Ajay Kumar at 15:10, 28 August 2023

2023-08-28T15:10:59Z

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{{Short description|Founder of Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}{{Use Indian English|date=August 2022}}

{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = [[The Honourable|HDJ]] [[Sir]] [[Khan Bahadur]]
| name = Khuda Bakhsh
| image = Maulvi Khuda Bakhsh.jpg
| alt = 
| birth_name = Khuda Bakhsh Khan
| birth_date = {{Birth date |1842|08|02|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age |1908|08|03|1842|08|02|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Chhapra, Bihar]], India
| death_place = [[Patna|Patna, Bihar]], India
| children = 4
| occupation = [[Advocate]], [[judge]], [[historian]], [[philosopher]]
| years_active = 1868–1908
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Patna College]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LL.B]])|[[University of Calcutta]] ([[Master of Laws|LL.M]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])}}
| father = Muhammad Bakhsh
| honours = {{ubl|[[Khan Bahadur]] (1881)|[[Order of the Indian Empire]] (1903)}}
}}

'''[[The Honourable|Hon'ble Dr. Justice]] [[Sir]] [[Khan Bahadur]] Khuda Bakhsh''' [[Order of the Indian Empire|OIE]] [[Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland|FRAS]] (2 August 1842 - 3 August 1908)<ref name=":0" /> was an [[Indian people|Indian]] [[advocate]], [[judge]], [[philosopher]], [[Resistance movement|revolutionary freedom fighter]], [[scholar]] and [[historian]] from [[Patna, Bihar]]. He was the founder of [[Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library]] and [[Chief justice|Chief Justice]] of [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Nizam]]'s [[Supreme court|Supreme Court]] of [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]] from 1895 to 1898.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://siwan.nic.in/khuda-baksh-khan/|title=Khuda Baksh Khan | District Siwan, Government Of Bihar | India|website=Siwan.nic.in|access-date=5 July 2022}}</ref>

The historian, [[Jadunath Sarkar]], referred to Khuda Bakhsh as the "Indian Bodley" in reference to [[Thomas Bodley]], the founder of the [[Bodleian Library]].<ref name=Sarkar1920>{{cite book |last1=Sarkar |first1=Jadunath |title=Khuda Bakhsh: The Indian Bodley |date=1920 |publisher=Longmans, Green and Company |pages=270–286 |url=https://archive.org/details/studiesinmughali01sark_0/page/270/mode/1up?q=bodley}}</ref>

==Early life==
[[File:Full Portrayal of Khuda Bakhsh in his library.jpg|thumb|Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh]]
Khuda Bakhsh was born into a prominent noble family in [[Patna]] and was brought up under the guidance of his father, Sir Muhammed Bakhsh, a famous advocate and [[Zamindar]] from Patna, Bihar. His family was distinguished in scholarship and one of his distant ancestors, Qazi Haibatullah, took part in compiling the [[Fatawa 'Alamgiri]].<ref name=Sarkar1920 /> The House of Bakhsh were the official record keepers who were given the responsibility by the [[Mughal emperors|Mughal Emperors]] to write day-to-day activities across the [[Mughal Empire]].<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/art-history/khuda-bakhsh-library|title=Khuda Bakhsh Library: Provincial Histories, Global Connections|first=Akash|last=Bharadwaj|date=23 September 2021|website=Livehistoryindia.com}}</ref>

His father, Muhammed Bakhsh, was a lawyer working in [[Bankipur]] and although he was not wealthy, due to his passion for [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Arabic]] literature, he has amassed a collection of 1200 manuscripts. Khuda Bakhsh would add to this collection later in life.<ref name=Sarkar1920 />

Originally, Khuda Bakhsh read in [[Calcutta]] under the care of a Nawab Amir Ali Khan Bahadur, who was a [[Special pleader|pleader]] in the [[Sadr Diwani Adalat]]. His father's illness however meant he was recalled home to Bankipur and had to start work to help his family financially.<ref name=Sarkar1920 />

