The Rich History of the Persian Language in India

By Dr. Kaveh Farrokh

The article written by Maryam Papi entitled “The Persian language has a rich history in India, but it’s slowly dying out” appeared in Quart India on September 7, 2017. It was first posted  on Scroll.in. The article published in Kavehfarrokh.com has been slightly edited. Prior to reading the article printed below, readers are also directed to the Persian Heritage journal’s 2019 publication of a two-part article on Persephobia written by Kaveh Farrokh, Sheda Vasseghi and Javier Sánchez-Gracia:

• • Farrokh, K., Vasseghi, Sh., & Sánchez-Gracia, J. (2019). Western Persephobia: a brief overview and possible reasons for its origins (Part 1). Persian Heritage, 94, pp.23-24.

• • Farrokh, K., Vasseghi, Sh., & Sánchez-Gracia, J. (2019). Western Persephobia: a brief overview and possible reasons for its origins (Part 2). Persian Heritage, 95, pp.22-23.

Note the following excerpt from the above article(s) with respect to British rule:

From the outset of the establishment of their rule in India, the British attitude towards Iran was ambivalent at best, and unfavorable towards the Persian language in particular. The English Education Act of 1835 essentially banned the teaching of Persian in India and its official use in Indian courts. Up to this time, Indians of diverse backgrounds (Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, etc.) were able to rely on Persian as a common Lingua Franca. Eliminating Persian was instrumental for the solidification of British rule over the Indian subcontinent. India’s large and diverse population was now also cut off from a wide swathe of Persian-speakers in Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran. To further weaken the bonds between India’s Hindus, Muslim, Sikhs, etc. the British East Company also supported the promotion of extremist Islamist cults seeking to eliminate Persian and Indian cultural influences.

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It is difficult to think of Persian as an Indian language today. Yet for hundreds of years, Farsi held sway as a language of administration and high culture across the subcontinent. It was brought in by Persophile central Asians during the 12th century, and played a role very similar to the one English does in modern India. So, in the 17th century, when the Marathi Shivaji wanted to communicate with Rajasthani Jai Singh, the general of the Mughal army in the Deccan, they used Farsi.

The elite of 19th century Bengal were bilingual in Farsi (Persian in English) and Bangla. Raja Rammohan Roy edited and wrote in a Farsi newspaper, and the favorite poet of Debendranath Tagore, Rabindranth’s father, was Hafez, a 14th century poet from Iran. So impactful was Farsi’s role that India’s largest language today, Hindi, takes its name from a Farsi word meaning “Indian.” With the coming of the Raj, English replaced Farsi, but pockets of the language still survive in India. This is an extract from the diary of a Persian teacher in Kolkata …

Kolkata Diary

This is my third visit to Kolkata and I am still overwhelmed with joy to see the city flourishing culturally. Kolkata’s extreme paradoxes, an intellectual environment existing alongside deprivation, create a combination of joy and struggle. My most educated Indian friends are from Bengal. I can see many similarly educated people on the streets of Kolkata. Every day, on their way to work, these intellectuals walk past crowds of hawkers and people washing themselves under the municipal water taps. Everything is wet in the monsoon, yet water is still a relief for people who live in the street.

A view provided by Maryam Papi of a student writing in Persian on a whiteboard (Source: Maryam Papi).

Kolkata does not show its reality to a tourist who only goes to the Victoria Memorial or Birla Mandir—the real Kolkata is on its streets. Part of this reality is also buried in the South Park Street Cemetery. This is where people like Sir William Jones (1746-1794), the founder of the Asiatic Society and the father of Orientalism, and Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-1831) have been laid to rest.

I went to this cemetery in the heart of the city, on a weekend, along with a group of Farsi language students who were attending the summer school held in Lady Brabourne College. The students gathered next to Sir William Jones’s tomb and listened to their professor, who was explaining how Jones had served oriental studies during his short life in the city.

Persian and Bengali

Looking for the city’s Persian legacies, the same group of students found their way to St John’s Church, where Farsi inscriptions are engraved upon the structure. They recount the life and death of people like William Hamilton, the surgeon who served the Mughal emperor Farrukh Siyar in Delhi. Farsi was a major language in the subcontinent for several hundred years. Despite Bengali having many words in common with Farsi, in Bengal, there are no longer any native speakers of Farsi.

