->Billposer: /* Personal life */ Corrected word, which produces valid wikilink.

2021-12-31T08:21:38Z

Personal life: Corrected word, which produces valid wikilink.

New page

{{Short description|British Communist Party MP}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Shapurji Dorabji Saklatvala
| honorific-suffix = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]]
| image = Shapurji Saklatvala.jpg
| image_size =
| office = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Battersea North (UK Parliament constituency)|Battersea North]]
| majority = 542 (1.8%)
| predecessor = [[Henry Hogbin]]
| successor = [[William Sanders (UK politician)|William Sanders]]
| term_start = 1924
| term_end = 1929
| majority2 = 2,021 (9.5%)
| predecessor2 = [[Richard Morris (UK politician)|Richard Morris]]
| successor2 = [[Henry Hogbin]]
| term_start2 = 1922
| term_end2 = 1923
| birth_date = 28 March 1874
| birth_place = [[Mumbai|Bombay]], [[British India]]
| death_date = 16 January 1936 (aged 61)
| death_place = [[London]], England
| spouse =
| party = [[Communist Party of Great Britain]] (1921–1936)
|otherparty = [[Independent Labour Party]] (1909–1921) <br /> [[Labour Party (U.K.)|Labour Party]] (1922–1923),
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[St. Xavier's College, Mumbai|St. Xavier's College]]
| occupation =
| profession = Lawyer
| signature =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Shapurji Dorabji Saklatvala''' (28 March 1874 – 16 January 1936) was a communist activist and British politician of [[India]]n [[Parsi people|Parsi]] heritage. Saklatvala is notable for being the first person of Indian heritage to become a British [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for the [[Labour Party (UK)|UK Labour Party]], and was also among the few members of the [[Communist Party of Great Britain]] (CPGB) to serve as an [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]].

==Early years==
Shapurji Saklatvala was born 28 March 1874 in Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]), [[British Raj|India]], the son of a merchant, Dorabji Saklatvala, and his wife Jerbai, a sister of [[Jamsetji Tata|Jamsetji (aka J.N.) Tata]], the owner of India's largest commercial and industrial empire.<ref name=odnb>{{cite book|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 48|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=675–676|isbn=0-19-861398-9}}Article by Mike Squires.</ref> He was educated at St. Xavier's School in Bombay before moving to [[St. Xavier's College, Mumbai|St. Xavier's College]] for his collegiate education.<ref name=Holmes>Colin Holmes, "Shapurgi Dorabji Saklatvala," in A. Thomas Lane (ed.), ''Biographical Dictionary of European Labor Leaders: M-Z.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995; p. 835.</ref>

He worked briefly as an [[iron]] and [[coal]] prospector for Tata<ref>Sehri Saklatvala, [http://www.maze-in.com/saklatvala/pages/03.htm "The Fifth Commandment: Biography of Shapurji Saklatvala''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020817160600/http://www.maze-in.com/saklatvala/pages/03.htm |date=17 August 2002 }}, Salford: Miranda Press, 1991; Chapter 3.</ref> successfully unearthing iron ore and coal deposits in the states of Bihar and Odisha (previously called Orissa) .<ref name=odnb2>{{cite book|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 48|page=676}}</ref> His health suffered with [[malaria]] which led to his moving to [[England]] in 1905<ref name=Klugmann1-236>Klugmann, ''History of the Communist Party of Great Britain: Volume 1,'' p. 236.</ref> to convalesce and run Tata's [[Manchester]] office.<ref name=odnb2 /> He later joined [[Lincoln's Inn]], although he left before qualifying as a [[barrister]].<ref>Saklatvala, [http://www.maze-in.com/saklatvala/pages/05.htm ''The Fifth Commandment,''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706000633/http://www.maze-in.com/saklatvala/pages/05.htm |date=6 July 2007 }} chapter 5.</ref>

==Political career==
Saklatvala was a committed socialist, and first joined the [[Independent Labour Party]] (ILP) in [[Manchester]] in 1909.<ref name=Klugmann1-236 />

The [[Bolshevik Revolution]] in Russia of November 1917 was an inspiration to Saklatvala, and following the establishment of the [[Communist International]] in 1919, he became active in attempting to affiliate the ILP with that new organisation. Saklatvala joined with [[Emile Burns]], [[R. Palme Dutt]], [[J. Walton Newbold]], [[Helen Crawfurd]], and others as part of an organised faction called the [[Left Wing Group of the ILP]] which was dedicated to this effort.<ref>[[James Klugmann]], ''History of the Communist Party of Great Britain: Volume One: Formation and Early Years, 1919–1924.'' London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1968; p. 26.</ref> When the affiliation drive by Saklatvala and the ILP's left wing ended in failure 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).<ref name=Klugmann1-236 />

He attended the [[Pan-African Congress#2nd Pan-African Congress|2nd Pan-African Congress]] held in Paris in 1921 as a delegate of the CPGB.

