EFL University

Department

Asian Languages

School

Arab and Asian Studies

Contact Details

: malam@efluniversity.ac.in

Academic Details

Academic qualifications: S.No.

Degree/Diploma

University

1

Ph.D.

University of Calcutta.

2

M.Phil

Jawaharlal Nehru University
Brief bio note: Dr. Mahmood Alam, recipient of UK-Visiting- Nehru Trust and Charles Wallace India Trust fellowships 2015-16 is presently working as Assistant Professor of Persian in the Dept. of Asian Languages, School of Arab and Asian Studies, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. Dr. Alam has obtained his M.A. and M.Phil in Persian from Jawaharlal Nehru University and Ph.D. from University of Calcutta. He has formerly worked in the Victoria Memorial Museum, Kolkata. He has prepared the catalogue of Professor Nurul Hasan’s (Former Governor of West Bengal) Arabic, Persian and Urdu books in the collection of Raj Bhavan, Kolkata. He has several research articles in Persian, English, and Urdu to his credit and participated in several national and international conferences in India and abroad such as Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, Spain, and UK. Learn Persian Grammar and Workbook is his latest book published by Manohar Books, Delhi and Routledge, UK. He has translated five short stories of Sadeq Hedayat into Urdu “Mujassama” for which West Bengal Urdu Academy conferred him with “John Gilchrist Award. Dr. Alam is associated with Persian Manuscript Initiative, a collaborative venture of the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies, University of Maryland, USA, dedicated to the preservation and digital enhancement of Persian manuscripts in the world.
Thrust areas of interest and research: His research focuses on the Indo-Persian studies, Persian language and Persian manuscripts with special reference to codicology.
Research articles published in peer reviewed journals with ISSN no.: ⚽ Article in Persian entitled “Tarikh Mahv Mishawad: Top e Jahan Kusha” published in Journal of Sub-Continent Researches, vol. 1, no, 1, Zahedan, Iran 2008. (ISSN2008-5710) (pp. 127-132) (UGC Journal No. 64205)

⚽ Article in English entitled “Persian Manuscripts in Bengal: The Hub of Indo-Persian Cultural Heritage” published in Journal of Sub-Continent Researches, vol. 1, no, 2, Winter 2008, Zahedan, Iran. (ISSN2008-5710) (pp. 25-40) (UGC Journal No. 64205)

⚽ Article in Persian entitled “Bazdid be Mirath i Hind o Iran: Mu’arrafi be Haft Nuskha i Khatti i Farsi az Kitabkhanah i Murshidabad” / Introducing seven manuscripts from the library of Murshidabad published in the journal Indo-Iranica Vol. 62, (1-2), March- June 2009, Iran Society, Kolkata. (ISSN 0378-0856) (pp. 38-47) (UGC Journal No. 41075)

⚽ Article in English entitled “Iqbal Secret of Self Yet to be revealed” published in the Proceeding of the International Conference on 132nd Birth day of Allama Iqbal Lahori (24-26 Feb. 2010) organized by the Sub-Continent & South Asian Research Centre, the University of Sistan & Baluchistan, Zahedan, Iran. (ISSN2008-5710) (pp.88-104)

⚽ Article in Persian entitled “Barrasi e masayel wa mushkilaat e gustarish e zababn wa adabiyat e Farsi dar Hind/ Problems and perspective of Persian language and literature in India published in the conference proceeding of 6th International Conference of Iranian Society for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature 8-10th June 2011, organised by the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar - Iran. (ISBN 9789742571840) (pp. 3523-3527)

⚽ Article in Persian entitled “Az Shantiniketan ta Shiraz/ From Shantiniketan to Shiraz” published in Hafez Pezhohi, vol. 15, Shiraz, Iran, 2012. (ISBN 978-600-6142-53-1). (pp. 207-222)

⚽ Article in English entitled “Mirza Ghalib and the British Legacy” published in Journal of Sub-Continent Researches, vol. 4, no, 11, summer 2012 Zahedan, Iran. (ISSN2008-5710). (pp. 61-69) (UGC Journal No. 64205)

⚽ Article in English entitled “Iqbal and the Secret of Self” published in the journal Indo-Iranica Vol. 65, (1-2), March- June 2012, Iran Society, Kolkata. (ISSN, 0378-0856) (pp. 77-82) (UGC Journal No. 41075)

⚽ Article in English entitled “Influence of Turko-Persian Culture in Bengal” in the proceeding of in a International Seminar on “Turkish-Iranian Relation”(15-17 May 2012) organized by the Faculty of Literature, Istanbul University, Turkey. (pp.91-104)

⚽ Article in English entitled “Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: Connoisseur of Indian Art” published in the journal Indo-Iranica Vol. 65, (3-4), Sep- Dec 2012, Iran Society, Kolkata. (ISSN, 0378-0856) (pp. 57-63) (UGC Journal No. 41075)

⚽ “Mojassemah” Hindi translation of Persian short story “Arusak e Pusht e Pardeh” by Sadeq Hedayat , Saar-Sansar, Oct. Dec. 2013, New Delhi. (ISSN 2320-3277) pp. 41-49

⚽ Article in Persian entitled “Shahar Roushan Gashteh dar Shab e bi-Chiragh” published in the conference proceeding of 8th International Conference of Iranian Society for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, (4-6 Sept. 2013) Zanjan, Iran.