It is still taught in a few schools of Kolkata as an optional subject. Some colleges, such as Lady Brabourne and Maulana Azad, have Farsi departments. Hearing the Farsi words coming out of their classrooms, it seems as though the Bengali tongue has forgotten how to pronounce Farsi words. The students could not read the inscriptions on St John’s Church, even though most were Muslims, familiar with Urdu.

At a two-week summer school in Lady Brabourne College, organized by the Institute of Indo-Persian Studies, 54 students from various colleges in Kolkata had the chance to learn Farsi from native speakers for the first time. Some students could recite Farsi poems but as a native Farsi speaker, I could not grasp anything they said. The students in the Bachelor’s program as well as some completing their Master’s had to go back to the Farsi alphabet, to learn its correct sound and to distinguish letters like “f” and “p,” which were being pronounced in a similar way due to their vernacular accent.

Next, they moved on to the formation and usage of simple and complex Farsi words, and reading out Farsi text in a proper Farsi accent. On the fourth day, they began memorizing the ghazals of Hafez and Khusro and Iqbal. They also glimpsed the magnificent worlds of Firdausi, Rumi, Hafiz, Khusro, and others.

Considering things from a wider perspective, I wondered how this poetry might change their lives. Would an understanding of Sufism in Farsi poetry create better human beings? The literature may change their world outlook. But what is more solid? The grammar of a language or the rules of a society?

A view provided by Maryam Papi of Bengali students of the Persian language (Source: Maryam Papi).

Tagore connection

I was teaching Farsi through films to familiarize students with the everyday life of Iran, and to improve their listening skills. To my surprise, I realised that the Farsi studies students did not know much about Iranian culture. They were not even familiar with well-known film directors from the country.

Some of my questions were answered at Rabindranath Tagore’s house, another location the Farsi students visited as a part of the extracurricular program provided by the summer school. The house has been turned into a museum, and certain rooms have been used to depict the cultural interaction between Tagore’s home country and some of those he visited. Each of these rooms serves as a reflection on the cultural connections between India and the country visited by him. There is no room dedicated, however, to the Indo-Iranian cultural connections of Tagore—despite his having traveled to Iran twice in a two-year period. Considering such negligence of Indo-Iranian heritage, it is no wonder that the Iranian Embassy and the Iranian Cultural Center in New Delhi made a minimal financial contribution to Kolkata’s Farsi summer school.

A view provided by Maryam Papi of students learning the Persian language (Source: Maryam Papi).

Promotion versus Preservation

Iran might be the home of the Farsi language, but it is also spoken in countries like Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Despite having a claim over Farsi, the Iranian government does little to promote the language abroad. In a place like India, Farsi does not need to be promoted—it merely needs to be preserved. Most Farsi manuscripts lie unused and locked in Indian libraries and archives. The task of documenting, digitizing, and preserving these manuscripts is beyond the capabilities of Persian Studies Centers in India.

A view provided by Maryam Papi of an Indian enthusiast of the Persian language applying ink on Persian poetry that has been etched upon a stone stand (Source: Maryam Papi).

The future of the Farsi language in India is ambiguous. Efforts are underway by the president of IIPS, professor Syed Akhtar Husain, to revitalize the language as well as Indo-Persian culture. Husain refers to the glorious era of Persian in the subcontinent, during which valuable books, records, and documents were produced. He said:

“It is a pity that the current generations have kept themselves away from the vast treasure troves of Persian literature preserved in various libraries and archives in Bengal.”

