https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Asaf_AliAsaf Ali - Revision history2026-07-30T20:33:15ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Asaf_Ali&diff=456673&oldid=prevMohammedMathieu at 11:53, 16 February 20262026-02-16T11:53:06Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian politician (1888–1953)}}<br />
{{Distinguish|text=various people called [[Asif Ali (disambiguation)|Asif Ali]]}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2015}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}<br />
{{Infobox officeholder<br />
|name = Asaf Ali<br />
|image = Asaf Ali c- 1909 2013-08-09 16-24.jpg<br />
|caption = Asaf Ali c. 1909<br />
|office = [[Ambassador of India to Switzerland]]<br />
|primeminister = [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]<br />
|term_start = 1952 <br />
|term_end = 2 April 1953<br />
|predecessor = [[Dhirajlal Desai|Dhirajlal Bhulabhai Desai]]<br />
|successor = [[Y. D. Gundevia]]<br />
|order1 = 2nd<br />
|office1 = Governor of Odisha<br />
|1blankname1 = Chief Minister <br />
|1namedata1 = [[Nabakrushna Choudhuri]]<br />
|term_start1 = 18 July 1951 <br />
|term_end1 = 6 June 1952<br />
|predecessor1 = [[V. P. Menon]] {{small|''(acting)''}}<br />
|successor1 = [[Fazal Ali]]<br />
|1blankname2 = Chief Minister<br />
|1namedata2 = [[Harekrushna Mahatab]]<br>Nabakrushna Choudhuri<br />
|term_start2 = 21 June 1948 <br />
|term_end2 = 5 May 1951<br />
|predecessor2 = [[Kailash Nath Katju]]<br />
|successor2 = V. P. Menon {{small|''(acting)''}}<br />
|office3 = 1st [[List of ambassadors of India to the United States|Ambassador of India to the United States]]<br />
|primeminister3 = Jawaharlal Nehru<br />
|term_start3 = 1947<br />
|term_end3 = 1948<br />
|predecessor3 = ''Office Established''<br />
|successor3 = [[Benegal Rama Rau]]<br />
|birth_date = 11 May 1888<br />
|birth_place = [[Bijnor]], [[North-Western Provinces]], [[British India]]<br />
|spouse = {{marriage|[[Aruna Asaf Ali|Aruna Ganguly]]|1928}}<br />
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1953|4|2|1888|5|11}}<br />
|death_place = [[Bern]], [[Switzerland]]<br />
|nationality = [[India]]n<br />
|field = <br />
|work_institution =<br />
|alma_mater = [[Delhi University]]<br />
|doctoral_advisor = <br />
|doctoral_students = <br />
|occupation = Lawyer, Activist<br />
|prizes = <br />
|footnotes = <br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Asaf Ali''' (11 May 1888<ref>G. N. S. Raghavan and Asaf Ali (1994) ''M. Asaf Ali's Memoirs: The Emergence of Modern India''. Ajanta. {{ISBN|81-202-0398-4}}. p. 36.</ref> – 2 April 1953) was an [[Indian Independence Movement|Indian independence activist]] and noted lawyer. He was the first [[Indian Ambassador to the United States]]. He also served as the [[List of governors of Odisha|Governor]] of [[Odisha]]. Asaf Ali was born on 11 May 1888 AD in [[Seohara]] town of [[Bijnor district|Bijnor]] district in British India (now [[Uttar Pradesh]], India).<br />
<br />
==Education==<br />
Asaf Ali was educated at [[St. Stephen's College, Delhi|St. Stephen's College]] of [[Delhi University]]. He was called to the Bar from [[Lincoln's Inn]] in [[England]].<br />
<br />
==Indian National Movement==<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<ref "amritmahotsav1"="">Digital District Repository Detail[https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?2012]. </ref><br />
<br />
He was elected to the [[Central Legislative Assembly]] in 1935 as a member of the [[Muslim Nationalist Party]]. He then became significant as a Congress member and was appointed deputy leader.<ref>[http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/m-asaf-ali M. Asaf Ali {{!}} Making Britain]. Open.ac.uk. Retrieved on 7 December 2018.</ref><br />
<br />
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.<ref name="indianpost1">[http://www.indianpost.com/viewstamp.php/Alpha/A/ASAF%20ALI Asaf Ali]. Indianpost.com (2 April 1953). Retrieved on 2018-12-07.</ref><br />
<br />
==Post 1946==<br />
[[File:Asaf Ali 1949.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Ali in 1949]]<br />
[[File:Asaf Ali 1989 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Ali on a 1989 stamp of India]]<br />
He was in charge of the [[Railways]] and [[Transport]] 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.<br />
