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The history of Samad Iqbal reflects the history of his native country. Samad was born in Bengal, a colony of Great Britain. He served in the British Army during World War II and returned to Bengal after the war. Following India’s independence from Great Britain, Bengal became East Pakistan and then Bangladesh. In the early 1970s, because of economic conditions in Bangladesh, Samad and his wife Alsana move to London.

For Samad, assimilation into British culture is quite painful. He is a conservative Muslim and a traditional Bengali. Samad is especially proud of his ancestor, the Bengali hero Mangal Pande. Even so, Samad spends most of his spare time at a bar called O’Connell’s, eating and drinking with Archie Jones. While violating his own religious rules against drinking alcohol, Samad spouts righteous speeches about the evils of modern society. 

Samad’s internal conflicts over assimilation adversely affect his family life. Samad is fiercely attached to the ideals of traditional patriarchy and wants to control his wife and sons. However, he is reduced to working as a waiter in a cousin’s restaurant and depending on the piecework his wife does at home. These circumstances reduce Samad’s authority, and he responds by becoming even more overbearing. The most extreme example of Samad’s control is his decision to send his older son, Magid, back to Bangladesh, without even consulting his wife. Samad loses the respect of Alsana and the trust of Millat, whose extreme behavior takes him out of Samad’s orbit altogether.

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