munsh

Munsh, also spelled munshi, is a South Asian term derived from the Persian munshi, meaning scribe or secretary. The variant spellings reflect transliteration from Urdu, Hindi, or Persian. In historical records, munshi or munsh were scribes and clerks in Mughal and later British Indian administration.

They served in royal chancelleries, revenue offices, and courts, drafting official letters, maintaining records, translating between Persian and vernacular languages, and compiling land and tax documents. Education for munshis typically included literacy in Persian and local languages, as well as familiarity with legal and administrative vocabulary. The title and its holders formed an educated bureaucratic class in several South Asian empires and colonial administrations.

Today, munshi is more commonly seen as a surname or a historic title; the spelling munshi is prevalent in Urdu- and Hindi-speaking regions, while the variant munsh is encountered in some English-language texts as an older transliteration. The term persists in family names and in literary or documentary references, and it remains part of the cultural lexicon around bureaucracy and scribal professions in South Asia. The concept parallels similar roles in other regions: scribes, clerks, and secretaries who prepared documents, preserved records, and facilitated administration.