxed heavily. Muslim advocates must be aware of these shortcomings in the bills and fight to get them removed before they become laws,” said Kazi. The conclave formed an ad hoc committee which will choose the office bearers of the Muslim advocates’ Forum.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Mumbai / by Mohammed Wajihuddin / TNN / April 22nd, 2011