Saklatvala was a fervent supporter of Indian independence, a strong advocate of the rights of Indian, British and international workers, and a charismatic public speaker. He was an anti-imperialist parliamentarian protesting in the heart of the British Empire.
Saklatvala was born into one of India’s wealthiest families; a nephew of J.N. Tata, the founder of the Tata Steel Company. Educated at an exclusive private school and then at the College of Bombay, he joined the family business in 1901. He then spent three years exploring the remote areas of India in search of natural resources. This exploration laid the foundations for the present-day Tata iron and steel works.
In 1905 he relocated to England to both manage the company’s Manchester office, and to receive treatment for malaria. Already active in the campaign for Indian independence by this time, his family may have also been attempting to avoid further embarrassment, as he had experienced several clashes with the British authorities in India.
While convalescing at a health spa in Matlock, Derbyshire, he met Sarah Marsh, a waitress. They married in August 1907 and moved to London shortly afterwards. Although he was already a member of the Social Democratic Foundation by the time he moved to London, he soon began to doubt the ability of liberalism to improve the lives of the oppressed people of India and Britain. In 1909 he moved further to the political left and joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP). Initially a relatively passive supporter of socialist causes, the First World War and the Russian Revolution appear to have inspired Saklatvala to increase his involvement.
In 1921, after the ILP rejected its affiliation to the Third International in Russia, Saklatvala left the ILP and joined the Communist Party. By this time Saklatvala was well-known in the labour movement, and in 1921 he was adopted as the Labour candidate for Battersea North. His manifesto contained demands which would appeal to all sections of society. It called for better state housing, improvements to public education, and financial provision for aged people, mothers, widows, orphans, ex-service victims and locked out workers. He supported women’s right to vote and greater protections for unmarried mothers and their children. Saklatvala received support from prominent figures such as the socialist and feminist Charlotte Despard, and the politician and Pan-Africanist, John Archer.
Saklatvala was elected to Parliament for Battersea North in 1922. He was the third Indian and the first communist to be elected to the House of Commons. However, Saklatvala’s affiliation to the Communist Party meant he was often regarded with suspicion. Although many of the accusations aimed at him were questionable in their veracity, he suffered constant raids on his home by security and police forces.
His first period as Labour MP was short-lived, as Stanley Baldwin called for a General Election in December 1923. Adopted again as the Labour candidate, Saklatvala faced an altogether more difficult campaign. This time he had only one opponent, who fought an anti-communist campaign with a large backing from the local and national press. His opponent won by 186 votes.
Saklatvala stood as a communist in the 1924 General Election with the backing of Battersea Labour Party. He regained his seat and served as the Member of Parliament for Battersea North from 1924 until 1929, when he was defeated by the official Labour candidate. During his tenure he frequently raised issues relating to India and advocated for Indian independence, with the Daily Graphic referring to him as the “member for India”. He was a member of the Indian Home Rule League and a founding member of the Workers’ Welfare League of India.
In 1926, Saklatvala was arrested for a speech he made on the eve of the General Strike at a May Day rally in Hyde Park. He told the audience: “We tell the government that young men in the forces, whether Joynson-Hicks [Home Secretary] likes it or not… we have a duty towards the men to say to them that they must lay down their arms.” [1] He was found guilty of sedition and imprisoned for two months.
In 1927, he travelled to India, where he promoted communism, and discussed independence with Gandhi. However, soon afterwards the government revoked his passport, meaning he was unable to return to the country. He was also banned from visiting Egypt, Belgium and America.
Despite losing his parliamentary seat in 1929, Saklatvala remained committed to his work until his death seven years later. His dual commitment to socialism and colonial freedom resulted from his life spent in two very different worlds. For him, internationalism was not an empty rhetoric, but a means of challenging nationalist attitudes in labour movements.
After his death, Reginald Bridgeman of the International League Against Imperialism, wrote that Saklatvala had, “sacrificed his life in the struggle for the freedom of India from foreign commination.” [2] Harry Pollitt, the General Secretary of the Communist Party, paid further tribute, stating, “Sak was a comrade who could have chosen the easy path to great riches, to a political career and to a high place in society, but who consciously chose the path of anti-imperialist struggle and revolutionary communism”. [3]
By Susan Leigh, a U3A Shared Learning Project researcher for the Citizens Project.
[1] The Young Striker, 6 May 1926
[2] R. Bridgeman (International League against Imperialism), “Obituary,” South West Star 24 Jan 1936
[3] Mike Squires, Saklatvala. A Political Biography, 205.
Sources
Rozina Visram. Ayers, Lascars and Princes in Britain 1700-1947. Routledge.
Declan O’Callaghan. Shapurji Saklatvala. UCL: The Equiano Centre. ucl.ac.uk
Marc Wadsworth. “Historical notes: A one man party in Parliament.” The Independent, 24 Sept 1998 www.independent.co.uk
Mike Squires. Saklatvala. A Political Biography. Lawrence and Wishart, 1990
Matt Myers. “Labour against Empire.” https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/02/labour-party-shapurji-saklatvala-communist
