Tariq Ali was born in 1943 in Lahore, into a Muslim family. His parents were cousins and belonged to the feudal Khans of Wah from the Khattar tribe in the Punjab. His journalist father, Mazhar Ali Khan was son of Nawab Muzzafar Khan. His activist mother, Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan, is the daughter of Sir Sikandar Hyat Khan who led the Unionist Party, dominated by landlords, was elected Prime Minister of the Punjab in 1937 and played a pivotal role in pre-independence politics of undivided India, until his untimely death in 1942.
Tahira and Mazhar Ali Khan broke away from the feudal politics of their parents. They were active members of the Communist Party of India and, after Partition in 1947 when Lahore became a part of Pakistan, they worked with the short-lived Communist Party of Pakistan.
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Citation: Shamsie, Muneeza. "Tariq Ali". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 June 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4964, accessed 22 November 2024.]
