Hyderabad Freedom Movement

During the reign of Nizam Sikandar Jah, Raja Rao Rambha Nimbalkar and Noor-ui-oomra, the two nobles of the court of Hyderabad became the rallying personalities of the discontended sepoys of the East India Company The changes affected m the army uniform was interpreted by the sepoys as a calculated move of converting them to Christianity and it triggered off disaffection A number of soldiers deserted the company, and joined the forces of Raja Rao Rambha Nimbalkar and Noor-ul-oomra The Resident succeeded in suppressing the discontent of the troops and prevailed upon the Nizam to take strong action against the two nobels Accordingly Nimbalkar was banished to his jagir and Noor-ul-oomra was dismissed from service

Raja Mahipat Ram, the Governor of Berar exercised a great influence on Nizam Sikandar Jah. The Resident of Hyderabad got wind of the Raja’s efforts to persuade the Nizam to enter into an alliance with the Holkars and Sindhias who were spearheading a revolt against the British The Resident compelled the Nizam to dismiss Raja Mahipat Ram and ordered the Nizam’s troops along with the British army to march to Berar to arrest him The Raja fled to Indore and joined hands with the Holkar m his fight against the British With the removal of Raja Mahipat Ram from the scene, the British influence in the court of Hyderabad became supreme He was the first person after the signing of the Subsidiary Alliance in 1800, to have tried to rescue Hyderabad from the British bondage

In 1812, the Indian sepoys in the British Residency at Hyderabad broke into an open mutiny They tied their Commander Major Edward Gordon to the muzzle of the gun and threatened to blow him up unless their pay and pardon were guaranteed The sepoys stationed at Nizamabad, Nanded, Parbham, Berar, Sirivancha and Mahadevpura also rose in revolt against the British Major Gordon was eventually released and the ringleaders of the mutiny were caught and executed  

During the Maratha War of 1817, a Jamedar of the Nizam’s army, Sardar Khan Kadezahi rebelled and crossed over to the side of Peshwa Baji Rao with his whole company of soldiers The native sepoys of the British troops and the jawans of the Nizam’s army revolted against their British Commander in the canton- ments of Secunderabad, Raichur, Mominabad, Jalna and Hingoli

In 1818, the local chieftain Dharmaji Pratap Rao of Bhir, Navasji Naik of Nanded and Veerappa of Koppal supported by their followers rose in arms against the British The first two chieftains were joined by a number of Arabs from Nagpur. All the three rebellions were crushed by the Contingent Force of the Nizam These rebel leaders were not anti social or lawless brigands On the contrary they were like Robin Hood, who tried to control their units, trained their followers to handle weapons, kept them contented and persuaded them to till their farms and reap the harvest in times of peace The rigorous administration imposed by the Nizam with the help of the British clashed with their interest These rebellions were their last gasping efforts to preserve their independence  

In 1819 the Bhil chieftain, Chil Naik led his armed tribe against the British soldiers stationed at Aurangabad cantonment and made their stay there miserable and hazardous Chil Naik was captured and hanged But the Bhils, far from being subdued, fiercely ravaged the country under their new leaders Jhandhula and Jakira to avenge the loss of Chil Naik They were continuously up in arms against the British from 1822 to 1857  

An Arab Sardar Kohran of Dewdargunj, Badansa rallied the Arabs round him for a relentless fight with the British. His skirmishes with foreigners were so frequent and effective that he soon became a legendary figure and his exploits became themes for folk-lores   

In 1827, some new innovations were introduced in the Hyderabad Contingent Force which hurt the feelings of the Indian sepoys This triggered off a mutiny among the forces stationed at Mominabad cantonment In the encounter the infuriated sepoys shot dead Col Davies of the British troops  

Apparao of Jangaon captured the Jangaon Fort in 1840 and held it for eight long years Similarly Lmgappa of Bidar, Krishnaji Deshmukh of Nandapur, Narsinga Rao of Belgaum and Hasnappa Nayak of Sholapur fought fierce battles with the British 

British forces had to flee from the Godavari Valley because of the revolt of the Rohillas of Bhadrachalam The Rohillas killed Capt Hayvar of the British troops

1838: Wahabi Movement 

Mir Gowhar Ali Khan Siddiqi (18 March 1798 – 25 June 1854), commonly known as Mubarez-ud-Daulah. For colonial writers, Mubariz was the troublesome and jealous younger brother of Nizam Nasir ud-Daula. He was imprisoned number of times in the Golkonda Fort at the behest of the British. Gowhar Ali Khan was greatly influenced by the Wahabi movement which worked for social reforms and political advancement among the Muslims The movement spread with lightening speed, gaining adherents among the Muslims all over the country By 1838 Gowhar Ali Khan was recognised as the leader of the movement and its centre of activities shifted to Hyderabad. The Nawab of Kurnool under the influence of Gowhar Ali Khan initiated preparation in a big way to wage jehad against the British However, the British got wind of It and despatched a punitive force to Kurnool After a short and sharp struggle, the Nawab surrendered and was taken prisoner In Hyderabad Gowhar Ali Khan and his associates were detained and tried by a Commission of Enquiry Gowhar Ali Khan was found guilty and was imprisoned in the Fort of Golkonda where he remained till his death in 1854. During the Enquiry, several documents were recovered which indicated the readiness of the rulers of Satara, Baroda, Banda, Rohilkhand, Saugar, Bhopal and Patiala to join the forces against the British concerted action. All the uprisings were suppressed by the Hyderabad Contingent Forces These forces were maintained by the Nizam and were nominally in his service but the actual control over them with regard to their formation, location and disposal was in the hands of the Resident Though the East India Company assumed a dominant role and strengthened its position in the internal affairs of Hyderabad through the Contingent Forces, it did not impress on the Nizam or his ministers to embark on a scheme of reforms in the State which would have made any kind of uprisings unnecessary, on the ground of policy of non-interference in the affairs of the Indian States In fact most of the rebellions of the period were due to chronic misadministration, which had set the State owing to the extravagant financial demands of the British for maintaining the Contingent Forces  
 

1855 : Trouble at Bolarum Cantonment 

Bolarum (Secunderabad) was the mam cantonment of the British near Hyderabad from where they kept a watchful eye on the Nizam and his Court In 1855 the whole cantonment was in serious trouble The occasion was Moharrum, a day of immersion of Alams an important event for the Muslim sepoys As it fell on Sunday, a day of sabbath for the Christians, Brig Mackenzee issued an order that no processions, music or noise be allowed on that day The order enraged the sepoys as processions were indispensable part of the observance of Moharrum On realising the mistake, the order was revoked but the damage was done Hawaldar Gulam Khadir m his fury stabbed Brig Macken- zee Even the personal staff of the Brigadier stood by Gulam Khadir Soon after the incident, sepoys, both Hindu and Muslim jointly took out the Moharrum procession The horror stricken English soldiers and officers in the cantonment remained confined to their homes for ten days

