Altab Ali ( bn, আলতাব আলী; 1953 – 4 May 1978) was a Bangladeshi textile worker stabbed to death in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, in a racially motivated killing. His death sparked widespread outrage and grassroots action that helped to reduce racism against

British Bangladeshis British Bangladeshis ( bn, বিলাতী বাংলাদেশী, Bilatī Bangladeshī) are people of Bangladeshi origin who have attained citizenship in the United Kingdom, through immigration and historical naturalisation. The term c ...

and

British Asians British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...

in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Altab Ali moved from Bangladesh to London in 1969 with his uncle. In 1975 he returned to Bangladesh to be married. At the time of his death he was 25 and worked as a textile worker in an area off Brick Lane.

Background

The East End of London had decades of racial tensions. In 1936

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

had planned a march against the then area's Jewish population. At the time the British Union of Fascists was stopped by more than 300,000 protestors - an event known as the

Battle of Cable Street The Battle of Cable Street was a series of clashes that took place at several locations in the inner East End, most notably Cable Street, on Sunday 4 October 1936. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, sent to protect a march by mem ...

. Since this time there had been many racist incidents against the area's Asian community, and on the day of the murder the National Front had candidates standing in local elections.

Death

On 4 May 1978 Altab Ali was stabbed in what was then

St Mary's Park St Mary's Park is a cricket ground and former football ground in Saint Kitts and Nevis. History Located at Cayon on the island of Saint Kitts, the ground has played host to the Leeward Islands cricket team for two major cricket matches in J ...

. He was attacked by three teenagers: Roy Arnold and Carl Ludlow were both 17 years old, and another unnamed boy was 16 years old. He was dead on arrival at the

Royal London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and s ...

. The BBC reported the murder as racially motivated and random.

Legacy

Altab 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 campaigning for an end to racism. They took the coffin of Altab Ali to

Downing Street Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk f ...

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

References

External links

Altab Ali Foundation

Television report by Thames Television
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Altab 1953 births 1978 deaths Bangladeshi emigrants to England People from Sylhet District Racially motivated violence in England 20th-century Bengalis