Home
People
Organizations
Events
Themes
Oral Histories
Learning Resources
Arif Ali
Indo-Guyanese publisher and founder of Hansib Publications
Place of birth
Date of arrival to Britain
Date of time spent in Britain
1957 – present
About
Arif Ali was born in Danielstown, British Guiana and was the grandson of indentured labourers from India. In 1957 he migrated to Britain with the intention of continuing his education. Instead, Ali founded a West Indian food business in London.
Whilst running his business, Ali bought a printing machine to produce a newspaper titled The Westindian. The success of The Westindian motivated Ali to pursue a career in publishing.
In 1970 Ali sold his business to establish Hansib Publications. Through Hansib Publications, Ali created several newspapers and magazines for Asian, African and Caribbean people in Britain. These included the weekly titles West Indian Digest, Caribbean Times, Asian Times and African Times, which Arif edited. The Caribbean Times in particular became an important site for anti-racist campaigning.
Hansib also published books, such as Roy Sawh’s autobiography and a select number of publications from novelist and poet David Dabydeen. In 1997 Ali sold Hansib’s weekly newspapers to focus on publishing more books. In the same year, Ali was appointed to Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Caribbean Advisory Group.
Hansib continues to operate, although Ali has retired from the day-to-day running of the organization.
Donnell, Alison, Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture (New York: Taylor & Francis, 2002)
Hansib Publishing, ‘About Us’, https://www.hansibpublications.com/About-us
Hoyles, Martin and Hoyles, Asher, Caribbean Publishing in Britain: A Tribute to Arif Ali (London: Hansib Publishing, 2011)
James, Winston, ‘Migration, Racism and Identity Formation: The Caribbean Experience in Britain’, in Clive Harris and Winston James (eds) Inside Babylon: The Caribbean Diaspora in Britain (London: Verso, 1993), pp. 231–87
Wertheimer, Fay, ‘Minority Publisher Celebrates 40th Birthday’, Guardian (24 November 2010)
AC2010/04, Hansib Publications, Black Cultural Archives, London
LMA/4522, Hansib Publications Records, London Metropolitan Archives, London
Image credit
© Remaking Britain: South Asian Connections and Networks, 1930s – present
