In Memory of Nabab Ali

 

Haji Nabab Ali, a stalwart of the Trinidad Muslim League, was always viewed as a man of great action and determination. He possessed an abundance of energy and spirit and never rested until the job was completed. Indeed, his life's career was a reflection of his philosophy of the belief in the value of work and the will of an individual.

 

He was born on 21st August 1917 at Cane Farm Village, Tacarigua. Inspired by the fervent zeal and dedication he saw exhibited in the Presbyterian system, he started his teaching career under the monitor system with the Presbyterian Board. He graduated from the Government Training College in 1947 and was appointed the first principal of the non-Christian Primary School in the country, the El Socorro T.I.A. School, in 1949. He served this institution faithfully for 28 years.

 

In 1947, Haji Nabab's association with the Trinidad Muslim League began when he was elected the first secretary of the Board. Upon his retirement from teaching in 1977, his spritual scope broadened as he threw himself whole-heartedly in the religious and social life of the Curepe Community. He was appointed chairman of the T.M.L Secondary School; he was given the post of Chairman of the fledgling Secondary School Board.

 

Haji Nabab also served as an editor of the T.M.L Times. In addition, he was the T.M.L.'s representative of the Inter-Religious Organization - a position for which he was ideally suited, since his religion was the religion of all humanity.

 

His final project was to find a home for the San Fernando T.M.L. Primary School. For many years the League was searching for a place to relocate its primary school, without success. Haji Nabab took up that challenge. According to former Principal, Mr. Harry Narine (1988 - 1999), "the grounds as well as the construction of the school are primarily the efforts of the late Haji Nabab Ali. He was the "inspiration" which motivated his collegues to assist in this project."

 

He was married to Hajjin Aklima Ali and he was the proud father of five children. Three of his grandchildren, Khalid, Fareed and Shara, attended this school.

 

Mr. Nabab Ali was born in 1917. He died in 1991.

 

 

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un

"Surely we belong to Allah and to Him shall we return."

 

 

 

*Excerpt taken from the San Fernando T.M.L. Primary School's Diamond Jubilee magazine.