The workshop was attended by Professor J. Prabhakar Rao, the head of the Centre for Study of Foreign Languages in University of Hyderabad, and Mohsen A’ashouri, the head of Iran’s Cultural House in Mumbai.

Shabbir-Ali Shirazi, a guest lecturer in Persian language at the University of Hyderabad, and one of the attendees at the workshop, said, “The Farsi language was the official dialect in India for 800 years, so the Indian students will have to learn the language if they intend to know about their historic origins.”

A’ashouri, meanwhile, said that Persian language and literature is considered a cultural heritage “not just for the Iranians, but all over the Indian sub-Continent.”

The Iranian added, “There are over a thousand ancient books in India written in Farsi, which indicates the deep roots of the language in the country.”

Professor Rao also underscored “the cultural and linguistic commonalities between the two eastern civilizations,” adding, “the ruling of the Persian dynasties in the Deccan Plateau contributed to a precious collection of Persian books in the library of the Indian plateau.”

The Indian professor called for further cooperation between the universities and academic figures of the two countries regarding the Persian language.   

Source: Iran Daily