Dr. Syed Hussain Haider is a historian, archivist, academician, and researcher  professionally associated with Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), with specialization in the history of educational institutions during the colonial period in India. His academic and professional career has been closely connected with the intellectual, educational, archival, and institutional history of Aligarh Muslim University and the Aligarh Movement.

Dr. Syed Hussain Haider was born in Patna in 1969, where he completed his early education. He subsequently joined Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for higher education as the fourth generation of his family to study at the University. His family’s association with Aligarh Muslim University dates back to 1902. Dr. Hussain Haider completed his M.A. in Modern Indian History, followed by an M.Phil. in Modern Indian History and a Ph.D. in History from Aligarh Muslim University. He joined Sir Syed Academy in 2014 and is presently serving as University Archivist at the Academy. Over the course of his academic and professional career, he has served as Coordinator and Organizing Secretary for several International Seminars, National Seminars, and Symposia organized by Sir Syed Academy. He has also been invited as a Resource Person for programmes conducted by the UGC Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) and for various academic activities of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Regional Centre, Aligarh.

Dr. Haider has chaired academic sessions at International and National Seminars and has extensively participated in conferences, seminars, and other scholarly forums. He has published numerous research papers in reputed journals and served as Associate Editor of the UGC-approved Journal of Distance Education and Management Research, AMU, in 2013.

Prior to joining Sir Syed Academy, Dr. Haider was associated with the Centre for Distance Education (CDE), Aligarh Muslim University. During this period, he served as the AMU Coordinator of the South Asia Foundation (SAF), India, for the distribution of scholarships among students of Journalism and Mass Communication at CDE. In 2008, he was appointed Observer and Examination Superintendent for the outstation study centres of CDE, AMU. In 2012–13, Dr. Haider served as Coordinator of the Research Methodology Workshop, AMU Administrative Staff Training Workshop, and Journalism and Mass Communication programmes of the Centre for Distance and Online Education, AMU. He was also nominated by the Vice-Chancellor as a member of Inspection Committees constituted for the approval of CDE study centres in Hyderabad, Meerut, and Moradabad.

As part of his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Haider taught undergraduate and postgraduate History courses during the Personal Contact Programmes of CDE, AMU. He also contributed as a Course Writer for the M.A. History programme. Since 2018, Dr. Haider has been serving as Assistant Coordinator of the AMU-IGNOU Study Centre, with specific responsibilities relating to the appointment of counsellors and the conduct of All India examinations at the AMU Centre, where he also serves as Assistant Superintendent of Examinations.

As Archive In-charge at Sir Syed Academy, Dr. Haider has played an active role in assisting scholars from India and abroad, particularly researchers from Germany and the United Kingdom, in their studies of the Aligarh Movement and the history of Aligarh Muslim University.

His research specialization in the history of educational institutions during the colonial period in India has significantly contributed to his work in the research and publication activities of Sir Syed Academy. Working under the guidance of the Directors of the Academy, Professor Tariq Ahmed, Professor Syed Ali Mohammad Naqvi, Professor Shafey Kidwai and Deputy Director Dr. Mohammad Shahid, Dr. Haider has contributed substantially to the Academy’s research output on the history of Aligarh Muslim University, the life and times of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College, and the Aligarh Movement.

Through his academic, archival, teaching, administrative, and research contributions, Dr. Syed Hussain Haider endeavoured  in documenting, preserving, and advancing scholarly research on the history and intellectual legacy of Aligarh Muslim University and the Aligarh Movement.