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	{{Short description\|Pakistani Army general (1910–1993)}}		{{Short description\|Pakistani Army general (1910–1993)}}
	{{distinguish\|text=the governor of Punjab, [[Shahid Hamid]]}}		{{distinguish\|text=the governor of Punjab, [[Shahid Hamid]]}}
	{{more citations needed\|date=January ~~2022~~}}		{{more citations needed\|date=January 2016}}
	{{Use Indian English\|date=December ~~2022~~}}		{{Use Indian English\|date=December 2013}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2021}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2021}}
	{{Infobox officeholder		{{Infobox officeholder

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{{Short description|Pakistani Army general (1910–1993)}}
{{distinguish|text=the governor of Punjab, [[Shahid Hamid]]}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Syed Shahid Hamid
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1910|09|17}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1993|03|12|1910|09|17}}
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial =
| order1 = 1st
| office1 =
| birth_place = [[Lucknow]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_place = [[Rawalpindi]] [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab province]], [[Pakistan]]
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| nickname =
| birth_name = Syed Shahid Hamid
| allegiance = {{flag|British India}} {{PAK}}
| branch = {{army|British Raj}} {{Army|PAK}}
| serviceyears = 1934–1964
| rank = [[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|20px]] [[Major-General]]
| commands = [[Master General of Ordnance (MGO)|Master General of Ordnance]] (MGO) [[Adjutant-General]] (AG) 
DG [[Military Intelligence of Pakistan|Military Intelligence]]
| battles = World War II
*[[Burma Campaign 1941-1942|Burma Campaign 1941–1942]]
*[[Burma Campaign 1944–1945]]
[[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947]]
*[[Military operations in Ladakh (1948)|Ladakh Military operations]]
| battles_label =
| mawards = [[Hilal-i-Jurat]]
| relations = [[Altaf Fatima]] [[]] ) [[Mishal Husain]] (granddaughter)
| laterwork =
}}

[[Major General]] '''Syed Shahid Hamid''' ({{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|سید شاہد حامد}}}}) [[Hilal-i-Jurat|HJ]] (17 September 1910 – 12 March 1993) was a [[Two-star rank|two-star]] general in the [[Pakistan Army]], and a close associate of [[Ayub Khan (general)|President Ayub Khan]]. Hamid was the first [[Master General of Ordnance (MGO)]] of the [[Pakistan Army]]. He also authored numerous books,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Major General Shahid Hamid - AbeBooks |url=https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/author/major-general-shahid-hamid/ |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=www.abebooks.com |language=en}}</ref> most notably ''Disastrous Twilight - A Personal Record of the Partition of India 1946-1947'', an eyewitness account of being on the staff of the last British Commander in Chief of the Indian Army, Field Marshal Sir [[Claude Auchinleck]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hamid |first=Shahid |title=Disastrous Twilight: A Personal Record of the Partition of India |publisher=Leo Cooper |year=1986 |isbn=0-85052-396-6 |location=Great Britain |language=en}}</ref>

He was the uncle of the Bombay-born British novelist, [[Salman Rushdie]].

He was the grandfather of the British journalist, [[Mishal Husain]].<ref>BBC One News at Six feature on then-Indian Army involvement in World War Two. 2 September 2020.</ref>

==Early life==
Hamid was born in [[Lucknow]], [[British Raj|British India]], in a [[Muslim]] [[Syed]] family. He went to school at the Colvin Taluqdar school (Lucknow) in 1923 before going to the [[Aligarh Muslim University]].<ref name="independent.co.uk">{{cite news|last=Rashid|first=Ahmed|title=Obituary: Maj-Gen Syed Shahid Hamid|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-majgen-syed-shahid-hamid-1497723.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-majgen-syed-shahid-hamid-1497723.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|accessdate=23 May 2013|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=15 March 1993}}</ref> He was accepted into the [[Royal Military College Sandhurst]] in 1932. He received a commission onto the Unattached List, Indian Army on 1 February 1934. He arrived in India on 16 February 1934 and was shortly afterwards attached to the 2nd battalion of the Prince of Wales Volunteers (South Lancashire) regiment at [[Allahabad]].<ref>Indian Army List January 1935</ref> On 12 March 1935, he was admitted into the Indian Army and was posted to the [[3rd Cavalry (India)|3rd Cavalry]] at [[Meerut]].<ref>Indian Army List January 1936</ref> His seniority as a Second Lieutenant was later antedated to on 31 August 1933. He was attached to the Royal Indian Army Service Corps in early 1940 and later permanently transferred.<ref>Indian Army List April 1940</ref> He served in [[Kohat]], [[Fort Sandeman]], and [[Risalpur]]. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 30 November 1935 and to Captain on 31 August 1941.<ref>Indian Army List's for January 1936 and July 1943</ref>

