Ali Amjad was once a recognized name in India's labor movement. Because of his deep involvement with India's freedom movement and workers' rights movement, he was often incarcerated for long periods of time. After coming to Pakistan, he chose the field of labor law for the defense of worker's rights. He is included among the senior lawyers of Pakistan's supreme court, where he is well renowned. His novel Kali Mati ("Black Soil"), based on the historic workers' strike of 1958 at the steel plant in Jamshedpur, is considered a valuable addition to Urdu literature.

"A breeze blew from a direction unseen,

burned the garden of delight

But a branch of the sapling of sorrow,

they call heart, remained green"