Asaf Ali (11 May 1888 – 2 April 1953) was an Indian independence activist and noted lawyer. He was the first Indian Ambassador to the United States. He also served as the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. Asaf Ali was born on 11 May 1888 AD in Seohara town of

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Education

Asaf Ali was educated at St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He was called to bar from Lincoln's Inn in England.

Indian National Movement

In 1914, the British declaration of war against the Ottoman Empire had a large effect on the Indian Muslim community. Asaf Ali supported the Ottomans and resigned from the Privy Council. He saw this as an act of non-cooperation and returned to India in December 1914. Upon his return to India, Asaf Ali became heavily involved in the nationalist movement. He defended Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt, who was accused of throwing a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on April 8, 1929, during the passage of a controversial ordinance.Digital District Repository Deta

He was elected to the

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Indian Legislature, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes calle ...

in 1935 as a member of the Muslim Nationalist Party. He then became significant as a Congress member and was appointed deputy leader. The last of several spells of imprisonment which Asaf Ali courted during the freedom movement was in the wake of the 'Quit India' resolution adopted by the All India Congress Committee in August 1942. He was detained at Ahmednagar Fort jail along with Jawaharlal Nehru and other members of the Congress Working Committee.Asaf Ali
Indianpost.com (2 April 1953). Retrieved on 2018-12-07.

Post 1946

He was in charge of the

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...

and

Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

in the Interim Government of India headed by Jawaharlal Nehru from 2 September 1946. He served as the first Indian Ambassador to the United States from February 1947 to mid-April 1947.

Post independence

Asaf Ali was first Indian Ambassador to United States. He was appointed governor of Odisha for two terms and later, Indian Ambassador to Switzerland.

Legal career

Asaf Ali rose to become one of the most respected lawyers in the country. He defended Batukeshwar Dutt as a lawyer. In 1945, Ali came to be the convener of the INA defence team established by the Congress for the defense of the officers of the Indian National Army charged with treason later in November 1945. Bhagat Singh was charged with attempt to murder under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code. Asaf Ali, a member of the Congress Party was his lawyer.

Personal life

In 1928, he married Aruna Asaf Ali, a marriage that raised eyebrows on the grounds of religion (Asaf Ali was a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

while Aruna was a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

) and age difference (Aruna was 20 years junior to him). She is widely remembered for hoisting the Indian National Congress flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan in Bombay during the Quit India Movement, 1942. Later Aruna Asaf Ali was honored with India's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, for her work.

Death and legacy

Ali died in office in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

on 2 April 1953, while serving as India's ambassador to Switzerland. In 1989,

India Post The Department of Posts, d/b/a India Post, is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, public sector postal system statutory body headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is an organisation under the Ministry of Communications (India), Minist ...

brought out a stamp in his honor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asaf Ali 1888 births 1953 deaths Indian National Army trials Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh Delhi politicians St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Indian civil servants 20th-century Indian Muslims Politicians from Prayagraj Governors of Odisha Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India Members of the Constituent Assembly of India 20th-century Indian lawyers Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh Scholars from Allahabad Ambassadors of India to the Holy See Ambassadors of India to the United States Ambassadors of India to Switzerland