Altab Ali
| Altab Ali | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 Sylhet District, Sylhet Division, East Bengal (now Bangladesh) |
| Died | 5 April 1978 (aged 25) Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets, London, England |
| Resting place | Tower Hamlets, London, England |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
Altab Ali (1953 – 4 May 1978) was a Bangladeshi textile worker who was murdered by three teenagers on 4 May 1978 in a racist attack as he walked home after work. His murder took place at St. Mary's Gardens by St Mary's Churchyard, and near the corner of Adler Street and Whitechapel Road in London. It provoked the mass mobilisation of the Bengali community locally and came to represent the self-organisation of the community. Ali became a symbol of resistance against racism and is associated with the struggle for human rights in defence of British Bangladeshis. The churchyard he was murdered in was later renamed Altab Ali Park in his memory.
Ali was a 25-year-old mechanic who had recently arrived from Sylhet District, Sylhet Division,East Bengal (now Bangladesh) and lived in the East End of London.
On 4 May 1978, on local borough election night and against a background of agitation by National Front, Ali was making his way to the bus stop after finishing work as a textile factory garment worker at a sweatshop in Brick Lane. He was chased along Brick Lane and stabbed to death near Aldgate Station in a racially motivated attack at St. Mary's Gardens, the site of the church of St Mary Matfelon by St Mary's Churchyard, and the corner of Adler Street and Whitechapel Road.
Out of the three attackers, two were white and one was black. Ali's killers were Roy Arnold (aged 17) of Limehouse, Carl Ludlow (aged 17) of Bow and an unnamed mixed race male from Poplar (aged 16). It was the 16-year-old who committed the stabbing and when police asked him why, his reply was "for no reason at all". He stated, "If we saw a Paki we used to have a go at them. We would ask for money and beat them up. I've beaten up Pakis on at least five occasions."
...
Wikipedia