1857: The news of the outbreak of the War against the British in 1857 and their early reverses created a great excitement among the people of Hyderabad A large number of them were anxious that their ruler should also participate in the struggle against the British Placards began to appear on the walls of the mosques and other public places urging the Nizam to rise and revolt m the name of the Emperor of Delhi The placards appealed to the Hindus and Muslims of the State to fight against the British The Englishman of June 27, 1857 reported that ‘the State of Hyderabad is getting ready for a large scale anti-Bntish movement The Muslim fakirs are spreading unrest among the people and the sepoys ’ Feelings of discontent and rebellion were rampant among the Subsidiary Troops stationed at Secunderabad and also among the Contingent Forces stationed at various headquarters In order to suppress the anti-British movements, the Nizam’s Prime Minister, Nawab Salar Jung unleashed a reign of terror and ordered rounding up of every suspected fakir throughout the Nizam’s dominion 

While tension mounted at Hyderabad, disaffection among the Contingent Force stationed at Aurangabad took a serious turn After the reverses of the British troops m North India, they felt that they would be asked to march to Delhi They refused to leave the borders of the States and to fight their Emperor The rebellion was led by Jamedar Amin Khan and Dafedar Mir Fida Ah The latter was caught, court martialled and hanged Jamedar Amin Khan managed to escape All the sepoys of the Contingent Force stationed at Aurangabad were disarmed

The Contingent Force stationed at Buldana was also affected by the mutiny at Aurangabad and several of its sepoys were disarmed  

On July 17, 1857 the Hyderabad Residency was assaulted by 500 Rohillas under the leadership of Turrabazkhan and Moulvi Ala-ud-dm Throughout the night, the Residency remained under seige Salar Jung despatched an Arab contingent and a cavalry company from Bolarum to subdue the Rohillas Turrabazkhan was captured and was sentenced to life imprisonment in Andamans He was, however, killed while attempting an escape Moulvi Ala-ud-dm was also banished to Andamans where he remained a prisoner till his death in 1884  

Revolt of Raja Venkatappa A memorable episode of the War of 1857 was the rebellion of the ruler of Shorapur, Raja Venkatappa Naik, a vassal of the Nizam A staunch nationalist and made of heroic mould, the Raja cherished an ambition of gaining political independence He recruited Arabs, Rohillas and others for his army and sent emissaries to Nana Saheb Peshwa in a bid for a co-ordinated action against the British The British came to know of the Raja’s activities and sent a strong contingent to Shorapur to subdue him The stiff resistance put up by the Raja’s army forced the British to seek reinforcement In the end the British succeeded m capturing Shorapur but in the fight two commanders of the British army were killed Raja Venkatappa Naik fled to Hyderabad from where he was arrested by Salar Jung and handed over to the British He was tried and sentenced to death which was commuted to transportation for life Unable to bear the indignities of his capture, the Raja shot himself The trial of Raja Venkatappa Naik revealed the existence of a general plan of insurrection in the southern Maratha country and northern Karnataka, the centres of which were Miraj, Kolhapur, Nargund, Koppal, Raichur and Shorapur

1862 : In November 1861 , the Nizam was invested with the insignia of the “Star of India”, a new order instituted by the British Government to honour the obliging Princes The acceptance of this honour by the Nizam was greatly resented by the people of Hyderabad They rallied round Rao Saheb Peshwa in whose name a conspiracy was hatched to rise in arms against the Nizam. He was one of the leaders of the War of Independence and had kept himself m constant touch with the revolutionaries of the State Rao Saheb Peshwa visited Hyderabad and enlisted the support of the influential section of the local population On hearing of Rao Saheb Peshwa’s presence in the city, the State Government arrested all the suspected conspirators The Peshwa and his Diwan managed to escape With the failure of the conspiracy of 1862, all the anti Bntish movements that originated in the State in the wake of 1857 War, came to an end

1883: Political Awakening 

The growth of public opinion in the State could be said to have started in 1883 with the agitation over Chanda Railway scheme of the Nizam government The main feature of the scheme was to hand over the railway stations from Hyderabad to Wadi to a British company, which would extend the line up to Warangal and from there to Bhadrachalam m the east, and upto Chanda in the north Prominent Hyderabadis led by Dr Aghore Nath Chattopadhyaya, father of Sarojini Naidu, felt that the scheme was not in the interest of the Hyderabad State They insisted that the construction of the new railway line should be entrusted to Indians. The fact that a certain section of its hitherto docile population should have found the courage to question an act of the government was resented by the rulers of the State So Dr Aghore Nath Chattopadhyaya was dismissed from service and exiled from Hyderabad He was the first nationalist to be exiled from the State From then on it became a normal practice for the State to banish every dissident leader.  

1885: Intellectual elites drawn from the upper middle class society of Hyderabad had welcomed the formation of Indian National Congress in 1885. Mulla Abdul Qayum, the first Muslim from Hyderabad to join the Indian National Congress along with Dr Aghore Nath Chattopadhyaya and Ramchandra Pillai played a prominent part in building up public opinion in favour of Indian National Congress and awakening feelings of nationalism among the educated few in the State.

1900: By 1900 several journals championing the nationalist cause came to be published from Hyderabad Prominent among them were Hyderabad Telegraph, Deccan Standard, Deccan Times, Hyderabad Record, The Deccan Budget, The Deccan Mail and Hyderabad Chronicle in English, Gulbarga Samachar, Nizam Vaibhav Bhageshwari, Shri Bhageshwari Vijaya, and Champavathi in Marathi, Dinavartamana, a Telugu daily and Shaukat-ul-Islam Hazar Dastan in Urdu. For having criticised the Resident as the “Local Ceaser”, the Hyderabad Record incurred the wrath of the British Residency and its publication was stopped in 1892 The State Government soon after passed several restrictive orders to curb the spirit of independence displayed by the contemporary newspapers.

Literary and Cultural Renaissance 

The political awakening in Hyderabad was preceded by literary and cultural renaissance It was first found among the Telugu speaking people and later spread to Marathi and Kannada speaking regions Literary activity amongst the Telugus began with the setting up of a library called Krishna Devaraya Andhra Bhasha Nilayam at Hyderabad in 1901. K V Lakshman Rao was its guiding spirit A little later two more libraries were set up, one at Secunderabad in 1904 and the other at Hanumankonda in 1905. These libraries awakened the people to the past glory and heritage of Andhradesha and also infected them with modern ideas of liberty and democracy These libraries later became centres of Telugu renaissance The Maharashtrians followed the example of the Telugus and started Viveka Vardham Pathashala in 1906.

