Yādgār-i Cishtī by Noor Ahmad Chishti

A handwritten manuscript of Yādgār-i Cishtī by Noor Ahmad Chishti with an English colophon which states: 'Yādgār-i Chishti by Nur Ahmad Chishti Lahori. Autograph presented by the author in 1858 to Robert Eyles Egerton, then Deputy Commissioner of Lahore. A description of trades and castes in the Punjab.' The manuscript is written in Urdu with annotations. It has a leather binding decorated with flower patterns. However these are much faded and the general condition of the volume is poor.

A single loose leaf is found within the volume. This bears an inscription in Urdu, entitled, in English, 'Inscription on one of the guns in the Castle' and a further sentence identifying the date to 16 February 1754.

Molvi Noor Ahmed Chishti was born in 10th June 1823 at Lahore and died in 11th August, 1867 at the age of 44. He taught Urdu, Persian and Arabic, including to Lord Lawrence and Charles Aitcheson. Tehkikat e Chishti and Yadgar e Chishti were written by him. His father, Molvi Ahmed Bakhsh Yakdil, was also a scholar. He is buried in Sultan Pura Lahore near Lahore Railway Station.

Robert Eyles Egerton served as a British administrator in India after being educated at Exeter College, Oxford, and Haileybury. He began his career in India in 1849. During the Indian Mutiny of 1857 he served as Deputy Commissioner at Lahore. In 1869, he was appointed Commissioner of Nagpur and, in 1871, he was made Financial Commissioner of the Punjab. In 1879 he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab. Egerton retired in 1882. There is a memorial to Egerton and his wife, Mary Warren, in the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection, Lahore.

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The source of acquisition is unknown.

The volume was catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2023.

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The manuscript was given by its author, Noor Ahmad Chishti, to Robert Eyles Egerton. Its further custodial history is unknown.