# Syed Hossain

Syed Hossain (also Syud Hossain; 23 June 1888 – 26 February 1949) was an Indian journalist, an Indian independence activist, and the first Indian ambassador to Egypt in the Jawaharlal Nehru administration.

## Early life

Syed Hossain was born in Calcutta in 1888. His father, Nawab Syed Mohammad Azad Khan Bahadur (1850–1915), was the Inspector-General of Registration, Bengal. His great-great-grandfather was Mir Syed Ashraf Ali Khan (d. 1829). Syed Hossain's mother was the daughter of Nawab Abdul Latif, a social reformer of Bengal. Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq (1873–1962) and Sir Hassan Suhrawardy (1888–1946), were his brother-in-laws.
Hossain passed his Entrance Examination in 1904 and F.A. in 1906 from the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College of Aligarh. He then joined the Bengal Civil Service as a Sub-Deputy Collector in Calcutta but he soon went to England to pursue further education in 1909.

## Career

Hossain returned to India in 1916 and started his journalism career early in life at Bombay Chronicle and later joined the Motilal Nehru's nationalist newspaper, The Independent where he soon became the editor.
He was also active part of independence movement. Hossain was belonged to Annie Besant's Home Rule League and the Congress. He was chosen by Besant to travel to London and advocate for "Home Rule" for India; however, the journey was cut short when Hossain was arrested and subsequently deported back to India.
Hossain represented India at the Paris Peace Conference in 1920 for the Near Eastern Peace settlement.
He relocated to London in 1920, where he briefly served as editor of the nationalist newspaper India. In October 1921, Hossain departed from London and relocated to the United States. He spent the years 1921–1946 in the US. He first wrote a lot and travelled the US giving talks about India's freedom demands for two years.
Then, from 1924 until 1928, he served as editor of The New Orient, a publication that aimed to bring East and West cultures closer together. Gandhiji, Einstein, Horniman, Kahlil Gibran, Bertrand Russell, HG Wells, Sarojini Naidu, and CF Andrews all contributed to the issues he edited.
In the 1930s, he moved to California. He served as a lecturer at the University of Southern California's Department of History as a visiting faculty lecturer. He taught two courses entitled "India's Civilization" and "Islamic Civilization" in the summer of 1934. The university later conferred on him an honorary doctorate degree.
When Hossain left the United States for India in 1946, a farewell dinner was organized for him at the Ceylon India Inn in New York City where the guests included Ragini Devi, Habib Rahman, and Indrani Rahman.
He had ties to Nehru and was very committed to the cause of Indian independence later in 1946. After his return to India, he was chosen to serve as Egypt's first ambassador.
Hossain wrote "Echoes from Old Dacca", published in May 1909 and "Gandhi: The Saint as Statesman" in 1937.

### Personal life

During his time in Allahabad, Hossain experienced an unfortunate romance that would define his following career and maybe wipe him out of Indian history forever. The 19-year-old Sarup Kumari (later Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit), the daughter of Motilal Nehru, and Hossain, who was 12 years her senior, fell in love, eloped, and were married according to Muslim customs.
The couple was compelled to dissolve their marriage due to the influence of the bride's family. Hossain was hastily transferred to the UK, where he was supposed to travel to London to advocate for the Khilafat movement, while Sarup Kumari was assigned to spend six months at Sabarmati Ashram.

## Death

He has been buried in Al-Arafa in Cairo. He was then one of the only Indians who was buried there. This Al-Arafah is also known as City Of The Dead.

## Works

* Gandhi, the Saint as Statesman (1936)