Redefining Ambition: The Multifaceted Life of K Rahman Khan

THE MULTIFACETED LIFE OF K. RAHMAN KHAN

THE MULTIFACETED LIFE OF K. RAHMAN KHAN

REDEFINING

AMBITION

PIC BY PANDARINATH B

PUBLISHED BY EXPRESS PUBLICATIONS (MADURAI) PRIVATE LIMITED, BENGALURU

GENERAL MANAGER P SURESH KUMAR

CONCEPT K. M. SIDHIQUE, ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER - EVENTS

EDITORIAL RESIDENT EDITOR: SANTWANA BHATTACHARYA AUTHOR: M A SIRAJ ASSISTANT EDITOR (SUPPLEMENTS): VYAS SIVANAND DESIGN: ARUN KUMAR B COVER PHOTO: PANDARINATH B

COURAGE THAT INSPIRES

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he life of K Rahman Khan, a chartered accountant, a social activist, a politician, and an educationalist, is worth telling. Not just because of his varied experiences and achievements, but because he is among the rare breed of men who dared to grapple with difficult undertakings amid colossal opposition and circumstances.

Always believing in taking an open-hearted and courageous route, he let his life choose avenues which had splendid landscapes but no one to admire. With hard work, ounces of knowledge and wisdom, a necessary dash of astuteness, and a bit of providence, Rahman Khan cultivated the belief that there was something superior within him than any circumstance, reaching his goals that had immense significance to the lives of the needy.

This coffee-table book by The New Indian Express, ‘Redefining Ambition: The Multifaceted Life of K Rahman Khan’, is a comprehensive documentation of his humble beginnings, his career, his social initiatives, his successful political foray and his educational empire. It is an effort to showcase his life as an inspiration to many who live their lives with their music still unplayed, to encourage them to dare and try.

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LIFE OF PURPOSE K RAHMAN KHAN ALWAYS HAD A STIRRING SOUL WHICH INSPIRED HIM TO WORK FOR GREAT CAUSES, NEVER DRAWN TO INDIVIDUALISTIC IDEAS, BUT KEEN TO PURSUE TENETS WHICH RESULTED IN JOY FOR THE SOCIETY

A keen votary of the social and economic development, Khan stands at the fag end of a trail of institutions that he founded to play a vital role in lending the community a status it has achieved in recent decades.

And he does not mince words in expression of debt of and gratitude towards those in whose company he rose.

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strange alchemy characterises Karnataka politician K. Rahman Khan who has completed fifty golden years of his political career and steps out of the eightieth year of a life replete with a bewildering range of accomplishments on April 5, 2019. Basically a chartered accountant, the life for this man from the southern interior Karnataka has been a roller-coaster ride at the end of which several crowns sit easily on his head. A name widely recognised across the south Indian state, Dr. K. Rahman Khan comes off as a man of humble demeanour who rose to commanding heights during his legislative career spanning over thirty six years encompassing legislatures in both the State and the Centre. Easily approachable, ever-smiling, extremely sober and straightforward, Rahman Khan remains firm that he has been a social worker and will remain so for whatever years the Providence may have reserved for him in future.

True to this calling, much of his time is still consumed in directing a bevy of workers, members of his extended family and volunteers into a host of activities carried out by the several NGOs he patronises. Never to sit quiet, he is ever at hand or just a call away for consultation or help for the vast array of social, educational and charitable bodies in Bengaluru, a city that has been integral to his professional career, social life and for emergence on the political horizon.

Rahman Khan does not fit the mould of an archetypal Muslim politician. Never

given to rhetoric, he has maintained a respectable distance from the kind of people and movements that are embedded in muck-raking and emotive politics, although some years in journalism had offered him umpteen opportunities to capture the imagination or raise the edifice of self on the ruins of ruined reputations of others.

A keen votary of the social and economic development of the Muslim community, Khan stands at the fag end of a trail of institutions that he founded to play a vital role in giving the community a status it has achieved in recent decades.

And he does not mince words in expressing his debt of and gratitude towards those in whose company he rose.

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POSITIVE PERSONA, MODERN MINDSET

DIVERSE AVATARS RAHMAN KHAN KNEW THAT DIVERSITY OF PURSUITS HAD TO HAVE A COMMON GOAL — TO BRING CHANGE FOR THE BETTERMENT OF LIVES — AND TO THIS END HE HAS GIVEN EQUAL VALUE TO EACH ROLE THAT HE PLAYED

DWELLING IN THE WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES, THE VERY ESSENCE OF OPTIMISM REFLECTS FROM RAHMAN KHAN WHILE HIS CONTEMPORARY INTELLECT HELPS OVERCOME ALL CHALLENGES

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He has been an ardent advocate of modernisation and has kept an eagle’s eye over the advancing frontiers of technology.

His association with projects and institutions always provided a Midas touch to anything they espoused or did to ameliorate their services or widen their reach to people.

ahman Khan’s love for life and dedication to serve the people and the society is difficult to be assessed. He has been an ever-bubbling fountain of hope and energy, packing in his persona the roles of a professional chartered accountant, a banker, a social worker, an institution builder, and a politician and a legislator.

Twice a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council and having served as Chairman of the House; General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC); Chairman of the Karnataka State Commission for Minorities; four times Member of the Rajya Sabha in a row; twice Deputy Chairperson of the august House; twice member of the Union Cabinet; and leader of the Indian delegation to several international conclaves, including the United Nations — these are some of the official positions he held and assignments executed by him.

In each of these avatars and roles, he has introduced novelty, brought in reforms and ushered in a fresh whiff of air in the musty corridors of antiquity and conformism.

The exceptionally elaborate survey of the minority communities in Karnataka leading to four percent reservation for Muslims in the state, and the drafting of the Waqf Amendment Bill in the Parliament will remain among his most memorable contributions.

PIC BY PANDARINATH B

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born optimist, Rahman Khan has always been powered with a positive outlook and has been one to counsel commitment to the laws and the values of the Indian Constitution. Suffused with patriotism, his words have carried immense weight with all those who repel cynicism, counter despondency, combat nihilism and harbour hopes of a bright future based on realisation of dreams. Never one to fall for the loaves and fishes of offices of profit, he often preferred to tread at the margins and stay away from the corridors of power rather than plucking the low-hanging fruits of opportunism. The meticulousness with which he stood by certain high ideals in politics, endeared him to even those in opposite political camps, even making them have no qualms in seeking his guidance or wiser counsels if need be.

LOVE FOR THE LATEST A pining for the new and hi-tech, an irresistible urge to go for the best and latest and an uncanny keenness to opt for innovation has been in his blood. Cherishing refinement, he has been an ardent advocate of modernisation and has kept an eagle’s eye over the advancing frontiers of technology, ignoring the hints of impiety and dire warnings of diversion from the track of virtues from the proph-

ets of doom and gloom. His association with projects and institutions always provided a Midas touch to anything they espoused or did to ameliorate their services or widen their reach to people.

Fully aware of the pitfalls of excessively glamourising the past, he has been an unabashed doyen of new technology: it was not just out of passion for the new, but as a believer that wheels of progress do not reverse and those romanticising the past are cast into forgettable history.

But this race for the new and the modern has never been at the cost of values handed down from past and practised by the elders.

At a time when people confuse between the cherishing of values and adoption of the modernity and lose direction, Rahman Khan has stood firm between the twain and has held alight and aloft the candle at the crossroads pointing the way forward for the youth and the younger generation of politicians.

REDEFINING AMBITION THE MULTIFACETED LIFE OF K RAHMAN KHAN

BIRTH

OF PROMISE

BORN IN KRISHNARAJAPET VILLAGE OF THE OLD

PRINCELY STATE OF MYSORE IN THE YEAR 1939, RAHMAN KHAN’S HUMBLE CHILDHOOD AND LEARNING YEARS WERE SPENT EXALTING THE FUTURE, WHERE HE WANTED TO REACH SOON; PROBABLY HE COULD SENSE AT AN EARLY AGE THAT TOMORROW IS A PLACE PLUMP WITH PROMISE

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EARLY

KINGDOM IN THE SHORT REALM OF CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH, KHAN NOT ONLY DEVELOPED AN INDIVIDUALITY, BUT ALSO THE POTENTIALITY TO LEAVE A COLOSSAL IMPACT, AND A SENSIBILITY TO LET THE FUTURE IN, THE MOMENT THE WINDOW OPENED

Around 40 students were inmates in the hostel.

IN BANGALORE

AT AGE 9

NEW MUSLIM HOSTEL (MYSORE) FRIENDS’ UNION. RAHMAN KHAN, SECOND FROM LEFT

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ahman Khan was born in a middle class family on April 5, 1939 in Krishnarajapet village of the Old Princely State of Mysore. Known by its shorter name K. R. Pet, it was a sleepy village in Mandya district dominated by agricultural activity. His father Khasim Khan was a school teacher and a strict disciplinarian. He spent precious hours in the evenings to teach the young Khan English, with emphasis on accurate accent and spelling. He later shifted to business, opening a small grocery store. Mother Khairunnisa was a home-maker and catered to the needs of the large family of six sons and four daughters. Khasim Khan was known for his high ideals and immaculate moral behaviour. He observed all the Islamic rites and rituals in his private life, and in public he was respected for his fair and honest dealings. He maintained a secular outlook and was an ardent follower of all the stalwarts of the freedom struggle. He was elected a Municipal Councillor by the villagers, who included more Hindus than Muslims.

Rahman Khan did not have the opportunity to see his grandfather Hassan Khan but gathers from the family archives that he knew some English and had an ornate handwriting. It was he who sent his son, Khasim Khan, to study at Maharaja’s High School in Mysore. Education up to 8th standard was enough to make him eligible for a teacher’s job in a village.

STABLE FAMILY

UNTHINKABLE The Urdu medium school in the village was only up to 4th standard. Khan was enrolled for further studies in another Urdu-medium school, in Sindhaghatta village, around ten kilometres away. He stayed with one Abdul Majeed, an English teacher in the school where he enrolled at the age of nine years. Abdul Majeed’s mother, whom he called Nanima, looked after him just like other members in the family and her own children. It was unthinkable for a boy aged eight years to stay away from the parental family in conditions where there was no electricity and very rudimentary sanitary facilities. Friday used to be the weekly holiday and he would look forward to it eagerly to trudge the distance to his native village and share some favourite dishes specially prepared by his mother. While returning to school she would give him eight annas (half a rupee), a princely sum in those days, for pocket expenses. He disliked eating out and would even avoid eating at wedding ceremonies and would survive merely on fruits on such occasions.