Related posts:

1. 1. Persian Language Summer and Winter Courses offered by the ASPIRANTUM Language School

1. 1. Persian Connections to India’s Samosa

1. 1. Persian in Use: An Elementary Textbook of Language and Culture

1. 1. Persian poet’s 700-year-old Manuscript discovered with signature by Mughal king Shah Jahan

1. 1. Documentary: Entire History of the Persian Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BCE)

1. 1. A Survey and History of the Persian Population of the Caucasus

1. 1. The 1,500-Year-Old Love Story Between a Persian Prince and a Korean Princess that Could Rewrite History

1. 1. Marco Polo and the Persian Gulf

1. 1. Spanish Military History Journal Interview with Kaveh Farrokh

1. 1. Journal Article on Western Persephobia

By Dr. Kaveh Farrokh|February 28th, 2024|Culture, Education, Eurocentricism, Heritage, Iran and India, Language & Linguistics, Linguistics, Literature, Persianate|Comments Off

Global Tourism Resilience Day

February 17

Resilient tourism

For many developing countries, including the least developed countries, small island developing states, countries in Africa and middle-income countries, tourism is a major source of income, foreign currency earnings, tax revenue and employment. Because tourism connects people with nature, sustainable tourism has the unique ability to spur environmental responsibility and conservation.

Sustainable tourism, including ecotourism, is a cross-cutting activity that can contribute to the three dimensions of sustainable development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by fostering economic growth, alleviating poverty, creating full and productive employment and decent work for all.

It can also play a role in accelerating the change to more sustainable consumption and production patterns and promoting the sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources, promoting local culture, improving the quality of life and the economic empowerment of women and young people, indigenous peoples and local communities and promoting rural development and better living conditions for rural populations, including small-holder and family farmers.

The use of sustainable and resilient tourism as a tool to foster sustained and inclusive economic growth, social development and financial inclusion, enables the formalization of the informal sector, the promotion of domestic resource mobilization and environmental protection and the eradication of poverty and hunger, including the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources and the promotion of investment and entrepreneurship in sustainable tourism.

Global Tourism Resilience Day (17 February), proclaimed by the General Assembly in resolution A/RES/77/269, aims to emphasize the need to foster resilient tourism development to deal with shocks, taking into account the vulnerability of the tourism sector to emergencies. It is also a call for action for Member States to develop national strategies for rehabilitation after disruptions, including through private-public cooperation and the diversification of activities and products.

A group of researchers and experts at the University of Mazandaran in Iran assessed the situation of the Caspian Sea and the Hyrcanian forests as “critical” and “threatened.” Citing research, they predicted that with currents trends in the Caspian Sea, the water level of the lake will decrease by approximately eight to 18 meters by the end of the 21^st century, and that large parts of it will dry up. The Hyrcanian forests, which cover approximately 48% of the area of the Mazandaran province, are severely threatened.

The Caspian Sea is described as the world’s largest lake, usually called a full-fledged sea. The Hyrcanian forests, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, spread close to the coast of the Caspian Sea in Iran and Azerbaijan. The forests are comprised of an area of lush lowland, with mountainous forests covering approximately 55,000 square kilometers.

savepasargad.com

World’s largest collection of tusks discovered in 5,000-year-old tomb of ‘Ivory Lady’ in Spain

More than 270,000 delicate shell beads recovered from the nearly 5,000-year-old “Ivory Lady” tomb in Spain represent the largest collection of beads ever found in the world, according to archaeologists. The beads were part of elaborate dresses made out of linen and adorned with ivory and amber pendants, suggesting they were made for a select group of high-status women.

Archaeologists excavated a large tomb, known as the Montelirio tholos burial, between 2010 and 2011 at the Valencina mega-site, located 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) from Seville. Valencina is a large Copper Age settlement, and the tholos tomb was used from about 2800 to 2600 B.C. Within the tomb, archaeologists discovered eight skeletons, seven of which were female.

“This type of tomb is not common in Iberia,” Samuel Ramírez-Cruzado, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Seville in Spain, told Live Science in an email, and “it is not normal in Iberia that the majority of human bodies inhumated in a single place are female.”

By Dr. kaveh Farrokh

The article below “Impact of Iranian Culture on East Asia” published in The Iranian (Sept 10, 2017) is by Dr. Mohammad Ala, the recipient of the 2013 Grand Prix Film Italia Award for his documentary Immortality.

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There are many examples of Iranian cultural influence on East Asia. In this article, several examples of this influence in Japan and China will be listed.

Iran is located in West Asia (wrongly known as the Middle East, even among Iranians). It has influenced many cultures throughout its rich history from music to food preparation, and even some imperial traditions were borrowed from the Iranian system of government.