Andhra Jan Sangam 

Formation of Andhra Jan Sangam can be said to be the beginning of various social, political and economic movements in the State of Hyderabad Under the leadership of Suravaram Praiap Reddy, Madapati Hanumantha Rao, Burgula Ramaknshna Rao and Mandumula Narsmg Rao, Andhra Jan Sangam directed Its energies towards eradicating forced labour It also encouraged the formation of merchants’ associations to protect the merchants from forced levies at the time of the visits of the government officials to their places The agitation earned on by the Andhra Jan Sangam resulted in the issue of firmans in 1923, 1926 and 1927 forbidding forced labour At a meeting held in February 1922, its name was changed to Nizam Rashtra Andhra Maha Sabha and Madapati Hanumantha Rao was chosen as its Secretary This was the real beginning of the Andhra movement and Madapati Hanumantha Rao became its guiding spirit. The movement originally stood for social and cultural upliftment of the people of Hyderabad by bringing about a general enlightenment among them Having once achieved that object, It merged itself in the main political organisation in the State namely the Hyderabad State Congress. The Hyderabad State Congress functioned on the lines of Indian National Congress and was in the vanguard of the political agitation of the people in their demand for a democratic set up in the State and overthrow of the despotic rule of the Nizam

1921: In 1921 the enlightened and educated youngmen of Hyderabad wanted to convene a Political Conference to press their demand for constitutional reforms The Nizam issued an extraordinary gazette notification on September 9, 1921 prohibiting all public meetings It said that no meeting of any nature could be called without the previous sanction from “Babe Hakumat” i.e the Council of the Ministers of Nizam Later on the Conference was held at Kakinada in 1923.

1923: Congress Session at Kakinada 

In 1923, the Indian National Congress held its annual session at 11 Kakinada under the chairmanship of Maulana Mohammed Ah Owing to heavy rains, the East Coast Railway track was damaged and trains to Kakmada were diverted via Secunderabad, a city belonging to the State of Hyderabad. The local leaders availed themselves of the golden opportunity and arranged impromptu meeting at the Secunderabad station which was addressed by the All Brothers, C R Das, Sarojini Naidu, Sardar Patel and others. A delegation of 500 members from Hyderabad attended the session. Important resolutions regarding the future of the people of the princely States were adopted by the Congress for the first time in the session Shri B Ramakrishna Rao played an important role in drafting the resolutions.

Hyderabad Political Conference 

The Hyderabad delegation to the Congress session availed itself of the opportunity to hold the first Hyderabad Political Confer- ence at Kakmada immediately after the Congress session It was presided over by Madhav Rao Ane of Berar Among others it adop- ted three important resolutions which called for immediate political reforms in the state viz , formation of elected council, introduction of responsible government and freedom of expression These resolutions were moved by Vaman Naik, Baba Saheb Paranjape of Berar and Digambardas Vakil of Aurangabad respectively. The Nizam’s government refused permission for holding the second Political Conference at Hyderabad or anywhere else in the State Hence it was held at Bombay under the chairmanship of Y M Kale of Berar. The third Hyderabad Political Conference was held at Pune in 1928 and was presided .by N C Kelkar Subhash Chandra Bose addressed it In his speech he said “the goal of the Congress is to establish a democratic government In British India we have white bureaucracy or autocracy but m the states people have to fight with brown bureaucracy or autocracy The character of both is much the same and, therefore, our cause too IS the same.” The Conference demanded introduction of responsible Government and freedom of expression The fourth Hyderabad Political Conference was held at Akola (Berar) in 1931 again outside the State under the chairmanship of Ramachandra Naik.

The Emergence of Andhra Maha Sabha 

 Andhra Jana Sangam which functioned successfully in the Telangana part of the State converted itself into “Nizam Rashtra Andhra Maha Sabha” It decided to hold its first Conference at Jogipet in 1930. To stall the Conference the Nizam Government issued Firman Gasthi Nishan which imposed new restrictions on freedom of expression The- Government gave permission to hold the Conference after a lot of persuasion, but imposed three conditions, viz , the President of the Maha Sabha should not be a non-mulki, i e a person from outside the State, it should not cause a situation prejudicial to the co-religiomsts and it should not discuss political matters The Maha Sabha passed 32 resolutions under the chairmanship of Suravaram Pratap Reddy The most important of them called for immediate repeal of undemocratic Gasthi Nishan, introduction of compulsory primary education and repeal of Government orders prohibiting setting up of private schools A meeting of Andhra Mahila Sabha was also held along with the Conference under the chairmanship of Nadimpally Sundaramma This feature of holding the Conference of the Andhra Mahila Sabha along with that of the Andhra Maha Sabha continued upto 1942. During the 9th Conference at Dharamavaram the women members felt strong and confident enough to have their separate Conferences.

The second Conference of Andhra Maha Sabha was held at Deverakonda under the presidentship of Burugula Ramaknshna Rao Like the first Conference, this was also held under the gathering clouds of mounting repression It demanded repeal of various anti-democratic and draconian laws 

The third Conference of the Andhra Maha Sabha was held at Khammam under the chairmanship of Pulijala Ranga Rao in 1934 A permission for it was given on the condition that it would not discuss educational and political policies of the Government. The Maha Sabha was required to deposit a security of Rs 2000/- which would be forfeited if it deliberated over the educational and political policies of the State The Conference unanimously adopted a resolution which recommended the utilization of religious cess collected by merchants and traders towards the cause of education.

Hyderabad State Congress 

A Congress Committee had been in existence in Hyderabad since 1918 As the very name of the Congress had been a taboo for the feudal regime, Congressmen kept themselves busy with constructive work like popularising Khadi and Harijan uplift A serious effort to revive the Congress and to take up political activities with the aim of securing responsible government m the State, was made in early 1938 A provisional executive of the Hyderabad State Congress was formed on 9th January 1938 with Govindrao Nanai as its President It decided to hold a statewide Conference on 9th September 1938 Just two days before the Conference, the Government banned the Congress under the Public Safety Regulation of Hyderabad on the ground that it was a communal and an alien organisation. The crime of the State Congress was its demand for people’s participation m administra- tion, freedom of Press, civil liberties, setting up of a Public Service Commission for recruitment to Government services on merit and without religious discrimination and equal rights to all citizens The State Congress actively protested against the ban and launched a satyagraha. The year 1938 is of great significance m the history of Hyderabad State as it marked the first popular political struggle on the territories of Nizam.