Though he observed all the Islamic rites and rituals in his private life, in public he was respected for his fair and honest dealings. He maintained a secular outlook and was an ardent follower of all the stalwarts of the freedom struggle. He was elected a Municipal Councillor by the villagers, who included more Hindus than Muslims.

Rahman Khan’s mother was a religiously devout lady, deeply in love with the family members and carrying out all the household chores without any hint of fuss and frustration. “Her generosity, warmth and positivity greatly impacted me and I owe all such positive attributes to her,” he recalls. He says his elder sister Rahimunnisa—whom the siblings called Aapa— was another motherly figure in whom he could confide everything. All five brothers and four sisters were raised with great care and several of them either earned good positions in life or entered business to make a decent livelihood. His younger sister Dilshad went on to earn a Master’s in Botany, became a college teacher and retired as a professor. All the kids had a happy childhood under stable family conditions. Bonds of affection made each of them a source of strength and support for the others. They gradually split into families to set up their own homes in towns and cities of the Old Mysore State.

JOURNALISTIC TALENT Rahman Khan was back in K. R. Pet after finishing his 8th standard (then known as Lower Secondary) at Sindhaghatta and was enrolled in the Municipal High School. He became the class representa-

tive. He would buy Urdu newspapers Daily Azad and weekly Aajkal out of the savings from his pocket money. These journals lent impetus to his journalistic talents.

Though his father wished him to be a doctor, he secretly aspired to go for a degree in Commerce. The reason: Maths and Science were nightmares to him, even though he had passed the Matriculation exam with first class. Even as he set off to Bangalore to appear for an interview at the medical school, he sincerely prayed to God to deny himself a seat. It happened just as he wished. Subsequently he enrolled for the four-year B.Com degree course at D. Banumaiah’s College of Commerce in Mysore. This was in year 1955.

The college was the only Commerce college in the Old Mysore State. It was being run from a rented portion in a building belonging to the Mysore Maharaja. The college was headed by D. Banumaiah who contested for membership of the Legislative Council from the Teacher’s constituency and came out successful. Students of the college ran his campaign.

Rahman Khan stayed at the Muslim Hostel in Mysore located in Saraswathipuram where he learnt the skills of leadership in his capacity as in-charge of the Poor Boys’ Fund and Food Minister.

The B.Com degree came his way in 1959.

The options before him were either to enrol for M.Com or pursue chartered accountancy. His close hostel-mate from Mysore, Mahboob Ali Khan helped him find his feet in Bangalore. Luckily, he joined S. R. Mandre & Co., run by famous chartered accountant Sham Ram Mandre, who was the founder-Principal of the Ramnarayan Chellaram College of Commerce in Bangalore. The latter immediately took Khan under his wings and put him on the job of the article clerk, a prerequisite for the CA course. Mandre had qualified as a Chartered Accountant from London and had a very helping nature. He would encourage his assistants to take independent decisions and pick up the nuances of the profession while visiting coffee estates, banks, companies and manufacturing firms.

FIRMING UP PARTNERSHIP Meanwhile, the hunt for accommodation in Bangalore led Rahman Khan to A. K. Abdul Samad, a silk merchant from Ramanagram with robust political connections and who became the point of initiation into politics. Samad later became Health Minister of Karnataka. A stint of coaching at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India helped him pass the mandatory intermediate exam.

Despite fears of not having done well at the final exam, Rahman Khan passed both the groups of the final CA exam, a rarity in the field. Incidentally, he was the first Muslim in the state to pass the coveted exam. His mentor, Mandre, offered him a partnership in his CA firm in 1964 and set up a branch office of the firm on Infantry Road in the Cantonment area.

He bought a Java motorcycle for Rs. 3,700, a fabulous sum then, to navigate the city.

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DIVINE DESIGN

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ahman Khan’s close friend Mahboob Ali Khan, had a dominant influence in his life. He had stood by him through thick and thin. At one point of time during his CA course, he was facing extreme dejection. But on Mahboob’s advice and with his support, Khan appeared for the final exam which he miraculously cleared.

Later, Mahboob proposed a marital alliance with his niece Ayesha, and Rahman Khan could not reject the offer. A green signal from elders in the family resulted in firming up the alliance. Rahman Khan and Ayesha became life partners on No-

vember 8, 1964. He was then 25 and the bride was just 15. Though grand arrangements were in place for the ceremony, providence had other designs. The skies opened up in the evening and the marriage had to be solemnised in a mosque.

The House of God thus stood testimony to a partnership that has endured for 54 years.

Ayesha came from a well-established business family. Her father Nazeer Mohammed Khan owned the National Beedi Factory and City Tobacco Mart. A multifaceted man, Nazeer Sahib was a philanthropist. He was influenced by Sufism and was an aficionado of Hindustani clas-

sical music. Leading sarod, sitar and shehnai players would visit his house in Motinagar.

Rahman Khan has been gifted with three sons and two daughters, all very well-educated and duty conscious. One of his daughters-in law became a celebrity by emerging the runner-up in the Master Chef contest on Star Plus channel. She now runs a cooking studio in Bengaluru.

Khan directs the personnel and staff of the 8 schools under the K.K. Educational and Charitable Trust to perform various duties and has resolved to devote the remaining years of his life to promote the cause of quality education.

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YOUNG DREAMS

AS A MARRIED MAN AND PURSUING A FUTURE IN CHARTERED

ACCOUNTANCY, RAHMAN KHAN’S DREAMS HAD BEEN SOWED, TO SPROUT AND SOAR TO HEIGHTS EVEN HE WOULD NOT HAVE IMAGINED.

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SEEDS OF JOY ENGULFED IN HIS CAREER AS A CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT, IT WAS HIS HONEST APPROACH TO WORK AND HUMBLE RELATIONSHIP WITH CLIENTS THAT EARNED HIM THE HAPPINESS HE YEARNED

T Later political life offered him opportunities to shift away to more posh neighbourhoods or construct luxurious dwellings. But he stayed put with no thought of leaving a place he was comfortable with.

he CA course and marriage had heralded him o n t o t h e t r a j e ct o r y o f practical life where Rahman Khan had to balance his family with challenges of his demanding profession. The next 14 years—1964 to 1978—saw most of the action on the home front when all his children were born. He simultaneously emerged as a leading chartered accountant in Bangalore. Reflecting back on his career as a CA, he says, “Although it offered me professional satisfaction, my earnings were still not enough to get me a house that I could call my home”.

OWNING A HOUSE Humayun Mirza, a Padma Shree awardee and son of former Diwan of the Mysore Maharaja, Sir Mirza Ismail, was a member of the City Improvement Trust Board, the predecessor of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). Rahman Khan would be approached by several of his clients to recommend to Mirza their names for allotment of a housing plot in the fast expanding city. Once it so happened that kind-hearted Mirza asked him whether he himself (Rahman Khan) owned a house in the city. When Khan replied in the negative, Mirza got a 50 feet by 40 feet plot allotted to him in Jayanagar near the NMKRV Women’s College. This was in 1970. Gradually, he built a modest 2,000 sq. ft. house, which cost him Rs. 90,000, a sum many would pay as rent for a house in today’s Bengaluru!

RAHMAN KHAN (EXTREME RIGHT), GUNDU RAO, FORMER CHIEF MINISTER OF KARNATAKA, (EXTREME LEFT), DR. MOHAMMAD HIDAYATULLAH, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA (SECOND FROM LEFT)

To this day the house remains his home, something with which he associates his emotions and struggles. Later political life offered him opportunities to shift away to more posh neighbourhoods or construct luxurious dwellings. But he stayed put with no thought of leaving a place he was comfortable with.

FIRST LOVE Rahman Khan says chartered accountancy was his first love, although he gave it up around 1978 when he was elected a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council. He could never rub off the link and stayed in touch with people in the profession and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He was even elected the Treasurer of the Regional Council. He was invited to address the Central Council

of Institute of Chartered Accountants on many occasions and regularly participated in the seminars of the Institute at several levels.

At the Institute’s invitation, he even attended and addressed the World Congress of Accountants in Istanbul in 2006 where Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Latif Sener was also present.

He was the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India for outstanding contributions to the profession. While being a member of Rajya Sabha, he protected the interest of Accountancy profession in parliament.

He was also elected as the honorary internal Auditor of the Inter-Parliamentary Union at the 115th Assembly held at Geneva in May 2008.

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SPARK OF BONDING EXPOSED TO THE MANY CHALLENGES FACED BY THE SOCIETY, RAHMAN KHAN IGNITED THE FLAME OF BONDING TO THE SOCIETY BY ACTIVELY ASSOCIATING WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE AND ELEVATING LIVES OF MANY.

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THE SOCIAL PLUNGE

RAHMAN KHAN TOOK A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO HELP THE COMMUNITY WHICH WAS IN DIRE NEED, AND TODAY HE KNOWS THAT THERE IS NO GREATER BLISS THAN TO LOOK BACK ON DAYS SPENT IN DOING GOOD TO OTHERS

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AL-AMEEN MEDICAL COLLEGE, BENGALURU

He would often compare the formidable challenge of transforming a vast community with a huge backlog of illiteracy and poverty in the backdrop of his own struggle to rise from a humble origin from a village in the backyards of the cities of Bangalore and Mysore.

This set him thinking of ways and means to make a difference.

ahman Khan’s professional interaction with leading entrepreneurs and industrialists was gradually turning into social ties.

The distressing state of Muslims was engaging his attention. Having emerged as a leading Muslim chartered accountant on the city’s horizon, he had begun to exchange views with leading lights of the community on ways to bring about a change. He would often compare the formidable challenge of transforming a vast community with a huge backlog of illiteracy and poverty in the backdrop of his own struggle to rise from a humble origin from a village in the backyard of Bangalore and Mysore. This set him thinking of ways and means to make a difference.

Around the time Rahman Khan was busy building his career, Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed Khan, a young surgeon who had trained in Stanley Medical College, Madras (now Chennai) had entered the city’s social scene and had started the Al-Ameen Education Society. The Society set up the Al-Ameen Degree College in 1966.

Dr. Mumtaz had married the daughter of a Bangalore businessman. Having himself been an alumni of Jamal Mohamed College in Trichy (Tamil Nadu), he was surprised that Bangalore Muslims had nothing other than a few schools managed by the community. The AlAmeen College which began from a rented building in Kalasipalyam was facing considerable difficulties. Often it would have no money to pay to staff members. Abbasia Begum Mecci and Abid Sheriff were the Founder Chairperson and Secretary of

WITH AZIZ SAIT

the Al-Ameen Education Society. Begum Mecci, a Member of the Legislative Council, was instrumental in getting permission to start a college. Still later S. M. Yahya who became the Education Minister in the Congress Government headed

by Devaraj Urs, included the Al-Ameen College among grant-in aid institutions.