<br />
== Post independence ==<br />
Asaf Ali was first Indian Ambassador to United States. He was appointed governor of Odisha for two terms and later, Indian Ambassador to Switzerland.<br />
<br />
==Legal career==<br />
Asaf Ali rose to become one of the most respected lawyers in the country.<ref>{{cite journal|volume=1|issue=3|year=2008|url=http://www.indialawjournal.org/archives/volume1/issue_3/bhagat_singh.html|journal=India Law Journal|title=The Trial of Bhagat Singh |author=Historical Trials}}</ref> He defended [[Batukeshwar Dutt]] as a lawyer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mahotsav |first=Amrit |title=Asaf Ali Park |url=https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?5508 |access-date=2023-04-12 |website=Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture, Government of India |language=English}}</ref><br />
<br />
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.<ref>[http://www.barcouncilofindia.org/about/about-the-legal-profession/lawyers-in-the-indian-freedom-movement/ Lawyers in the Indian Freedom Movement « The Bar Council of India]. Barcouncilofindia.org. Retrieved on 7 December 2018.</ref><br />
<br />
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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mahotsav |first=Amrit |title=Asaf Ali |url=https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?2012 |access-date=2023-04-12 |website=Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture, Government of India |language=English}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Personal life==<br />
In 1928, he married [[Aruna Asaf Ali]], a marriage that raised eyebrows on the grounds of religion (Asaf Ali was a [[Muslim]] while Aruna was a [[Hindu]]) 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|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.<ref>[https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/aruna-asaf-ali-326614-2016-07-29 Aruna Asaf Ali's 20th death anniversary: Some facts about the Grand Old Lady of Independence – Education Today News] . Indiatoday.intoday.in (29 July 2016). Retrieved on 2018-12-07.</ref><br />
<br />
==Death and legacy==<br />
Ali died in office in [[Bern]] on 2 April 1953,<ref>{{cite news |title=Asaf Ali Dead |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OMY-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=gEwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5459%2C1768857 |access-date=18 July 2018 |work=The Indian Express |date=3 April 1953}}</ref> while serving as India's ambassador to Switzerland. In 1989, [[India Post]] brought out a stamp in his honor.<ref name="indianpost1"/><br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
{{Commons category|Asaf Ali}}<br />
* {{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20031103034234/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/04/03/stories/2003040300610900.htm Asaf Ali – An Obituary]}}<br />
{{s-start}}<br />
{{s-off}}<br />
{{succession box|title=[[List of ambassadors of India to the United States|Indian Ambassador to the United States]]|before=None|after=[[Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit]]|years=1947–1948}}<br />
{{s-end}}<br />
{{Indian National Army}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asaf Ali}}<br />
[[Category:1888 births]]<br />
[[Category:1953 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Indian National Army trials]]<br />
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Politicians from Delhi]]<br />
[[Category:St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian civil servants]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian Muslims]]<br />
[[Category:Politicians from Prayagraj]]<br />
[[Category:Governors of Odisha]]<br />
[[Category:Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India]]<br />
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of India]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]<br />
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Scholars from Allahabad]]<br />
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to the Holy See]]<br />
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to the United States]]<br />
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Switzerland]]</div>MohammedMathieu