An article on Marc Wadsworth's Comrade Sak and the legacy of Shapurji Saklatvala appeared recently in Eastern Eye (Issue 1582, Friday 30 October 2020, page 14).
In his book, Wadsworth concludes: “As Saklatvala repeatedly charged, and is documented in my book, Labour in power frequently displayed attitudes and practices towards empire, colonialism and, frankly, in the racist immigration laws it brought in, that differed little from those of the Conservatives.
“Saklatvala’s principled, internationalist and socialist critique of empire was never shared by more than a minority of members of the Labour party, with the exception… of small groups on the left, such as Fenner Brockway’s Movement for Colonial Freedom.”
After one visit to India, the British authorities made sure Saklatvala never again visited the country of his birth for fear he would stir up trouble for the Raj. When Saklatvala died in 1936, “his funeral procession was reported to have been more than a mile long…. condolences came from all over the world.”