In the [[1922 United Kingdom general election|October 1922 general election]], the Communist Party of Great Britain launched its first electoral campaign, putting forward candidates in six constituencies.<ref name=Klugmann1-188>Klugmann, ''History of the Communist Party of Great Britain: Volume 1,'' p. 188.</ref> Saklatvala ran in the [[Battersea North (UK Parliament constituency)|Battersea North]] district of London, one of two Communists to receive the official endorsement of the [[Labour Party (U.K.)|Labour Party]]<ref name=Klugmann1-188 /> – 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 election in North Battersea, receiving 11,311 votes – topping his nearest rival by more than 2,000 votes.<ref>Klugmann, ''History of the Communist Party of Great Britain: Volume 1,'' p. 191.</ref> Also elected running as a Communist, without official Labour Party support, was [[Walton Newbold|J. Walton Newbold]], capturing a [[Plurality (voting)|plurality]] of the vote in [[Motherwell (UK Parliament constituency)|Motherwell]].<ref>Klugmann, ''History of the Communist Party of Great Britain: Volume 1,'' p. 190.</ref>

Saklatvala was accepted into the Labour Party's parliamentary caucus, but while Newbold applied for the same, he was rejected.<ref>Klugmann, ''History of the Communist Party of Great Britain: Volume 1,'' p. 192.</ref> 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.<ref name=Klugmann1-193>Klugmann, ''History of the Communist Party of Great Britain: Volume 1,'' p. 193.</ref> Newbold wound up being suspended from the House in May 1923 over his actions with respect to the Curzon ultimatum during the [[Occupation of the Ruhr|French occupation of the Ruhr]].<ref name=Klugmann1-193 />

The [[1923 United Kingdom general election|November 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.<ref name=Klugmann1-242>Klugmann, ''History of the Communist Party of Great Britain: Volume 1,'' p. 242.</ref> Although not all the Communist candidates were endorsed by the Labour Party, they all were the recipients of support from local Labour activists.<ref name=Klugmann1-242 /> Despite modest gains for Labour in the election overall, the results of the election returned the [[Conservative Party (U.K.)|Conservatives]] as the largest party in the House of Commons (although their number of seats fell from 346 to 259).<ref name=Klugmann1-243>Klugmann, ''History of the Communist Party of Great Britain: Volume 1,'' p. 243.</ref> All Communist candidates were defeated in the 1923 election, however, including Saklatvala in Battersea North.<ref name=Klugmann1-243 />

The [[1924 United Kingdom general election|1924 general election]] came in the wake of the so-called [[Zinoviev letter]] and saw the Conservatives increase their vote by more than 2 million to win the election.<ref name=Klugmann1-356>Klugmann, ''History of the Communist Party of Great Britain: Volume 1,'' p. 356.</ref> The Labour Party saw a net loss of 42 seats despite contesting more constituencies than ever before.<ref name=Klugmann1-356 /> In Battersea North, Saklatvala ran without formal Labour Party endorsement for the first time, but still managed to win election by a slim margin of 544 votes, the only one of 8 CPGB candidates elected.<ref>Klugmann, ''History of the Communist Party of Great Britain: Volume 1,'' p. 357.</ref>

Saklatvala was arrested during the [[1926 General Strike]] following a speech he made in support of striking coal miners and was jailed for two months on charge of sedition.

He was active in the [[League Against Imperialism]] from the time of its formation in 1927.<ref name=Holmes />

Saklatvala's parliamentary career was effectively ended when he lost his seat in the [[1929 United Kingdom general election|1929 general election]].<ref name=Holmes /> He ran again in 1930 in [[1930 Glasgow Shettleston by-election|a by-election in Glasgow Shettleston]] without success, and mounted a final losing campaign in the [[1931 United Kingdom general election|1931 general election]] in Battersea.<ref name=Holmes />

In 1934 he visited the [[Soviet 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.<ref name="odnb4">{{cite book|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 48|page=677}}</ref>

During the [[1935 United Kingdom general election|1935 general election]] Saklatvala was active in the electoral campaigns of [[Harry Pollitt]] and [[Willie Gallacher (politician)|Willie Gallacher]].<ref name=Holmes />

==Personal life==
On 14 August 1907 Saklatvala married an English woman, Sarah Elizabeth Marsh (born 1888), whom he met when she was working as a hotel waitress while staying at [[Matlock, Derbyshire|Matlock]], 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).<ref name=odnb2 /><ref>{{cite news|title=Ancient Parsee Rites in England’s Capital|url=http://history.baconlibrary.org/dt/THE%20WYANDOTTE%20HERALD/Multiple/1925-1929/1928-02-17.pdf?xml=http://history.baconlibrary.org/Bacon.asp?cmd=pdfhits&DocId=165&Index=C%3A%5Cinetpub%5Cwwwroot%5CIDX%5C1925-1929M&HitCount=0&hits=&hc=0&req=|accessdate=12 October 2016|work=THE WYANDOTTE HERALD|date= 17 February 1928}}</ref> He was once censured by the non-religious CPGB for holding a [[Zoroastrian]] [[navjote]] initiation ceremony for his children at [[Caxton Hall]], [[Westminster]], which he defended on the grounds it was to ensure benefit from a [[Tata family|Tata]] family trust fund.<ref name=odnb4 />

His son Kaikhoshro served with the British [[Air Transport Auxiliary]] organisation in [[World War II]] as a pilot (Second Officer).<ref>"[http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?14801-Indian-Ceylon-(Sri-Lanka)-Pilots-in-ATA-(from-Brief-Glory) "Indian/Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Pilots in ATA (from Brief Glory)"], RAF Commands.</ref> He flew most frontline aircraft, including Mosquitos, Spitfires and Lancasters.