When Azeez Sait became the Minister for Waqf, he facilitated leasing of prime six acres of waqf land opposite Lal Bagh on a 99-year lease. Dr. Mumtaz faced risks to his life in getting the illegal encroachment on the land vacated.

Things became a bit easy thereafter.

Several Muslim philanthropists of the city joined Dr. Mumtaz to help the Society construct the building for the college. The result of the first batch of graduates brought cheer for the Society and the college rose in the estimation of the public.

One of these students even successfully competed for the Civil Services and rose to the position of Principal Secretary in the Karnataka Government. Bangalore was attracting Iranian students in droves then.

One of these students who graduated out of Al-Ameen College, Manoucher Muttaki, became External Affairs Minister of Iran in later years.

Rahman Khan joined the Al-Ameen movement in 1969 and was inducted into the executive committee of the Society for a three-year term. The Society added a Pharmacy College soon after Sadaqat Peeran, a graduate from Al-Ameen College became the secretary of the Society.

The College appointed Dr. Shivananda as the Principal. He was a live dynamo spewing limitless energy.

When Rahman Khan became the

REDEFINING AMBITION THE MULTIFACETED LIFE OF K RAHMAN KHAN

Chairman of the Society, the college was being run in temporary sheds and the construction work was proceeding in a very unorganised way.

He brought in expertise and with the help of Irfan Razack, chairman of the Prestige Builders, developed the campus on a three-acre piece of land.

The facelift and the landscaping of the forecourt completely transformed the campus, greatly enhancing its aesthetic appeal.

Rahman Khan was also instrumental in adding post graduation in Pharmacy, a B.Ed College, a College of Management Studies and a Hotel Management Institute.

The Society purchased a 60-acre plot of land near Bidadi town as the Society members visualised setting up an AlAmeen University in future.

Meanwhile Dr. Mumtaz was focusing his attention on setting up the Al-Ameen Medical College and related institutions in faraway Bijapur (now Vijayapura).

The rare synergy between the two Khans led to Al-Ameen movement setting up several milestone ventures during the 1980s and 90s. Several Muslim philanthropists chipped in to help with the effort and made valuable contributions in propelling the campaign to have a network of modern institutions in and around Bangalore.

M. A. Ataulla, who had retired from the Indian Telephone Industries, joined the Society and brought in his expertise as a human resource developer. The new faculties and colleges attracted students from diverse communities and Al-Ameen was no longer being identified with the Muslim community alone. This lent a modicum of financial stability to the previously fund-starved Society.

By the 1990s, Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed Khan and Rahman Khan came to be recognised as the twin pillars of the AlAmeen Educational Society and persons responsible for an educational renaissance among Muslims across India. They

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were also recognised as modernizers in the image of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan of Aligarh as they set up institutions such as hospitals, banks, financial investment companies and media.

The American Federation of Muslims from India (AFMI) held their annual year-end conclave in the Al-Ameen College and attracted NRI delegates from across the world.

In recognition of his services, the AlAmeen Community Leadership Award for the year 2000 was conferred upon Rahman Khan at a glittering ceremony on May 8, 2000 in the Al-Ameen campus. Rahman Khan was by then at the end of his first term as the Member of the Rajya Sabha.

By the turn of the century, his personal engagement with Rajya Sabha forced him to come away from active participation in the activities of the AlAmeen Society and the group of institutions. However, he continued to guide the people from the margins.

WITH SALMAN KHURSHID AND E. AHMED

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WILL TO EMPOWER

SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATION OF AMANATH BANK IN 2002 ATTENDED

BY THEN CHIEF MINISTER S M KRISHNA

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ducation alone was not the only sector that received the attention of Rahman Khan and Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed Khan.

Acutely aware of the crucial nature of financial institutions, Rahman Khan and other Al-Ameen colleagues set up the Amanath Cooperative Bank in Bangalore. The Bank was inaugurated on January 13, 1977 by the then Chief Minister Devaraj Urs. The duo had laboured hard to gather 3000 members as shareholders, Rs 10 lakhs towards deposits and another Rs 3 lakhs towards the paid up capital for the nascent bank.

Gradually, Amanath Bank began to make inroads. Rahman Khan’s instinct was urging him to introduce computers in order to bring in speed and qualitative change to the transactions. He vividly remembers that Infosys Director Nandan Nilekani had visited the Amanath Bank office to personally hand over the banking software package developed by the then nascent software company. It cost them Rs 3 lakh. Still later, Infosys persuaded them to buy the source code, a formula creating software, for Rs. 8 lakh. Amanath Bank set up a separate IT department. Shortly thereafter, the Bank became a member of the Indian Banks Association and the National Federation of Cooperative Banks. With merger of the Muslim Cooperative Bank in Belgaum (now Belagavi), Amanath Bank extended its services to the northern corner of Karnataka.

By 1999, the Bank had its headquarters completed. The same year it was conferred the status of a scheduled bank. The Bank celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 2002, attended by Chief Minister S. M. Krishna. It was around this time that Khan quit the Bank, resigning from the post of Chairman.

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RAHMAN KHAN, DR. MUMTAZ AHMED KHAN ALONG WITH IRFAN RAZACK

DUO WHO SAW TOMORROW

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n 1985, Rahman Khan and Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed Khan conceived a novel investment company based on the interest-free model. Islamic banking was receiving traction in the international media. But the Reserve Bank of India would not allow any institution based on profit and loss sharing system (PLS) which was the core principle behind the Islamic banks. The only other alternative was an investment company as a non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Accordingly, in 1985, a company by name Al-Ameen Islamic Financial Investment Corporation (AIFIC) was incorporated. The duo also organised a national seminar on interest-free banking where Dr. Saleh Al-Najjar, a leading light of the global association of Islamic banks was the keynote speaker. The AIFIC attracted a large number of investors and depositors. The company did remarkably well in the initial years and financed several ventures. It became a boon for those purchasing vehicles on loan by helping them clear debts and become the owner of the vehicles. However, increasing load of legislative responsibilities forced Rahman Khan quit the AIFIC in 1997. The company went into decline soon thereafter.

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TRYST WITH PRINT

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he first major public venture by Rahman Khan was the takeover of the Urdu newspaper, Daily Salar which was being published by noted Urdu aficionado Mahmood Ayaz. It had a small office in Kamaraj Road (then Cavalary Road) in the Cantonment area. Due to financial difficulties, Salar was on the verge of closing down. Rahman Khan and his old friend Ibrahim Khaleelullah Khan purchased the daily from Mahmood Ayaz for Rs. 3.5 lakhs. It was being published by litho press, an archaic system of printing.

Soon, the office was shifted to a bungalow near Coles Park. Gradually, they phased out the litho press, and introduced photo offset printing and phototype setting respectively in their place. An Urdu software, which had by then come into the market, was acquired. Incidentally, Salar was the first Urdu newspaper to introduce this latest technology. Daily Salar’s popularity zoomed and it became the largest circulated Urdu newspaper in cities south of Hyderabad. It retains the position even till this day. During the 1980s and 90s, Mir Maqsood Ali Khan, twice elected MLA from Bidar and later nominated for the Rajya Sabha for a term, edited the daily. He was ably assisted by Ibrahim Khaleelullah Khan in administration. Now that Rahman Khan has ended his legislative career, he spends a few hours with the editorial staff of Salar whenever he is in Bengaluru.

SOUTHERN SPEAKER

Khan launched an evening English daily, Southern Speaker in 1980. It was edited by K. Raman, formerly with The Indian Express. The daily attracted wide readership but could not be a financial success. It folded up in 1984. For some years, he also edited an Urdu weekly Tarjuman-e-Junub from Bangalore. It however folded up soon.

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THE HEALING FORAY SENSING THE NEED FOR BETTER AND AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE FACILITIES, RAHMAN KHAN CONSCIOUSLY TOOK THE DECISION TO ENTER THE SEGMENT WITH AL-AMEEN HOSPITAL

The idea germinated while Rahman Khan and Dr. Waheed had entered a cafe for a cup of coffee after attending the funeral of Justice S. A. Peeran, a judge of the Karnataka High Court. The Trust had seven trustees including Rahman Khan, Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed Khan and then Karnataka Minister S. M. Yahya. A property belonging to Hajee Sir Ismail Sait Trust was acquired for the purpose on a 30-year lease.

Y

et another institution that took roots in those momentous years was AlAmeen Hospital on Cunningham Road Cross.

Rahman Khan played the role of key catalyst. It came up under the aegis of Al-Ameen Medical Trust with the famous Bangalore cardiologist Dr. H. G. Waheed shouldering the main responsibility during its initial years as the Secretary of the Trust. Humayun Mirza was the President of the Trust. Incidentally, the idea germinated while Rahman Khan and Dr. Waheed had entered a cafe for a cup of coffee after attending the funeral of Justice S. A. Peeran, a judge of the Karnataka High Court. The Trust had seven trustees including Rahman Khan, Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed Khan and then Karnataka Minister S. M. Yahya. A property belonging to Hajee Sir Ismail Sait Trust was acquired for the purpose on a 30-year lease.

Each trustee had contributed Rs. 101 for the purpose. The property had one acre of land which could be sufficient for a 100bed hospital.

The Al-Ameen Hospital began operations with an out-patient department (OPD). An FRCS surgeon, Dr. Rahman Khan, who had just returned after serving in an overseas hospital for 25 years, joined Dr. Waheed to take the mission forward. Architect Mohammad Razi designed the building.

Governor Mohan Lal Sukhadia was invited to lay the hospital’s foundation stone. When his office inquired about the Al-Ameen Medical Trust, the sponsors replied that though the Trust had no money

in its coffers, they had boundless determination and were behind several successful charitable institutions. Sukhadia agreed to lay the foundation stone and in his speech on the occasion expressed the hope that the resourceful Muslims of the city would help the Trust bring up the institution.

Surprisingly, a patient who recovered from sickness while under the care of the hospital, contributed Rs 1 lakh for the building. A kind manager of the Syndicate Bank’s K. R. Market branch allowed the Trust some overdraft which helped kickstart construction the very next day after the inauguration. Later, donations start-

ed flowing in, and within two years, the hospital commissioned its first 50-bed facility. For some years the hospital ran well but in the wake of the general decline of the Amanath Bank, Al-Ameen Education Society and other institutions, it was taken over by Ziaulla Sheriff, a city builder who had taken over the Al-Ameen Medical College, Vijayapura too.

