Syed Amjad Ali was born in
Lahore, the eldest son of Sir Syed Maratib Ali, a prominent Muslim businessman in the
Punjab.
Syed Babar Ali and
Syed Wajid Ali were his younger brothers. He had social and political connections for diplomacy in the final days of the British colony, as he knew many prominent people in the Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and British communities. Ali was educated at the St. Agnes Loreto Convent in
Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh, followed by the
Muslim High School and Government College in Lahore. After receiving his B. A. in 1927, he went to London for legal studies at the
Middle Temple. While in London, he served as honorary secretary of the Muslim delegations at the
First Round Table Conference in 1930–31 and for the Indian delegation at the
Second Round Table Conference at the end of 1931. ==Career==