TEHRAN -- The historical influence of Persian language and literature in India, and its potential to strengthen contemporary cultural ties between the two countries, was the focus of a scholarly gathering at the National Library and Archives of Iran in Tehran.
The conference, titled Manifestations of the Persian Language in India’s Historical Works, brought together Iranian academics, cultural heritage researchers and diplomats, including Qahraman Soleimani, Morteza Rezvanfar, India’s ambassador to Iran Vishwesh Negi and Kazem Sharif Kazemi, head of the India desk at Iran’s Foreign Ministry.
Held on Nov. 11, 2026, in the Mohaddes Hall of the National Library’s Iranology Department, the event was the 12th installment in the institution’s Iranology Days series. Other attendees included Ehsanollah Shokrallahi, Hooman Yousefdehi and Reza Shahabi, alongside researchers and members of the public interested in Iranian and Indian history.
The discussions examined Persian’s historical role in the Indian subcontinent, its influence on literature, administration and artistic traditions, and the potential for shared heritage projects to deepen cultural diplomacy.
Soleimani, secretary of the Saadi Foundation, opened the academic presentations with an examination of how India was represented in Persian literature across different historical periods.
He identified two contrasting literary images. The first, extending from the age of mythology to Mahmud of Ghazni’s invasion of India, was represented most prominently by Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. In the epic, India emerges as a civilization associated with wisdom, intellectual achievement and cultural sophistication.
Soleimani pointed to the story of the Indian invention of chess and backgammon as an example of how the literary encounter between Iran and India was framed through intellectual competition rather than military confrontation.
The second image emerged following Mahmud of Ghazni’s military campaigns, which, Soleimani argued, contributed to a more diminished representation of India in certain Persian literary works. He cited Saadi’s Gulistan as an example, contrasting its portrayal with the more elevated image found in Ferdowsi’s epic.
He also cautioned against viewing Persian’s Indian legacy exclusively through nostalgia. Although the language retains considerable emotionaland historical significance for Iranians, contemporary cultural relations
require a more pragmatic understanding of India’s linguistic and social landscape.
India recognizes 22 scheduled languages, while Persian has also been recognized among the country’s classical languages. Soleimani said that although Persian once served as a major language of communication across different parts of the subcontinent, cultural engagement today must take account of India’s contemporary linguistic diversity.
He described Persian as one of Iran’s most significant cultural contributions to the world, while emphasizing that the relationship was reciprocal. India’s literary and intellectual traditions also benefited from Persian as a vehicle through which works such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and Kalila wa Dimna circulated across wider cultural and linguistic worlds.
Soleimani also praised the Indian style of Persian poetry, describing it as particularly rich in creativity and literary innovation.
The second major presentation came from Rezvanfar, a faculty member of Iran’s Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, who discussed the documentation of Persian inscriptions and shared material heritage across India.
Rezvanfar said approximately 15,000 Persian and Arabic inscriptions had so far been identified and documented in India, with digitization efforts underway.
Rather than limiting his work to academic publications, he explained that he seeks to bring the inscriptions into public life through digital exhibitions, online photography and visual analyses of their artistic and architectural features. According to Rezvanfar, images and related material have attracted more than 100,000 views online.
His research also examines the historical presence of Iranian intellectuals, artists and migrants buried in Indian cemeteries and religious complexes, particularly across northern and central India, the Deccan and Hyderabad.
Gravestones and funerary inscriptions, he argued, offer valuable information about Iranian migrants from cities including Shiraz, Kerman and Tabriz, documenting their professions and social positions as architects, poets, astronomers and political figures.
Rezvanfar emphasized that such monuments should not simply be classified as Iranian heritage. Their materials, construction techniques, calligraphy and decorative traditions also reflect Indian artistic influences, making them part of a shared Indo-Iranian cultural legacy.
He presented examples of Persian inscriptions incorporating distinctly Indian visual elements, including calligraphic designs inspired by local landscapes and regional artistic traditions. Other examples included Persian poetry by Hafez displayed above the entrance to a royal palace in Bidar, in the Deccan.
Rezvanfar also discussed opportunities for joint cultural initiatives, including potential UNESCO intangible cultural heritage nominations and the development of a specialized tourism atlas connecting historically significant sites in Iran and India.
He highlighted Ashoka Hall at Rashtrapati Bhavan, India’s presidential residence in New Delhi, as an example of the countries’ intertwined artistic traditions. The hall features a ceiling painting associated with the Persian ruler Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, Persian-inspired decorative elements executed by Indian artists and a large carpet woven by approximately 500 Kashmiri artisans.
The proposed tourism atlas would extend beyond established destinations such as Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, introducing visitors, researchers, calligraphers and architecture enthusiasts to lesser-known sites connected with the shared history of the two countries.
India’s ambassador to Iran, Vishwesh Negi, described Persian as a major historical bridge between the Indian subcontinent and the wider Persian-speaking world.
He said Persian had served for more than six centuries as a language of administration, diplomacy and literature in India, becoming deeply integrated into the region’s intellectual and cultural life.
Negi also highlighted the influence of Persian literary figures, including Amir Khusrau, Faizi and Abu’l-Fazl, and the translation of major Sanskrit works into Persian. The resulting cultural exchange, he said, extended beyond literature into architecture, painting, cuisine and everyday vocabulary.
Persian-derived words remain embedded in languages such as Urdu and Punjabi, reflecting the depth of the historical relationship.
The ambassador expressed the Indian Embassy’s readiness to support further research and cultural collaboration between the two countries.
Kazem Sharif Kazemi, head of the India desk at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, stated that the scale of contemporary cultural cooperation remains insufficient compared with the depth of historical and civilizational ties.
He called for a more active role for diplomatic missions, cultural institutions and academic researchers in developing new initiatives, emphasizing that the cultural relationship between Iran and India should be treated as a lasting foundation of bilateral relations rather than a matter of changing political preferences.
The gathering concluded with readings from the poetry of Talib Amuli, the Persian poet associated with the Indian literary tradition, and calls for continued academic exchanges and joint efforts to preserve the shared heritage of the two countries.