90.242.69.211 at 23:43, 5 January 2022

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{{Infobox person
| name = Ayub Ali
| honorific_suffix = Master
| image = 
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| native_name = আইয়ুব আলী মাস্টার
| native_name_lang = bn
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = 1 January 1880 (estimate)
| birth_place = Achol, [[Jagannathpur Upazila|Jagannathpur]], [[Sylhet region|Sylhet District]], [[North-East Frontier]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1980|4|1|1880}}
| death_place = Hason-Fatehpur, [[Jagannathpur Upazila]], [[Sunamganj District]], [[Bangladesh]]
| death_cause =
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| nationality = [[British Bangladeshi]]
| other_names =
| citizenship = United Kingdom
| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Businessman, Social worker, Treasurer, Politician
| years_active =
| era =
| employer =
| organization = Indian Seamen's Welfare League
| agent = 
| known_for = One of the early founders of the [[British Bangladeshi]] community
| notable_works =
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| boards = India League
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| party = [[All-India Muslim League|United Kingdom Muslim League]]
| children = MD Asuful Haque (Eldest Son), Ahbab Husain (Son) & Rezia Husain (Daughter)
| mother = Umm Ayub Ali
| father = Abu Ayub Ali
| relatives = Nargisara Begum (Granddaughter), MD Enamul Haque (Grandson), Shelina Akther Sheli (Granddaughter), Mohammed Mahmudul Haque (Grandson), Shakel Ahmed (Grandson), MD Ehteshamul Haque (Grandson), Muhammed Shahedul Haque (Grandson), Mohammed Abidul Haque (Grandson), Syeda Sameena Naaz (Granddaughter), Zaki Syed Kaiser Husein (Grandson), Saadi Al-Sayed Hussain (Grandson), MD Nazmul Husain (Grandson), Jebu Nessa (Granddaughter), Badrun Nessa (Granddaughter), MD Makbul Husain (Grandson), Ashok Ali (Great Grandson), Sharif Chowdhury (Great Grandson), Asim Chowdhury (Great Grandson).
| family = Haque and Husain Family
| callsign =
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| signature =
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}}

'''Ayub Ali Master''' ({{lang-bn|আইয়ুব আলী মাস্টার}}; died 1980), was an early [[British Bangladeshi]] social reformer, politician and entrepreneur.<ref name=open>{{cite web|title=Ayub Ali - Making Britain|url=http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/ayub-ali|publisher=[[Open University]]}}</ref> He is notable for pioneering social welfare work for many early [[British Asians]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Bengali Journals and Journalism in Britain (1916-2007)|last=Ahmed|first=Faruque|page=33|date=2008}}</ref> He established a [[boardinghouse]] known as "Number 13" in his home which provided many facilities for British Asians.<ref>{{cite book|title=Seascapes: Maritime Histories, Littoral Cultures, and Transoceanic Exchanges|page=197|date=30 November 2016|publisher=[[University of Hawaii]]|author1=Jerry Bentley|author2=Renate Bridenthal|author3=Karen Wigen}}</ref> He is one of the earliest of [[Sylhetis]] to arrive in the [[United Kingdom]], now hosting one of the largest [[Bangladeshi diaspora]] communities outside of [[Bangladesh]] and due to this, he was amongst the famous household names in the [[Sylhet region]] during his time referred to as the brave jahazis (sailors).<ref name="star">{{cite news|url= http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2008/12/02/history.htm|title=Down the Surma - Origins of the Diaspora|author=Syed Zain Al-Mahmood|newspaper=[[Daily Star (Bangladesh)|Daily Star]]|date=19 December 2008|volume=7|issue=49|language=en|accessdate=1 May 2019}}</ref><ref name=ansar/> His family is also notable as entrepreneurs and businessmen.