⚽ Article in English entitled “The Travels of Emily Eden 1837-1840” published in Education Rays, quarterly journal, second ed. (April-May 2014), Guwahati, (ISSN 2348-0467) (pp.30-39).

⚽ Article in Persian entitled “Moarrafi be nuskha e khatti e farsi az kitab-khanah e Radha Kanta Deb” / Introduction to the Persian Manuscripts from the library of Radha Kanta Deb, published in the conference proceeding of 9th International Conference of Iranian Society for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, 27-29 Aug. 2014) Payam Noor University, Khorasan, Iran. (pp. 8728-8740)

⚽ Article in Persian entitled “Tarjuma-ha e Mathnawi e Manwi dar Hind” / Translation of Mathnawi of Rumi in India, published in the conference proceeding of 3rd International Masnavi Symposium on Contemporary Interactions, 15-16 Oct 2014) at the Urumia University, Urumia, Iran. (ISBN 978-600-6648-20-0) (pp. 479-490)

⚽ Article in English entitled “Persian during British Rule” published (2015) in conference proceedings of International conference on “Orientalism: Past and Present”(17-18 Feb. 2014) organized by the Dept. of Arabic, Aliah University, Kolkata, India. (ISBN 81-88792-41-1) pp. 12-22

⚽ Article in English entitled “Disappearance of History: A Note on the Jahankusha”, published in the journal Mihtra: the Journal of Indo-Iranian Studies, vol. II. No. 1. March 2016. Pp. 74-80., published by Indo Iranian Study Centre, MJP Rohilkhand University, UP, Baraili, UP. India. (ISSN 2348-6716) (UGC Journal No. 63598)

⚽ Article in English entitled “Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: An Architect of Indian Art and Culture”, published (March 2016)in the proceedings of International conference on Nehru, Azad and Perso-Arabic World organized by Dept. of Arabic and Persian, University of Calcutta, Kolkata.

⚽ Article (jointly written) in Persian entitled “Bāzdīd e Iqbal Az Hyderabad e Hind” published in Zindaginama wa khidmat e ‘ilmi wa farhangi e ‘Allama Muhammad Iqbal Lahori”. Published from Anjuman e Athār wa mofakhar e farhangi, Tehran, Iran 2019. ISBN 978-964-528-275-0 (pp. 261-270)

⚽ Article in English entitled “Amir Khusrau: Poet, Musician, Courtier and Historian” published in the International Journal of the School of Arab and Asian Studies, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad (Issue no. 1, May 2019), pp. 60-63.

⚽ Article in English entitled “A visit to the Persian manuscripts of Bengal at the British Library: A codicological approach” published in the journal Indo-Iranica Vol. 72, (1-4, Mar- June, Sep-Dec 2019, Iran Society, Kolkata. (ISSN, 0378-0856) (pp. 56-79) (UGC Journal No. 41075)

⚽ Article in English entitled “Persian Manuscripts in Victoria Memorial, Kolkata” published in Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies (UK, Iran), Volume 59, 2021 - Issue 2: Indo-Persian Manuscripts, published by Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. 20th June 2021. (ISSN 0578-6967). pp. 322-332 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/05786967.2021.1911731

⚽ Article in Persian entitled “Moarrafi be resalah-hayee az Gesudaraz Bandanawaz dar kitabkhanah-e noskhah-e sharqi, Hyderabad wa anjuman aasyayee, kolkata” published in the journal Indo-Iranica Vol. 74 (1-4), March-June, Sep-Dec 2021, Iran Society, Kolkata. (ISSN, 0378-0856) (pp. 26-34) (UGC Journal No. 41075)
Books authored, edited, chapters in books with ISBN no.: ⚽ Book entitled “Mujassema”collection of five short stories of Sadeq Hedayat (translation from Persian into Urdu), Arshia Publication, New Delhi, 2015. (ISBN 93-83322-93-4)

⚽ Edited (2016) with an introduction on “Indo-Iran Relations (a focus on Deccani Literature), collection of Urdu and English articles presented in the International Conference on Indo Iran Cultural Relations: A Focus on Sadeq Hedayat and India 17-19th February 2013, at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. Published by Lu Lu Printers & Graphics, Hyderabad, 2016. ISBN 978-81-92671-3-7

