MUZAFFARABAD: The University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (UAJK) has established Shah-i-Hamadan chair, with the cooperation of Cultural Council of Iran, for the revival and promotion of Persian language and literature in the region.

The inauguration ceremony was held in UAJK City Campus on Monday and was attended by Iranian Cultural Attaché in Pakistan Taqi Sadqui, Vice Chancellor Dr Syed Dilnawaz Ahmed Gardezi and a sizeable number of faculty members and students.

Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, also known as Amir-i-Kabir Shah-i-Hamadan, was an iconic preacher and social reformer who enlightened the hearts of Kashmiri people with the golden teachings of Islam in the 14th century AD. His 700 followers, being the men of art and craft, turned Kashmir into a mini Iran and brought about a cultural revolution in the valley.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Sadqui maintained that establishment of this chair was a healthy sign and would go a long way in strengthening ties between the two brotherly nations. Praising the rich heritage of Kashmir, he expressed his pride in finding an immense parallelism between Iran and Kashmir, adding every Iranian was impatient to visit Kashmir.

Mr Sadqui was of the view that the Persian spoken in Kashmir was sweeter than that in his country.

The contributions of Kashmiri people towards the promotion of Persian were greater than the Iranians, he said, recalling that some senior Persian poets of this region were the mentors of Iranian poets.

Assuring of all possible cooperation with the Shah-i-Hamadan chair, the envoy also vowed to strengthen the ties of UAJK with the higher seats of learning in Iran, including exchange of faculty, students and research projects.

In his address, Dr Gardezi extended his gratitude to the people of Iran for their care and concern. Highlighting the historical perspectives of Pak-Iran bonds of friendship, he said: “Persian is our own language and we feel at home with it.”

He expressed the hope that Shah-i-Hamadan chair would play a pivotal role in furthering the already cordial ties between the two nations.

Published in Dawn, June 24th , 2014