Hyderabad, Nov. 3: Etymological studies of Persian words reveal deep connections among languages and civilisations, reflecting centuries of linguistic borrowing, cultural encounters and intellectual exchanges, said Dr. Alexander Jabbari of the University of Minnesota.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day international conference titled “Networks and Entanglements: Exploring Civilisational Intertextuality in the Global South”, which began at Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) on Monday.
Delivering the first plenary lecture on “Persian Grammar in Early Modern India”, Dr. Jabbari explained how Persian words and their origins reveal links with Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Syriac, Coptic and Hebrew. He highlighted the cosmopolitan nature of Persian scholarship in Mughal India, particularly its engagement with Sanskrit.
He also discussed the development of Persian grammatical traditions in India, the Ottoman Empire and China, along with Persian’s relationship with emerging vernacular languages such as Urdu.
MANUU Conference Explores Linguistic and Civilisational Connections
MANUU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Syed Ainul Hasan presided over the inaugural session. Recalling the contributions of British Orientalist Sir William Jones, who translated Persian and Indian literary classics into English, he referred to Dara Shikoh’s work Majma-ul-Bahrain.
Prof. Hasan remarked that if Dara Shikoh were alive today, he might have written about the confluence of not just two oceans but many, highlighting the diversity and interconnectedness of civilisations.
MANUU Registrar Prof. Ishtiaque Ahmed delivered the welcome address, while Conference Convener Prof. Syed Imtiaz Hasnain presented the conference statement.
The international conference is being organised by MANUU in academic collaboration with the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, from November 2 to 4, 2026.
The inaugural session also witnessed the release of the Book of Abstracts 2026 and the proceedings of the November 2025 conference titled “Urdu, Hindi, Arabic and Persian: Civilizational Consilience across Linguistic, Literary, Cultural and Intellectual Exchan ges”.
Books authored by Dr. Peggy Mohan, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Prof. Panchanan Mohanty and Prof. Sangeeta Bagga-Gupta were also released.
Prof. Gulfishaan Habeeb, Conference Director, delivered the vote of thanks. Prof. Mohammed Abdul Sami Siddiqui, Conference Co-Convenor, compered the programme.
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