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Ayub Ali
আইয়ুব আলী মাস্টার
Born1 January 1880 (estimate)
Achol, Jagannathpur, Sylhet District, North-East Frontier, British India
Died1 April 1980(1980-04-01) (aged 99–100)
Hason-Fatehpur, Jagannathpur Upazila, Sunamganj District, Bangladesh
NationalityBangladeshi
CitizenshipBritish
Occupation(s)Businessman, social worker, treasurer, politician
OrganizationIndian Seamen's Welfare League
Known forOne of the early founders of the British Bangladeshi community
Political partyUnited Kingdom Muslim League
Board member ofIndia League
Children3

Ayub Ali Master (Bengali: আইয়ুব আলী মাস্টার; died 1980), was an early British Bangladeshi social reformer, politician and entrepreneur.[1] He is notable for pioneering social welfare work for many early British Asians.[2] He established a boardinghouse known as "Number 13" in his home which provided many facilities for British Asians.[3] He is one of the earliest of Sylhetis to arrive in the United Kingdom, now hosting one of the largest Bangladeshi diaspora communities outside of Bangladesh and due to this, he was amongst the famous household names in the Sylhet region during his time referred to as the brave jahazis (sailors).[4][5] His family is also notable as entrepreneurs and businessmen.

Early life

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Ali was born into a Bengali Muslim family from the Achol village of Jagannathpur in the Sylhet District of the British India's North-East Frontier.[6] It is unknown how, but he later migrated to the United States of America. He came to the United Kingdom as an ex-lascar with his brother Shamsul Haque.[7][8]

Career

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On a ship going from the United States to the Tilbury Docks of England, Ali arrived in the United Kingdom in late 1919.[9] During this time, there was a sizeable minority of British Asians and a high demand for South Asian cuisine as there were not many restaurants serving home cuisines.[10] Ali started his career in 1920 by founding the Shah Jalal Restaurant and Coffee House in Commercial Street.[11] The restaurant was popular to a great extent and served as a hub for the British Asian community.[1] Many important meetings were also held here such as one for the India League launched by V. K. Krishna Menon on 13 June 1943 and around eighty Asian lascars and factory workers as well as three Europeans were present.[7] Other figures who frequented the restaurant include Narayana Menon and Mulk Raj Anand.[12]

Ali moved to 13 Sandys Row in the East End of London in 1945.[13] He continued living there until 1959.[14] Through the restaurant and his home, Ali was also able to support other ex-lascars and help them find employment.[15] He would provide food, education and shelter gratis in his own home as well.[5] Ali was proficient in the English language, and so was able to also write letters for the men and allow them to also send remittances back to their families abroad.[16] It is considered that during this period, the nickname of "Master" was ascribed to Ali due to his literary ability. This is because 'Master' translates to 'teacher' in Bengali.[8]

In 1943, Ali and his acquaintance Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi founded the Indian Seamen's Welfare League with intentions to promote the social welfare of lascars.[17] It assisted Indians, mainly Sylhetis, with official paperwork and also helped them communicate with their relatives back home.[18] Its first meeting took place on 14 July 1943 in King's Hall, Commercial Street, London.[19] The meeting attracted mostly Bengali Muslims but dozens of Europeans were also present.[citation needed] Later, the organisation was renamed to the Indian Seamen's Welfare League to sound less political.[20] V. K. Krishna Menon also made Ali the treasurer of the East End branch of his India League. Ali was also the president of the All-India Muslim League having links with Liaquat Ali Khan and Mohammad Ali Jinnah.[21]

At a later stage in his life, Ali founded a travel agency business in his house called Orient Travels.[8] This was later moved to Brick Lane, which has now become the capital of the British Bangladeshi community. He then returned to his home in Achol, Jagannathpur in the newly independent country of Bangladesh where he became a member of his local Union Parishad.[6] He renamed his village of Achol to Hason-Fatehpur.[22]

Legacy

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Ayub Ali died during his return to Bangladesh on 1 April 1980 in Hason-Fatehpur.[23] He had two sons and a daughter. His great-nephew Tam Hussein is a journalist at ITV.[8] Ayub Ali has a blue plaque on Sandy's Row.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Ayub Ali - Making Britain". Open University.
  2. ^ Ahmed, Faruque (2008). Bengali Journals and Journalism in Britain (1916-2007). p. 33.
  3. ^ Jerry Bentley; Renate Bridenthal; Karen Wigen (30 November 2016). Seascapes: Maritime Histories, Littoral Cultures, and Transoceanic Exchanges. University of Hawaii. p. 197.
  4. ^ Syed Zain Al-Mahmood (19 December 2008). "Down the Surma - Origins of the Diaspora". Daily Star. Vol. 7, no. 49. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b Ansar Ahmed Ullah (2010). Bengalis in London's East End (PDF).
  6. ^ a b দাদা থেকে নাতি (in Bengali). Kaler Kantho. 25 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b India Office Records, Asian and African Studies Reading Room, British Library, St Pancras, p. 80
  8. ^ a b c d e Naylor Marlow, Felix (24 November 2023). "The remarkable story of the lascar brothers Ayub Ali Master and Shamsul Haque". Whitechapel LDN. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  9. ^ Balachandran, Gopalan. "South Asian Seafarers and their Worlds: c. 1870-1930s". Göttingen State and University Library.
  10. ^ "History of 'Indian' Restaurants and Curry Houses in Britain".
  11. ^ Jones, Dan (2004). "Exploring Banglatown and the Bengali East End" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Shah Jolal Restaurant - Making Britain". Open University.
  13. ^ Choudhury, Yousuf. Roots and Tales of the Bangladeshi Settlers. p. 69.
  14. ^ Ansar Ahmed Ullah (5 May 2015). ১৯৭৮ : পূর্ব লন্ডনে বাঙালির রাজনৈতিক জাগরণ (in Bengali). Potrika. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  15. ^ Ansar Ahmed Ullah (1 January 2019). "1940s-1950s: Welfare of fellow countrymen". Survey of London.
  16. ^ "Tower Hamlets People's Plaques Shortlist". Tower Hamlets Council. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  17. ^ Glynn, Sarah (2015). Class, Ethnicity and Religion in the Bengali East End: A Political History. Manchester University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-84779-959-3.
  18. ^ Visram, Rozina (2002). Asians in Britain: 400 Years of History. Pluto Press. p. 264. ISBN 0-7453-1378-7.
  19. ^ Ahmed, Faruque (2018). বিলাতে বাংলা সংবাদপত্র ও সাংবাদিকতা (১৯১৬ -২০১৬) (in Bengali).
  20. ^ Rehana Ahmed (23 February 2012). "Networks of Resistance: Krishna Menon and Working-Class South Asians in Inter-War Britain". In Rehana Ahmed; Sumita Mukherjee (eds.). South Asian Resistances in Britain, 1858 - 1947. Continuum. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-4411-9529-6.
  21. ^ Hossain, Ashfaque (2014). "The world of the Sylheti seamen in the Age of Empire, from the late eighteenth century to 1947". Journal of Global History (Thesis). Cambridge University.
  22. ^ "Bangla News portal bringing you bagla news, latest bangladshi world news, breaking news in bangla,bangladeshi top news" রেষ্টুরেন্ট ব্যবসায় শতবর্ষ পূরন করেছে রুহুল হোসেনের পরিবার (in Bengali). BritBangla. 11 April 2019.
  23. ^ "The Bengali East End - Histories of life and work in Tower Hamlets" (PDF). Tower Hamlets. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
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