Ghalib Institute struggles to restore culture against time

Ghalib Institute, set up nearly 45 years ago to preserve and promote the literary legacy of Mirza Ghalib, is now clawing its way “back with a bang”, with little government backing, after struggling to survive for nearly two years due to lack of funds and exposure.

Working its way up the ladder, the institute has sought the collaboration of various organisations like the Aga Khan Foundation and National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language. The academy is primarily a semi-aided group, merely surviving at the mercy of event organisers and occasional government grants. Various proposals have been filed with the Centre for permanent aid, but all in vain.

The funding is often arranged by renting out its auditorium for private functions.

According to a source close to the institute, the dearth of funds reached its lowest point in 2013. “After over 40 years of working tirelessly, the academy came on the verge of bankruptcy when the L&Do (land and development office), under the Union home ministry, sued the organisation for allegedly not paying '3.50 crore worth of taxes in 2013,” he said.

“The amount was a penalty the academy owed to the government for taking in private tenants, which was not allowed.” The tenants, he explained, were the institute’s only source of income during the no-events season. “The land was allotted to the institute by the late PM Indira Gandhi and was not bound by any conditions,” added the source on condition of anonymity.

However, when contacted, the institute’s director, Dr Raza Haider, refused to comment, only saying that the funds shortage had been sorted with the help of the culture ministry and the penalty amount was also being taken care of. Dr Haider took over as the director two years ago and has since organised 17 functions here, trying to reinstate the lost glory.

“The Ghalib Institute is the largest one working for the welfare of Urdu literature. We have had issues in the past, but now we are back with a bang and I am working towards a facelift for this organisation, especially with respect to attracting the youth. We have also made a Facebook page and plan to invite popular faces.”

In its endeavour to keep Ghalib alive, the academy organises an annual three-day celebration of his life and literature — which comprises of a mushaira (a poetic symposium) and a play, illustrating the poet in different strokes. This year, the event will be held on December 11-13.

“The Ghalib Institute has hosted over 200 national and international-level seminars on Urdu and Persian poets, including Ghalib, Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq, Khwaja Mir Dard, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, among others,” Dr Haider said, adding that “so far, we have published over 200 books and awarded 250 people for excellence in Urdu and Persian poetry.”

The academy also has a theatre society, called Hum Sab, founded by late President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed’s wife Begum Abida Ahmed. The group works throughout the year, translating Ghalib’s works and literature on him into plays.

The institute, which has an auditorium, a museum and a library, solely dedicated to Mirza Ghalib, strikes a chord with patrons of Urdu literature. However, much like the language that it is striving to preserve, it is evident how much limited sources the institute has. “Urdu, despite being the second language of India and being the language for some of the greatest literature written, has no support. We have government popularising Hindi, English and Sanskrit, but Urdu is called ‘foreign language’,” a senior official at the institute said.

The campaign to resurrect the poetic legacy of Ghalib aka Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan had been heralded by many prominent faces so far, one of whom was Dr Zakir Husain, the late President of India. A committee formed under the patronage of Dr Husain first mooted the idea of setting up a memorial to celebrate the life and works of Ghalib in 1969. Mrs Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, later appointed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed the secretary of the committee. As a result of the endeavours of this committee, the Ghalib Institute was established in 1971.

The institute now works in various academic and cultural fields to not just promote the works of Ghalib but Urdu literature in general. It is managed by a Trust with as many as four members from the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed family, including former CJI Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi and Justice Aftab Alam.