24th October 1938: First Satyagraha in the City 

 State Congress leaders, like Govindrao Nanai, Ramakishan Dhoot, Ravi Narayana Reddy, Janardhan Rao Desai, Sinivas Rao Bonkar, were among the first batch of satyagrahis to be arrested in Hyderabad city. The police resorted to merciless lathi charge on the vast gathering of the people who came to witness the peaceful satyagraha at Gowliguda on 24th October 1938 There were similar demonstrations all over the State, which the police mercilessly tried to stop On the third day of the satyagraha, Swami Ramananda Tirtha, the frail sanyasi, who later played a pivotal role during the final phase of the struggle for merger of the State with the Indian Union was arrested Satyagraha was offered twice or thrice a week from different localities In all 18 batches participated in the satyagraha Other prominent figures who courted arrest included Sardar Jamalapuram Keshava Rao, Baddam Yella Reddy, Nagulapally Kodanda Ram Rao, Digamber Rao Bindu, Kashinath Rao Vaidya, Mandumula Ramachander Rao, Kaloji Narayan Rao and T Hayagrivachary. The satyagraha by the State Congress coincided with the satyagraha offered by the Aryasamaj, the Hindu Parishad and Civil Liberties Union. The Nizam Government dubbed the Congress satyagraha as communal. In order to avoid such misunderstanding Gandhiji advised the Hyderabad State Congress to call it off. It was called off on December 24, 1938. Gandhiji then wrote to Sir Akbar Hyderi, then the Prime Minister of the State to recognize the Hyderabad State Congress and release all the satyagrahis. The satyagrahis were released but the ban on the State Congress was not lifted.

Sir Akbar Hyderi was a nephew of the late Badruddm Tyabji, an associate of Gandhiji and an eminent nationalist leader He fully exploited his relationship to conceal his anti-democratic views and loyalty to the Nizam and his British masters The correspondence that took place between Gandhiji and Sir Akbar Hyderi, on the various problems of the people of the State, clearly brought out the warped thinking and autocratic attitude of the Nizam’s regime, and its total lack of sympathy with the democratic aspirations of the overwhelming majority of the people of the State.

Vandematram Movement 

The Vandematram movement launched by the students of the Osmania University was also an offshoot of the general political awakening in the State. The State Government declared “Vande- matram” as a communal song and banned its singing in the University campus. The students of the Osmania University disobeyed the ban and commenced all their functions with the singing of “Vandematram”. Undaunted and unmindful of the repressive measures and the penal actions of the Government the student community stood like a rock The movement gradually spread to other colleges in the city University authorities unleashed a reign of terror Hired goondas entered the University campus and colleges and beat up the students and ravaged their belongings The students were denied food. Added to this Sir Akbar Hyderi rusticated all the students involved m the movement from the rolls of the Osmania University and also ensured that the dismissed students were not given seats in any other Indian University by appealing to the Indian University Board However, Nagpur and Jabalpur Universities came to the rescue of these students and admitted them After graduation they returned to their places and rejoined the freedom movement The Vandemat- ram Satyagraha produced a number of youth leaders who later on became famous freedom fighters. It is during this struggle that Ramachandra Rao, a young student came to be known as Vandematram Ramachandra Rao.

Sir Akbar Hyderi and the State Congress 

Sir Akbar Hyderi had earlier placed restrictions on the entry of Dr B Pattabhi Seetharamaiah and K.F. Nariman into Hyderabad However, in order to assuage the feelings of the people following the Vandematram Movement, he invited Sardar Patel and J B Kripalani to visit the State. Sardar Patel simply turned down the invitation. Despite misleading tactics of Akbar Hyderi, Gandhiji and other Congress leaders continued their insistence on lifting of the ban on the State Congress, which continued up to 1946 While the Nizam’s Government continued its hostile attitude towards nationalists, by denying elementary civic rights to them, it positively encouraged the communal politics of Majlis-e-Ittehad ul-Musalmeen, in every possible manner, with the hope that it would help to countervail the political awakening of the people and their urge for a legitimate share in the governance of their State Henceforward Ittehad-ul-Musalmeen which was formed in 1927, started playing a dominant role It conveyed to the Nizam that under no circumstances should democracy and responsible government as demanded by the State Congress be introduced and the privileged status which the Muslims enjoyed in the State for more than two centuries should be preserved for all times At one stage the State Congress leaders offered, to drop the title State Congress, and rename it as Hyderabad National Conference Even then the Nizam refused to lift the ban The Nizam, Mir Osman Ah Khan’s firmans and statements, issued from time to time exposed his unconcealed desire to be known as the Defender of Islam and its Followers. He also dreamt of emerging as the sovereign ruler of an independent Hyderabad when India became free.

Mass Contact through Local Organisation 

While the State Congress remained outlawed and Congressmen severely handicapped in openly carrying out their legitimate political activities, the nationalist elements m the three linguistic regions consolidated their position, and continued their mass contact programme through regional organisations such as Andhra Maha Sabha, Maharashtra Parishath and Karnataka Parishath These three organisations were in no way different from the Congress in their political goals In addition they were in the forefront of the cultural and linguistic renaissance of their respective regions In fact in those days cultural and literary movements were not separate from political activities.

Hostile Attitude of Nizam Towards Local Languages 

The Nizam’s Government sought to suppress the growth of local languages viz, Telugu, Marathi and Kannada which were spoken by about 85% of population of the State through a well thought out State policy No school or educational institution with any of the local languages as medium of instruction, was permitted to function Urdu was the only medium of instruction from elementary to university level and learning of it was compulsory Telugu, Marathi and Kannada were at best only optional subjects Percentage of illiteracy was very high Number of elementary and other schools was depressingly low.

Plight of Farmers in Jagirs and Sarfekhas 

Roughly one third of the State comprised jagirs, where rule of law and minimum human considerations on the part of the rulers were totally absent Even in non-jagir areas, the plight of the farmers was pitiable Most of the farmers were in fact tenants and lived as bonded labourers. The officials on their tours in the distncts and villages employed local people to serve them, with no payment Even food and other luxuries had to be supplied to them free of cost No protection was afforded to Harijans and other weaker sections of the society from the high handedness of the landlords Some of the jagirdars became notorious for their atrocious and brutal behaviour Honour of women of poor families was always at stake Ignorance, illiteracy and poverty of the people provided ideal conditions for their exploitation by the dominant landlords and unscrupulous officials Of course laws were passed to provide protection and relief to the people — some as a result of the repeated representations made by voluntary organisations and some under pressure from the British rulers But those were seldom fully and properly enforced The utter lack of interest of the regime in the welfare of the people can be gauged from the way, the Nizam spent his money He was the biggest jagirdar m the State He had reserved for himself a whole district 19 as his personal possession It was known as “Sarfekhas” and it was around the capital city, that was why it was also called “Atraft Baida Italus” (around city district) Consisting of 18 taluks, it spread over an area of 8,000 square miles and its annual income during Nizam Mir Osman Ah Khan’s rule was Rs 250 lakhs. The entire amount was spent only on the maintenance of the Nizam, his family and his personal establishment When K V Ranga Reddy, a member of the so called Advisory Committee of the district, proposed that an elementary school be established m the district, the Nizam turned down the proposal on the plea that the income from the district was exclusively meant to meet the expenses of his household and therefore no part of it could be allocated, for any other purpose This shows the extent of Nizam’s indifference to the development of the distnct. The Government also refused to set up a school in another district on the ground that it did not yield any revenue to the State Other jagirdars followed the example set by the Ruler They exercised only their powers and felt no responsibility towards their subjects No farmer could keep his entire produce with him He was made to part with a substantial portion of it in favour of the jagirdar or his underlings and henchmen.

