“I was never totally what we would now call 'politically correct,' even in my most militant phase. I always liked good food, good wines. I suppose it was because I had total confidence in myself”.
Tariq is a writer, political activist and filmmaker, considered to be a leading figure of the international left. He has written numerous books on world history and politics as well as novels and scripts for the stage and screen.
Tariq Ali’s screenplay The Leaopard and The Fox which was about the last days of the Pakistani politician Zulfiqar Ali Butto, wasn’t previously produced because of controversy over censorship. However, in 2007 it premiered in New York, the day before former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Button returned home after eight years in exile. He is currently an editor of New Left Review, which analyses politics, the global economy, protests , and the arts.
It is alleged that Tariq Ali is the ‘Street Fighting Man’ in the Rolling Stone’s song of that name. Jagger is said to have written it about Ali after he attended a 1968 anti-war rally at London’s US embassy.
“A man of crystal-clear intellect, and no one, it seems, can escape his critical gaze.” - Vienna Review