Rahman Khan fondly recalls the role of a coffee planter, Abdul Ghani from Chikamagalur. Ghani had sold his coffee estate and settled down in Bangalore in the mid-80s. He devoted himself to the service and upkeep of the hospital till his last breath.

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POLITICAL

VOYAGE

REALISING THE POTENTIAL OF THE POLITICAL PLATFORM

TO ACHIEVE HIS VISION OF AN ELEVATED SOCIETY, RAHMAN KHAN DECIDED TO ENTER THE FRAY, PROMISING HIMSELF SUCH REFORMS THAT POLITICS BECOMES AN ART OF POSSIBILITIES

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BUILDING THE

LADDER

R

ahman Khan’s political journey could be likened to passage of a warm knife through a large cube of butter. Luck kept constant company with him at every step, propelling him from one rung of a ladder to the next. It was also largely due to the fact that he chose a path away from the rough and tumble of electoral politics and kept himself to the Legislative Council in Karnataka and the Rajya Sabha at the Centre. Khan had developed contacts with A. K. Abdul Samad, member of a family of silk merchants from Ramanagram with strong connection with the Congress. He had also moved to the inner circle of C. K. Jaffer Sharief who won his first term in Lok Sabha from Kanakapura in the outskirts of Bangalore in 1971. Rahman Khan’s association with the Congress Party had earned him the position of the internal auditor for the Congress Party in Karnataka. He was offered a ticket from Binnypet constituency in Bangalore for the 1978 Assembly elections. But he says he drew a deep sigh of relief when he was replaced by Salappa, a Dalit leader as he did not have resources to mobilise support for himself.

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ORIENTATION SEMINAR FOR LEGISLATORS IN JULY 1983

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THE MULTIFACETED LIFE OF K RAHMAN KHAN

I

n 1978, elections were due for seven Legislative Council seats in the Karnataka. One seat was being offered to a Muslim. Chief Minister Devaraj Urs wanted one Begum Shah to be nominated for the seat. But the Executive Committee of the KPCC recommended the names of Rahman Khan and Moinuddin, a close associate of Devaraj Urs. Ignoring both these names, Urs, recommended the candidature of Begum Shah. But Azeez Sait prevailed upon F. M. Khan to take up the matter with the High Command and apprise Indira Gandhi of the correct position and the Executive Committee’s recommendation.

Indira Gandhi spoke to A. K. Abdul Samad and others about the exact position. However, Urs was still adamant and nominations were filed on behalf of both Rahman Khan and Begum Shah. Gandhi deputed Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma (later President of India) to supervise the elections. Upon his arrival in Bangalore,

Begum Shah’s nomination was withdrawn and Rahman Khan was declared the official candidate. Elections were held and Rahman Khan was elected as the Member of the Legislative Council (MLC). Later, when a new Government headed by Gundu Rao was formed, Rahman Khan remained loyal to the official party.

He plunged himself into campaigning for Indira Gandhi in the byelection from Chikkmagalur against Janata Party’s Veerendra Patil later in 1978. This enabled him to interact with central leaders and understand the internal dynamics.

Indira Gandhi won with a thumping majority.

By 1982, Khan had completed four years of the six-year tenure as an MLC. The Congress nominated him for the chairmanship of the Council and he was elected on June 30, 1982 as the Chairman of the House of elders at the age of 42.

It was for the first time that a Muslim was elected presiding officer of the House in its history of over a 100 years.

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MASTERING

THE GAME KHAN QUICKLY GRASPED THE NUGGETS OF POLITICAL WISDOM, AND MASTERED THEM WITH ARDOUR AND DILIGENCE

RAHMAN KHAN AS CHAIRMAN OF KARNATAKA LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL WALKING IN PROCESSION WITH THE SPEAKER OF LOK SABHA AND SPEAKER OF LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

Khan was faced with some ticklish moments when the Appropriation Bill came before the house to be passed within two days before March 31, 1983. It had been passed by the Assembly. The Chief Minister, who also held the Finance portfolio, had gone to Delhi. The Congress Party, to which he belonged, wanted to delay its passage taking advantage of its majority and the CM’s absence. This would have created a Constitutional crisis by bringing to standstill all the transactions of the State.

R

ahman Khan recalls that he was a bit nervous in the beginning. Although he spoke Kannada well, running of the business of the House entailed a great amount of persuasive skill, patience and non-partisanship, notwithstanding one’s affiliation with a political party. He learnt the ropes fast and commanded the members with great skill even in the face of acrimony.

True to his nature, Rahman Khan discovered that the independence of the Presiding officers of both the Houses was being compromised by making them accountable to the Law Ministry or Parliamentary Affairs Minister. He met the Governor and explained to him the Constitutional position which made Legislative Secretariat accountable only to the Presiding Officers of the two Houses. This found appreciation from both the Governor and the Chief Minister. During the remaining period of his tenure, he saw to it that all appointments were made by the Presiding Officers of the Houses. Autonomy to the Presiding Officers was thus his most significant contribution as the Chairman of the Legislative Council.

Khan was faced with some ticklish moments when the Appropriation Bill came before the house to be passed within two days before March 31, 1983. It had been passed by the Assembly. The Chief Minister, who also held the Finance portfolio, had gone to Delhi. The Congress Party, to which he belonged, wanted to delay its passage, taking advantage of its majority and the CM’s absence. This would have created a Constitutional crisis by bringing to standstill all the transactions of the state. He was determined to get it passed or defeated, but not to adjourn the House sine die, come what may.

He was not ready to compromise on his non-partisanship as the Presiding Officer either. He had requisitioned some cops in plain clothes if the House marshals were to fail in curbing troublemakers. Luckily, nothing happened and the Bill was passed by midnight.

The Congress was not happy at the turn of events and he had to convince the party bigwigs that notwithstanding his own affiliation to the party, his foremost duty was to discharge his obligation while holding the Constitutional post. Even the Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jhakar appreciated his stand and congratulated him when he explained his position to him. On June 30, 1984, when he laid down his office of the Chairman of the Council, all members paid him encomiums for his services.

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FAMILY’S K EVER LOYAL WITH THE NOBLE QUALITY OF LOYALTY INSTILLED WITHIN HIM, RAHMAN KHAN DID NOT ALSO EVER FORGET HIGHER LOYALTY TO TRUTH AND DIGNITY OF MINORITIES

Rahman Khan recalls that it was close to his heart as he was worried at the steep fall in representation of the minorities in terms of education, employment and in the officialdom. “A comprehensive survey assessing the socio-economic and educational situation of the Minorities would have enabled the Government to initiate some substantial measures to ameliorate their condition,” Khan recalls.

han’s loyalty to the party to which he belonged came soon after, when Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde offered him a cabinet post as he wanted a Muslim MLA to fill the void created by Azeez Sait’s resignation from his cabinet. The offer was tantalising. Khan refused the offer and chose to remain loyal to the party which had elected him to the august House. Later, Hegde confessed that principled refusal only elevated Khan in his estimation.

The only other occasion when he came close to contesting an election was in 1989 when he wanted to file his nomination from Jayamahal in Bangalore. But the ticket was given to S. M. Yahya who wanted to shift from Bhatkal where he was facing some issues. His second term as the MLC came to an end on June 30, 1990 while he was a General Secretary of the party in Karnataka and Veerendra Patil was the CM. The reins of the state’s chief ministership passed into the hands of Veerappa Moily in 1992. He offered Khan a minister’s post. But there being no vacancy in the Upper House, there was no prospect for this to happen.

He appointed him Chairman of the Karnataka State Minorities Commission. Availing of the opportunity, Khan announced an elaborate survey of the situation of religious minorities in the state who constituted around 14 per cent of the population and around eight million individuals in absolute numbers.

Rahman Khan recalls that this was close to his heart as he was worried at the steep fall in representation of the minorities in terms of education, employment and in the officialdom. “A comprehensive survey assessing the socio-economic and educational situation of the minorities would have enabled the Government to initiate some substantial measures to ameliorate their condition,” Khan recalls.

He says such exercises could be undertaken under the Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution, which empower the Government to probe the conditions of a section of population if it is found to be lagging behind other segments and provides for affirmative action to elevate them.

The survey represented the high noon of Rahman Khan’s role as a leader from the minority communities as it practically counted members of over a million families and gathered data pertaining to their literacy, Mean Years of Schooling (MYS), attainments in education (in terms of degrees or diplomas), land holdings, type of dwellings, access to civic services, representation in

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IN THE UPPER HOUSE PROVIDENCE EARNED HIM AN ENTRY INTO RAJYA SABHA, SAYS KHAN, SOMETHING WHICH HE NEVER LOBBIED FOR

Government services and the organised sector, quantum of bank credit flowing to them, their representation in the police, universities, banks, state government undertakings, and their situation vis-a-vis SCs, STs and the OBCs. To this day, no such survey has collected primary source data about minorities, particularly Muslims, within the country on such a vast scale. (It is to be recalled that the Justice Sachar Report on the Socio-economic and educational situation

of Muslims based itself on secondary source data). It was indeed a gargantuan project which mobilised the services of nearly 20,000 Government teachers and other officials and sent them as field investigators to collect the data in a calendar month i.e., from February 1, 1993 to March 1, 1993 (practically 28 days). It involved officials from the Planning and Statistics Department and presented the report in six months. The state budget allocated Rs. 60 lakh for the same.

The Veerappa Moily Government provided six per cent reservation for Muslims in the light of the results of the survey. It was, however, brought down to four per cent subsequently following a directive by the Supreme Court under II-B category only for Muslims as the Court had earlier said that the reservations should not exceed 50 per cent.

Rahman Khan is widely remembered for this mammoth survey, which brought substantial gain to the community.

It took him some time to understand the intricacies of legislation, diverse and conflicting interests of social groups that had begun to be reflected in the Parliament thereby rendering the task of lawmaking a complex task.

His old friend C. K. Jaffer Sharief, then Union Railway Minister, was however always at hand to pass on the clues to help him understand the men and matters and in analysing of issues.

E

ven before Khan could complete the survey, which he says was a Mission for him, Veerappa Moily proposed his name for the membership of the Rajya Sabha and got it endorsed by then Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. According to Rahman Khan, he took it as a gift from the Providence as he had never asked for it, let alone lobby for it. He says it came to him even as he had distinctly expressed his wish to complete the survey on a priority basis. The Congress Party deputed G. K. Moopanar to oversee the management of the voting in Bangalore and Khan was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 1994.

