HYDERABAD: Jennifer Larson, Consul General, U.S. Consulate General, inaugurated a hall dedicated to the eminent scholar and historian Dr Omar Khalidi, at the H.K. Sherwani Centre for Deccan Studies, Maulana Abdul National Urdu University (Manuu), here on Thursday.
Prof. Syed Ainul Hasan, Vice Chancellor, Manuu, was present on the occasion.
Dr Khalidi, an NRI based in the United States, was closely associated with the history, culture and heritage of the city. He has authored several books on Deccan’s history and culture of Hyderabad.
Dr Khalidi’s family donated a collection of over 1,600 books in English, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Marathi, Telugu, French and Italian. They were brought from the US for display at the centre.
The US government facilitated the shipment of the books, thereby establishing a long-lasting association between the US Consulate and Manuu.
Speaking on the occasion, Larson spoke about how she was personally inclined towards the Arabic language. “I am an Arabic speaker and studied Arabic literature a long time back. This is a historic occasion that after 14 years of the establishment of the US Consulate at Paigah tombs where Dr Khalidi was one of the speakers, and today we are inaugurating his collection.”
She said: “Dr Khalidi supported the conservation of the Islamic world in the US. It is an honour to recognise such projects, which allow the United States to play a role in preserving cultural heritages.”
Prof. Hasan said that MANUU will have close ties with the American Consulate in the future and this event was the beginning of that association.
Prof. Salma Faooqui, director, of H.K. Sherwani Centre for Deccan Studies, other professors of the university, eminent historians and academics attended the event.
