Attia Hosain 20 October β 25 January [1] was a British-Indian novelist, author, writer, broadcaster, journalist and actor.
She wrote in English although her mother tongue was Urdu. Her career began in England in semi-exile making a contribution to post-colonial literature. Attia was born in Lucknow into the liberal Kidwai clan of Oudh. From her father she inherited a keen interest in politics and nationalism. From her mother's family of poets and scholars she drew a knowledge of Urdu, Persian and Arabic. Hosain grew up in two cultures, reading the canon of English and European literature as well as the Quran.
Attia came of age as the struggle for independence was gaining strength. In , Attia was encouraged by Sarojini Naidu , "my own ideal of womanhood from childhood", and attended the All India Women's Conference in Calcutta. She married her cousin, Ali Bahadur Habibullah, her mother's sister's son, against the wishes of their families.
They had two children, Shama Habibullah and Waris Hussein. She turned her home into an extension of her childhood open house, a Lakhnavi "adda", a gathering that attracted an eclectic crowd of people, writers, filmmakers, members of social and business world of the city, which expanded to include her husband's more western world. A young Raj Thapar was brought in by her future husband Romesh Thapar to meet Attia, whom he called 'the only woman with a man's mind.
Ali Bahadur Habibullah moved to England with his family in , before India became independent, posted to the Indian High Commission, in the newly created Trade Commission. When India was partitioned into India and Pakistan, the division of the country and the separation of two religious communities caused Attia great pain. Later in life she wrote: "Here I am, I have chosen to live in this country which has given me so much; but I cannot get out of my blood the fact that I had the blood of my ancestors for years in another country.
