Hyderabad Liberation Day

Syllabus: GS1/Post India Independence

Context:

• September 17, 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the accession of Hyderabad (a princely state) into the Indian Union.

Background:

• Hyderabad, in 1947, the largest of the Princely States, comprising present-day Telangana and parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
• The seventh Nizam Mir Usman Ali, ruler of Hyderabad, was then the richest man on the planet.

In August 1947:

• As the British prepared to leave India, the provinces were given the option of joining either India or Pakistan, or remaining independent.
  • While most provinces on the Indian side of the border acceded, some harboured dreams of independence.
  • Most significant among these were Jammu and Kashmir in the North, and Hyderabad in the south.
• In 1947, Home Minister Sardar Patel asked to join India, but it was refused by the Nizam. Instead, he declared Hyderabad as an independent nation.
• The Nizam wanted an independent status for Hyderabad and signed the Standstill Agreement with India in November 1947 for a year while negotiations with the Indian government were going on.

Revolt and Razakars:

• As early as on August 7, 1947, the Hyderabad State Congress had launched a satyagraha for democracy in the province.
  • In the rural areas, a Communist-led peasant movement, against large landholdings, forced labour and excessive tax collection, was gaining strength.
• The Nizam responded by unleashing a para-military force, the Razakars, on the people.
  • The atrocities and communal nature of the Razakars against non-Muslims and opponents of the Nizam had no bounds.
• In response, the Union government had to order the army to tackle the situation on September 13, 1948, under Operation Polo.

Source: IE