==Death and legacy==
[[File:Shapurji Saklatvala Grave Brookwood.jpg|thumb|right|Memorial to Shapurji Saklatvala on his mother's tomb in [[Brookwood Cemetery]]]]
Shapurji Saklatvala died, from another heart attack, on 16 January 1936 at his London home, 2 St Albans Villas, St Albans Road.<ref name="odnb4"/> He was 61 years old at the time of his death and was cremated at [[Golders Green Crematorium]].<ref name=findagrave>[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8473615 "Shapurji Saklatvala"] at Find a Grave.</ref> His remains were later buried on 21 January in the tomb of his mother at the Parsi burial ground in [[Brookwood Cemetery]], [[Woking]].<ref name=odnb5>{{cite book|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 48|page=677}}The ''ODNB'' does not mention the cremation.</ref>

In January 1937, British, Irish and Dominion volunteers in the [[International 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]]".

The [[Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist)]]'s hall is named after Shapurji Saklatvala. Saklatvala Hall is located in [[Southall]], London. The hall is used for CPGB-ML's meetings and celebrations.

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Works==
* ''The Empire Labour.'' 1919.
* ''For British Trade Unionists and British Indian Labour: Two Articles on British Capital and Indian Labour.'' Manchester: National Labour Press, n.d. [1920].
* ''India in the Labour World.'' London: Labour Publishing Co. for the Workers' Welfare League of India, n.d. [c. 1921].
* ''Saklatwala on India.'' Lahore: G.L. Puri, 1923.
* ''The Class Struggle in Parliament: On Communism, Egyptian Indemnity, the Supplementary Reserve, the Prince's Tour, the Air Force.'' London: S. Saklatvala, n.d. [c. 1925].
* ''British Imperialism in India: Speech Delivered in the House of Commons, 9 July 1925.'' Chicago: Daily Worker Publishing Co., n.d. [1925].
* ''Is India Different? The Class Struggle in India: Correspondence on the Indian Labour Movement and Modern Conditions.'' With Mahatma Gandhi. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1927.
* ''Socialism and "Labouralism": A Speech in the House of Commons.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1928.
* '' With the Communist Party in Parliament: Exposure of Parliamentary Hypocrisy: Saklatvala's Great Speech on King's Address, 7 November 1928.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [c. 1928].

==Further reading==
* Mike Squires, ''Saklatvala: Political Biography.'' London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1990.
* [[Marc Wadsworth]], ''Comrade Sak: Shapurji Saklatvala MP, A Political Biography'', Leeds, England: Peepal Tree Press, 1998. Second edition published by Peepal Tree Press, 2020.
* Jacob Zumoff, "'Is America Afraid of the Truth?’: The Aborted North American Trip of Shapuriji Saklatvala, MP," ''Indian Economic and Social History Review,'' vol. 53, no. 3 (August 2016).
* Priyamvada Gopal, '' Insurgent Empire
Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent'', London, England: Verso, 2019.
* [https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/02/labour-party-shapurji-saklatvala-communist Labour Against Empire], London, England: Verso, 2019.

==See also==
* [[Politics of the United Kingdom]]
* [[British Asians in politics of the United Kingdom]]
* [[Dadabhai Naoroji]]
* [[Mancherjee Bhownagree]]

==External links==
* [http://www.movinghere.org.uk/galleries/histories/asian/politics/politics.htm Asians in British politics]

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{succession box
| title = Member of Parliament for [[Battersea North (UK Parliament constituency)|Battersea North]]
| years = [[1922 United Kingdom general election|1922]] – [[1923 United Kingdom general election|23]]
| before = [[Richard Morris (UK politician)|Richard Morris]]
| after = [[Henry Cairn Hogbin]]
}}
{{succession box
| title = Member of Parliament for [[Battersea North (UK Parliament constituency)|Battersea North]]
| years = [[1924 United Kingdom general election|1924]] – [[1929 United Kingdom general election|29]]
| before = [[Henry Cairn Hogbin]]
| after = [[William Sanders (UK politician)|William Sanders]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saklatvala, Shapurji}}
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:1936 deaths]]
[[Category:British politicians of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Politicians from Mumbai]]
[[Category:British people of Parsi descent]]
[[Category:Communist Party of Great Britain members]]
[[Category:Indian communists]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:English people of Parsi descent]]
[[Category:English people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Parsi people from Mumbai]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1924–1929]]
[[Category:British communists]]
[[Category:Communist Party of Great Britain MPs]]
[[Category:Burials at Brookwood Cemetery]]
[[Category:British Zoroastrians]]
[[Category:Parsi people]]

Shapurji Saklatvala - Revision history

->Billposer: /* Personal life */ Corrected word, which produces valid wikilink.