Library Movement

A Great Awakening Owing to the restriction on their political activities, the Andhra Maha Sabha and Maharashtra and Karnataka Parishaths diverted their activities to promotion of education, literature and culture, which the Government tried to stifle They initiated adult literacy Sir John, Malcolm, an eye witness to the predatory rule of the Nizam and his jagirdars, recorded “It was predetermined that every citizen should pay certain amount as tax He was subjected to all sorts of atrocities Neither the poor nor the rich, neither a man nor a woman, was spared of this atrocious treatment Heavy weights were tied to their ears Large stones were placed on their chests Fingers were forcibly dipped into boiling oil The deaf ears that the Nizam’s officers turned to the agonised cries of the victims, show their beastly nature ” (Rise and Fulfilment of British Rule in India by Thomas and Garret  programmes, set up schools, reading rooms and libraries m various towns and cities which served as centres of political education Krishna Devaraya Andhra Bhasha Nilayam, a library started at Hyderabad in 1901 through the efforts of K V Lakshman Rao, Ravichettu Ranga Rao and Raja of Munagal played an important part in Andhra renaissance which ultimately paved the way for the formation of Andhra State in 1953 comprising all the Telugu speaking areas It later on became Andhra Pradesh in 1956. Apart from Shri Krishna Devaraya Andhra Bhasha Nilayam, two other Telugu libraries were set up, one at Secunderabad and the other at Hanumankonda In 1906, a literary association called Vignana Chandrika Granth Mandali was started at Hyderabad to promote the publication of popular books m Telugu on science and literature Later on in 1908 it was shifted to Madras as the Nizam Government became suspicious of its activities It brought out books on history of India, rise of nationalism and other contemporary subjects with a view to enlighten the people, of the happenings m the country Nizam Andhra Rashtra Prasansa, The Nizam Rashtra Andhras and Ways of Improvement are a few of the titles published by it It also brought out a small booklet entitled Vartaka Swatantriyamu (Freedom of merchants) which gave information to the merchants about the laws which sought to protect them from the exploitation of the landlords as well as corrupt and highhanded state officials.

Other Publications 

The Ana (one anna) Granthamala of Veldurti Mamk Rao and K C Gupta published a critical commentary on the report of Aravamuda Ayyangar Committee on political reforms with an introduction by Madapati Hanumantha Rao which exposed the hollowness of the so called reforms under the Nizam Government The Aravamuda Ayyangar Committee was appointed in 1937 by Sir Akbar Hyden, the Prime Minister of Hyderabad to mislead the people in the name of political reforms Its report was unaccept- able to both the Hindus and Muslims The Sarvodya leader Ummetala Keshava Rao along with Suravaram Pratap Reddy brought out a book on the conditions prevailing in the jagirs and Nizam’s “Sarfekhas” areas Another notable person who contributed to mass awakening through publication of books and pamphlets was Vatikota Alwar Swamy, through his Deshoddharaka Granthamala Biographies of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, V D Savarkar and others were written by K Rangadas and published by K C Gupta Suravaram Pratap Reddy’s Telugu bi-weekly, Golkonda Patnka was an effective instrument in providing political education and spreading nationalist ideas among the people of the State Even with the State Congress banned, nationalists in the State could maintain contact with the Indian National Congress through print media and participate in the non-cooperation movement whenever Gandhiji called upon them to do so.

Satyagrahis from Hyderabad 

Among the persons, Gandhiji selected to participate m the individual satyagraha movement to protest against Britain’s unilateral decision to involve India m the Second World War, there were many from the Hyderabad State Congress Among others they were Swami Ramananda Tirtha, Hiralal Kotecha, Motilal Mantri, Snnivas Rao Havaldar, Achyuta Rao Deshpande Devrambhai Chauhan and Praneshcharya.

Quit India Movement 

The people of Hyderabad magnificently responded to Gandhi- ji’s call of DO or DIE Many Hyderabadis gave up their government jobs, joined the struggle and courted arrest The Nizam unleashed a reign of terror all over the State False cases, including charges of sedition and ordinary crimes were foisted by the government on a number of social and political workers The intensification of police repression further strengthened the people’s enthusiasm to stand by the soldiers of freedom The entire state reverberated with political activity Mass satyagrahas were offered not only by the State Congress but also by Maharashtra and Karnataka Panshaths Active leaders like Smt 23 Sarojini Naidu, Hansh Chandra Heda and his wife Shankumari Heda, Dr G S Meikote and his wife, B Ramakrishna Rao, Katam Lakshmmarayana, Komangin Narayan Rao, Nandpurkar, G Ramachare, Krishna Dubey and many others were arrested The arrest of the leaders led to mass upheaval It attracted a large section of the student population They resorted to destructive activities Government offices and property were burnt, attempts were made to paralyse all means of communication by uprooting railway tracks and telephone lines Rallies and protest meets were organised throughout the State The young men and women led and inspired by Swami Ramananda Tirtha, Katam Lakshminarayana and Bhai Ramamurthy Naidu plunged the entire State into political turmoil A new awakening was born.

Role of Communists 

In 1941 the Andhra Maha Sabha which was spearheading the political and cultural renaissance movement came under the influence of the Communist Party of India It was opposed to the Quit India Movement and was not interested in the accession of the Hyderabad State to the Indian Union. The Communists looked upon the Second World War as the peoples’ war The Hyderabad Government served its interest by patronising them and enlisted their services for the war effort The anti-commumst group in the Maha Sabha adhered to Congress ideology That comprised among others lawyers, middle class gentry, landlords and jagirdars Ideological differences compelled non-Commumsts to hold a separate Conference m 1945 They formed a separate association called the Nationalist Andhra Maha Sabha M Narsing Rao, its President was also the editor of the Urdu daily Ryyat He carried on vigorous campaign against subversive policies of the Communists. In 1946 the Nationalist Andhra Maha Sabha decided to merge itself along with its counterparts, Maharashtra and Karnataka Parishaths into the Hyderabad State Congress and carry on the united struggle for bringing about the merger of Hyderabad with the Indian Union.

