He then worked in the railway industry and then became active in trade union affairs, to such an extent that he found it necessary to leave the country and move to London in 1962.

[citation needed] Hoda also enjoyed a long friendship with George Fernandes, who had been president of the All India Railway men's Federation before becoming the leader of Indian Socialist Party in the early 1970s.

Surur Hoda was appointed as the Indian Socialist Party's European representative, and it was on that position he met many people.

Jai Prakash Narayan was jailed by the then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi during emergency’, Noel-Baker chaired Surur's Free JP campaign, which contributed to the effort to restore democracy in India.

[3] In the early 1970s, he and his younger brother Mansur Hoda collaborated with E. F. Schumacher, the author of the best-selling book Small Is Beautiful, to set up the Appropriate Technology Development Association in India, together with George McRobie.

Surur organized a delegation, headed by Ennals and Ben Whitaker, which contributed to nearly 200,000 refugees returning to Pakistan.

For services to community relations in Britain and to international human rights, Hoda was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2000.