⚽ Book edited entitled “Sadeq Hedayat Among Indians”, The Asiatic Society, Kolkata, July 2020. (ISBN 978-81-945298-7-3)

⚽ Book “Learn Persian Grammar and Workbook for Elementary and Intermediate Levels”, published by Manohar Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi, June 2022. (ISBN. 9789391928148) p.354; Routledge, UK edition, December 2022 (978-1032382135).
Research projects (ongoing and completed): ⚽
Administrative responsibilities: S.No.

responsibilities
Professional affiliations (membership, editorial board, etc.,): ⚽ General Secretary, Institute of Indo Persian Studies (IIPS), Kolkata.

⚽ Member, the Islamic Manuscript Association (TIMA), Cambridge, United Kingdom (since 2014).

⚽ Project Specialist, Persian Manuscript Initiative (PMI) www.persianmanuscript.org, a collaborative venture of the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, USA, the School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University and Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, USA dedicated to the preservation and digital enhancement of Persian manuscripts in world.

⚽ Member, Editorial Board between 2010 and 2013 (English section) of bi-lingual (Persian & English) quarterly journal entitled Mytho-Mystic Literature Quarterly (Journal of Persian Language and Literature) / Majallah e Adabiat e Erfāni wa Asturah Shenakhti, published by Islamic Azad University, Southern Branch, Tehran, Iran. (ISSN No. 2008-4420).

⚽ Life member of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta.

⚽ Member, Persian Experts Pannel, National Council for Promotion of Urdu Languages, Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India (between 2012 and 2015)
Awards and recognitions: ⚽ Awarded U.G.C J.R.F. (Junior Research Fellowship)/ NET in June 2002.

⚽ Awarded scholarship to attend the 12th Long Term Refresher Course in Persian Language and Literature held at Shaheed Behishti University, Tehran, Iran, between 21st November 2008 and 25th January 2009. During the course a dissertation was submitted on “Aghaz i Rumman Navesi dar Iran” or Beginning of Novel Writing in Iran under the supervision of Professor Muhammad Gholam Rezaei, Professor of Persian in Shaheed Behishti University, Tehran, Iran in January 2009.

⚽ Letter of Appreciation from Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Governor of West Bengal for rendering service in cataloguing the Prof. Nurul Hasan’s Collection of Urdu, Persian books in Raj Bhawan Library, Kolkata, 2009

⚽ Awarded Professor Abha Kulsheeshtha ‘Najma’ prize for Arabic, Persian and Iranian section in 46th All India Oriental Conference, 2012 by Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune.

⚽ Organized (As Director) International Conference on Indo Iran Cultural Relations: A Focus on Sadeq Hedayat and India 17-19th February 2013, at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.

⚽ Recipient of Charles Wallace India Trust Fellowship/ Simon Digby Memorial Charity Research Grant for 2015-16 to study in UK (one month) and attend the course on Islamic Manuscripts Codicology in Cambridge University from 7 to 11 September 2015.

⚽ Recipient of Nehru Trust for the Indian Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum (NTICVAM) UK Visiting Fellowship (2015-16 for one month project on "The Indo-Persian Manuscripts Heritage of Bengal: Documenting Dispersed Collections."
Visited British Library, London and Cambridge University Library between 2nd August 2015 and 12th September 2015 to research on the Persian Manuscript collection of Warren Hastings. It was part of UK Visiting Fellowships received from Charles Wallace India Trust and Nehru Trust for working on "The Indo-Persian Manuscripts Heritage of Bengal: Documenting Dispersed Collections."

⚽ Attended 5-day (7-11 September 2015) Intensive course on Islamic Manuscript Codicology Course organized by The Islamic Manuscripts Association (TIMA) in Cambridge University, UK.

⚽ Received “John Gilchrist Award” 2015 for the book entitled “Mujassema” form West Bengal Urdu Academy, Govt. of West Bengal in 2017.

⚽ Organized 3rd Summer School in Persian between 2-14 July 2018 as Coordinator in EFL University Campus, Hyderabad. The programme was organized in collaboration with Institute of Indo Persian Studies, Kolkata.

⚽ Organized (as Director) International conference on Indo-Persian Manuscript Indo-Persian Manuscripts: Issues and Challenges in the Modern Time (6-8 March 2020) at EFL University, Hyderabad. The conference was organised in collaboration of the British Institute of Persian Studies, UK and financial support was extended by ICSSR, New Delhi.

⚽ English-Dari interpretation service extended for Resettlement Support Center (RSC) Eurasia, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) UN Migration Agency for Afghan Refugees in Kyrgyzstan from 15th February to 15th March 2023.