Aligarh: Not many people know that a leader of the Indian Freedom Movement who was an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) buried in a solitary yet elegantly made marble tomb with epitaphs in Arabic and English at a cemetery in Cairo, Egypt.
Syud Hossain was a debonair statesman, scholar, writer and journalist.
Almost unsung figure, Syud Hossain who died in Cairo in February, 1949 after serving as the first Indian ambassador to Egypt would have remained lost; but a carefully penned biography of Hossain by Dr Asad Faisal (Research scholar, Department of Mass Communication) has brought the forgotten hero alive.
‘Syud Hossain: Hindustan ka Aik Danishwar Mujahid-e-Azadi (Brown Books), is exploring how Hossain used both the lectern and the pen to devastating effect during the Indian Independence Movement was today released by Prof Tariq Mansoor, AMU Vice Chancellor, at a special function at the Vice Chancellor’s office.
“This biography is intended for the public eye and is an eye-opener on the virtually closed life of Syud Hossain. It has historical details and descriptions of the countries he visited and how he kept the torch of Indian nationalism flying in England and the US through writings and mesmerising oratory, detested by the British Raj,” said the Vice- Chancellor Mansoor during the book release function.
He added: “I am sure that this book will soon have its English version. The book has details of Hossain’s student life in AMU before he moved to London for higher education.”
Prof Shafey Kidwai of Department of Mass Communication pointed out that the book details important moments of Hossain’s life including how he turned bitterly against Mohammed Ali Jinnah and how he was left broken after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.
His trenchant editorials against the British regime were widely read by people like Gandhi and Motilal Nehru. He acquired such fame that within two years, Motilal Nehru invited him to Allahabad to take charge of his daily, ‘Independent’ and in a span of three months, Hossain turned it into one of the most widely read newspapers in the country in spite of facing the wrath of the Imperial government,” said the author of the book, Dr Asad Faisal.
