Blue plaque honours town's first Indian mayor

A "remarkable" public servant has been honoured with a blue plaque on his family's former home, 100 years after he became the first Indian mayor of Ipswich.

Kavas Jamas Badshah was born in Bombay, now Mumbai, in 1859, and became a councillor in Ipswich after retiring to England at the turn of the last century.

A champion for women's suffrage, he was appointed OBE and served as mayor in 1925-26.

"It is incredibly significant that he was able to rise to such a level; he must have been quite a remarkable man to do so," said the High Sheriff of Suffolk, Gulshan Kayembe.

"This is a palpable, tangible recognition of the power of representation - to know that there are others who came before you who did great things but look like you, who share your cultural heritage.

"He was a high achiever, who did very well, who was successful; to have that plaque here and know he was part of life here, will be inspirational to people from all backgrounds."

Mr Badshah dedicated his working life to public service in India, then a British colony, after studying at the University of London on a scholarship.

He became a magistrate and later deputy director general of the Post Office of India, before leaving his home country and joining his British wife Emma and their three children in Ipswich in 1904.

Elected to Ipswich Town Council in 1913, he was honoured by King George V five years later for his work on war bonds, a type of savings scheme.

He was widowed before his term as mayor, with the couple's youngest daughter, Mabel, then in her early 30s, standing as mayoress.

Mr Badshah died in 1931, aged 73, with Badshah Avenue in Ipswich named in his honour in the years that followed.

Current mayor Stefan Long unveiled the plaque at St Edmund's Road, which was initiated, researched and funded by The Ipswich Society.

"His election was a landmark moment, showing that our town has long embraced diversity, inclusion and contributions from people from every background," he said.

"To me, this plaque is more than a marker of history, it's a reminder that Ipswich thrives, and we celebrate difference, when we welcome new voices."

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