As the bifurcation of the Schedule X institutions between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is in a limbo, the Telangana State Archives and Research Institute (TSARI) has completed the process of segregation of its collection of documents. They will be handed over to the residual State once the bifurcation formally takes place.
Valuable information
TSARI is one among the 10 largest archives in the world with a collection of as many as 50 million documents, including correspondence during the medieval period in its possession. The documents starting with a 1406 letter by the Bahmani rulers, cover a range of communications during the reigns of Qutub Shahis, Mughals and Asaf Jahis. Written in Persian in Shikasta script (cursive style of writing), these documents contained valuable information about the military and revenue administration of successive emperors as well as the intricate details of governance procedures at different levels.
According to officials, over 40 million documents containing information about the Deccan rulers and their imperial orders as well as regular instructions to officials at the lower levels belong exclusively to Telangana, part of the erstwhile Hyderabad State. However, there are also around 7-8 lakh documents pertaining to Andhra Pradesh which were transferred from Kurnool, the then capital of the united state, to the State Archives after the formation of Andhra Pradesh State in 1956.
“The entire set of GOs and other correspondence between 1953 and 1956 will be given to Andhra Pradesh. All the documents related to Hyderabad Deccan will be retained here as they have been part of the archives since 1721,” a senior official requesting anonymity told The Hindu . Transfer of documents, once bifurcation is completed, would not be a difficult task as the documents transferred from Andhra Pradesh are kept in separate wings.
GOs and other correspondence issued after 1956 will also be retained in the State as these pertained to the united state with Hyderabad as its capital.
“Copies of these orders will be handed over to Andhra Pradesh while originals will be kept here. They will be accessible to them as and when required,” the official added.