It took some time for him to understand the intricacies of legislation and di-

verse and conflicting interests of social groups that were reflected in the Parliament thereby rendering the task of lawmaking a complex task. His old friend C. K. Jaffer Sharief, then Union Railway Minister, was however always at hand to pass on clues to help him understand men and matters and in analysing of issues.

Once, a statement by Sharief became controversial. He had stated that there was no shortage of wagons in the country to move freight. The Parliament entrusted the matter to a Select Committee with Rahman Khan heading it. He was the youngest of all the MPs in the Committee.

His experience as a chartered accountant came handy in dealing with the issue. The Committee found that the statement by Sharief was indeed wrong but was based on the information supplied by the Rail-

way Board and he could not be held liable for what he said. Sharief was spared of great embarrassment and the charge of breach of privilege.

A short while later, Khan delivered his first speech in the Parliament, bringing to fore flaws in the Railways accounting system.

He recalls that he was quite young, at 55, amid veteran parliamentarians, hence gripped by nervousness as he stood on the floor of the Rajya Sabha.

However, he spoke stating that the Indian Railways, being a commercial organisation, needed an accounting system based on accrual system which also should take account of closing stocks and scraps amounting to crores of rupees. The speech went on well and there was allround appreciation.

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‘MISCONCEPTIONS’

R

ahman Khan describes his first term as the member of the Rajya Sabha as ‘educative and eventful’. He says, functional deficiencies apart, democracy is deeply grounded within the system and members from across the parties interact with each other without bias. A lot of heated debates seen on the TV screen with hands fluttering in the air often lead to misconceptions of abundant acrimony and bad blood between parties and members. But the friendly chats and banter among MPs in the canteen and Central Hall of the Parliament remain obscured from the public eye. He even debunks the idea that MPs have fat pays, generous allowances, huge bungalows in Lutyen’s Delhi and little work to execute.

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NEW HORIZONS, NEW QUESTIONS

R

ahman Khan was nominated to the Standing Committee on Science and Technology during his first term in Rajya Sabha which offered him the opportunity to visit some of the institutes engaged in research and understand issues faced by them. He forcefully questioned the issue of subsidy to Hajj pilgrims and pointed out the mismanagement in the Central Haj Committee. He argued that the so-called Hajj subsidy was only being used to keep the sick Air India afloat and suggested open bidding for chartered flights for Haj. He even visited Saudi Arabia on the invitation of the Shura Council of the Kingdom while being part of a delegation of MPs led by then Speaker P. A. Sangma.

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T OF WAQF FOR THE SAKE

PRESENTING JPC WAQF REPORT TO VICE PRESIDENT DR. HAMID ANSARI

ON REALISING THE SHODDY STATE OF WAQF AFFAIRS, ESPECIALLY IN WEST BENGAL, RAHMAN STRONGLY VOICED HIS CONCERNS, GETTING THE RAM-RAHMAN AMENDMENT PASSED IN THE RAJYA SABHA

he messy Waqf affairs in West Bengal came under discussion and severe scrutiny in the Parliament. The members were given to understand that several prime waqf properties in Kolkata were leased out to big companies and some were even clandestinely sold. The headquarters of the Shaw Wallace was located in a Wakf Building. The Kolkata Race Course too was a Waqf property. The West Bengal Waqf Board was too weak to defend the Waqf properties as several mutawallis (custodians) were hand in glove with builders and felt no nick of conscience in leasing or selling the properties.

On a call attention notice from Rahman Khan in 1997, a Select Committee of MPs from the Rajya Sabha was constituted to look into the large-scale scams in waqf properties in West Bengal. It was later expanded into a 20-member Joint Parliamentary Committee with induction of Lok Sabha members. He too was included while BJP’s Sikandar Bakht headed it. His previous engagement with waqf affairs in Karnataka came handy in explaining the concept of waqf to the members.

Bakht later nominated him as the head of a subcommittee to look into the Waqf Act which had been enacted way back in 1954 and was inadequate to tackle the new age complexities rising in the wake of pressures of urbanisation. Since the Act had not been touched for 40 years, it had led to several loopholes cropping up in the management of properties inasmuch as the law was totally incapable of protecting the valuable assets dedicated for pious purposes by philanthropists of yore.

RAM-RAHMAN AMENDMENT

It was during his first term that a new Waqf Act was passed by the Rajya Sabha. He moved an amendment totally unaware of the fact that the amendments are not moved by the Treasury benches. The BJP’s Ram Ratan too had moved an amendment. While Social Welfare Minister Sitaram Kesari wanted him to withdraw the amendment, Rahman Khan explained the vital important of the amendment after due consultation with the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Najma Heptullah. On Najma’s insistence, his amendment was retained and the Act was passed with what came to be called Ram-Rahman amendment.

It was during his first term that a new Waqf Act was passed by the Rajya Sabha. He moved an amendment totally unaware of the fact that amendments are not moved by the Treasury benches. The BJP’s Ram Ratan too had moved an amendment. While Social Welfare Minister Sitaram Kesari wanted him to withdraw the amendment, Rahman Khan explained the vital important of the amendment after due consultation with the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Najma Heptullah. On Najma’s insistence, his amendment was retained and the Act was passed with what came to be called Ram-Rahman amendment. Actually, the amendment insisted by Khan was to constitute the Waqf Board within six months if it was superseded by the Government.

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SECOND

TERM

R

ahman Khan was nominated to the Rajya Sabha for his second term in 2000 with leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad solidly standing behind him. Also, the Congress had followed a tradition of nominating members to Rajya Sabha for a minimum of two terms. The Congress went ahead to extend his tenure for four terms, indeed a laudable achievement for Rahman Khan.

In his second term, during which the Congress was the main Opposition Party, he came to work closely with Dr. Manmohan Singh who was the leader of the Opposition. It also lent him proximity to Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, a man with a brilliant memory and exceptional oratorical skills.

While at the turn of the century it was Hanumanthappa who was deputy leader of the Opposition, he retired in 2002. Rahman Khan was appointed in his place. It is here that he moved into the core of the Congress Parliamentary Party and began to interact with all bigwigs and the Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

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FOR HARMONY

R

ahman Khan visited Pakistan in 2002 as part of a delegation which pursued the objective of promoting harmonious relations between the two nations that were once part of the single civilizational entity called Bharat varsha. They crossed over from Wagah border which till then was the most important land transfer point between the two nations.

The delegation included Saleem Iqbal Shervani, a Congress MP; former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav; eminent journalists Rajdeep Sardesai of NDTV and Vinod Sharma of The Hindustan Times; and BJP MP Mr. Ponaj. They were greeted by enthusiastic crowds and showered with warmth and hospitality. Legal luminary and human rights activist Asma Jehangir hosted them in Lahore. A play enacted at her premises brought tears to the participants and etched what disaster awaited the two nations with huge mass of humanity if there would be a war between them and it spiralled out of control into mutual nuclear attacks. The deep wounds afflicted by the communal Partition of the subcontinent and frequent attempts to open the scars were highlighted.

The delegation called upon then president Gen. Pervez Musharraf and interim Prime Minister Zafrullah Khan Jamali in Islamabad, both of whom stressed the need for amity.

WITH PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, FORMER PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN

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INTO

PAC

K

han was nominated as a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a body as old as the two Houses of the Parliament themselves. It had begun functioning in 1935 and is headed by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. He also headed a sub committee on direct taxes. Khan was even nominated for the Standing Committee on External Affairs headed by the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

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THE MULTIFACETED LIFE OF K RAHMAN KHAN

POSITIONS IN HOUSE COMMITTEES

1

Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Computerisation Committee

Chairman of the Members of the Parliament Local Area Development Schemes

2

Executive Committee Member of the Commonwealth Parliament Association

3

GETTING

IN THE UNION

IN 2004, RAHMAN KHAN WAS SWORN IN AS THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR CHEMICAL & FERTILIZERS FOLLOWING WHICH HE BECAME THE DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF RAJYA SABHA

August 2007 marks an important watershed in the Parliamentary History of India when Dr. Hamid Ansari was elected the Vice President of India. Since the Vice president is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, it was a rare spectacle as Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha were Muslims.

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he nation witnessed the general elections in April 2004, six months ahead of schedule. In Karnataka, Chief Minister S. M. Krishna had called for Assembly election ahead of schedule. Both Vajpayee, who headed the National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre, and Krishna in Bangalore, had miscalculated their popularity and wanted to seek a fresh mandate six months before it was due. They lost.

The NDA government was succeeded by UPA Government headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh. Having been twice a Member of the Rajya Sabha, Khan lobbied for himself.

On May 22, 2004, he was sworn in as the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers in the UPA Government. He focused on revival of two major units, ie., FACT and Fertiliser Corporation of India, visited their plants and initiated negotiations with the State Governments and other stakeholders. He initiated work on sale of generic drugs which are available at a very reasonable price. But even as work on these sectors was apace, he was directed by the Congress Parliamentary Party to take up the post of the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.

It was on July 22, 2004 that he was sworn in

into the office. Two years later, in 2006, he was renominated to the post. As Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, he represented India at the 115th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at Geneva.

Khan was also the Honorary Internal Auditor of the IPU. Another such organisation is Commonwealth Parliament Association (CPA) which affiliates all the Commonwealth nations. He attended its meetings in several international venues. But most important of all these representations was in September 2010, when he represented India and addressed the United Nations’ 66th session of the General Assembly.

August 2007 marks an important watershed in the Parliamentary history of India when Dr. Hamid Ansari was elected the Vice President of India. Since the Vice President is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, it was a rare spectacle as both the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha w e r e Muslims.

Member of the General Purposes Committee of the Rajya Sabha

4 5

Member of Committee on Rules of the Rajya Sabha

6

Parliamentary Forum on Children

7

Parliamentary Forum on Youth

8

Parliamentary Forum on Population and Public Health

9

Honorary internal Auditor of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva

10

Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf

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TAKING THE UPPER

HOUSE TO EVERY HOME

R

ahman Khan also took the initiative of setting up the Rajya Sabha TV channel. The Lok Sabha had its own TV channel, occupying three rooms for its studio in the Parliament Library. Need was felt to have a channel to telecast the Rajya Sabha’s proceedings on similar lines. During the chairmanship of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, a proposal to this effect came up but did not find favour of several senior MPs. When Dr. Ansari became the chairman, the contours of the General Purpose Committee had changed with the arrival of new faces. They approved the proposal. Khan sought the services of Gurdeep Singh Sappal, Officer on Special Duty for the office of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who executed the project. It started beaming the proceedings of the House on August 26, 2011. Khan also conceived a documentary on how the Indian Constitution was framed. The renowned producer Shyam Benegal directed a 10-episode programme which was telecast by the RSTV. The channel also airs several programmes on the environment, economy and other issues.

