Shapurji Dorabji Saklatvala | |
|---|---|
 Saklatvala in 1922 | |
| Member of Parliament forBattersea North | |
| In office 1924–1929 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Hogbin |
| Succeeded by | William Sanders |
| Majority | 542 (1.8%) |
| In office 1922–1923 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Morris |
| Succeeded by | Henry Hogbin |
| Majority | 2,021 (9.5%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 March 1874 |
| Died | 16 January 1936 (aged 61) London, England |
| Political party | Communist (1921–1936) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent Labour (1909–1921) Labour (1922–1923) |
| Alma mater | St. Xavier's College |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Shapurji Dorabji Saklatvala (28 March 1874 – 16 January 1936) was a communist militant and British politician ofIndianParsi heritage. He was the first person of Indian heritage to become a BritishMember of Parliament (MP) for theLabour Party and was also among the few members of theCommunist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) to serve as anMP.
Shapurji Saklatvala was born on 28 March 1874 in Bombay (nowMumbai),India, the son of a merchant, Dorabji Saklatvala, and his wife Jerbai, a sister ofJamsetji (aka J.N.) Tata, the owner of India's largest commercial and industrial empire.[1] He was educated at St. Xavier's School in Bombay before moving toSt. Xavier's College for his collegiate education.[2]
He worked briefly as aniron andcoal prospector for Tata[3] successfully unearthing iron ore and coal deposits in the states ofJharkhand andOdisha (previously called Orissa).[4] His health suffered withmalaria which led to his moving toEngland in 1905[5] to convalesce and run Tata'sManchester office.[4] He later joinedLincoln's Inn, although he left before qualifying as abarrister.[6]
Saklatvala was a committed socialist, and first joined theIndependent Labour Party (ILP) inManchester in 1909.[5]
TheBolshevik Revolution in Russia of November 1917 was an inspiration to Saklatvala, and following the establishment of theCommunist International in 1919, he became active in attempting to affiliate the ILP with that new organisation. Saklatvala joined withEmile Burns,R. Palme Dutt,J. Walton Newbold,Helen Crawfurd, and others as part of an organised faction called theLeft Wing Group of the ILP which was dedicated to this effort.[7] When the affiliation drive by Saklatvala and the ILP's left-wing failed in the party's March 1921 national conference, Saklatvala left the organisation with the others in the Left Wing Group to join the new Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB).[5]
He attended the2nd Pan-African Congress held in Paris in 1921 as a delegate of the CPGB.
In theOctober 1922 general election, the Communist Party of Great Britain launched its first electoral campaign, putting forward candidates in six constituencies.[8] Saklatvala ran in theBattersea North district of London, one of two Communists to receive the official endorsement of theLabour Party[8] – which was in effect an umbrella organisation which included affiliated political parties like the ILP as well as representatives of various trade unions. Saklatvala won the election in North Battersea, receiving 11,311 votes – topping his nearest rival by more than 2,000 votes.[9] Also elected running as a Communist, without official Labour Party support, wasJ. Walton Newbold, capturing aplurality of the vote inMotherwell.[10]
Saklatvala was accepted into the Labour Party's parliamentary caucus, but while Newbold applied for the same, he was rejected.[11] This did not stop Saklatvala and Newbold from joint activity, however, and the pair attempted to raise the demands of the unemployed and the cause of cheap housing and lower rents whenever possible.[12] Newbold wound up being suspended from the House in May 1923 over his actions concerningthe Curzon ultimatum during theFrench occupation of the Ruhr.[12]
TheNovember 1923 general election saw the CPGB putting forward 9 of its members as candidates, including Shapurji Saklatvala in Battersea North, where he was unanimously adopted as the nominee of the Battersea Labour Party.[13] Although not all the Communist candidates were endorsed by the Labour Party, they all were the recipients of support from local Labour activists.[13] Despite modest gains for Labour in the election overall, the results of the election returned theConservatives as the largest party in the House of Commons (although their number of seats fell from 346 to 259).[14] All Communist candidates were defeated in the 1923 election, however, including Saklatvala in Battersea North.[14]
The1924 general election came in the wake of the so-calledZinoviev letter and saw the Conservatives increase their vote by more than 2 million to win the election.[15] The Labour Party saw a net loss of 42 seats despite contesting more constituencies than ever before.[15] In Battersea North, Saklatvala ran without formal Labour Party endorsement for the first time, but still managed to win the election by a slim margin of 544 votes, the only one of 8 CPGB candidates elected.[16]
Saklatvala was arrested during the1926 General Strike following a speech he made in support of striking coal miners and was jailed for two months on the charge of sedition.
He was active in theLeague Against Imperialism from the time of its formation in 1927.[2]
Saklatvala's parliamentary career was effectively ended when he lost his seat in the1929 general election.[2] He ran again in 1930 ina by-election in Glasgow Shettleston without success and mounted a final losing campaign in the1931 general election in Battersea.[2]
In 1934 he visited theSoviet Union to tour the Union's Far Eastern republics, whose governance he compared favourably to that in British India. During that tour, he suffered a heart attack but recovered.[17]
During the1935 general election Saklatvala was active in the electoral campaigns ofHarry Pollitt andWillie Gallacher.[2]
Saklavata was also a supporter of Irish independence, forming a relationship withArt O'Brien and otherSinn Féin political figures based in Britain and Ireland such asEamon de Valera who saw Indian independence and Irish independence as one and the same.[18][19]
On 14 August 1907 Saklatvala married an English woman, Sarah Elizabeth Marsh (born 1888). She was working as a hotel waitress when he met her while staying atMatlock, Derbyshire. The couple had three sons; Dorab, Beram, and Kaikhoshro (also called Kaiko), and two daughters; Dhunbar and Jevanbai (also known as Candida or Candy and Sehri).[4][20] He was once censured by the non-religious CPGB for holding aZoroastriannavjote initiation ceremony for his children atCaxton Hall,Westminster, which he defended on the grounds it was to ensure benefit from aTata family trust fund.[17]
His son Kaikhoshro served with the BritishAir Transport Auxiliary organisation inWorld War II as a pilot (Second Officer).[21] He flew most frontline aircraft, including Mosquitos, Spitfires and Lancasters.
Saklatvala died, from another heart attack, on 16 January 1936 at his London home, 2 St Albans Villas, St Albans Road.[17] He was 61 years old at the time of his death and was cremated atGolders Green Crematorium. His remains were later buried on 21 January in the tomb of his mother at the Parsi burial ground inBrookwood Cemetery,Woking.[22]
In January 1937, British, Irish and Dominion volunteers in theInternational Brigades were formed into an English-speaking battalion, that was formally named after Saklatvala. However, the name never caught on, and it was normally known as the "British Battalion".
TheCommunist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist)'s hall is named after Shapurji Saklatvala. Saklatvala Hall is located inSouthall, London. The hall is used for CPGB-ML's meetings and celebrations.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBattersea North 1922 –23 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBattersea North 1924 –29 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