==Early career==

He started his career as a ''Peshkar'' in 1868.<ref name="Historical Perspective">{{Cite web |title=Historical Perspective |url=https://kblibrary.bih.nic.in/history.htm |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=kblibrary.bih.nic.in}}</ref> He later on became the Government pleader of Patna in 1880. At the same time, his father became very ill. In his dying breath, he requested his son to open a public library. He inherited 1,400 manuscripts from his father and opened the library to the public in 1891, expanding the collection to 4,000 manuscripts and 80,000 books.<ref name="Historical Perspective"/> He became the first director of the library and remained in that position until his death, except for a brief period from 1895 to 1898 when he was serving as [[Chief Justice]] of the [[Supreme court|Supreme Court]] of [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]].<ref name="Historical Perspective"/> Khuda Bakhsh met [[Sachchidananda Sinha]] while practicing in [[Allahabad High Court|Allahabdad High Court]] as a Judge. He gave the responsibility of running the library to his student [[Sachchidananda Sinha|Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha]] from 1894 to 1898 where he mentored him.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sagar |first=Umang |date=2021-09-15 |title=Biography Of Sachchidanand Sinha {{!}} Who Was Sachchidanand Sinha? {{!}} Know Everything About Sachchidanand Sinha- 13angle {{!}} नई उमंग |url=https://13angle.com/biography-of-sachchidanand-sinha/ |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=13angle |language=en-US}}</ref> Khuda Bakhsh's Son, Sir Salahuddin Bakhsh, later became good friends with Sinha and work together in establishing his own library known as [[Sinha Library]].

==Foundation of Oriental Public Library==
{{Main|Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library}}
Sir Khuda Bakhsh inherited the private library from his father Muhammad Bakhsh and promised him in his death bed in 1876 that he will open the library for public. He hired Muhammad Maki to acquire books and manuscripts for a monthly income of Rs. 50. In 1890 Bakhsh built a two-story library for Rs. 80,000 which was inaugurated in 1891 by the former [[Lieutenant Governor of Bengal|Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal]], [[Charles Alfred Elliott|Sir Charles Elliott]]. He donated his manuscripts and books to the public on 14 January 1891.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Salahuddin Khuda Bakhsh |author2=Jadunath Sarkar |author2-link=Jadunath Sarkar |date=1909|title=My Father: His Life and Reminiscences (in English and Persian and Urdu) |location=Calcutta |publisher=Baptist Mission Press |pages=33–36|url=https://archive.org/details/khudabukhshfound00khudrich/mode/2up}}</ref>

Sir Khuda Bakhsh was approached by the representatives of the [[British Museum]] who made a stunning offer to purchase his collection, but he declined. He informed VC Scott O'Connor, an orientalist based in Edinburgh, England. "I am a poor man and the sum they offered me was a princely fortune, but could I ever part for money with that to which my father and I have dedicated our lives?" "No" he said "the collection is for [[Patna]] and the gift shall be laid at the feet of the Patna public".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collection Development |url=https://kblibrary.bih.nic.in/Collection.htm |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=kblibrary.bih.nic.in}}</ref>

The library was designated as an [[Institutes of National Importance|institution of national importance]] on 26 December 1969. By an act of Parliament.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kblibrary.bih.nic.in/|title=Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library|website=Kblibrary.bih.nic.in|access-date=5 July 2022}}</ref>

==Death==
Khuda Bakhsh was a very simple man with great vision and commitment. He died on 3 August 1908 and was buried in the library primase.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://kblibrary.bih.nic.in/history.htm|title=Historical Perspective|website=Kblibrary.bih.nic.in|access-date=5 July 2022}}</ref>

== Legacy and recognition ==
Sir Khuda Bakhsh was given the title of "[[Khan Bahadur]]" in 1881. He was [[knight]]ed with the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] in 1903. He was a member of the [[Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland|Royal Asiatic Society]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=A. C. |url=http://archive.org/details/dli.venugopal.416 |title=Glimpses of the Nizams Dominions |date=1898 |pages=77 |language=English}}</ref>

The Khuda Bakhsh Award for scholars for their lifetime achievements in the fields in which the library specializes was created in his honor in 1992.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://kblibrary.bih.nic.in/awards.htm | title=Khuda Bakhsh Award |website=Kblibrary.bih.nic.in}}</ref> [[Mahatma Gandhi]] commented on the legacy of Bakhsh: "I heard about this beautiful library nine years ago and I've been looking forward to seeing it ever since. I was very happy to see the priceless treasure of rare books here. I pay tribute to the great founder of this library who has spent every penny to give this invaluable treasure to India."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tourism.bihar.gov.in/en/destinations/patna/khuda-baksh-oriental-library?msclkid=0e9abbd7d15c11ec8031a7e1b8116b4d|title=Khuda Baksh Oriental Library|website=Tourism.bihar.gov.in|access-date=5 July 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://kblibrary.bih.nic.in/ Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library official website]
*[https://indiaculture.nic.in/khuda-baksh-oriental-public-library-patna Official Ministry of Culture, Govt of India Page for Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baksh, Khuda}}
[[Category:1842 births]]
[[Category:1908 deaths]]
[[Category:Historians of India]]
[[Category:Chief Justices of Hyderabad]]
[[Category:Khan Bahadurs]]

Khuda Bakhsh - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 15:10, 28 August 2023