Altab Ali (; 24 October 1953 – 4 May 1978) was a Bangladeshi textile worker stabbed to death in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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

British Bangladeshis British Bangladeshis () are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots are from Bangladesh. Bengali Muslims have prominently been migrating to the UK since World War II. Migration reached its peak during the 1970s, with ...

and

British Asians British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British people of Asian people, Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with a population of 5.76 million people or 8.6 ...

in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Ali flew from

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingd ...

on transit to

Moseley Moseley ( ') is an affluent suburb in south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. It is located within the eponymous Moseley ward of the constituency of Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley (UK Parliament constituency), Hall Green and ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

on 23 August 1968 with his uncle, Abdul Hashim. In 1975, he returned to Bangladesh to be married. At the time of his death, Ali was 24 and worked as a textile worker in an area off

Brick Lane Brick Lane () is a street in the East End of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, mo ...

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. He was declared 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 sp ...

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

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 Downing Street is a gated street in City of Westminster, Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whiteh ...

. 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. In 2015, it was announced that the borough of

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

would host an annual Altab Ali Commemoration Day.

References

External links

Altab Ali Foundation

Television report by Thames Television

Freedom of Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Altab 1953 births 1978 deaths Bangladeshi emigrants to England People from Sylhet District Racially motivated violence in England 20th-century Bengalis Deaths by stabbing in London Bangladeshi people murdered abroad