==Early life==
Ali was born into a [[Bengali Muslim]] family from the [[Patli Union|Achol village]] of [[Jagannathpur Upazila|Jagannathpur]] in the [[Sylhet region|Sylhet District]] of the [[British India]]'s [[North-East Frontier]].<ref name=kaler>{{cite news|script-title=bn:দাদা থেকে নাতি|language=bn|date=25 May 2019|url=https://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/oboshore/2019/05/25/772877|publisher=[[Kaler Kantho]]}}</ref> It is unknown how, but he later migrated to the [[United States of America]]. He came to the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] as an ex-[[lascar]].<ref name=record>India Office Records, Asian and African Studies Reading Room, [[British Library]], [[St Pancras, London|St Pancras]], p. 80</ref>

==Career==
On a ship going from the [[United States]] to the [[Tilbury Docks]] of [[England]], Ali arrived in the United Kingdom in late 1919.<ref>{{cite news|last=Balachandran|first=Gopalan |url= http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/ebook/p/2005/history_cooperative/www.historycooperative.org/proceedings/seascapes/balachandran.html#_ftn1|title=South Asian Seafarers and their Worlds: c. 1870-1930s|publisher=[[Göttingen State and University Library]]}}</ref> During this time, there was a sizeable minority of [[British Asians]] and a high demand for [[South Asian cuisine]] as there were not many restaurants serving home cuisines.<ref>{{cite news|title=History of 'Indian' Restaurants and Curry Houses in Britain}}</ref> Ali started his career in 1920 by founding the Shah Jalal Restaurant and Coffee House in [[Commercial Street, London|Commercial Street]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/Documents/Leisure-and-culture/Tourism/Visitor-information/Banglatown-and-Bengali-walk-leaflet.pdf|title=Exploring Banglatown and the Bengali East End|last=Jones|first=Dan|date=2004}}</ref> The restaurant was popular to a great extent and served as a hub for the [[British Asian]] community.<ref name=open/> Many important meetings were also held here such as one for the India League launched by [[V. K. Krishna Menon]] on 13 June 1943 and around eighty Asian lascars and factory workers as well as three Europeans were present.<ref name=record/> Other figures who frequented the restaurant include [[V. K. Narayana Menon|Narayana Menon]] and [[Mulk Raj Anand]].<ref name=jalal>{{cite web|title=Shah Jolal Restaurant - Making Britain|url= http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/shah-jolal-restaurant|publisher=[[Open University]]}}</ref>

Ali moved to 13 Sandys Row in the [[East End]] of London in 1945.<ref>{{cite book|title=Roots and Tales of the Bangladeshi Settlers|last=Choudhury|first=Yousuf|page=69}}</ref> He continued living there until 1959.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://potrika.com/article/%E0%A7%A7%E0%A7%AF%E0%A7%AD%E0%A7%AE-%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%82%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC-%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%99%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%88%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%95-%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%97%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%A3 |publisher=Potrika|script-title=bn:১৯৭৮ : পূর্ব লন্ডনে বাঙালির রাজনৈতিক জাগরণ|date=5 May 2015|author=Ansar Ahmed Ullah|language=bn}}</ref> Through the restaurant and his home, Ali was also able to support other ex-lascars and help them find employment.<ref>{{cite news|title=1940s-1950s: Welfare of fellow countrymen|author=Ansar Ahmed Ullah|url=https://surveyoflondon.org/map/feature/296/detail/|date=1 January 2019|website=[[Survey of London]]}}</ref> He would provide food, education and shelter gratis in his own home as well.<ref name=ansar>{{cite book|title=Bengalis in London's East End|url=https://www.swadhinata.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Bengalis-in-Londons-East-End-Book.pdf|author=Ansar Ahmed Ullah|date=2010}}</ref> Ali was proficient in the English language, and so was able to also write letters for the men and allow them to also send remittances back to their families abroad.<ref name=plaque>{{cite web|url=https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/leisure_and_culture/local_history/people_plaques/people_plaques.aspx|website=Tower Hamlets Council|title=Tower Hamlets People's Plaques Shortlist}}</ref> It is considered that during this period, the nickname of "Master" was ascribed to Ali due to his literary ability.

