Remembering the victim of 1978 racist killing of Ishaque Ali

London, 26 June (Special Correspondent/OurVoice) – A moving remembrance meeting was held at the Pure Chai Seminar Room in East London, to honour the memory of Ishaque Ali, a victim of a racist attack in Hackney in 1978. 

The event, organised by the Altab Ali Foundation, took place just a day before the 47th anniversary of Ali’s death and highlighted the enduring impact of racist violence on Britain’s Bengali community.

Chaired by Foundation Chairperson Nooruddin Ahmed and conducted by Secretary Dr. Ansar Ahmed Ullah, the gathering brought together family members, activists, community leaders, and youth organisers to reflect on Ali’s life and legacy.

Secretary Dr. Ansar Ahmed Ullah recounted the events of 26 June 1978, when 45-year-old Ishaque Ali and 20-year-old Faruk Uddin were attacked by three white youths near Ali’s home on Urswick Road, Hackney. The two men were punched and, according to one report, strangled with a boot lace. Ali, a father of five who lived on Coopersale Road, suffered a fatal heart attack and died shortly after being taken to Hackney Hospital.

At the time, Ishaque Ali’s cousin, Sofar Ud Din, told the Hackney Gazette, “He was attacked because of his colour. There was no money taken. It happens all the time in the East End.” Hackney activist Alok Biswas, who knew the family, said Faruk Uddin reported that the assailants shouted racist slurs, calling the two men “Paki bastards” and “stinking blacks.”

Ali’s brother-in-law, Jahangir Khan, spoke of his memories of Ishaque Ali, who was born in Fen Gram, Moria Union, Beani Bazar, describing him as “a very friendly, humorous and loving person.” Ishaque Ali had owned a restaurant on Holloway Road and a factory in Hackney at the time of his death.

Speakers included Altab Ali Foundation advisor Akikur Rahman, Rafique Ullah of the Altab Ali Trust, Jamal Miah and Abdus Sattar of the Bangladesh Youth Front (BYF), Chunu Meah of the Bangladesh Youth Movement, activist Abdul Malik Khukon, actor Shadhin Khasru, AAF Assistant Secretary Jamal Khan, Swadhinata Trust Chairperson Julie Begum, BYF’s Joynal Choudhury, Salim Ullah of the Bangladesh Youth League, journalist Shah Mustafijur Rahman Belal, Reporters Unity President Sajidur Rahman, Ishaque Ali’s youngest son Shuhel Ahmed, his daughter-in-law Hasina Ahmed, and Progressive Youth Organisation’s Shuva Motin and Khalique Ahmed.

Tributes were paid to members of the Hackney and Tower Hamlets Defence Committee – Alok Biswas, Bhajan Chatterjee and Patrick Kodikara – who led a series of anti-racist protests in the wake of Ishaque Ali’s death. The year-long demonstrations in Hackney and Tower Hamlets helped galvanise the local community against racial violence.

Speakers also supported the creation of a commemorative booklet in collaboration with the Swadhinata Trust to preserve the story of Ishaque Ali and the broader anti-racist movement and proposed that his death be marked annually.

Ishaque Ali had arrived in London from Bangladesh nine years prior to his death. Three teenagers were eventually arrested and charged with murder: a 17-year-old cabinet maker from Kentish Town Road and two 16-year-olds from Homerton. In 1979, they received just six months' imprisonment each, charged not with murder but with mugging.

The meeting concluded with a special prayer for Ishaque Ali, led by Hafiz Md Zillu Khan.