According to the “Shiji”, a historical book written by Sima Qian, Iranians were known in China as An-XiAn-Xi means Arsak/Ashkanian and the Parthian Empire extended into to the Chinese language, including Pacoros and Emperor Zhangs letters. An-Xi (Parthia/Iran) Gao means high (i.e., from a noble background). Thus An-Xi Gao refers to a Parthian with noble background. Sima Qian and his associate An Xuan wrote about Wudi and Mihrdat and how they knew each other. Qian was the first person to translate Buddhist texts into Mandarin which had a major impact on Chinese history.

In countries across East Asia (not just China!), including Korea, Vietnam and Japan, these two individuals are considered holy. They were instrumental in Buddhism gaining popularity.

History teaches us that the Chinese were well informed about Iran. For example, after the overthrow of the Parthian Empire, they stopped calling Iran An-Xi and they started to call it Po-ssi or Bo-ssi which means Parsi in Chinese.

The Tang-Dynasty were close allies with the Sasanids. Some historians believe China tried to free Iran from the Arabs and some Iranians left to live in East Asia by way of the silk road.

An interesting story is that of An-Lu Shan a Sogdian-Iranian who became the Emperor of China. Iran was a part of the Chinese history, and later during the Islamic Period, many Hui-Chinese like Zheng He were of Iranian-Khwarezmian ancestry. Also the Barmakiyan-Family, a mixed Zoroastrian-Buddhist Iranian family, had important positions in India and East Asia.

The first mention of Iranians (Persians) coming to Japan can be found in the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan). One of the earliest Japanese historical sources, completed in 720 C.E. It records that in 654 C.E. several people arrived in Japan from Tokhārā (Aston, pp. 246, 251, 259). Though there is some controversy about the location of Tokhārā, some scholars have claimed the name to be a shortened version of Toḵārestān, which was part of the territory of Sasanian Persia (Itō, 1980, pp. 5-10).

Iranian people of Central Asia were the link between West and East Asia as a whole and the civilizations of ancient Iran, notably Sassanian and post-Sassanian culture(s). Open and tolerant, the Soghdians, Kushans, Tocharians, etc. established a sophisticated literature and urban culture (Lecture slide from Kaveh Farrokh’s lectures from the course “The Silk Route: origins & History“).

Elsewhere in the Nihon Shoki, it is mentioned that in 660, when an Iranian (Persian), whose name was Dārā, returned to his country. He left his wife in Japan and promised the Emperor that he would come back and work for him again (Aston, p. 266; Imoto, 2002, pp. 58-60).

In the 7th to the 9th centuries, foreigners—then known in Japanese as toraijin—were coming to Japan mainly from Korea and China, bringing with them technology, culture, religion (Buddhism), and ideas. Eastern Asia, especially the Tang Dynasty of China (618-907), had socio-economic networks with many regions of the world, including southern and western Asia.

Chang’an (present-day Xi’an), the capital of the Tang Dynasty, was an international city with people from various countries, including Iranians (Persians). It should be noted that some even traveled further to Japan. Iranian names are to be met with in historical documents, and one can find some influence of Persian culture in the architecture, sculptures, and also in the customs and old East Asian rituals at that time. For example, some scholars have claimed that there is some influence of Persian culture in the Omizutori ritual held every February at Tōdaiji temple in Nara (Itō, 1980, pp. 125-33).

The oldest document in Parsi, which is preserved in Japan, was procured by the Japanese priest named Kyōsei (1189-1268) from Iranians (Persians) during his trip to southern Asia in 1217. Thinking they were Indians, the priest asked them to write something for him as a keepsake. However, after his return to Japan he found out that they were not Indians, because no one could understand what the writing meant. This document was discovered in the late 20th century, when it was established that it is written in Parsi and contains a line from Ferdowsi’s Šāh-nāma (qq.v.), a line from Faḵr-al-Din Gorgāni’s Vis o Rāmin (qq.v.), and a quatrain of unknown authorship (Okada, 1989).

Music has no boundaries, words from one language can be combined with musical tradition of another. The following is a beautiful singing.

Footnotes:

In addition to public domain sources, the data were obtained from, “Japan and Ancient Iran” , “Christopher I. Beckwith: Empires of the Silk Road” and Kaveh Farrokh’s lectures at USC and UBC were reviewed.