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THE

WELL-WISHER

A

ccounts related by Rahman Khan about his second visit to Pakistan in January 2006 to attend the funeral of Khan Abdul Wali Khan offer amusing insights. He had been deputed by the Government of India as the family had shared ties with Mahatma Gandhi and several Congress leaders. Wali Khan was son of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi who did not support the two nation theory. Ghaffar Khan had massive popular support in Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Pushto speaking pathans were not in favour of Pakistan. However, it was ceded to Pakistan.

Khan was received by enthusiastic crowds and volunteers of Khudai Khidmatgars, a volunteer force set up by Ghaffar Khan. On his way to his ancestral village Uthmanzai in Charsadda district, he could see only the portraits of Congress leaders of yore from India and not a single portrait of Pakistani leaders. Though he could not attend the funeral due to procedural delay in issuance of visa, Rahman Khan met the family member of Wali Khan and condoled the death.

On hindsight, Rahman Khan feels the Indian youths have not been told the entire story of the freedom struggle and several aspects of the partition remain obscured from the younger generation in the two nations.

BAHRAIN VALLEY, SWAT, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA | PIC BY MUHAMMAD ASHAR

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MOVE TO CENTRAL CABINET

O

n April 2, 2012, Rahman Khan began his fourth consecutive term as the member of the Rajya Sabha. He is one among the 40 to 45 members of the Rajya Sabha who we re g i ve n fo ur co ns e cut i ve

terms.

Curtains came down on his chairmanship of the Rajya Sabha in October 2012 when he was inducted into the Central Cabinet as the Union Minister of Minority Welfare. The Rajya Sabha TV produced a twenty-minute documentary on his tenure. The MPs rose up to pay a standing ovation and bid him adieu.

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UPLIFTING MINORITIES

CONSCIENTIOUS AS EVER, RAHMAN KHAN SAW THE TROUBLES OF THE MINORITIES, UNDERSTOOD THE HURDLES IN SOLVING THEM, BUT WAS DETERMINED TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS THROUGH PLANNING AND PERSISTENCE

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OPPORTUNITY LOGS IN

H

aving a ringside view of the woeful state of the Muslim community in India, it was only befitting that Rahman Khan should have been given the portfolio of Minorities Welfare in the Union cabinet. This opportunity knocked on his door only 18 months before the UPA Government was to end its second tenure. He was sworn in as the Minister for Minority Affairs in the Manmohan Singh cabinet. Incidentally, it was on the day of Eid, October 11, 2012, that the Prime Minister while conveying Eid greetings invited him to join his team..

Khan looked at it as a rare opportunity to serve the communities clubbed under the category of religious minorities, the most numerous of whom are Muslims. Having spent a considerable part of his adulthood in trying to promote solidarity among them through social work in the southern state of Karnataka, he was acutely aware of the issues afflicting the community.

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SHORT TENURE, ONEROUS GOALS

H

e had a few urgent tasks before him. It was six years since the Prime Minister’s High Level Committee to study the Social, Economic and Educational Status of Muslim Community of India headed by Rajinder Sachar had presented its Report to the Cabinet Secretariat. It was now imperative to gauge the distance travelled in the direction of implementation of its recommendations. Hajj management needed some immediate reforms. Waqf properties all across the nation were facing an adverse situation due to unauthorised occupation and were failing to play any meaningful role in the development of the community.

But the time at his disposal was extremely short, i.e., only 18 months. And there were indications that UPA may not earn another tenure. Looking back at the situation then, he felt the great opportunity would stay with him for a short time, and he should go cracking.

He had suggested in the cabinet meeting that Hajj affairs be shifted to the Ministry for Minority Welfare. There were differences on this issue. The Prime Minister known for his sagacity and calm disposition, entrusted the matter to a subcommittee headed by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

The committee endorsed the view of Rahman Khan and also recommended that a separate Haj Corporation be established.

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S R I A F F A J A H G N I N I L STREAM ra om M ah ar as ht ul ay , an M P fr ir s as nt fa A af an e m th ah le R

by A bd ur d no t ha nd ul ld co he h as ot w B . y lio rs po rt fo l A ff ai se cr et ar w ho in or it y A ff ai rs te r fo r E xt er na K ha n to ge t a r is M e fo in s th M , th e m th on hi m so to e ca dr e w as w as al Pr io r ly th re th e R aj as th an K hu rs hi d, w ho s. It to ok ne ar om lio an fr fo r lm rt ce Sa fi po of by or S r aj , an IA he r m in or it ie s. an d la te as th ey he ld ot es af fl ic ti ng m La lit K . Pa nw ar d su n. re is io si e ss de th pa h be h it d it w tw co ul th is ed K ha n or de re d th e as si gn m en ai rs , R ah m an D al it , he em pa ff a A i lf y se it or im co ul d ta ke up in H M y. re Ta bu ng H aj is tr y of se cr et ar si an m od el w he ai rs to th e M in ap po in te d th e ay ff al A j M aj e H as th e w y th on d ud se sf er of lif et im e. Th e st co ul d be or ga ni B ef or e th e tr an H aj j on ce in a ar ra ng em en ts m aj or rf H w pe ho to t. on ng ke pi ri M ar a st ud y In di a C ap it al ng s of th os e as St at e B an k of m ob ili se s sa vi ca rr ie d ou t by

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WAQF AMENDMENT

T

he Parliament had passed the new Waqf Act in a hurry prior to Rahman Khan’s taking over the reins of the ministry and there remained several lacunae. It had not been referred to any Standing Committee, although the Rajya Sabha had referred it to a Select Committee. Khan devoted considerable attention to study the Waqf affairs around the country and suggested several amendments. First among them was redefining the ‘encroachment’ as being under unauthorised occupation of a Waqf property or part of it by any person, institution or the Government. It also included those who held the property in possession after expiry of the lease period. It made all encroachments a cognizable offence and made it non-bailable with imprisonment to the extent of two years. It also extended the lease period from three to 30 years. The State Governments were made responsible for survey of Waqf properties and their publication in the official gazette.

Tribunals were to be set up to adjudicate all disputes. If the illegal occupants of the Waqf properties were Government agencies, the same would be handed to the Waqf Boards within six months after Tribunal ordered the return of these properties. It took nearly a year for the two Houses to pass the Bill and the powerful Waqf Amendment Act came into force from November 1, 2013. This was indeed a remarkable achievement of the Ministry Khan held.

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WITH JUSTICE RAJINDER SACHAR

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FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS KHAN WAS SO ENGROSSED IN ENSURING A STREAMLINED WAKF FUNCTIONING THAT HE DEVOTED ALL HIS ENERGY TOWARDS THE GOAL, AND THE RESULTS WERE SHOWING

Rahman Khan was a strong votary of development of Waqf properties. He was of the view that without these properties being able to yield income, no purpose will be served.

Even the Sachar Committee had recommended establishment of a Waqf Development Corporation.

S

crutiny of the Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MSDP) in 90 districts with considerable concentration of minority population revealed that the benefits were not reaching the sections of population for whom they were intended. The Ministry took up the pinpointed targeting of benefits by identifying 800 blocks where these could benefit the minorities in ample measure. Review of the skill development programme revealed that the NGOs assigned the projects had barely any roots in the areas they were working.

Khan ordered immediate stopping of such haphazard implementation of the projects.

He also proposed that the scholarship programme for the students of the minority communities should be demand-driven just as the SC/ST scholarships. This was in view of the fact that though the scholarship programme was benefitting nearly a million students, many aspirants and deserving students were still left out.

Khan even appointed a committee to review the implementation of the Sachar recommendations. It was headed by Prof.

Amitabh Kundu, professor of Economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Prof.

Kundu presented an interim report before his term ended and later a full report was

submitted to the Government.

Rahman Khan was a strong votary of development of Waqf properties and had advocated this even while being on the Karnataka Board of Awkaf and a member of the Central Wakf Council (CWC). He was of the view that without these properties being able to yield income, no purpose would be served and the pious wishes of those kind souls who dedicated them for the service of the community would merely remain mere wishes. Even the Sachar Committee had recommended establishment of a Waqf Development Corporation.

A proposal by the Ministry to set up National Waqf Development Corporation (NAWADCO) was approved by the Ministry of Finance. It was launched by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on December 31, 2013. The authorised capital of the Corporation was kept at Rs. 500 crores initially, and paid-up capital was Rs. 100 crores. Under the scheme, the National Minority Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) was to contribute 25 per cent of the capital and the Central Waqf Council 26 per cent. Rest of the money was to be raised from the State Waqf Boards and Waqf institutions. There are nearly four lakh waqf institutions in the country. It was registered as a Limited Company. An understanding was reached with the National Building Construction

Corporation to develop the Waqf properties. It was a Navaratna company engaged in development of Government properties. But as things stand today, the new Government did not evince any interest in running the NAWADCO. Waqf Properties do not belong to any individual owners. As such they cannot belong to anyone, not even to the Government. Both the Sachar Committee and the JPC recommended that the Waqf properties be declared as public property by bringing them under the ambit of Public Premises Act, lest there be any encroachment or misuse. While moving the Waqf Amendment Bill, Khan had suggested that the Public Premises Act be made applicable on Waqf properties. But the Law Ministry did not agree and said that the Public Premises Act is a separate Act. They in turn directed him to the Ministry of Urban Development. Since it would take time, the concerned Minister suggested going for a standalone legislation for Waqfs, inserting all the provisions of Public Premises Act. A Bill on these lines called Waqf (Eviction of unauthorised occupants) Bill 2014 was drafted, approved by the Cabinet and even cleared by the Standing Committee of the Rajya Sabha in February 2014.

Following the change of the government at the Centre, it is still lying there. Khan feels that pressure must be brought on the Government for its forward movement.

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RESOLVING

123 WAKF PROPERTY DISPUTES AND

PURSUING EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION

R

ahman Khan took up the case of 123 Waqf properties of the Delhi Waqf Board which was hanging fire since 1970. But success was missed by a whisker. These included several mosques and dargahs.

