| Honorific Prefix: | Dr. |
| Shayesta Bedar | |
| Birth Name: | Shayesta Bedar Khan |
| Birth Place: | Patna, Bihar, India |
| Occupation: | Historian, academician |
| Years Active: | 1993–present |
| Director of Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library | |
Shayesta Bedar is an Indian historian, academician and scholar who is currently serving as the Director of Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna.[1] [2] [3] Before joining the National library, she has served as an Assistant librarian in Maulana Azad Library[4] [5] AMU, Aligarh from (1993–2019) as in-charge of the Manuscript section of the library where she established a library museum in Maulana Azad Library.[6] She has authored numerous research papers based on Persian and Urdu literature. Additionally, she has edited and compile work for a variety of books related to Persian, Hindi and Urdu literature.[7]
Shayesta Bedar was born to Abid Raza Bedar a historian and scholar who served as the director of Raza Library and then Khuda Bakhsh library for a span of 25 years.[8]
Bedar holds a bachelor's degree in Persian literature from Patna Women's College, followed by a master's degree and Ph.D. in Library Science, Persian & History from Patna University.[9] She has authored, compiled, and edited several books and research papers, focusing on librarianship, Indian history, journalism, Sir Syed & Aligarh Movement, Maulana Azad & Allama Iqbal, as well as critical editions of Indo-Iranians and Hindu studies. Her work also delves into topics of Banaras Temples and Hindu manuscripts.[10] In 2019, she was appointed as a temporary director for three years under deputation by the Prime Minister's Office led board committee made by Ministry of Culture, Government of India.[5] [11] She is the first woman director and secretary of Khuda Bakhsh Oriental library in its 182 years history.[12]
Bedar served as the representative of the library in the World Society for the Study, Preservation, and Promotion of the Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan[13] Over her 30-year association with the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, she has made contributions to its growth and development. One notable achievement includes the digitization of approximately 1 million folios of manuscripts within the library's collection.[8] [14]
Bedar has made contributions including the establishment of a Library Museum at Maulana Azad Library of Aligarh Muslim University.[15] She compiled and edited the catalogs of Important Collections, consisting of 10,000 Manuscripts preserved in Maulana Azad Library Dr. Bedar also compiled a comprehensive three-volume Bibliography on Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and the Aligarh Movement.
Bedar has been honored with the Bihar State Urdu Academy Award, the Haji Ahmad Husain Award, and the Anjuman-e-Taraqqi-e-Urdu Award, for her contributions to literature and library science.