Was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Behind India’s First Vernacular Dictionary?

Professor Abdus Sattar Dalvi, 86, the founding head of the Urdu department at Mumbai University, was recently honoured with the Dr Asghar Ali Engineer Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award. At the felicitation held at the University, he discussed a unique 17th-century linguistic effort that connects Maratha warrior Shivaji Bhosle with Urdu and Persian. At his Bandra Reclamation residence, Dalvi shows us a book with brown damp edges. “This,” he says, his eyes dancing behind the spectacles, “is the first-ever glossary of Urdu-Persian words compiled on Shivaji Maharaj’s instructions.” #Chhatrapati #shivajimaharaj #History #Urdu #persian