==Military career==

During the [[World War II|Second World War]], he fought on the [[Burma campaign|Burmese front]], where his eyes were badly injured. He retreated from [[Yangon|Rangoon]] and was evacuated from Shewbo to [[Calcutta]]. In 1943, after being declared fit for duty, he became a Senior Instructor at the [[Pakistan Command and Staff College|Command and Staff College]] in [[Quetta]]. Field Marshal [[Claude Auchinleck]] appointed Hamid his Private Secretary on 28 March 1946 and Hamid played an influential role in the decision making by Auchinleck.<ref>April 1947 Army List</ref> Shahid Hamid was an inside player in the crucial months leading up to the [[Partition of India]] in 1947.

==Senior appointments==

When [[Pakistan]] was created, he opted to join the [[Pakistan Army]]. As a [[Lieutenant-Colonel]] in 1948, he set up the [[Inter Services Intelligence]] from a small office in Karachi.. In 1951, at the age of 41, he became the youngest general in the Pakistan army. He served as both [[Master General of Ordnance (MGO)|Master General of Ordnance]] (MGO) [[adjutant-general|Adjutant-General]] before retiring in July 1959, writing later: 'After the imposition of Martial Law I felt that I had no place in the army and I could not justify to my conscience my existence in these circumstances.' In a meeting with Ayub Khan at the beginning of 1959 he advised him to send the army back to the barracks. Ayub responded that they had a job to do first. Hamid wrote: 'It was obvious that the 'hawks' had his ear and many had been placed in important assignments, where they were enjoying authority and power and wanted the army to stay on.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hamid |first=Syed Shahid |title=Early Years of Pakistan |publisher=Ferozsons |year=1993 |isbn=969-0-10062-9 |location=Lahore, Pakistan |pages=128–129 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1978, he was summoned back to public life by [[President of Pakistan|President]] [[Zia ul-Haq]], and served as a federal cabinet minister for three years.<ref name="independent.co.uk" />

==Post-retirement==

Shahid Hamid was deeply interested in education, and helped found and became a patron of the Aligarh Old Boys Association and established Sir Syed School and Sir Syed Science College for boys and girls at Tipu Road, [[Rawalpindi]]. After traveling across Pakistan's mountainous [[Northern Areas]], he helped open up the region for local people and tourists by supporting road projects and writing books and articles in which he described the beauty of the area.<ref name="independent.co.uk" /> For the last 20 years of his life, he wrote and researched books. He wrote one of the early books on Hunza<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hamid |first=Shahid |title=Karakuram Hunza |publisher=Ma-aref Ltd |year=1979 |location=Karachi, Pakistan |language=en}}</ref> after first visiting in 1954 when the valley was only accessible on horseback or on foot. Other books covered the politics of the [[Pakistan Movement]], and the Pakistani army, as well as an autobiography.

== References ==
<references />
{{Pakistan Army template}}
{{Inter-Services Intelligence}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamid, Syed Shahid}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Lucknow]]
[[Category:Muhajir people]]
[[Category:Pakistani generals]]
[[Category:Directors General of Inter-Services Intelligence]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Pakistani military writers]]
[[Category:Pakistani travel writers]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Aligarh Muslim University alumni]]
[[Category:Pakistani autobiographers]]

Syed Shahid Hamid - Revision history

39.50.209.48 at 07:19, 16 November 2022

39.50.209.48 at 07:19, 16 November 2022