Ismail Hossain Siraji

Bengali writer

Syed Ismail Hossain Siraji (; 1880–1931) was a Bengali author and poet from Sirajganj in present day Bangladesh. He is considered to be one of the key authors of period of the Bengali Muslim reawakening; encouraging education and glorifying the Islamic heritage. He also contributed greatly to introducing the Khilafat Movement in Bengal, and provided medical supplies to the Ottoman Empire during the Balkan Wars.

Syed Ismail Hossain was born on 13 July 1880 to a Bengali Muslim family of Syed extraction in Sirajganj, Pabna District, Bengal Presidency. His ancestor, Syed Ali Azam, migrated from the city of Shiraz in Iran to Bengal and received honour in the Mughal court. Syed Ali Azam initially settled in Amlabari, Nadia and many of his descendants were practitioners of Unani medicine. Siraji's father, Moulvi Syed Abdul Karim Khandakar (1856 1924), was a police sub inspector and Unani practitioner. His mother, Nur Jahan Khanom, was of Pashtun ancestry. The suffix Siraji was added to the end of his pen name in honour of his home district. He also read the works of Indian Muslim writers like Shibli Nomani and Muhammad Iqbal, whom he was greatly influenced by. A second edition of his first book was published in 1908, and allegations of rebellion were charged against him. The book was banned by the government and he was subsequently imprisoned in March 1910 as the first South Asian poet to allegedly for independence against the British Raj. Returning to Bengal the following year, he became one of the founders of the Anjuman i Ulama i Bangala (which would later become the Jamiat Ulema e Bangala branch of the Jamiat Ulema e Hind in 1921). In 1930, he was arrested for partaking in the Civil Disobedience Movement. He was also active in many parties and organisations like the Indian National Congress, the All India Muslim League, Swarajya Party and Krishak Samiti. Siraji mobilised peasants of Sirajganj against the local zamindars (feudal lords). In 1967, Abdul Quadir edited Sirajir Rachanabali (Essays of Siraji). Dr Kazi Abdul Mannan also did research on Siraji, publishing "Syed Ismail Hossen Siraji" in 1970.