Post World War II Political Climate 

Mahatma Gandhi was released in May 1944 With the defeat of Japan m 1945, the World War II came to an end In the general elections to the British Parliament that ensued, the Conservative Party under Winston Churchill was defeated The Labour Party formed the Government with Clement Attlee as the Prime Minister. The new Government lifted the ban on the Congress and released all the political prisoners as a prelude to talks for transfer of power to Indian hands Realising that the political situation was changing, Hyderabad Government gave an indication in September 1945 that it might consider the lifting of the ban on the State Congress What prompted the Nizam’s Government to do so was the Telangana Movement; an anti feudal struggle launched by the Communist Party under the leadership of Ravi Narayan Reddy The President of the Executive Council, Nawab of Chhatari called the leaders of the State Congress for negotiations in November 1945 and agreed to lift the ban on certain conditions In the meantime Jawaharlal Nehru in his capacity of the President of the All India State People’s Conference wrote to Sir Mirza Ismail, who was to succeed Nawab of Chhatari as the Prime Minister of Hyderabad to lift the ban on the State Congress On the intervention of Sir Mirza Ismail and after prolonged negotiations, the Nawab of Chhatari lifted the ban in June 1946 Soon after the lifting of the ban Swami Ramananda Tirtha was elected the President The State Congress held Its Conference for the first time in the Nizam’s dominions at Hyderabad m June 1946 It was attended by nearly a lakh of people from all over the State The main political resolution moved by Burgula Ramakrishna Rao and unanimously adopted called upon the people to prepare themselves for a protracted struggle to compel the Nizam to introduce responsible Government in the State and to accede to the Indian Union The Conference was addressed by Shanker Rao Deo, Kamala Devi Chattopadhyaya, Prof N G Ranga, and Nijlingappa.

Formation of Youth Congress 

For a long time the nationalist activity in the State remained in the hands of elders like Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, Kashinath Rao Vaidya, Janardan Rao Desai and K.V Ranga Reddy They believed in negotiations with the Nizam’s Government for the introduction of constitutional reforms, however, meagre and trivial they might be But the rapid changes in the political atmosphere that followed the Labour Party’s resolve to make India free, generated a new wave of enthusiasm among the younger generation They were not satisfied just with constitution- al reforms but demanded introduction of fully autonomous and democratic set up m Hyderabad as an inalienable part of independent India Ramamurthy Naidu and Katam Lakshmmarayana formed the Hyderabad State National Youth Congress to galvanise the younger generation Within a short period of its formation the activities of the Youth Congress spread all over the State, posing a serious problem for the Nizam and his agents When actually the State Congress launched the satyagraha movement on August 7, 1947, the Youth Congress workers dominated it. They courted arrest, joined border camps outside the State and gave an armed fight to the Nizam’s police and Razakars, at a great personal risk and with reckless abandon It was mostly because of their relentless activities, that the Nizam’s administration collapsed in many districts and paved the way for the accession of the State to the Indian Union.

Standstill Agreement 

On June 26, 1947, the Nizam issued a firman that the State would neither participate in the Constituent Assembly nor join the Indian Union and also announced that the removal of British Paramountcy entitled him to declare his independence The Nizam had already secured the resignation of Sir Mirza Ismail from the office of the Prime Minister as his willingness to introduce responsible government in the State and to enter into friendly relations with India did not appeal to him as well as Ittehad-ul-Musalmeen The Nawab of Chhatari was brought back as the Prime Minister A delegation comprising the Nawab of Chhatari, Sir Walter Monckton, Sir Sultan Ahmed and Nawab Ah Yavar Jung began negotiations with the Government of India m July 1947 But no agreement was reached by August, 15, 1947 On the request of the Nizam, the Government of India gave him an extension of two months to find an amicable settlement. The Hyderabad delegation argued that because of the premier position of their State, its association with the Indian Union should be different from that of the other Indian States and if a Standstill Agreement for one year was accepted by the Indian Government, It would create an atmosphere m Hyderabad which would enable the State to arrive at an agreement envisaging a more permanent association As a result of the negotiations a draft agreement was finalised on October 18, 1947 On October 27, when the delegation was to fly back to Delhi after obtaining the signature of the Nizam on the Agreement, the Razakars, a para military wing of Ittehad-ul-Musalmeen, prevented the members of the delega- 27 tion from leaving for Delhi by show of physical force The delegation was dissolved under pressure from Ittehad and a new one was appointed comprising among others Mom Nawaz Jung and Abdur Rahim who were members of the old delegation and had disapproved the draft of Standstill Agreement The Nawab of Chhatan had to resign and Mir Laik Ah, a leading industrialist of Hyderabad was appointed Prime Minister in his place The new delegation tried to bring about some changes in the draft Agreement but failed Finally the Standstill Agreement was signed on November 29, 1947 It was an exceptional arrangement to which the Government of India had not agreed in the case of any other State In the case of Hyderabad, they made an exception to accommodate the viewpoint that the Nizam’s government had to overcome some internal difficulties The Government of India implemented the Standstill Agreement in the spirit it was concluded by withdrawing the Indian army stationed in the Hyderabad State Though they knew that by so doing, they had removed the most powerful sanction they had, to secure the implementation of the Standstill Agreement K M Munshi was appointed as India’s Agent General in Hyderabad Nizam too appointed his agent at New Delhi But soon he made it evident that he had signed the Agreement only to gam time and to secure elimination of the Indian army which was a serious obstacle in the operation of his plans In violation of the Agreement the Nizam remitted 20,000 pounds to Pakistan from public exchequer in the hope that Pakistan would help him to assert his independ- ence He promulgated an ordinance banning Indian currency in Hyderabad He even toyed with the idea of buying Goa from Portugal to have an outlet to the sea and spent huge amounts on public relations m London He unauthorisedly increased the strength of the army purchased war materials and smuggled them into the State and also started manufacturing arms and ammuni- tion. The Nizam had great faith in the British and counted on their help He appointed Sir Walter Monckton as his adviser with the hope that he would be able to influence Lord Mountbatten, the Governor-General of India, who was negotiating with them .

Jayaprakash Narayan's Visit to Hyderabad 

Jayaprakash Narayan, then the General Secretary of the Socialist Party of India visited Hyderabad on May 7, 1947 At a mammoth meeting held at Karbala Maidan, he said that if the Nizam did not recognise the people, the people too would not recognise the Nizam and that “he would go the way the other dictators in the world have gone ” Jayaprakash Narayan was immediately deported and his local host, the Socialist leader, B S Mahadev Singh was arrested The deportation of Jayaprakash Narayan infuriated the people. Groups of Congressmen holding tri-colour flags or wearing tn-colour bands went round the city shouting “Jayaprakash Narayan Zindabad” On the next day a meeting held at Raghunath Bagh was addressed by Swami Ramananda Tirtha and Narendra Prasad Saxena The meeting was banned even while it was in progress and more than 300 persons were arrested on the spot In the evening, a batch of five Congressmen offered satyagraha by addressing meetings in viola- tion of the ban on holding public meetings.

