Sayyid Muhammad Moin-ul-Haq

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(popularly known as ''Moin Saab'') (died 1970), was an Indian coach who made important contributions to sports and education. He was a pioneer of Olympic movement in India, championing the cause for sports all his life. He served as *General Secretary of the

Indian Olympic Association The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams ...

(IOA). *A main organiser of the inaugural

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until th ...

held in Delhi in 1951. *Chef-de-mission of the Indian Olympic contingent during the 1948 and 1952 Olympics held in London and Helsinki respectively. *Indian Olympic Association representative to many Indian national games such as the 1950 Indian National Games in Bombay. *Founding vice-president along with K A D Naoroji of the

Bihar Cricket Association Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) is the governing body of cricket activities in the Bihar state of India and the Bihar cricket team. It is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India as full member. BCA was founded in 1935. Supreme Co ...

, in 1936, at

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

. *Professor of English, and Principal (1935–53), at the

Bihar National College Bihar National College is a constituent unit of Patna University. It is a multi-faculty college and offers courses in Science, Humanities, and Arts at graduate level. It is a post-graduate college but post-graduate teaching has been stopped for ...

(B N College) in Patna; he urged students to take to sports apart from regular studies. *President of ''Patna University Teachers Association'' in 1953. After the formation of B R Ambedkar Bihar University,

Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district in the Tirhut region of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur district and the Muzaffarpur Railway District. It is the fourth ...

in 1952, a conference of teachers of the University was held in T.N.B. college Bhagalpur; at this conference Prof. Moinul Haque was elected as a President. ''Moin saab'' didn't promote only cricket or football but also tennis, squash, and badminton. "He was immensely impressed with the strong nation character of the British people and their resilience," says author and retired IPS officer, Sudhir Kumar Jha in his book ''Patna Reincarnated: A New Dawn''. "Moin saab was like the guardian of sports culture in Patna. He feverishly promoted all kinds of sports among students, first in colleges and later in universities and urged them to take part in sporting competitions. In fact, the sports quota in educational intuitions in Bihar owes its genesis through his efforts only," said Shabab Anwar, veteran

sports journalist Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

and commentator based in

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

, who has written on Moin-ul-Haq's life and legacy. Scholar

Sujit Mukherjee Sujit Mukherjee (21 August 1930 – 14 January 2003) was an Indian writer, translator, literary critic, publisher, teacher and cricketer. Career Sujit Mukherjee was born in the village of Ariadaha, south of Calcutta, and educated at St. Xavier' ...

, who also played a bit of first-class cricket, spoke highly of Haq in his book ''Autobiography of an Unknown Cricketer'': "... the nearly immortal Principal Moin-ul Haq, holder of the highest offices in various national bodies, saw to it that any talent in any game was given whatever support or encouragement that Patna had to offer," the book says. IndiaSportsAdministrators14

Appreciation

*The British government appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

1930 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1930 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King. They ...

. *For his immense contribution to the field of sports and as a mark of honour, the then

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Abdul Ghafoor in the 1970s renamed Patna's Rajendra Nagar Stadium as '

Moin-ul-Haq Stadium Moin-ul-Haq Stadium is located in Rajendra Nagar, Patna, Bihar, India. The multi-purpose stadium has hosted three One Day International (ODI) matches including one from the 1996 Cricket World Cup. The stadium has a capacity of 25,000 people. ...

', after the icon's death. *He was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

award in the field of sports in 1970 by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

References

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Sports 1970 deaths Indian Muslims Sportspeople from Patna Year of birth missing Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Officers of the Order of the British Empire India at the Olympics Indian sports coaches Presidents of the All India Football Federation Indian sports executives and administrators Indian football executives Indian cricket administrators