Mazda = Ahoora Mazda (God of light), the name Mazda came into being with the production of the company’s first trucks.

Nissan Qashqai: This name came from Qashqai tribe who live mostly in mountainous Southwestern region of Iran.  (Qashqai means “a horse with a white forehead”)

Related posts:

1. 1. An Overview of Iranians in Japan during Earlier Times

1. 1. Toyoko Morita: Iranian arrivals to ancient Japan

1. 1. Japan and Ancient Iran

1. 1. Dr. Masato Tojo: Zen Buddhism and Persian Culture

1. 1. Ancient Persia: Influences on Ancient Chinese and Japanese Calendars

1. 1. Farroukh Jorat: Iranian Elements in the Culture of the Ancient Slavs

1. 1. Recommended Book: Iranian Culture before Islam and its Influence on Islam and Arabian Literature

1. 1. New Link for Iran, China and Asia

1. 1. Chinese-Iranian Relations in Pre-Islamic Times

1. 1. The “Middle East”: A 20th Century Neologism that has Run its Time?

By Dr. Kaveh Farrokh|September 17th, 2017|Central Asia, China, Heritage, India and Asia, Iran and Central Asia, Iran and Japan|Comments Off

Extraordinary discovery during the construction of a New Power Line: Archaeologists unearth a cemetery from the Copper Age with Three Warrior Graves. One of the deceased even wore part of his armor.

Archaeologists have discovered an approximately 4,500-year-old cemetery with ten graves from the Bell Beaker culture near Förderstedt, located in the Salzlandkreis district of Germany.

Currently, three particularly well-preserved burials have been uncovered. The deceased, buried in a hunched position facing east, were interred under a common burial mound. Women were laid on the right side, while men were on the left side of the body.

“A common burial mound covered all three deceased,” said project leader Susanne Friederich from the State Office for Heritage Preservation and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt.

In the Bell Beaker culture, the dead were always buried in a hunched position facing east. The name comes from the bell-shaped ceramic vessels that were filled with food and placed in the grave for the journey to the afterlife.

Among the most striking discoveries are the grave goods found within the tombs. In one grave, archaeologists unearthed a bell-shaped ceramic vessel, approximately 15 centimeters in diameter, filled with food to accompany the deceased on their journey to the afterlife.

At the time of burial, the deceased was still wearing his arm guard, which helps archers avoid injuring themselves with the bowstring. Photo: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/dpa

Extraordinary discovery during the construction of a New Power Line: Archaeologists unearth a cemetery from the Copper Age with Three Warrior Graves. One of the deceased even wore part of his armor.

Archaeologists have discovered an approximately 4,500-year-old cemetery with ten graves from the Bell Beaker culture near Förderstedt, located in the Salzlandkreis district of Germany.

Currently, three particularly well-preserved burials have been uncovered. The deceased, buried in a hunched position facing east, were interred under a common burial mound. Women were laid on the right side, while men were on the left side of the body.

“A common burial mound covered all three deceased,” said project leader Susanne Friederich from the State Office for Heritage Preservation and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt.

In the Bell Beaker culture, the dead were always buried in a hunched position facing east. The name comes from the bell-shaped ceramic vessels that were filled with food and placed in the grave for the journey to the afterlife.

Among the most striking discoveries are the grave goods found within the tombs. In one grave, archaeologists unearthed a bell-shaped ceramic vessel, approximately 15 centimeters in diameter, filled with food to accompany the deceased on their journey to the afterlife.

Harriet Strahl, a Ph.D. student in the Durham University history department, has shed new light on the emotional and societal repercussions of the 1120 White Ship disaster in an article published in the Journal of Medieval History.

Through her detailed analysis of contemporary accounts, including the extensive writings of the monk Orderic Vitalis, Harriet uncovers how this maritime tragedy reverberated through 12th-century Anglo-Norman society.

Her research reveals not just the historical facts of the shipwreck but also its profound emotional and commemorative significance.

Harriet’s findings center on the events of 25 November 1120, when the White Ship struck a rock near Barfleur, Normandy, drowning nearly all aboard, including King Henry I’s heir, William Adelin, as well as many young nobles, knights, and sailors, altogether around 300 people.

