Regions have their own histories, distinct from the administrative states. While states dominate our existence in terms of governance and policy, regions seep deeper into our lives; they are a part of our identity and sense of belonging. Claiming the regional history is also one way to resist uniformity and conserve the multiplicity of our existence. Politically speaking, regional identity has often been the only resistance against overbearing religious fanaticism. There are many institutions that have painstaking worked to conserve regional histories, often forgotten in the ravages of time or, as in this case, overshadowed by the domination of the national. Hyderabad’s Idara-e-Adabiyat-e-Urdu is one such institution, championing Deccani identity. An institution rooted in the DeccanIdara-e-Adabiyat-e-Urdu was founded in 1931 by Syed Mohiuddin Qadri Zore along with Abdul Qadir Sarwari, Abdul Majeed Siddiqui, Abdul Qadeer Siddiqui and Naseeruddin Hashmi to promote Urdu language and literature across the subcontinent, particularly in the Deccan. The Idara became a centre for fostering the history and literary production of the Deccan, going much beyond its mandate of promoting Urdu. The Idara-e-Adabiyat-e-Urdu, Photo: From the personal collection of Rafiuddin Qadri via zor.untold.town.For the founders, the Deccan was an amalgamation of languages, cultures and religions. Although working for Urdu, they emphasised the plurality of identity and culture in the Deccan, which for them was the essence of the region. The Idara championed the cause of this plurality by translating from other languages and producing Urdu as a language which willingly accepts the influences of various cultures. It is particularly significant that they stood by these values while communalism was rampant in many parts of South Asia. Osmania influenceThe early 20th century witnessed the emergence of new identities and solidarities. In the Hyderabad Deccan, Osmania University, a unique attempt at building a vernacular university, fostered a new intellectual consciousness. As historian Kavita Datla argues in The Language of Secular Islam: Urdu Nationalism and Colonial India, Osmania University imagined Urdu as a language of science, translating scientific knowledge into Urdu. The Idara also flourished in this new consciousness created by the university. Zore and Sarwari were alumni of Osmania University and later taught there. Abdul Majeed Siddiqui was head of the department of Political Science, while Abdul Qadeer Siddiqui served as dean of the faculty of Theology. The Idara’s journal Sabras was started in 1938 as a platform for publishing new writers from Osmania University. It continues to be one of the most respected Urdu literary journals in South Asia. Building a Deccani canonThe Idara worked towards securing a place for the Deccan within the world of Urdu literary history, which was otherwise dominated by the North. It built a cannon for the history of the region and the history of Urdu in the Deccan through the scientific study of manuscripts. A glimpse of the writings of its founders bears testimony to this effort. Sarwari wrote Hyderabad Deccan ki Taleemi Guzishta (Educational history of Hyderabad Deccan) and Siraj Aurangabadi Hayat Tasnifat aur Shayari (Biography and writing of Siraj Aurangabadi), a study of one of the earliest Urdu poets from the region. Abdul Majeed Siddiqui wrote History of Golkunda.Syed Mohiuddin Qadri Zore, Photo: From the personal collection of Rafiuddin Qadri via zor.untold.town.Zore was instrumental in the rediscovery and circulation of the poetry of Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah, the first poet with a complete diwan in Urdu. He also wrote several books on the history of the Qutub Shahis such as Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah, Hayat e Mir Mohammed Momin and Deccani Adab ki Tareekh (History of Deccani literature). Hashmi authored the very successful Deccan me Urdu, among many other works. Zore and the Idara played an important role in shaping conversations about the region through their organisation of and participation in historical conferences such as the Deccan History Conference in 1945 and the All-India Urdu Conference of 1944 and 1954. Preserving memory after 1948The Idara faced difficult times during the Police Action of 1948, when some of its associates left for Pakistan while others passed away. After the violence of the police action, in which thousands of Muslims lost their lives and property, Zore helped conserve many manuscripts from the personal libraries of aristocrats and literary patrons leaving India. Today, the Idara houses over 40,000 books and rare manuscripts. Scholars from Germany, France, the United States and other corners of the world have found answers to complex historical questions in its collections. Reconstructing Hyderabad’s social fabricLed by Zore, the Idara also worked towards weaving the tattered social fabric of the city after the police action.This effort started with the celebration of Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah, the founder of Hyderabad, as a literary and cultural festival in 1958. Mohammed Quli, a poet who wrote in Persian, Urdu and Telugu about both Hindu and Islamic festivals with equal warmth, was presented as an ideal for rulers and the public alike. The celebration brought together state officials, journalists, litterateurs, cultural personalities and ordinary citizens in a city-wide procession that sought to build bridges between Hindu and muslims, as well as Urdu and Telugu speakers. Attended by thousands, it was perhaps one of the earliest festivals of its kind in South Asia. Yom-e-Quli went on to become a cherished tradition in the city for many years. Zore passed away 1962, but the Idara’s building in Punjagutta continues to house a rich repository of the work of the Deccan’s intellectual mavericks, who imagines and worked towards creating the region as an inclusive, creative space, generous in spirit and capacious enough to accommodate multiple forms of belonging without feeling threatened by difference. The work of Zore and the many scholars associated with the Idara continues to breathe through the culture of the Deccan. Zore’s work is now being built into a public archive. C. Yamini Krishna is the author of Film City Urbanism in India. Hyderabad from princely city to global city, 1890-2000 and the curator of the Zore Project. She is currently working on a book project on the intellectual history of Zore.