Like
libraries everywhere, public and private funds needed to build, safeguard and
preserve book and manuscript collections in
“Let me also record here my sense of tragedy at what is occurring through widespread neglect of Indian libraries. I would not be surprised if many of the manuscripts I mention below are soon unavailable because of the rapid deterioration of resources that is taking place. The present political problems of the subcontinent make the situation much worse than it was in the past, when the climate was always an enemy of books (never before in studying manuscripts have I been so annoyed by wormholes and disintegrating pages). Most of the libraries I visited are directed by well-meaning people, but the resources for long-term preservation are often not available. I heard of several important libraries that have been or recently become inaccessible. Recent fires in two of these libraries, one of which was caused by communal violence and the other simply by neglect, destroyed many manuscripts that may well have been irreplaceable.”[1]
[1] William Chittick, “Notes on Ibn Arabi’s Influence in the Subcontinent.” The Muslim World 82, 3-4 (July-October 1992), p. 222.