Chaudhary Rahim Khan

Chaudhary Rahim Khan or Shri Rahim Khan (; 1 February 1923 – 18 December 1987) was an Indian politician, who served as a Member of Parliament (1984 – 1987) representing the Faridabad constituency from the Indian National Congress (INC) in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. He died before he was to complete his term as Member of Parliament. He was also elected as a Member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly three times and served as the Minister of Power and Irrigation, Waqf, and Fisheries in the Government of Haryana.

Early life and background

Shri Rahim Khan was born to Shri Nawaz Khan on 1 February 1923. He was born in his village of Sultanpur in Punahana, Haryana. He was an ethnic Meo. He was an agriculturist as well as a political and social worker. He served formerly as a member of the armed forces of India. He was rendered overseas in the Burma Campaign in 1945 during World War II and was also awarded war medal for his service.

He married Shrimati Budho and had 3 sons and 4 daughters. He is the patriarch of the Rahim Khan Clan which is one of the most prominent political families in the Mewat region of Haryana. Two of his notable sons are Chaudhary Habib Ur Rehman and Chaudhary Mohammad Ilyas both of whom inherited his political legacy.

His brother Chaudhary Sardar Khan served as a Member of Legislative Assembly from the Nuh constituency and worked as the Minister of State for Home Affairs in the Government of Haryana (1977–1982).

Political career

Chaudhary Rahim Khan started his political career as the Sarpanch from the Gram Panchayat of Sultanpur-Punahana (1953-1967). Following this, in 1967, he contested and won the first-ever Legislative Assembly Seat from the Nuh constituency, following the creation of Haryana State from Punjab in 1966. In this term he was appointed as the Deputy Minister for Technical Education and Waqf in the Government of Haryana. He was re-elected in 1972 and served his term till 1974 as his win was rendered officially invalid by the Supreme Court of India. In 1974, however, his brother, Chaudhary Sardar Khan, was elected and assumed his place. In 1982, he was elected to his final term in Haryana's Legislative Assembly, which lasted until 1984. During this time, he served as Haryana's Minister for Irrigation and Power, Wakf, and Fisheries.

He then won the 1984 Lok Sabha Election from the Faridabad Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of 1,34,371 votes over the previous seat holder Tayyab Husain, receiving 53.1% of the total votes cast in the constituency that year. This was a momentous victory for Shri Rahim Khan, and it cemented his popularity among the people of Faridabad. It is also reported that the last Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan, celebrated Chaudhary Rahim Khan on his historic victory against Husain with an elephant ride.

Chaudhary Rahim Khan is also said to have a close friendship and political relationship with the Late Prime Minster of India, Rajiv Gandhi. He later died before he was able to complete his term as Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha.

Positions held

Legislative and Parliamentary Service

Government of Haryana

* Minister of State for Technical Education, and Waqf (1967-1968) (1st Legislative Assembly Term)
* Minister of Irrigation and Power, Waqf, and Fisheries (1982-1984) (3rd Legislative Assembly Term)

Key Leadership Roles

* President of the All India Meo Sabha (1967-1987)

* President of All Mewat, All India Education and Development Society, Punahana (1967)
* President of the Congress Committee Mandal, Bisru, Pinangawan (till March 1967)
* President of Block Samiti Chairman, Punahana (1965–1967)
* Sarpanch of Sultanpur-Punahana Gram Panchayat (1953–1967)

Cooperative Marketing and Advisory Roles

* Chairman of the Mewat Cooperative Marketing Society (1961–1962)
* Director of District Wholesale Cooperative Marketing Society, Gurgaon (1963–1967)
* Manager of Yasin Khan Meo High School, Nuh (1967)
* Member of Mewat Education Board (1967)
* President of Employees Provident Fund Union, Haryana Regional Office, N.l.T. Faridabad (1967)
* Administrator of Haryana Cooperative Marketing and Supply Federation (1978–1979)
* Member of the Sub-Divisional Advisory Committee and District Advisory Committee

Diverse Committee Memberships

* Angling and Aquatic Conservation Society of India, Badkhal, Faridabad (1967)
* Punjab Wakf Board, Ambala Cantt (1978–1981)
* Surplus Committee, Sub-Division of Ferozepur Jhirka (1978–1984)
* District Red Cross Society, Gurgaon District (1981)
* Airman and Soldier Board, Gurgaon District (1980)

Notable works

Shri Rahim Khan was the President of the All India Meo Sabha, which was responsible for uniting the 'Meo Samaj' ( Mewati people) that were scattered across Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, post independence.