There were several intervening stages when the matter came before courts and ministries. In March 2014, the Cabinet gave its approval for de-notification of these 123 properties in order to be returned to the Delhi Waqf Board and the government issued de-notification order which was appeared in the Official gazette. But incidentally, the same day the announcement of 2014 General Election came and the code of conduct came into forces. The matter has not progressed since.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES COMMISSION One of the major recommendations of the Sachar Committee was the appointment of an Equal Opportunity Commission to ensure that discrimination on the basis of religion and caste did not come into play while accessing opportunities for education, employment, renting of house or leasing of properties. A draft Bill was presented to the Cabinet in this regard. It was approved, but time constraints did not allow this Bill to be introduced.

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BILL AGAINST

COMMUNAL VIOLENCE

W

ork was initiated on the Avoidance of Communal Violence Bill by Rahman Khan as the Minister for Minority Welfare. The Congress Party had made a promise to this effect in its 2009 Election manifesto. The National Advisory Council under the chairmanship of Sonia Gandhi had drafted a bill to this effect. It was facing resistance within the Home Ministry which was supposed to take it up. It called for making the law and order enforcing authorities accountable for failure to act.

Khan took it up with the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the Congress President. The Home Ministry prepared a draft Bill but had diluted it considerably inasmuch as it looked totally different from the draft of the National Advisory Council.

Dissatisfied with it provisions, the Ministry worked upon it and presented the Bill on lines it was originally intended. The Home Minister presented it in the Rajya Sabha. The Opposition leader Arun Jaitley objected to the Bill. Normally presiding officers allow the introduction. But P. J. Kurien, instead of allowing it, deferred its introduction and it could not be introduced.

PIC BY PANDARINATH B

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AOFVOTARY MODERN AND

QUALITY EDUCATION

TOWARDS THE END OF HIS TENURE AS UNION MINISTER FOR MINORITIES, KHAN ACCORDED PRIORITY TO MINORITY UNIVERSITIES, AND TRIED HIS BEST TO GET THEM ESTABLISHED

WITH STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES

Rahman Khan had a short tenure as a minister in the Union Cabinet.

But as can be seen from his performance, he put his time to best use in initiating legislation on several fronts that had awaited action.

T

hough the Ministry of Minority Welfare had formed a committee in 2007 under the chairmanship of Ghayyur Alam to examine the establishment of three universities on Waqf land in Bangalore, Ajmer and Kishengaj (Bihar), no progress was seen till 2012. A votary of modern and quality education, Khan accorded it priority and appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Sukhadeo Thorat, Chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and also a former Chairman of the University Grants Commission. The committee had Prof.

Mungekar and Prof. M. A. Pathan, former vice chancellor of Bombay University and Gulbarga Central Universities. The Committee recommended the establishment of such universities in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal. But since the Aligarh Muslim University had set up its extension centres in Malappuram, Kishenganj and Murshidabad, it was recommended that these may be upgraded into full-fledged universities. In consultation with the Edcil India, a Government of India Public Sector Undertaking, detailed project reports for five universities was prepared and placed before the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD). The report went into the cold storage all through the tenure of the NDA Government.

Only recently, however some progress has been seen in this direction and Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi laid the foundation of Khawja Gharib Nawaz University in Ajmer.

Rahman Khan had a short tenure as a minister in the Union Cabinet. But as can be seen from his performance, he put his time to best use in initiating legislation on several fronts that had awaited action. He dusted off the Sachar Report and moved ahead methodically to try to put every single of its recommendation into action. He did all this quietly and without much fanfare.

It is a pleasant irony that the UPA-I and UPA-II tenures saw maximum action in terms of welfare of minorities.

Partly, the credit must be given to digitization, which helped scholarship reach millions of students belonging to minority communities. The Aligarh Muslim University came up with three campuses in far-flung locales.

Several Bills aimed at supportive legislation were drafted and were either turned into Act or remain as Bills waiting for a more minority-friendly Government in the saddle of power at the Centre.

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PUPIL POTENTIAL

IN PARALLEL TO HIS POLITICAL PURSUITS, KHAN ALSO NURSED THE EDUCATIONIST IN HIM, AND THE OPPORTUNE MOMENT CAME WITH DPS, AND SINCE THEN HE HAS TRIED TO EMPLOY ALL HIS ART IN SEEKING TO BRING HIS PUPIL TO EXPERIENCE HIS OR HER POTENTIAL.

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DPS EAST

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DISCIPLINED

UNDERSTANDING

B

y the turn of the century Rahman Khan had practically dissociated himself with the Al-Ameen movement and its institutions.

Yet, the cause of education was something that he would not jettison. He was stepping out of the sixth decades of his life and was keen to take up some ventures which would genuinely help the community.

It was at this moment that an offer came from Delhi Public School (DPS) to open a franchisee school in Bengaluru.

The DPS was a brand widely recognised for its quality education, state-of-the art infrastructure, experienced teachers and excellent performance of students in the CBSE exams. The DPS agreed to grant franchisee to the K. K. Educational & Charitable Trust (KKECT) to start a school in Bengaluru. The Trust was dedicated to the memory of Rahman Khan’s father. Maqsood Ali Khan, the eldest son of Rahman Khan and Dr. Aijaz Ilmi were Trustees and helped to build the Trust.

The first school came up on a plot of land he owned off Kanakapura Road in southern outskirts of Bengaluru. It started in 2001 with 300 children and 12 teachers. It was called DPS-South. The very next year another DPS was set up in a mango grove owned by Khan’s wife Ayesha in northern Bengaluru. It came to be known as DPS-North.

By 2004, Mansoor Ali Khan, second son, and later Dr. Masood Ali Khan, the third son of Rahman Khan joined the Trust. DPS-East came up in 2007 and DPS-Mysore opened its portals in 2011.

The latest in this series came up in Electronic City in 2014. It is at this stage that the Trust conceived its own brand i.e., School of India. The first of these schools was set up in Bannerghatta Road, and another in Krishnarajapet, the birthplace of Mr. Khan. Over a period of time, these schools acquired state-of-the art equipment, with emphasis on digitisation, laboratories, facilities for games and sports, infirmaries with ambulances in attendance and dawn-to-dusk security for children. They together have around 25,000 students on their rolls today.

Expounding his philosophy of education, Khan says, he emphasises on nurturing positive behaviour among children and counsels teachers not to insist on grades. He spends considerable time with the staff, mentoring them for better performance through upgradation of knowledge and self-study. He says insistence on ‘A’ grade from all students is wrong as several average students excel in practical life. Secondary education, in his view, is a crucial stage as it serves as a stepping stone for higher education. If their fundamentals are robust, the students excel in any field they choose.

DPS agreed to grant franchisee to the K. K. Educational & Charitable Trust (KKECT) to start a school in Bengaluru. The Trust was dedicated to the memory of Rahman Khan’s father. The first school came up on a plot of land he owned off Kanakapura Road in southern outskirts of Bengaluru.

DPS NORTH

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If fundamentals are robust, the students excel in whatever field they choose in life’s trajectory - K Rahman Khan

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DPS SOUTH

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ANUBHAVA SHIKSHA KENDRAS

B

eing a product of a Government school at the secondary stage, Rahman Khan shared profound concern at the yawning gap in terms of quality of education between Government schools and private schools that have been mushrooming all over urban spaces across India. He welcomed the Right to Education Act (RTE), which provided for reservation of twenty five per cent of seats in private schools for the children from underprivileged sections of the society. The Act partly addressed the quality gap. However, the K. K. Educational and Charitable Trust thought of its own model and set up Anubhava Shiksha Kendras with the Delhi Public Schools in the same

campuses. They provided free education to the children from poor families living in areas adjoining the campuses. DPS teachers were their instructors; books, lunch, uniforms and shoes and socks were provided to them free of cost; and they shared the access to the same labs, libraries and other common facilities. The same syllabus was taught to them. These Kendras took in around a thousand students.

The Trust also provides scholarships to needy students and has set up centres of the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in each of the DPS’s campuses. These centres enable drop-outs and adult people of all ages to attain either a certificate or degree through enrolment in open schools.

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THOUGHTS OF

EXPERIENCE

WITH HIS VARIED OBSERVATIONS, OCTOGENARIAN RAHMAN KHAN IS AT PEACE, AND HIS THOUGHTS GO BACK AND FORTH TO THE TIMES

WHEN HE WAS IMMERSED IN NATIONAL LEVEL CHANGE, ALL THE WHILE KEEPING A LOW PROFILE... APTLY AS THEY SAY, ‘GREAT THOUGHTS, LIKE GREAT DEEDS, NEED NO TRUMPET’.

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IN JOY

E

ven as he turns eighty, Rahman Khan looks back at his action-packed life with satisfaction.

He earned all that he aspired for— education, degrees, a good standing in a profession he chose for himself, a long tenure in politics and positions in high echelons of the legislature, a berth in the Union Cabinet, wealth, a family and offspring worth taking pride in, countless landmarks in social service, and to cap it all, abundant love and affection from one and all.

A workhorse and a born optimist and pragmatist, Mr. Rahman Khan’s life can serve as a guide for all those who wish to accomplish something in life. He says, his father and mother- in-law’s words, ‘You will achieve something in life’, still ring into his ears. “Their blessings were always with me. Providence held my hand at all crucial junctures and led me to the path of righteousness and success”, he adds.

“India”, he says, “is a nation full of promises for youth who are ready to put in consistent struggle, stick to certain values and high ideals, avoid short-cuts and opportunism, learn to sacrifice and have profound belief in God and the Constitution”.

“Success is not offered on a platter to anyone, it has to be earned with intense struggle with a never-say-die attitude”, he cautions.

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INCLUSIVE

DEMOCRACY

A

n eight-year old child at the time of the India’s Independence, Khan recalls the days in his native Krishnarajapet village under Mandya district in the underbelly of Karnataka, when there used to be no electricity except a few towns and villages. Literacy grew as electricity penetrated the village, all thanks to what Jawaharlal Nehru termed ‘temples of modernity’.

The odds were formidable against development. The social diversity of the nation was a challenge to democracy becoming inclusive. Yet, the architects of the Indian Constitution put in place a document that promised a place under the Indian sun for all.

Religious minorities, despite the baggage of partition, were carried along and were accorded prestigious seats in the power structure. Rahman Khan therefore envisions a bright future for Muslims,whose contribution to India has been unmistakably large with huge cultural footprints.