Drawing on Orderic Vitalis’ Ecclesiastical History, Harriet highlights how this loss devastated the English royal family and destabilized the succession.

Harriet notes that Orderic’s harrowing and detailed narrative—unique among eight contemporary accounts—reflected a blend of grief, moral reflection, and monastic duty.

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-historian-reveals-emotional-impact-white.html

Once the crown jewel of the ancient Assyrian empire, the archaeological site was ravaged by Islamic State fighters after they seized large areas of Iraq and neighbouring Syria in 2014.

January 09, 2025 10:09 am IST – Nimrud

A decade after jihadists ransacked Iraq’s famed Nimrud site, archaeologists have been painstakingly putting together its ancient treasures, shattered into tens of thousands of tiny fragments.

Once the crown jewel of the ancient Assyrian empire, the archaeological site was ravaged by Islamic State (IS) fighters after they seized large areas of Iraq and neighbouring Syria in 2014.

The precious pre-Islamic artefacts destroyed by the jihadists are now in pieces, but the archaeologists working in Nimrud are undaunted by the colossal task they face.

“Every time we find a piece and bring it to its original place, it’s like a new discovery,” Abdel Ghani Ghadi, a 47-year-old expert working on the site, said.

More than 500 artefacts were found shattered at the site, located about 30 km from Mosul, the city in northern Iraq where IS established the capital of their self-declared “caliphate”.

Meticulous excavation work by Iraqi archaeologists has already yielded more than 35,000 fragments.

The archaeologists have been carefully reassembling bas-reliefs, sculptures and decorated slabs depicting mythical creatures, which had all graced the palace of Assyrian King Ashurnasirpal II nearly 3,000 years ago.

Seen from above, the pieces of the puzzle gradually come together. Shards of what just several years ago was a single artefact are placed side by side, protected by sheets of green tarpaulin.

Bit by bit, the image of Ashurnasirpal II appears on one bas-relief alongside a winged, bearded figure with curly hair and a flower on its wrist, as the restoration brings back to life rich details carved in stone millennia ago.

Another artefact shows handcuffed prisoners from territories that rebelled against the mighty Assyrian army.

Partially reconstructed lamassus — depictions of an Assyrian deity with a human head, the body of a bull or a lion and the wings of a bird — lay on their side, not far from tablets bearing ancient cuneiform text.

“These sculptures are the treasures of Mesopotamia,” said Mr. Ghadi.

“Nimrud is the heritage of all of humanity, a history that goes back 3,000 years.”

‘Complex operation’

Founded in the 13th century BC as Kalhu, Nimrud reached its peak in the ninth century BC and was the second capital of the Assyrian empire.

Propaganda videos released by IS in 2015 showed jihadists destroying monuments with bulldozers, hacking away at them with pickaxes or exploding them.

One of those monuments was the 2,800-year-old temple of Nabu, the Mesopotamian god of wisdom and writing.

IS fighters wreaked havoc at other sites too, like the once-celebrated Mosul Museum and ancient Palmyra in neighbouring Syria.

The jihadist group was defeated in Iraq in 2017, and the restoration project in Nimrud began a year later, only to be interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and restart in 2023.

Mohamed Kassim of the Academic Research Institute in Iraq said that “until now, it has been a process of collection, classification and identification.”

About 70% of the collection work has been completed at the Assyrian palace site, with about a year’s worth of fieldwork left before restoration can begin in full force, said Mr. Kassim, noting it was a “complex operation”.

His organisation has been working closely with Iraqi archaeologists, supporting their drive to “save” Nimrud and preserve its cultural riches, through training sessions provided by the Smithsonian Institution with financial support from the United States.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/iraqi-archaeologists-piece-together-ancient-treasures-ravaged-by-islamic-state/article69077129.ece

The 4,100-year-old tomb of a doctor who “treated the pharaoh himself” has been discovered at the site of Saqqara in Egypt.

The burial belongs to a doctor named “Tetinebefou,” the Swiss-French team that made the discovery reported in a translated blog post. Although the artifacts in the tomb had been plundered, archaeologists were able to study the site’s wall paintings and hieroglyphic inscriptions, which describe the doctor’s position and depict a variety of objects that may have been used in his medical treatments..