Congratulations to Mayor Lutfur Rahman, the Reluctant Revolutionary of Tower Hamlets for his latest Election Victory

  By M Ahmedullah

Mayor Lutfur Rahman became a reluctant revolutionary. He didn’t choose to become what he became. He wanted to play normal politics and use his powers as leader of the Labour Party-led Tower Hamlets Council to pursue the goals he believed he came to politics to achieve. He was the first Bangladeshi politician in Britain to learn to exercise power effectively and without fear. He paid a heavy price as a result, but in the end, he triumphed over incredible odds. In the process, he changed Tower Hamlets’ politics and empowered the Bangladeshis politically as never before.

I don’t know Mayor Lutfur Rahman personally very well, though I have met him in meetings and shook his hand a few times. However, I was driven to defend him when I saw, nearly two decades ago, how a coalition of forces, out of some insane Bengali nationalist Awami League political dynamics of Bangladesh and right-wing politics of London, came together to brand Lutfur Rahman a corrupt politician who facilitated Islamic extremism, used religion to frighten people to support him and did not serve everyone in the community. As I thought these allegations had no basis in reality and were meant to destroy a good man, I did my bit to understand what was going on and inform the people about it.

Indeed, Mayor Lutfur Rahman is a revolutionary, albeit a reluctant one, and, through his determination and public support, he broke down the old order and changed the face of Tower Hamlets politics, hopefully for the better.

Writer: Dr Muhammad Ahmedullah is a researcher, writer, community activist and former Secretary General of Brick Lane Circle based in London