New Delhi: Maktaba Jamia Limited, a prestigious publishing house known for printing many rare and significant books on various subjects in Urdu and making them available at nominal prices, is currently facing a crisis. So much so that its store located at Urdu Bazaar near Jama Masjid in Old Delhi has been forced to shut down due to the non-availability of staff.
According to some Urdu newspapers, the institution, which is almost a century old and has been a part of Jamia Millia Islamia University, has become a victim of gross negligence.
Upon investigation, it was found that not only have the publication of its notable literary magazine Kitab Numa and children’s literature magazine Payam-e-Taleem been at a standstill for the last 4-5 years, workers at various branches of the Maktaba have also not been paid their salaries for months.
According to sources, the latest issue of Kitab Numa, which also includes a guest editorial by noted litterateur Farhat Ehsas, has been ready for publication for a long time but there is no one to oversee the task.
Ali Khusro Zaidi, who was working as a caretaker at the Old Delhi branch ever since he retired in 2014 on a meagre salary of Rs 10,000 per month, left the job last week after complaining about non-payment of salary for a long time and also allegedly being insulted.
For the last several months, Khusro was practically the only person running this branch.
“As per the rule, four people have been appointed here, but one of our colleagues, who had not received his salary for six months, stopped coming in despair,” Khusro told The Wire. “One of the remaining two employees was deployed at the headquarters as part of a ‘conspiracy’. The other person also came once in a while and so the entire responsibility fell on me.”
Ali Khusro Zaidi. Photo: Facebook/Masoom Muradabadi
“Soon, the headquarters also stopped sending books and there was no response to queries. I worked for seven months under severe mental agony caused by such behaviour and left after I was fed up,” he said.
“Why is such treatment being meted out to Maktaba, when there are enough funds and good sales as well?” he asked.
When asked about the closure of the branch, he said, “I have also heard that the branch has remained closed ever since I left. Now, the headquarters must decide about its future.”
Meanwhile, The Wire received similar information from various branches of Maktaba located in Delhi, Aligarh and Mumbai. It is alleged that for the last two years, the institution has been reeling under gross negligence. A meeting was recently called with the university administration on July 18, but that too was postponed.
Employees claim that they have tried everything to correspond with the administration and even tried to arrange meetings, but the response has been disappointing.
Some also claimed that the condition has turned so bad that some workers in these branches of Maktaba are forced to work as part-time e-rickshaw drivers to make a living.
When The Wire tried to contact the managing director, Shahzad Anjum, on the alleged deteriorating condition of the Maktaba, he refused to comment, saying that he was not allowed to speak to the media.
According to sources, Anjum has submitted his resignation to the administration three or four times during the last few months over the Maktaba matter, but it has not been approved yet.
Noted Urdu critic Siddiq-ur-Rehman Kidwai, who is also a member of the board of directors of Matkaba, told TheWire, “I am on its board, but at the moment I will not say anything regarding the matter. I will be able to comment only once the matter has been settled.”
On being asked if any meeting was planned in this regard, he said, “There will be a meeting.”
Meanwhile, senior Urdu journalist Masoom Muradabadi, who first raised the matter on social media and in newspapers, said, “Maktaba has been in a bad condition for the last few years, and since it is a part of the university, the latter should have taken interest in it. Although Maktaba has its own funds and land too, there is no one who can look after it properly.”
“Urdu Bazaar was its largest branch which had the maximum sales. But a week ago its in-charge was also forcibly removed. He had been working there for 45 years. Since then this branch has been closed,” he added.
He believes that someone intentionally wants to destroy the institution, which is already on its deathbed. If it dies, it will be a huge loss, he added.
While there is speculation among the Urdu readership about Maktaba and its future, no one has any clear answer at present. Prominent litterateur, the late Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, stated in one of his articles, “Ever since Shahid Ali Khan (former manager of Maktaba) left, it seems as if misfortune has befallen Maktaba Jamia. People who were entrusted with the responsibility (of publishing books for the Maktaba) after him do not even have the experience of publishing a magazine. What knowledge can they have about press printing and paper quality? Anyway, Maktaba Jamia lost its status of prominence among Urdu publishing houses the day Shahid Ali Khan left it.”
The Maktaba seems to be living this reality today.
Translated from Hindi by Naushin Rehman. Read the Hindi original here.