Sholapur Meeting of the State Congress 

The Executive of the State Congress met at Sholapur in 1947 under the presidentship of Swami Ramananda Tirtha It formed an Action Committee with Madapati Ramachandra Rao as its convener and Jamalapuram Keshava Rao, Digamber Rao Bindu, Govinddas Shroff and Dr G S Melkote as members Its Head offices were set up at Bombay and Madras and regional offices at Vijayawada for Telangana region and Gadak for Karnataka region From the beginning the State Congress had realized that the struggle had to be carried on both from the inside and outside the State The Action Committee set up several border camps to carry on the propaganda and to organise the struggle. Swami Ramanan- da Tirtha and other State Congress leaders toured the neighbour- ing provinces and States to mobilise public opinion in favour of the Hyderabad State Congress and for procuring necessary funds and amenities for carrying out the struggle After satisfying that all the arrangements had been made Swami Ramananda Tirtha returned to Hyderabad and launched “Join Indian Union” satyagraha on August, 7, 1947 Several batches of Congressmen offered satyagraha in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, district and taluk towns and even in villages On August 15, the Hyderabad State Congress hoisted the Indian Union tri-colour flag that was given by Jawaharlal Nehru personally to Swami Ramananda Tirtha Dr G S Melkote, Krishnamachari Joshi, Jamalapuram Keshav Rao and Swami Ramananda Tirtha were arrested Even before the satyagraha was actually launched the Government had rounded up thousands of Youth and State Congress workers A reign of terror was let loose by the Government with help of Razakars Molestation of women, looting of Congressmen’s houses, subjecting them to third degree torture, shooting down persons found with Congress or Indian Union flags became a daily feature The whole State had become a large prison Thousands of people took shelter m the border villages outside the State A number of relief camps were opened by the State Congress leaders on the border districts of Andhra, Karnataka, and Maharashtra Haygrivachary, a young nationalist took up the challenging task of rehabilitating emigrants from Hyderabad in the relief camps Along with the relief camps volunteer camps were organised to mobilise people to resist the police and the Razakars.

Razakars To counteract the activities of the Andhra Maha Sabha and the political awakening in the State, Ittehad-ul-Musalmeen was founded m 1926 at the instance of the Nizam Its objective was to organise the aggressive elements among the Muslims to buttress the Nizam’s feudal rule With Kasim Razavi taking up its leadership, it became more rabid and fanatically opposed to 30 introduction of responsible government in the State and to its accession to the Indian Union The Ittehad laid the foundation of its para military organisation in 1940 called the Razakars A Razakar, on his enrolment had to pledge his life to the Ittehad, to Hyderabad, to his leader and vow “to fight to the last to maintain supremacy of the Muslim power in the Deccan ” The Razakars were well equipped with arms, ammunitions and transport vehicles which were financed by the Nizam’s government m the guise of expenditure on the so called refugees They owned several newspapers and journals with the help of which they mounted a virulent anti India propaganda In many parts of the State their activities brought about a collapse of law and order They continuously raided the contiguous districts of Bombay, Madras and Central provinces Their agents formed centres in many Indian provinces and States and sparked off communal tensions there Kasim Razavi dreamt of redrawing the map of India with the Nizam’s dominion stretching from the Jam una to the Musi and flying the Asafia flag over the Red Fort His hold on the Nizam was so great that he could stop by show of physical force the Chhatari delegation from proceeding to Delhi to conclude an Agreement, secure Nawab of Chhatari’s resignation and appoint a Prime Minister of his choice. By 1948 the Razakars had become so powerful that they declared that “the Majlis and not the Nizam was their king ” In the later half of 1946, Sir Mirza Ismail succeeded, Nawab of Chhatan as the Prime Minister of Hyder- abad He was a sound administrator and was well known for his progressive and liberal views But the Ittehad and the Nizam made his functioning difficult The Nawab of Chhatan was brought back as the Prime Minister He could remain in power as long as the Ittehad permitted him He was replaced by Mir Laik Ah.

Evasive Tactics of Nizam 

As a follow up to the Standstill Agreement, the Government of India earned on protracted negotiations with the Government of Hyderabad But the Nizam persisted in his negative approach In 31 April 1948, the Governor-General on behalf of the Government of India suggested holding of plebicite in the State to test the will of the people on the issue of accession to the Indian Union but it was rejected by the Nizam’s Government on the plea that it would result m the detenoration of law and order situation m the State During the last phase of the negotiations, Mir Laik Ah suggested that instead of an Instrument of Accession, there should be an Instrument of Association The Government of India agreed not to press their demand for accession for the time being but to enter into an agreement on the basis of application of the legislation of the Government of India to Hyderabad m respect of the three subjects of defence, foreign affairs and communications At a Conference on May 26, 1948, Mir Laik Ah had agreed to the principle that the legislation by the Government of India in respect of the three subjects should automatically apply to Hyderabad, if the Nizam’s Government failed to pass corresponding legislation But later he repudiated of having entered into such an Agreement In order to meet the Nizam’s wishes and those of his Government, Government of India modified the provisions relating to its over-ndmg legislation and omitted any reference to the composi- tion of the Constituent Assembly Several other amendments proposed by the Government of Hyderabad were also accepted by the Government of India in the interest of peace and in its anxiety to arrive at a settlement While the Government of India thought the agreement was finalised by the Hyderabad Delegation, the Nizam again declined to accept it until some other points including the principle of freedom of trade and economic and fiscal arrangements were accepted The Government of India could not accept such terms which repudiated the whole basis on which the negotiations were carried on.

Lawlessness in the State 

In the meantime, the activities of the Razakars grew in intensity and violence and border incidents assumed grave proportions The Indian troops had to be posted on the Indian boundry to prevent the inroads of the Razakars At every stage of the negotiations, the Government of India had insisted on the disbandment of the Razakars but the Nizam never complied with the demand The police-Razakar gangs were reinforced by the Muslims who migrated from the Indian teritories In an endeavour to convert the minority into a majority in the State, Muslims were encouraged to emigrate to Hyderabad and to terrorise and force the Hindus to migrate to the neighbouring British provinces of Maharashtra, and Bombay There was a complete breakdown of law and order Taking advantage of the situation some of the villages organised themselves into groups and declared themselves independent of the State of Hyderabad Twenty Koya (Tribal) villages of Palwancha taluk at present in Khammam district, with a population of 10,000 drove out the Nizam’s police and other officials and formed their own administration Six villages of Aurangabad district declared independence under the guidance of freedom fighters like Bholenath Chatterjee and Achyut Patwardh- an The villagers elected, Babbani Bhai, a Muslim as their President They repulsed several attempts of the Nizam’s police and the Razakars to reoccupy the villages In these encounters four youngmen — Jagannath Bhale Rao, Gangadhar Kamtekar, Ramchandra Dedekar and Jagjiivan lost their lives In many other villages no-tax campaigns were successfully conducted.

