Hyderabad Liberation Day

In News

• The Ministry of Culture will organize the year-long commemoration of the Hyderabad Liberation Day.

Key Points

• Aim of commemoration: 
  • Paying tribute to all those who gave their lives for the liberation of Samsthan and its merger with the India Union.
  • It is a way for people to celebrate and honor the sacrifice of people.
  • The state governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka officially observe September 17 as the Liberation Day.
• Operation Polo:
  • On 17th September 1948, the state of Hyderabad got its independence from Nizam’s rule.
  • It was possible due to the swift and timely action by the first Minister of Home Affairs of India, Shri Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel under Operation Polo.
  • With the spontaneous participation of people chanting Vande Matram and with the demand of the merger of the samsthan into the Indian union, the struggle transformed itself into a massive people’s movement.
• Other illustrations of struggle: 
  • The struggle of Ramji Gond against the British; 
  • The fight of Komaram Bheem; 
  • The valour of Turrebaz Khan in 1857 who wanted to hoist the Indian national flag on the residence of the British Resident Commissioner at Koti in Hyderabad city.

Liberation of Hyderabad: Events

• Extent of Hyderabad:
  • One of the largest princely states within the Indian union was Hyderabad, a Hindu-majority region ruled by a Muslim Nizam.
  • The state of Hyderabad under the Nizam included the whole of current day Telangana, the Marathwada region in Maharashtra that included the districts of Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad, Parbhani and districts of Kalaburagi, Bellary Raichur, Yadgir, Koppal, Vijayanagara and Bidar in current day Karnataka.

• Choices: 
  • When India gained independence, the British gave the remaining princely states a choice to merge with either union or stay independent. 
• Hyderabad: Remained Independent
  • The Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, was in a dilemma on whether he should join the Indian union or stay independent. 
  • On the other hand, the Majlis-e-Itihadul Muslimeen, MIM (precursor of present-day AIMIM) was adamant about the Nizam merging with Pakistan instead of being Independent.
  • The Nizam agreed to keep Hyderabad independent of either union.
• Consolidation & Resistance:
  • The Nizam tried to legitimise the Princely state of Hyderabad by appointing trade officials in European countries and sending delegations to the UNSC.
  • There were civil movements within his territory led by Arya Samaj, Hindu Mahasabha and Hyderabad State Congress to fight for Hindu rights in Hyderabad and merge the state with the Indian Union.
• Creation of Razakars: 
  • Nizam feared there would be an uprising by the majority-Hindu community, so he sanctioned the creation of Razakars led by Kasim Razvi, which was to be a paramilitary wing of the MIM. 
  • Razakars were empowered by the Nizam to suppress Hindu uprisings and movements by whatever means possible.
• Atrocities by Razakars:
  • Following the green signal from Nizam, the ethnic genocide of Hindus in Rural Telangana began. 
  • The Razakars were committed to mass conversions of Hindus to Islam in an attempt to make Hyderabad a Muslim-majority province. 
  • They went village to village and mass-murdered, raped and kidnapped several Hindu villagers.
• Intervention of Indian Army: 
  • The Indian army routed the Razakars forces with Operation Polo in September 1948, leading to the liberation of Hyderabad from Nizam’s control. 
  • The Indian Army, in a 5-day battle, integrated Hyderabad into the territory of India.
• Fate of MIM: 

• The MIM was banned for a brief period in 1948, after which it changed its name to AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) and contests elections to this day.

Source: PIB