In 1943, Ali and his acquaintance [[Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi]] founded the Indian Seamen's Welfare League with intentions to promote the social welfare of lascars.<ref>{{cite book |last=Glynn |first=Sarah |year=2015 |title=Class, Ethnicity and Religion in the Bengali East End: A Political History |publisher=Manchester University Press |page=13 |isbn=978-1-84779-959-3}}</ref> It ensured the rights of the Asians and also allowed them to communicate to their relatives back home.<ref>{{cite book|last=Visram|first=Rozina|title=Asians in Britain: 400 Years of History|url=https://archive.org/details/asiansinbritain40068visr|url-access=registration|location=London|date=2002}}</ref> Its first meeting took place on 14 July 1943 in King's Hall, Commercial Street, London.<ref>{{cite book|script-title=bn:বিলাতে বাংলা সংবাদপত্র ও সাংবাদিকতা (১৯১৬ -২০১৬)|year=2018|language=bn|last=Ahmed|first=Faruque}}</ref> The meeting attracted mostly [[Bengali Muslims]] but dozens of Europeans were also present. Later, the organisation was renamed to the Indian Seamen's Welfare League to sound less political.<ref>{{cite book|last=Adams|first=Caroline|title=Across Seven Seas and Thirteen Rivers|location=London|date=1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=South Asian Resistances in Britain, 1858 - 1947|editor1=Sumita Mukherjee|editor2=Rehana Ahmed|page=79}}</ref> V. K. Krishna Menon also made Ali the treasurer of the East End branch of his India League. Ali was also the president of the [[All-India Muslim League]] having links with [[Liaquat Ali Khan]] and [[Mohammad Ali Jinnah]].<ref>{{cite thesis|year=2014|title=Journal of Global History|chapter=The world of the Sylheti seamen in the Age of Empire, from the late eighteenth century to 1947|last=Hossain|first=Ashfaque|publisher=[[Cambridge University]]}}</ref>

At a later stage in his life, Ali founded a travel agency business in his house called ''Orient Travels''. This was later moved to [[Brick Lane]], which has now become the capital of the [[British Bangladeshi]] community. He then returned to his home in Achol, Jagannathpur in the newly independent country of [[Bangladesh]] where he became a member of his local [[Union Parishad]].<ref name=kaler/> He renamed his village of Achol to Hason-Fatehpur.<ref name=uk>{{cite news|url=http://britbangla24.com/news/76161|publisher= BritBangla|language=bn|date=11 April 2019|script-title=bn:রেষ্টুরেন্ট ব্যবসায় শতবর্ষ পূরন করেছে রুহুল হোসেনের পরিবার}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Ayub Ali passed away during his return to Bangladesh on 1 April 1980 in Hason-Fatehpur.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.ideastore.co.uk/assets/documents/bengali%20booklet%20FINALcropped1.pdf|title=The Bengali East End - Histories of life and work in Tower Hamlets|publisher=[[Tower Hamlets]]}}</ref> He had two sons and a daughter.

==See also==
* [[Aftab Ali]]
* [[British Bangladeshi]]
* [[I'tisam-ud-Din]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali Master, Ayub}}
[[Category:British restaurateurs]]
[[Category:1880 births]]
[[Category:1980 deaths]]
[[Category:British Muslims]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi emigrants to England]]
[[Category:British chefs]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi businesspeople]]
[[Category:People from Shoreditch]]
[[Category:British chief executives]]
[[Category:British company founders]]
[[Category:Chefs of Indian cuisine]]
[[Category:20th-century British businesspeople]]
[[Category:English Muslims]]
[[Category:19th-century Muslims]]
[[Category:20th-century Muslims]]
[[Category:All India Muslim League members]]
[[Category:20th-century Bengalis]]
[[Category:People from Patli Union]]

Ayub Ali Master - Revision history

90.242.69.211 at 23:43, 5 January 2022