Alluding to the Babri Masjid-Ramjanambhoomi imbroglio that has gripped the nation for over a quarter of century, he says emotional issues are the greatest deterrent against progress and development, especially for Muslims. Recalling a meeting with one of the leaders of the Babri Masjid Action Committee from Delhi way back in 1986, he says, the leaders of the Al-Ameen Movement in Bangalore had counselled them to leave the issue to local litigants and leaders in Ayodhya to settle the dispute and advised the Delhi-based Muslim leadership to instead take up a mass movement for education in the northern states. But his sane plea for a peaceful resolution was countered with ridicule. The disastrous denouement the dispute and discord reached on December 6, 1992, caused the greatest setback to communal harmony across the nation.

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Muslims today are suffering from a victimhood syndrome and are sunk deep in the dumps of negativity. They love to play the blame game and wrongly allege that all their miseries are because of other communities or the government.

One of the root causes of this negativity is because Muslims quickly become emotional about things and make non-issues into big issues. Babri Masjid issue was made emotional by some Muslim leaders due to which a lot of lives were lost. It should have been resolved at the local levels — K RAHMAN KHAN

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Religion can be a boon if one follows its values, but can become a basis for discord and disharmony if people try to use elements of it as ingredients for statecraft. He cautions the Muslim youth against excessive romanticisation of the past which could lead them to fall into orthodoxy and obscurantism.

- K RAHMAN KHAN

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The quarter century of coalition governments at the Centre has led to reflection of the ideological as well as social diversity into the Governance at the Central level. It was also a period of marvellous economic growth.

- K RAHMAN KHAN

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The Constitution of India is the best guarantee against disruptive and centrifugal forces. We must try to integrate all sections of people with the process of development in order to make the nation socially cohesive and economically inclusive.

- K RAHMAN KHAN

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HUMILITY

H

aving been blessed with the opportunity to perform Hajj eight times—several times leading the official Indian goodwill delegation—Rahman Khan says he felt humbled with the experience each time he was in the holy places of Islam. “Robed in plain, unstitched wrap-around clothes, one merges with the sea of commoners where homogeneity becomes the hallmark rather than privileges,” he says.

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WITH MURALI MANOHAR JOSHI

WITH FORMER MINISTER SUNIL DUTT

WITH AHMED MOHAMED ALI AL-MADANI, PRESIDENT, IDBI

WITH CHIEF MINISTER KUMARASWAMY

MEMORIES OF A

LIFETIME

UNLIKE ANY OTHER VISUAL, A PHOTOGRAPH ACTUALLY BELONGS TO ITS

RAHMAN KHAN, HEAD OF JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON WAKF ADDRESSING AN INTERACTIVE

SUBJECT, AND IN HIS LIFE, RAHMAN KHAN WAS THE SUBJECT OF MANY

SESSION IN KOCHI IN 2008

SUCH IMAGES THAT CAPTURED MULTITUDE OF EMOTIONS WITH VARIED WITH SREE SHIVAKUMARA SWAMIJI

PEOPLE...SMILES, JOY, BROTHERHOOD, ELEGANCE, HUMILITY, DECORUM...

WITH DEVE GOWDA

PHOTOGRAPHS THAT DESCRIBE A GOOD LIFE IN ALL ITS GRANDEUR

FILING HIS NOMINATION FOR RAJYA SABHA

K RAHMAN KHAN ADDRESSING ALL RAJASTHAN TALIMI CONFERENCE FOR UPGRADATION OF EDUCATIONAL STATUS TO MINORITY COMMUNITY

WITH GOHAR AYUB KHAN, FORMER FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER OF PAKISTAN

WITH SHAYKH ALI GOMAA, GRAND MUFTI OF EGYPT

WITH FORMER CHIEF MINISTER SIDDARAMAIAH

WITH MANMOHAN SINGH AND SONIA GANDHI

WITH VEERAPPA MOILY

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WITH SRI SHIVARATHRI DESHIKENDRA MAHASWAMIJI, SWAMIJI OF SUTTUR MUTT

SALMAN KHURSHID WITH RAHMAN KHAN AND HAJ COMMITTEE OF INDIA CHAIRPERSON MOHSINA KIDWAI DURING A CONFERENCE ON HAJ PILGRIMAGE MANAGEMENT IN 2012

PROCEEING FOR THE OATH TAKING CEREMONY OF PRESIDENT PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL IN 2007

WITH SUSHMA SWARAJ

WITH FORMER SPEAKER OF LOK SABHA SHIVRAJ PATIL

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WITH THE PRES ENT EDITORIAL DIRECTOR OF THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS PRABHU CHAWLA

KHAN TAKING A TOUR OF DEVASTATION CAUSED BY TSUNAMI

IN A MEETING WITH MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN BIN ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD, THE CROWN PRINCE OF SAUDI ARABIA

WITH ACTOR DILIP KUMAR AND HIS WIFE SAIRA BANU

WITH E AHMED AND P M SAYEED

REDEFINING AMBITION

WITH ARJUN SINGH

CONGRESS LEADERS SIDDARAMAIAH, RAHMAN KHAN, SM KRISHNA, S BANGARAPPA, DHARAM SINGH, MALLIKARJUNA KHARGE WAITING FOR AICC PRESIDENT SONIA GANDHI IN 2009

RAHMAN KHAN WITH KING ABDULLAH II OF JORDON

WITH C K JAFFER SHARIEF USTAD BISMILLAH KHAN WITH FAMILY MEMBERS OF RAHMAN KHAN

REDEFINING AMBITION THE MULTIFACETED LIFE OF K RAHMAN KHAN

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REDEFINING AMBITION THE MULTIFACETED LIFE OF K RAHMAN KHAN

K. RAHMAN KHAN DURING HIS TERM AS CHAIRMAN, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF KARNATAKA WITH RAFSAN JANI, THE THEN PRESIDENT OF REPUBLIC OF IRAN

RAHMAN KHAN WITH THE ROMANIAN DELEGATION IN 2007

K RAHMAN KHAN AND HIS WIFE WITH FORMER PRESIDENT OF INDIA, PRATIBHA DEVI SINGH PATIL AT RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN ON 2ND MARCH, 2011

WITH FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA BHAIRON SINGH SHEKHAWAT

WITH FORMER CHIEF MINISTER DHARAM SINGH

WITH NIRMALA DESHPANDE AND M V RAJASEKHARAN WITH FORMER PRESIDENT PRANAB MUKHERJEE

WITH OMAR ABDULLAH

WITH R K DHAWAN, B JAICHANDRA AND H K PATIL

WITH A.R. ANTULAY, FORMER UNION MINISTER FOR MINORITIES AFFAIRS DURING A MEETING OF MPS ON MINORITY ISSUES IN 2005

REDEFINING AMBITION THE MULTIFACETED LIFE OF K RAHMAN KHAN

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REDEFINING AMBITION THE MULTIFACETED LIFE OF K RAHMAN KHAN

THEN PROVOST AND SR. VICE PRESIDENT OF TUFTS UNIVERSITY DR JAMSHED BHARUCH WITH RAJYA SABHA DEPUTY CHAIRMAN K RAHMAN KHAN AT THE INAUGURAL FUNCTION OF INDO-AMERICAN EDUCATION SUMMIT ON ACADEMIC COLLABORATION IN BENGALURU IN 2009 THEN RAJYA SABHA DEPUTY SPEAKER RAHMAN KHAN WITH THEN GOVERNOR H R BHARDWAJ ON THE OCCASION OF RELEASING A BOOK OF MP PRAKASH AND SAMKRUTHI PARISARA IN 2010

THEN PRESIDENT PRANAB MUKHERJEE, UNION MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATION AND IT KAPIL SIBAL AND MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS K RAHMAN KHAN RELEASING COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMP ON SHAIKHUL HIND’S ‘SILK LETTER MOVEMENT’ ON 60TH SESSION OF THE MOVEMENT CENTENARY

THEN KPCC PRESIDENT R V DESHPANDE, MALLIKHARJUNA KHARGE, RAHMAN KHAN AT AN INTROSPECTION MEET IN BENGALURU IN 2008

FORMER DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF THE RAJYA SABHA K RAHMAN KHAN WITH PRESIDENT, INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTS OF INDIA (ICAI) JAYDEEP N SHAH

THEN UNION MINISTER FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT JAIRAM RAMESH, UNION MINISTER FOR MINORITY AFFAIRS K RAHMAN KHAN AND UNION MINISTER FOR HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION AJAY MAKEN AT A MEETING IN 2012

K RAHMAN KHAN, THEN UNION MINISTER FOR MINORITIES WITH ERIC PICKLES, THEN SECRETARY OF STATE FOR COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, UK

CONGRESS MANIFESTO BEING RELEASED BY THEN AICC GENERAL SECRETARY PRITHIVIRAJ CHAUHAN IN 2008

WITH MONTEK SINGH AHLUWALIA

K RAHMAN KHAN, THEN UNION MINISTER FOR MINORITIES WITH HUGO SWIRE MP, MINISTER OF STATE AT FOREIGN OFFICE (UK) IN 2013

THEN UNION MINISTER FOR CIVIL AVIATION AJIT SINGH, KARNATAKA CHIEF MINISTER SIDDARAMAIAH, UNION MINISTERS K RAHMAN KHAN, M. VEERAPPA MOILY AND OTHERS AT THE RENAMING OF BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AS NADPRABHU KEMPEGOWDA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN BENGALURU IN 2013

THEN DEFENCE MINISTER A K ANTONY ALONG WITH CONGRESS GENERAL SECRETARY IN-CHARGE OF MAHARASHTRA DIGVIJAY SINGH AND K RAHMAN KHAN IN 2009

THEN RAJYA SABHA DEPUTY SPEAKER RAHMAN KHAN INAUGURATING THE 80TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF JOSEPH MAR THOMA METROPOLITAN IN PATHANAMTHITTA, KERALA

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RECOGNITION K. RAHMAN KHAN WAS CONFERRED WITH THE HONORARY DOCTORATE (HONORIS CAUSA) BY THE INTEGRAL UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW. GOVERNOR OF UTTAR PRADESH B.L. JOSHI AND CHANCELLOR OF THE INTEGRAL UNIVERSITY S.R. AZMI BESTOWED THE HONOUR ON 24 NOVEMBER 2010 FOR HIS CONSISTENT CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIAL HARMONY BETWEEN COMMUNITIES. SAHAKARA RATNA AWARD IS YET ANOTHER AWARD WHICH WAS CONFERRED UPON HIM AMONG SEVERAL OTHERS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PROMOTION OF COOPERATIVES BY THE GOVT OF KARNATAKA. HE IS ALSO A RECIPIENT OF TIPU SULTAN AWARD FOR PROMOTION OF EDUCATION.