Syed Sajjad Hussain (14 January 1920 – 12 January 1995) was a Pakistani-Bangladeshi academic and writer. He served as the 4th

Vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

of the

University of Rajshahi The University of Rajshahi, also known as Rajshahi University or RU ( bn, রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়), is a public co-educational research university in Bangladesh situated near the northern Bangladeshi cit ...

Early life and education

Hussain was born on 14 January 1920, to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the se ...

family of

Syeds ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhammad' ...

in the village of

Alokdia Alokdia is a village in Jhalokati District in the Barisal Division of southern-central Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in th ...

in Magura (formerly under

Jessore District Jessore District ( Bengali: যশোর, pronounced Jaw-shore, Anglicised: Jessore), officially spelled Jashore District from April 2018, is a district in the southwestern region of Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west, Khulna Dis ...

), Bengal Province. He earned his master's in English from the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

in 1942. During his masters studies, the East Pakistan Literary Society was founded with him as chairman. He obtained his Ph.D. from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

in 1952.

Career

Hussain debuted his teaching career at Calcutta Islamic College in 1944. He was a professor at Department of English of the University of Dhaka during 1948–1969. He was then appointed the Vice-Chancellor of the

in 1969. Hussain worked as a professor of English at

Umm al-Qura University Umm Al-Qura University (UQU; ar, جامعة أم القرى ) is a public university in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The university was established as the College of Sharia (Islamic Law) in 1949 before being joined by new colleges and renamed as Umm Al ...

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow val ...

, Saudi Arabia during 1975–1985. He moved back to Bangladesh in the late 1980s and lived in Dhaka until his death.

Controversy

Hussain took stance against the separation of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

as an independent country during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

. In March 1971, the then Vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka, Justice

Abu Sayed Chowdhury Abu Sayeed Chowdhury (31 January 1921 – 2 August 1987) was a jurist and the President of Bangladesh. Besides that, he held the positions of the Chairmen of the United Nations Commission on Human rights, the vice-chancellor of the University ...

resigned from the post protesting the killing of two students by

Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a resul ...

Pakistani Government The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territories, ...

immediately put Hussain in the vacant position.Dainik Bangla:3 October 1971 He was imprisoned after the independence of Bangladesh. While in prison, he wrote his memoir which was later published in 1995 titled ''"The Wastes of Time: Reflections on the Decline and Fall of East Pakistan"''. On his release, he moved to England.

Works

English

* ''Descriptive Catalogue of Bengal Muslims'' (1960) * ''East Pakistan: a Profile'' (1962) * ''Nixed Grill: A Collection of Essays on Religion and Culture'' (1963) * ''Kipling and India: An Inquiry into the Nature and Extent of Kipling's Knowledge of the Indian Sub-Continent'' (1965) * ''Homage to Shakespeare'' (1965) * ''Drama in a Developing Society'' (1969) * ''Books on the Quaid-e-Azam'' (1969) * ''A Guide to Literary Criticism'' (1983) co-written with Abdel-Hamid El-Khoreiby. * ''An Annotated Anthology of English Poetry for Arab Students'' (1984) * ''A Young Muslim's Guide to Religions in the World'' (1992) * ''Civilisation and Society'' (1994) * ''The Wastes of Time: Reflections on the Decline and fall of East Pakistan'' (1996)

Bengali

* ''Ma'' (1960) * ''Nirghanta-abhidhana'' (1970) * ''Ekattorer Smriti ''(1993) * ''Arbi Sahiyer Itibritya''

In popular culture

In 2021 Pakistan’s

Hum TV Hum TV is a 24-hour Urdu General Entertainment TV channel based in Karachi, Pakistan. It was founded by Sultana Siddiqui and Duraid Qureshi. It is owned by Hum Network Limited and traded on Pakistan Stock Exchange as (HUMNL). Hum Network ...

released an historical drama based on Hussain’s book ''Wastes of Times'', a miniseries called '' Khaab Toot Jaatay Hain''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussain, Syed Sajjad 1920 births 1995 deaths People from Magura District Umm al-Qura University faculty University of Dhaka alumni Alumni of the University of Nottingham Vice-Chancellors of the University of Rajshahi Vice-Chancellors of the University of Dhaka University of Dhaka faculty Pakistan Movement activists from Bengal Bangladeshi people of Arab descent 20th-century Bengalis