Aftab Ali

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Aftab Ali
আফতাব আলী
Member of the
Mahmud Ali
ConstituencySylhet-I
Personal details
Born(1907-01-20)20 January 1907
Kathalkhair, Balaganj/Bishwanath,
All-India Trade Union Congress
RelativesKC Choudhury
OccupationBusinessman, social worker, president, politician
Known forFounding the All-India Seamen's Federation
MonumentsAftab Terrace, London, E1
MovementIndian Seamen's Union

Aftab Ali (

British Asian lascars to migrate, settle and find employment in Britain. He was a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly and National Assembly of Pakistan, and served as the first Minister of Labour for East Pakistan.[citation needed
]

Early life

Ali was born into a

Calcutta water route, owning a number of boats. At the age of 18, Ali left Sylhet Government School in class 10 moving to Calcutta where he worked alongside Bipin Chandra Pal.[3]

Career

In 1923, Ali left Calcutta as a stoker on a ship bound for the United States.[4] There he jumped ship, seeking employment, education, and experience.[5] He returned to Bengal in 1925, having been exposed to trade unionism and politics in the US, and with first hand experience of the poor working conditions of Indian seamen.[4] This experience led to the foundations of his social work for the rights of South Asian lascars.[2]

In 1925, Ali joined the Indian Seamen's Union in Calcutta and eventually rose to become the organisation's general secretary. In January 1937, Ali united all of the various unions (namely the Indian Quartermaster's Union, Bengal Mariner's Union, Seamen's Welfare League of India and Karachi Seamen's Union) under one large federation known as the All-India Seamen's Federation.[6] Ali also joined the Bengal Legislative Assembly in that year, following the 1937 Indian provincial elections.

During a visit to London in 1933 for the

Krishna Menon[8]
and was invited by Menon to the Glasgow Trades Council meeting on 23 August.

He was also invited to another meeting by

International Labour Conference in Geneva where he put forward the proposal for a 56-hour week at sea and a 48-hour week at port balance for Indian seamen.[3][9] As World War II approached Britain, Ali, Alley and Tahsil Miya played crucial roles in breaking the deadlock between British ship-owners and Asian lascars. Rallies were organised with lascars striking against their unequal treatment in income and working conditions. Finally reaching an agreement with the British government, Ali called off the strikes. However, the federation continued to campaign in other fields such as the release and re-employment of imprisoned lascars. They lobbied the Home Secretary, Samuel Hoare, and called on the Trades Union Congress in Glasgow for support.[10]

On his return to

All-India Trade Union Congress and continued his role in the Bengal Legislative Assembly. He managed to persuade Abdul Motaleb Malik to join the All-India Seamen's Federation in 1936.[3] In 1941, he left the All-India Trade Union Congress. The following year, the Royal Indian Navy appointed him as honorary lieutenant commander. Ali had close connections with the Indian Seamen's Welfare League led by Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi and Ayub Ali Master.[citation needed
]

Following the

British passports.[citation needed] Ali also played an instrumental role by opening a passport office in his house in Sylhet.[7] He was a colleague of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.[11]

He attended the International Labour Conference hosted in

Ceylon where he was invited to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions conference. The following year he was part of an Indian Labour delegation to Indonesia. He became the first Minister of Labour for East Pakistan[citation needed] and member of the 3rd National Assembly of Pakistan. During this time, he lived in Mirboxtula.[12]
As part of a Labour delegation, he visited China in 1964.

Death and legacy

Ali died on 22 December 1972 while in London. He was buried in Brookwood Cemetery.[7] A housing estate was built in 1995 on Tent Street (off Brady Street, East London) and named after him as Aftab Terrace.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Reed, Sir Stanley, ed. (1947). The Indian Year Book.
  2. ^ a b "Aftab Ali – Making Britain". Open University.
  3. ^ a b c Hossain, Ashfaque. "Ali, Aftab". Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-906698-14-6
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-8248-3027-4
    .
  6. ^ "All-India Seamen's Federation – Making Britain". Open University.
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0-9565745-0-3
    .
  8. ISBN 978-1-4411-9529-6
    .
  9. ^ Balachandran, Gopalan. "South Asian Seafarers and their Worlds: c. 1870-1930s". Göttingen State and University Library.
  10. ^ Jazeel, Tariq; Legg, Stephen (2019). "Reading Subaltern Studies Politically". Subaltern Geographies. University of Georgia Press. p. 111.
  11. ISBN 978-1-84779-958-6
    . Suhrawardy ... [was] a former trade unionist colleague of Aftab Ali.
  12. ^ "List of Members of the 3rd National Assembly of Pakistan from 1962-1964" (PDF). p. 2.
  13. Tower Hamlets. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2020.

Further reading

  • Ahmed, Giasuddin (7 January 2017). Aftab Ali: The Hero of Indian Seamen. Bookorebook.
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