हैदराबाद मुक्ती दिवस

Hyderabad Accession Day

(17th September 1948)

Executive Summary

Although Bharat became independent on 15th August 1947 but simultaneously 562 princely states within Bharat also got the choice to accede with either Bharat or Pakistan. Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel and his trusted secretary and famous ICS officer VP Menon were entrusted with the responsibility of uniting the provinces into one nation. With efficient leadership and a brilliant strategy, Sardar Patel and VP Menon made the impossible possible, and within a year 562 princely states were ready to merge with Bharat.

But the areas which were still not merged with Bharat were principally Kashmir, Junagadh and Hyderabad. Among them, Hyderabad was not only the largest princely state, but its total geographical area was also way larger than the United Kingdom. The princely state of Hyderabad included many areas of states like present-day Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh. Hyderabad was then ruled by Nizam Usman Ali Khan, the seventh ruler of the Nizam Asaf Jahi dynasty.

However, he was a mere puppet, as real power was in the hands of Kasim Rizvi, one of the advisors to the Nizam and a powerful leader of what is known today as the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. Kasim was leading a private army of his own followers, known as the Razakars. According to sources the number of Razakars ranged between 20000 and 2 lakhs. According to these Razakars, either Hyderabad should have been an independent state, where Sharia law would’ve been in force, or it should have been merged with Pakistan.

Even though Hyderabad was ruled by radical Razakars, the people there not only opposed their rule but were also willing to merge with Bharat at any cost. Also, as Pakistan was about 1500 km away from Hyderabad region, so it wasn’t logical to talk about their inclusion.

The Razakars resorted to the path of terror. They targeted non-Muslims and not only innocent people were sacrificed, but also the women and girls were mistreated, on the same lines as during the Direct-Action violence in Bengal or during the Partition of undivided Punjab. The Nizam allowed all these atrocities.

It was decided that Hyderabad should be asked to sign a standstill agreement, in which the Bharatiya Army would be stationed outside the borders of Hyderabad and Hyderabad would treat its citizens fairly. But the Nizam refused to accept the proposal due to the fierce demonstrations and violence of Kasim Rizvi’s Razakars. The standstill without troop stationing couldn't sustain as atrocities on non-muslim populations were rising day by day and finally Sardar Patel had to resort to the use of force. Military operations under Operation Polo began on 13 September 1948. The Bharatiya army forced the Razakars to flee the battlefield. Finally, at 5 pm on 17 September 1948, the Nizam announced a ceasefire. Major General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri accepted the surrender of Hyderabad Chief of Army Staff, Major General Syed Ahmed Al Edroos and Hyderabad was officially merged with Bharat..