Ayub Ali Master

Ayub Ali Master (আইয়ুব আলী মাস্টার; died 1980) was an early British Bangladeshi social reformer, politician, and entrepreneur. He is remembered for his pioneering welfare work among early British Asians, including running a boardinghouse called "Number 13" in his home that offered various services to the community. As one of the first Sylhetis to settle in the United Kingdom, he became widely known in the Sylhet region during his lifetime, often called one of the brave jahazis (sailors).

Ali was born into a Bengali Muslim family in the village of Achol, Jagannathpur, in the Sylhet District of British India's North-East Frontier. He later migrated to the United States, though the details are unknown, and then arrived in the United Kingdom as an ex-lascar alongside his brother Shamsul Haque.

He reached the UK in late 1919, traveling from the United States to Tilbury Docks. At that time, there was a notable South Asian minority and high demand for home cuisine. In 1920, Ali opened the Shah Jalal Restaurant and Coffee House on Commercial Street. The restaurant became a popular hub for the British Asian community and hosted important meetings, including one for the India League launched by V. K. Krishna Menon on 13 June 1943, attended by around eighty Asian lascars and factory workers, plus three Europeans. Other frequent visitors included Narayana Menon and Mulk Raj Anand.

In 1945, Ali moved to 13 Sandys Row in East London, where he lived until 1959. Through his restaurant and home, he supported other ex-lascars, helping them find work and offering food, education, and shelter free of charge. Fluent in English, he also wrote letters for men and helped them send remittances to their families abroad. It is thought that during this time he earned the nickname "Master," meaning teacher in Bengali, due to his literacy.

In 1943, Ali and Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi founded the Indian Seamen's Welfare League to promote the welfare of lascars. The group helped Indians, mainly Sylhetis, with official paperwork and communication with relatives back home. Its first meeting was on 14 July 1943 at King's Hall, Commercial Street, London, drawing mostly Bengali Muslims but also dozens of Europeans. The organization was later renamed to sound less political. V. K. Krishna Menon also appointed Ali treasurer of the East End branch of the India League. Additionally, Ali served as president of the All-India Muslim League and had links with Liaquat Ali Khan and Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Later in life, Ali started a travel agency called Orient Travels from his home, which later moved to Brick Lane—now the heart of the British Bangladeshi community. He eventually returned to his home village of Achol, Jagannathpur, in independent Bangladesh, where he became a member of the local Union Parishad and renamed the village Hason-Fatehpur.

Ayub Ali died on 1 April 1980 in Hason-Fatehpur, during his return to Bangladesh. He had two sons and a daughter. His great-nephew Tam Hussein is a journalist at ITV. A blue plaque marks his former home on Sandy's Row.