Khan Sahib Syed Ahmed Rashid was the first Muslim to receive the title of ‘Khan Sahib’ from the Viceroy and Governor General of India in 1932. The sanad or deed was in recognition of his contribution to the promotion of sports and social activities in British India.

Rashid throughout his student life remained an excellent football, cricket, hockey and tennis player and won a number of gold and silver medals, cups and other prizes. His entire life, from his Aligarh days (1909-17) to his final days, all the activities he took part in such as promotion of sports, education, literary gatherings, setting up of the first English Muslim newspaper Star of India from Kolkata (then Calcutta), his work as member of the All India Educational Conference of Aligarh, member of Aligarh Muslim University Court, etc., can be subjects of interest.

However, this article focuses on his contribution to sports commencing from his Aligarh days when he received the University Blue for playing in the university’s hockey, football, cricket and tennis teams followed by joining Calcutta Customs as a sportsman in 1924.

Here is the story of a Muslim sports enthusiast and his noteworthy contribution to sports in India before Partition

‘Khan Sahib’

The government of India conferred upon Rashid the title of Khan Sahib in June 1932. He was the first Muslim to be elected on all the boards of important sporting associations in Bengal including the Bengal Hockey Association, the India Football Association, the Football League, Calcutta, the Cricket Board of Control Bengal and Assam, the Indian School Cricket Committee, the Indian School Sports Association, the Bengal Gymkhana, the All India hockey and other cricket boards of control in India. Besides all this he remained associated with many clubs, welfare organisations and associations in Bengal and was the honorary secretary of the Oriental Sporting Club and the Aligarh Old Boy’s Association, Bengal branch. He also served as vice president of the Mohammedan Athletic Club, Afghan Club, the Crescent Athletic Club, the Model Sporting Club, etc.

Mohammedan Sporting Club

Ahmed Rashid’s career as a sports organiser began with his taking over the responsibilities of secretary general of the Mohammedan Sporting Club, Calcutta, in 1925 where according to a status report published in the Daily Englishman on March 11, 1931, he was requested to continue to represent the club on different councils, such as Indian Football Association and Bengal Hockey Association, which he agreed to do. It was stated in the report that when Mr Rashid and Mr Arif were elected joint secretaries seven years prior the club was in debt of about Rs2000. There were no records, minutes book, accounts book or rule book in the club office.

Its income was negligible. The club was in the third division in hockey, second class in cricket and unconsidered in football. But from there the Mohammedan Sporting Club was looked upon as one of the bigger hockey clubs, one of the strongest in cricket sides and one of the leading football clubs in India.

The club always remained close to his heart. He was unanimously elected and was a very successful honorary secretary there from the year 1925 to 1932 when he resigned owing to the pressure of his official duties. While he was the secretary, his Excellency the Governor of Calcutta, Sir John Stanely Jackson, accepted the patronage of the Mohammedan Sporting Club.

Football

Rashid successfully conducted for two years the Calcutta Football League. In 1930, during the boycott of the Calcutta Football League by other Indian clubs due to the Satyagraha Movement, he successfully organised the Monsoon League.

In October 1935, he organised a tour to Rangoon, Mandalay, Maymo, Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Madras, Bangalore and Mysore for the club football team, which turned out to be very successful.

Cricket

Looking to uplift the cricket division of Mohammedan Sporting Club led Rashid to represent cricket in Bengal and then at the All India level by his representation in the Board of Control for Cricket in India. He was a part of the Cricket Board of Control Bengal and Assam, the Indian School Cricket Committee, the Indian School Sports Association and the Bengal Gymkhana, too.

It was through his sole efforts that the swimmer Shafi Ahmed was sent to England to cross the English Channel by the Nizam of Hyderabad. Encouraging others to push their limits in whatever they did, Rashid, in 1930, also organised the Murad Flight Committee and arranged a hearty send off to Murad, the first Indian pilot to attempt to fly to Cape Town.

Hockey

Hockey was as important for Rashid as cricket or football. Representing the Mohammedan Sporting Club’s hockey division, he went on to represent the game in Bengal, too, through the success of his club team. He was the first Muslim to be elected as joint secretary to the Bengal Hockey Association for the years 1931-1932. This got him further recognition at the All India level and then with the Indian Hockey Federation.

During 1932, when the Indian team participated in the Olympics for the first time, Rashid was also elected to act as secretary, Indian Hockey Federation.

In March 1932, he very successfully managed the All India Inter-Provincial Hockey Tournament in Calcutta in connection with the Olympic tour.

His services in this connection were highly appreciated by the Indian Hockey Federation, the Bengal Hockey Association and all the secretaries of the provincial hockey associations who visited Calcutta during the time.

Apart from his official duties, Rashid was also a hockey referee while being a council member of the Calcutta Hockey Referees Association.

Encouragement for sportsmen

There was an ambitious swimmer by the name of Shafi Ahmed in India in those days, who had set an Indian swimming endurance record. He wanted to swim the Strait of Dover to France without stopping as well as break the world’s endurance record of 62 hours of continuous swimming set up in Malta at the time. For him Rashid organised the Shafi Endurance Swimming Committee for which he also remained the honorary secretary. It was through his sole efforts that the swimmer Shafi Ahmed was sent to England to cross the English Channel by the Nizam of Hyderabad.

Encouraging others to push their limits in whatever they did, Rashid, in 1930, also organised the Murad Flight Committee and arranged a hearty send off to Murad, the first Indian pilot to attempt to fly to Cape Town.

In February 1941, he also organised the All India Wrestling Committee in aid of the Lady Mary Herbert Bengal War Fund. He toured the United Provinces and the Punjab in this connection for getting the most famous wrestlers in India. This was followed by his also organising the Singhi Park Mela in 1942, also in aid of the Lady Mary Herbert Bengal War Fund. This was how over Rs55,000 were collected for this war fund.

The writer, besides an advocate, is an executive committee member of Sindh Olympic Association, vice president of Sindh Swimming Association. He is also Khan Sahib Syed Ahmed Rashid’s grandson.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, November 29th, 2015