Shapurji Saklatvala
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shapurji Saklatvala (28 March 1874 – 16 January 1936) was a British politician of Indian Parsi heritage. He was the third Indian Member of Parliament (MP) in the Parliament of the United Kingdom after fellow Parsis Dadabhai Naoroji and Mancherjee Bhownagree.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early years
Saklatvala was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, the son of a merchant. He worked briefly as an iron and coal prospector for Jamsetji Tata[1] before moving to England in 1905 where he worked for British Westinghouse. It was at this time that he joined Lincoln's Inn and qualified as a barrister.[2]
[edit] Political career
Saklatvala joined the Independent Labour Party, the Labour Party and on its formation the Communist Party of Great Britain (Labour allowed joint membership at the time). At the 1922 general election he was elected as the Communist candidate for the constituency of Battersea North, with the support of the Labour Party.
He was one of the first Communists elected to the British Parliament, along with Walton Newbold, although in 1920 Cecil L'Estrange Malone had joined the party while already an MP.
Saklatvala lost his seat at the 1923 general election, but was re-elected without official Labour support in the same seat in 1924 election — the first Communist to achieve this feat, although he did not face a Labour opponent. He again lost the seat in the 1929 general election.
Saklatvala was arrested in 1926 following a speech he made in support of striking coal miners and was jailed for two months. During the Spanish Civil War, the Britons fighting in the International Brigades were sometimes called the Saklatava Battalion, although they were more frequently known as the British Battalion since no other battalions from the UK fought.
In January 2009, The National Archives published the 1911 Census for the general public's use. Saklatvala is listed along with his wife Sarah Elizabeth and two children as living in Salford, when he was still working with British Westinghouse in nearby Trafford Park, Manchester. Saklatvala married Sarah Elizabeth on 14 August 1907, in the Parish Church of St Thomas, Moorside, Oldham after a courtship of about a year. Sarah Elizabeth was the third daughter and fourth child of twelve children, ten of them daughters.[3]
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] See also
- Politics of the United Kingdom
- British Asians in politics of the United Kingdom
- Dadabhai Naoroji
- Mancherjee Bhownagree
[edit] External links
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Richard Morris |
Member of Parliament for Battersea North 1922 – 1923 |
Succeeded by Henry Cairn Hogbin |
| Preceded by Henry Cairn Hogbin |
Member of Parliament for Battersea North 1924 – 1929 |
Succeeded by William Sanders |
