Chuni Lal Katial (1898 – 14 November 1978) was a South Asian medical doctor and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, who became the first UK's South Asian

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

, after being elected mayor of the

Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington. Formation and boundaries ...

in 1938.Museum of London "Indian London"
/ref>20th Century London "Indian London"
/ref> He was born in the

Punjab Region Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

in 1898.

Career

Katial came to London in or around 1929, and started his career running a medical practice in Canning Town.Save Finsbury Health Centre
/ref> During that time, Katial – an acquaintance of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

– introduced Gandhi to Charlie Chaplin, at his house in Canning Town on 22 September 1931.Newham Story "Charlie Chaplin and Mr. Gandhi"
In 1935, Katial came to prominence as Chairman of the Public Health Committee of Finsbury Borough Council, where he was responsible for pushing forward a programme for health and housing known as the Finsbury Plan – an ambitious plan to build a centralised facility that would incorporate a health centre, libraries, public baths and nurseries in the famously

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

council.Open2.net "From Here to Modernity"
/ref> In 1937, as part of this plan, Katial commissioned

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Berthold Lubetkin Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin (14 December 1901 – 23 October 1990) was a Georgian-British architect who pioneered modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. His work includes the Highpoint housing complex, the Penguin Pool at London Zoo, Fins ...

to build the Finsbury Health Centre.Islington Tribune "Pioneer's grandchildren plea to save historical health centre"
/ref>BMJ "Nothing is too good for ordinary people"
/ref> The Centre was renowned both for its architectural style and its new approach to centralised health, housing multiple free medical facilities under one roof, and predating the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

by over 10 years.UK PubMed Central "Asian Doctors in the NHS"
/ref> Katial was elected mayor of Finsbury for 1938–1939. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he served as a First-Aid Medical Officer. In 1946, he was elected to the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

, as one of the two borough representatives.Visram 2004. On 8 June 1948, he was granted the Freedom of the Borough of Finsbury.British Medical Journal (26 June 1948) Medical News
/ref>British Medical Journal (26 June 1948) Medical News, hosted on National Center for Biotechnology Information
/ref>

Career

References

Further reading