Attack on Political Prisoners 

Having failed to subjugate the people, the Razakars in collaboration with the police raided several central jails and attacked political prisoners The raid on Nizamabad Jail in January 1948 was heinous beyond words At the sound of a siren hundreds of armed Razakars and other gangsters entered the prison and brutally attacked the political prisoners The Muslim prisoners were instigated to join them They raised the slogan of “Shah Osman Zmdabad” and “Nizamabad is a graveyard of political prisoners ” Hundreds of satyagrahis were injured and maimed Eminent revolutionary poet Dr Dasrathi was one of the victims The raid on Gulburga Jail, where Swami Ramananda Tirtha, the Congress Chief was imprisoned was another instance of gory deeds of the Razakars. Armed Razakars along with some Muslim refugees entered the jail and swooped on the satyagrahis who were offering their evening prayers Several satyagrahis, were injured and one died The dazed satyagrahis went to the jailor and silently demonstrated their indignation which provoked the jailor to open fire on them Luckily, the District Collector arrived on the scene and prevented the police from opening fire Some satyagrahis including Jagannath Rao Chandriki and Katam Lakshmmarayana went on fast.

Attack on the Nizam 

The people of Hyderabad blamed the Nizam for the reign of terror unleashed by the Razakars and the police Some of them felt that the removal of the Nizam would help to improve the situation Narayan Rao Pawar, a Congress volunteer at a Sholapur Camp, also adhered to that view. He and his friend Gandayya decided to kill the Nizam. It was a daily routine of the Nizam to drive out of his Kothi Palace in the evening for his prayers Narayan Rao Pawar and his friend thought of taking advantage of the routine drive of the Nizam to hurl bombs on him They also carried vials of poison with them to swallow if they were caught On December 4, 1947, Pawar hurled a bomb on the Nizam’s car which fell on the rear The car was slightly damaged but the Nizam was not hurt The security guards pounced on Pawar and Gandayya The latter did not even get time to hurl his bomb The poison vials were taken away from them Pawar was sentenced to death, while Gandayya was sentenced to life imprisonment They were, however, released after the Police Action. Bombs were also thrown on Sultan Bazar Police Station, Charmmar Power House, Post Office and Kothi Palace A portion of the Palace was blown up and other places were severely damaged The man behind this was Ramamurthy Naidu, a Youth Congress leader, Ramachandra Badale and his associates.

Nationalist Muslims 

Unable to bear the deplorable condition of the State, some prominent citizens of Hyderabad including seven eminent Muslims wrote to the Nizam giving graphic picture of the deteriorating condition of law and order in the State and urging him to disband the Razakars, dismiss Mir Laik Ah and accede to the Indian Union But their appeal fell on the deaf ear Shoeb-ulla-Khan, an young editor of an Urdu paper Imroz published the letter m his paper It so infuriated Kasim Razavi that he ordered the Razakars to cut off the hands of the editor Accordingly, when Shoeb was leaving his office for home, armed Razakars hacked him to death and severed his hands and head which were presented to Kasim Razavi as gift To protest against the gory deeds of the Razakars, a hartal was observed in the State Lawyers too boycotted the courts Business Community appealed to the Government to restore law and order Instead of disbanding Razakars, the Commander-in-Chief of the Hyderabad army appealed to the people to be ready for a war with India Mir Laik All appealed to the U N O for help.

Police Action 

Taking all these events into consideration, the Government of India decided on September 9, 1948 to despatch Indian troops into Hyderabad to save it from complete chaos An ultimatum was delivered by V P Menon, Secretary to the Ministry of States, to the Nizam on September 10 On Monday, September 13th morning, the Indian forces marched into Hyderabad They were commanded by Maj Gen J N Chowdhary It was a two-pronged attack The mam force moved along Sholapur-Hyderabad road and the other took Vijayawada-Hyderabad road The army called it “Operation Polo" but the then Governor-General C Rajagopalachari described it as a mere “Police Action ”

Nizam Surrenders 

The moment the “Police Action” started, the Indian Agent General in Hyderabad, K M Munshi was placed under house arrest There was some resistance on the part of the Hyderabad forces on the first two days but after that resistance completely collapsed and demoralisation set in On September 17, the Nizam sent a message to the Government of India through K M Munshi that he had ordered ceasefire and disbandment of the Razakars Later in the day the Commander-in-Chief of the Hyderabad Army, Prince Azam Jah formally brought down the Asaf Jahi flag and surrendered .

Surrender Proclamation 

On the same evening the Nizam in a broadcast over the Deccan Radio said “I am glad to inform my people that I have sent a message to His Excellency the Governor-General C Rajagopalachari stating that my cabinet has resigned and requested him to assume full charge of political situation I regret that I did not do so earlier It is now too late I am unable to make any move m this delicate moment I have however intimated to the Governor-General that I have ordered my army to immediately cease-fire I am also permitting the Indian Army to re-occupy the Bolarum and Secunderabad cantonments The Nizam also issued orders to release Swami Ramananda Tirtha and other political prisoners He also cancelled warrants against the Congress leaders 

Accession to India 

On the 18th morning Indian troops entered Hyderabad under Maj Gen Chowdhary who took over the administration of the State as the Military Governor and dissolved the provisional cabinet of the Nizam The first step of the Military Governor was to arrest Kasim Razavi. Razavi was later tried by the military tribunal for ordering the massacre of the residents of Bibmagar, which was carried out in his presence The Bibinagar case, as it came to be known, was conducted openly. Razavi was sentenced to imprisonment. On the expiry of his sentence in 1957, he was released and on his wishes deported to Pakistan In February 1949, the Nizam entered into an Agreement with the Indian Union on the lines of the Agreement made with the other princes He was guaranteed all personal privileges, dignity and titles enjoyed by him within or outside the territories of the State before August 15, 1947 The taking over of the reins of the State by Maj . General Chowdhary brought the struggle of the people of Hyderabad to a successful end. The Nizam was reduced to the position of a mere Constitutional head. His army was disbanded and his dominions were merged with the Indian Union. Introduc- tion of progressive reforms like abolition of the jagirdari system and conferment of ownership of lands on the tenants who had been for years tilling them, removed at one stroke the grave threat to the country’s independence and unity from within. In fact India became free completely not on August 15, 1947 but in September 17, 1948, on the day the Nizam surrendered to the Indian forces. Maj. Gen. Chowdhary continued as Military Administrator till December 1949 After him M.K. Vellodi, I C.S took over the administration of the State as a Chief Minister and the Nizam was made a Rajpramukh. For the first time in the history of Hyderabad, Vellodi associated four representatives of the State Congress in the administration of the State. The new administration introduced progressive reforms In March 1952, the first General Elections were held in the State and B. Ramaknshna Rao formed the first popular Ministry. Following the election, the demand for a separate Andhra State comprising Telugu speaking areas of neighbouring states and provinces reached a climax. Potti Sriramulu, a Telugu Congress man fasted to death on the issue and provoked a tremendous stir among the Telugu speaking people of Madras State Government of India yielded to the clamour and created a separate state of Andhra which included Telugu speaking areas of former Madras Presidency. In 1956, following the Report of the State Reorganisation Committee, the State was reorganised which comprised the Telugu speaking areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka also. It was named Andhra Pradesh and Hyderabad was made its capital

Source

Freedom Movement in Hyderabad By Veldurti Manik Rao