Altab Ali
আলতাব আলী
Born1953
Sylhet District, East Bengal, Pakistan[1]
Died4 May 1978(1978-05-04) (aged 24)
St Mary's Park, London, United Kingdom[2]
Resting placeSylhet District, Bangladesh
OccupationTextile worker

Altab Ali (Bengali: আলতাব আলী; 24 Oct 1953[3]– 4 May 1978) was a Bangladeshi textile worker stabbed to death in London, in a racially motivated killing.[4][5][6] His death sparked widespread outrage and grassroots action that helped to reduce racism against British Bangladeshis and British Asians in the United Kingdom.[4]

Early life

Ali flew from East Pakistan to London Heathrow Airport on transit to Moseley in Birmingham on the 23rd of August 1968 with his uncle, Abdul Hashim.[7][4][5] In 1975, he returned to Bangladesh to be married.[5] At the time of his death, Ali was 24 and worked as a textile worker in an area off Brick Lane.[4][5]

Altab Ali 1974

Death

On 4 May 1978, a day when local elections were being held, Ali was stabbed in Adler Street, adjacent to the open space then known as St Mary's Park. He was attacked by three teenagers: Roy Arnold and Carl Ludlow were both 17 years old, the third boy was of mixed race, 16 years old and named by his surname in March 2020 as part of the Freedom of Information.[2] He was declared dead on arrival at the Royal London Hospital. The BBC reported the murder as racially motivated and random.[4][5][8]

Legacy

Ali's death sparked protests within the area. The ethnic minorities of the area (“Bangladeshi people, Caribbean people, Indian people, Pakistani people”) collaborated to call for change. 10 days after the death, a group of protestors marched across central London in a campaign to end racism. They took the coffin of Ali to Downing Street.[1][4]

In 1989 a memorial arch was built at the scene of Ali's murder, and in 1998 the park was renamed to Altab Ali Park.[4][5][9][10] In 2015 it was announced that the borough of Tower Hamlets would host an annual Altab Ali Commemoration Day.[4][5][11]

References

  1. 1 2 Tatari, Eren (2014). Muslims in British local government : representing minority interests in Jackney, Newham, and Tower Hamlets. Leiden. p. 116. ISBN 978-9004269699.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. 1 2 Chakraborty, Mridula Nath (2014). Being Bengali : at home and in the world. Abingdon, Oxon. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-415-62588-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ↑ Akash, Mayar (2021). Altab Ali Murder : chronicling Altab's murder in Tower Hamlets United Kingdom. London. p. 85. ISBN 978-1910499719.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Nye, Catrin; Bright, Sam (3 May 2016). "Altab Ali: The racist murder that mobilised the East End". BBC News. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rosenberg, David (4 May 2018). "The racist killing of Altab Ali 40 years ago today". openDemocracy. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Hoque, Aminul (3 May 2018). "Altab Ali: Bangladeshis in east London reflect on legacy of a racist murder". The Conversation.
  7. ↑ Akash, Mayar (2021). Altab Ali Life & Family : chronicling Altab's life in Tower Hamlets United Kingdom and his family in Bangladesh. London. p. 27. ISBN 978-1910499795.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ↑ Kibria, Nazli (2011). Muslims in Motion : Islam and National Identity in the Bangladeshi Diaspora. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. p. 86. ISBN 9780813550558.
  9. ↑ "Altab Ali Park - Tower Hamlets". www.towerhamlets.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  10. ↑ Begum, Julie. "Altab Ali Park, Tower Hamlets - Mapping 100 Years of Black and Asian History - Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  11. ↑ "Council and communities mark Altab Ali Day". www.towerhamlets.gov.uk. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
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