His contribution to the Meo community is said to be extremely profound. He made demands for a university in Mewat, extension of railway lines to the Mewat region of Rajasthan and Haryana, as well as the recognition of the ethnic Meos as part of the Scheduled Tribes in India and granting them reservations accordingly due to their economically and educationally disadvantaged status in Indian society.

He has also written the book "Writing the History of Meos" to preserve the culture of ethnic Meos.

Controversies

Rahim Khan vs Khurshid Ahmed on 8 August, 1974

High Court Judgement

When Chaudhary Rahim Khan was elected for his second term in Haryana's Legislative Assembly in 1972, he defeated Khurshid Ahmed, who was a sitting minister at that time. Following this humiliating defeat, Khurshid Ahmed filed a case in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against Chaudhary Rahim Khan and challenged the election on various grounds of corrupt practices.

Chaudhary Rahim Khan was accused of the following under the Representation of the People Act, 1951:

* Bribery (Section 123(1)): Khurshid Ahmed alleged that Chaudhary Rahim Khan gave a vehicle to another candidate with the assurance that he would repay the expenses spent in using it for the election campaign. This accusation, however, was not established since there was no evidence to indicate that financial help was supplied to convince the candidate not to withdraw from the race.
* Appeal to Faith (Section 123(3)): Chaudhary Rahim Khan and his supporters were accused of delivering speeches that appealed to Muslim voters to vote for Shri Rahim Khan because he was a "true Muslim" whilst labelling Khurshid Ahmed as a non-believer. Chaudhary Rahim Khan was booked under this section as this was considered a corrupt practice under Section 123(3).
* Character Assassination (Section 123(4)): Ahmed alleged that Chaudhary Rahim Khan had distributed handbills containing false allegations against Khurshid Ahmed, including charges of womanising and forcing Muslims to eat pork, and threatening divine displeasure if voters elected Ahmed. These allegations were considered a corrupt practice under Section 123(4).

The distribution of damaging handbills was crucial evidence in the case. The court found acceptable, direct, and circumstantial testimony that the handbills were distributed with the knowledge and consent of Chaudhary Rahim Khan, which led to the finding of corrupt practices. Hence, Chaudhary Rahim Khan was booked under sections 123(3) and (4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 for appealing to voters' religion and character assassination of Khurshid Ahmed. However, the High Court dismissed the allegation of Bribery under Section 123(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Appeal in the Supreme Court of India

Chaudhary Rahim Khan decided to appeal this case in the Supreme Court of India. The bench that heard the case consisted of Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, Justice Bhagwati, P.N. and Justice Palekar, D.G. The court dismissed the appeal, however, the court judgement stated the following:

''"The appellant, in this case, is less guilty than the 1st respondent depicts him but is less innocent than he professes."''

—Supreme Court of India, '''Rahim Khan vs Khurshid Ahmed and Ors''' on 8 August, 1974 Supreme Court of the India. ''Rahim Khan vs Khurshid Ahmed & Ors'', 1975 AIR 290, 1975 SCR (1) 643,''
main.sci.gov.in
'', 8 August, 1974

The court decided to favour the High Court judgement and officially overturned the 1972 election of Chaudhary Rahim Khan. He was booked under sections 123(3) and (4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Chaudhary Rahim Khan's brother, Chaudhary Sardar Khan won the next Assembly seat from Nuh constituency after Khurshid in 1977. Despite this incident, Chaudhary Rahim Khan went on to have a successful political career, winning the subsequent Legislative Assembly term in 1982 from the Nuh constituency and went on to become a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha in 1984 from the Faridabad constituency.

This case is titled "Rahim Khan vs Khurshid Ahmed and Ors on 8 August, 1974" and still holds significant notability in Indian legal history and continues to be part of the curriculum in many Indian law schools to this day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Rahim
1923 births
India MPs 1984–1989
Politicians from Faridabad
Indian National Congress politicians from Haryana
1987 deaths
Haryana
Haryana Legislative Assembly
Haryana MLAs 1968–1972
Haryana MLAs 1972–1977
People from Nuh district
People from Haryana
People from Haryana by occupation
Indian Muslims
Indian Muslim activists
Meo people