How Darlington celebrated the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh independence

The Bangladesh flag was flown over Darlington Town Hall and public buildings were illuminated in green and red as the Mayor and Mayoress of Darlington were joined by a group limited due to the pandemic to mark the country’s independence milestone.

The Bangladesh flag flying above Darlington Town Hall

Mayor Councillor Chris McEwan and his wife Amanda, Councillor Heather Scott, leader of the council and Mohammed Bodrul Islam, cultural secretary of Darlington Bangladesh Welfare Association, held a minute’s silence with Councillor Sajna Ali, one of five siblings in one of Darlington’s first Bangladeshi families.

The Bangladeshi community has become one of the largest ethnic minority groups in Darlington, with more than 150 families, with many families coming from Europe to settle in the borough over the last decade.

However, when Cllr Ali’s grandfather arrived in the North-East during the Second World War - after being left clinging to a piece of wood when his ship was sunk - he was among the first from south Asia.

Her father opened the first Indian restaurant in Redcar, the Light of Asia, in the 1960s and then they moved to Darlington and launched the Taj Mahal on North Road, one of only four Indian restaurants in the North-East at the time.

She said: “The Bangladeshi community have always given back to the food industry in Darlington. I know they use the term Indian cuisine, but it’s really Bangladeshi in Darlington.”

Cllr Sanja Ali’s sister Shamsia with her father at the Taj Mahal’s tandoor oven in the early 1970s

Cllr Ali said British National Party hate campaigns were rife during the community’s early years in the town and her father held secret meetings above his restaurant of a body which went on to become today’s Darlington Police Unity Group.

She said it was important to celebrate historic events to ensure the population’s rich cultures and heritage was not forgotten, especially when it had come at the cost of millions of lives.

Cllr Ali said: “I am proud to see the council marking this occasion, as well as the contribution made by members of the Bangladeshi community in Darlington. The Assistant High Commissioner has recognised the strong links between the council and the Bangladeshi community, which is very gratifying.”

Cllr Scott said: “It is important that we recognise and celebrate diversity in our borough and further afield. I was pleased to join with colleagues to mark the 50th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh.”

Cllr McEwan said: “I would like to thank Cllr Ali for her tireless efforts in promoting the rich culture and heritage of Bangladesh. Her father, the late Syed Torab Ali, was himself a prominent figure in the community and was proud to have welcomed, to his Darlington home, the commander in chief of Bangladeshi Forces from the 1971 war of independence.”