A socialist and anti-imperialist rebel in Parliament, 1922-9
Shapurji Saklatvala, revolutionary socialist, Indian nationalist and Labour's first BAME MP, was elected in 1922. Representing radical local and international workers' and anti-colonial struggles, he suffered ostracism, surveillance, imprisonment and exile from India to fight against capitalism, racism and imperialism: for working-class self-liberation.
In 1922, the South West London constituency of Battersea North sent Indian-born Shapurji Saklatvala to Parliament, making him the first Labour MP of colour. Saklatvala was a revolutionary socialist, a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and a leading figure in the struggle for Indian freedom. As an MP he suffered ostracism, police surveillance, arrests, imprisonment and exile from the country of his birth in order to wage the fight against capitalism, racism and imperialism, and for working-class self-liberation.
This pamphlet tells Saklatvala’s remarkable story and draws lessons and inspiration.