Literary treasures under threat at India's oldest library

One of India's oldest libraries, which was established by the British in the 19th century and contains several priceless works of literature, is facing closure after the government withdrew funding.

Hardayal Library in Delhi houses one of the country's finest collection of rare antiquarian books, including a 1676 print of Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World, a series of early British Indian travelogues and hand-written and gold illuminated translations of Hindu and Muslim religious works.

The collection is potentially worth millions, with 8,000 rare books out of a stock of 170,000.

It was established in 1862 as a book club for British officials who brought their own prized editions with them from home, and was kept in the Lawrence Institute in Delhi's town hall. In 1912 it became the Hardinge Library, named after the British viceroy, and was renamed the Hardayal after independence.

Today the building is dilapidated, its books are caked in dust and their musty pages are slowly disintegrating in rooms without air-conditioning.

Old cane office chairs and rusty metal desks are piled high throughout what was once a sweeping verandah. Stray kittens prowl the discoloured marble floor and a domed room on the roof terrace is squatted on by the watchman. Madhukar Rao, the chief librarian, said he was not allowed to discuss the government's decision to withdraw funds, but voiced his concerns for its readers and staff as he gave The Daily Telegraph a tour of his rarest volumes.

For the 300 students who work in its two reading rooms it is a rare sanctuary from Delhi's chaos. Yet the staff who serve them have not been paid for six months. "The cost of living is so high, how will they survive?" asked Mr Rao.

His colleagues nodded in agreement as they displayed their most treasured editions: Relation of Some Years by Travaile Begvenne, printed in 1634, Voyages Around the World by John Francis from 1705, and a series of London Surveys from 1754. There is a Koran written by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and a translation of the Mahabharata, a Hindu religious epic, in Persian by the Islamic scholar Abul Faizi. It is illuminated in gold.

Many of the most valuable texts are deteriorating fast, in part because of poor preservation. The pages of Sir Walter Raleigh's history are protected by acetate sheets. "Each of these books could be worth thousands of pounds if they were in decent condition. A wealthy individual or the government should make sure it's preserved," said Peter Harrington, a London antiquarian books dealer.

Meena Agarwal, the mayor of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, said: "We have limited funds for such activities and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation cannot grant funds on its own. The government has to issue orders."

A campaign to save the library has been launched with the support of some of India's leading writers and scholars, including the critic and author Nilanjana Roy and the academic S Irfan Habib, who used it in the 1980s for research.

The library was set up with donations from Indian royalty, including the Begum Sahiba of Bhopal as a tribute to Lord Hardinge after he survived an assassination attempt when riding an elephant. The attack was led by the freedom fighter Lala Hardayal, after whom the library is now named.