Hasan, Sayid Nurul

Born Dec. 26, 1921, in Lucknow. Indian historian; specialist in the history of India from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Born into an aristocratic Muslim family, Hasan studied at the University of Allahabad and Oxford University. From 1939 to 1948 he took part in the national liberation and communist movements. He taught at the University of Lucknow from 1942 to 1948, at the Aligarh Muslim University from 1948 to 1968, and at Oxford University in 1968 and 1969. In 1977 he became a professor at J. Nehru University in New Delhi.

One of the initiators of the Marxist trend among Indian historians, Hasan has taken part in numerous international scholarly and political congresses and conferences. He was a member of the Indian delegation to the United Nations in 1967 and 1971. Hasan became a member of the upper house of the Indian Parliament in 1968; he was minister of education and culture from 1971 to 1977.

Hasan was named foreign member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1976.