The Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Arabic and Persian Learning (Idara Tahqiqat Arabi and Farsi) was established here in 1955 by Bihar government. The sole objective behind the establishment of the institute was to produce researchers in Arabic and Persian languages, which provide a key to literary heritage and administrative records spanning over 700 years of Muslim rule in India. But today it is a typical case of official apathy. In fact, it is being bled to death.
It may surprise many that despite being a government institute, it does not have its own premises till date and is being run in a building of Madarsa Shamsul Hoda. More shocking is the fact that many sanctioned seats of staff – both teaching and non-teaching -- are vacant for years because the government did not appoint anyone after several old members retired. Currently, there exist five vacancies for lecturers and two for clerks. These have not been filled since 1987. Posts of assistant research scholar, a librarian and two peon too have remained unfilled since 1993. This is despite the fact that the languages of Arabic and Persian are still taught at colleges and universities.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Dr. Ejaz Ahmad, Registrar of the Institute, said in depressing tone: “We are government employees, so, what all we can do is to inform the government about problems plaguing the Institute and that has been done several times but without any action. We have written to Human Resource Development department of Bihar government time and again but all in vain.”
The institution is run under HRD and has four faculties; Arabic, Persian, English and Pedagogy. Of them, the English faculty has remained vacant for years together while the posts in Arabic and Persian departments have two lecturers each instead of sanctioned three for each while Pedagogy department has only one lecturer against three.
About courses Dr. Ejaz said: “The Institute selects five Fazil from Madarsa Board for 2-year research course for in-depth knowledge of Arabic and Persian languages. It also runs 6-month diploma course named Modern Arabic and Persian Languages and Learning for students who had Urdu subject in intermediate.”
“From 1964 to 1996 every year 25 untrained teachers of high schools were trained by the institute but later it was stopped by the government” he added.
Even more pathetic is the state of scholars who continue to receive a ridiculously petty sum of Rs. 100 as a monthly stipend without any research or hostel facilities. The amount was fixed five decades ago when it used to be a princely sum.
