While Bharat gained independence on the 15th of August 1947, 562 princely states within the nation also got the choice of acceding to either Bharat or Pakistan. Then Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel and his reliable secretary and renowned ICS officer VP Menon were entrusted with the responsibility of uniting these disparate provinces into one nation. With efficient leadership and a brilliant strategy, Sardar Patel and VP Menon ensured that this mammoth task was completed, with all 562 princely states readying themselves to merge into Bharat within a year .

However, a few regions had still not acceded to Bharat. The principal ones among them were Hyderabad, Junagadh and Jammu and Kashmir. Of these, Hyderabad was the largest princely state, with its geographical expanse exceeding even that of the United Kingdom. The princely state of Hyderabad consisted of several areas of present-day states like 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. Real power lay in the hands of Kasim Rizvi, an advisor to the Nizam and a powerful leader of what is known today as the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. Kasim led a private army of his own followers, known as the Razakars. According to some sources, the number of Razakars ranged between 20000 and 2 lakhs. The Razakars believed that Hyderabad should either become an independent state, where Sharia law would be enforced, or it should be merged into Pakistan. 

Though Hyderabad was ruled by radical Razakars, the people of the princely state not only opposed their rule but were also willing to merge with Bharat at any cost. Also, with Pakistan about 1500 km away from the Hyderabad region, it wasn’t logical to even contemplate a merger. As a result, the Razakars resorted to the path of terror. They targeted non-Muslims, murdered innocent people, and mistreated women and girls in much the same way as during the Direct-Action violence in Bengal or during the Partition of undivided Punjab. The Nizam allowed the conduct of these atrocities under his reign.

It was decided then that Hyderabad should be asked to sign a standstill agreement, in which the Bharatiya Army would be stationed outside the borders of Hyderabad and the princely state would be expected to treat its citizens fairly. But the Nizam refused to accept the proposal due to the fierce demonstrations and violence undertaken by Kasim Rizvi’s Razakars. The standstill couldn’t sustain in the absence of troop stationing as atrocities on non-Muslim populations rose day by day. Finally, Sardar Patel had to resort to the use of force. Military action under Operation Polo began on the 13th of September 1948. The Bharatiya army forced the Razakars to flee the battlefield. Eventually, the Nizam announced a ceasefire at 5 pm on the 17th of September 1948. 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.

Key Points

The State of Hyderabad was founded by the fifth Qutb Shahi Sultan of Golconda, Mohammad Quli (r.1580-1612) on the banks of the Musi River in 1591. He built the city as ‘a replica of Islamic heaven’. On the 21st of September 1687, the Golconda Sultanate came under the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and Mir Qamruudin Chin Qilich Khan, the son of Aurangzeb’s General Ghaziuddin Khan Feroz Jang became the ruler of the state. He claimed his ancestry from the first Khalifa, Abu Bakr.

Hyderabad was the last remnant of the Mughal empire and had a pivotal geopolitical position as it was surrounded by the Central provinces in the north, Bombay in the west and Madras in the east and the south. It was a leading state with a population of nearly 16 million people, over 26 crore rupees in annual revenue, an expanse of around 82000 square miles and had its own currency. The British administration never treated Hyderabad differently when compared to other states despite the pole position which the Nizam always aspired to attain.

85% of the population of the state was Hindu but they were denied civil, police and army positions. These were restricted only to the Muslims. Even in the 132 member Legislative assembly set up by Nizam, the Muslims were in the majority.

After the announcement of the British Government’s 3rd June plan for the formation of two states – Bharat and Pakistan, the Nizam of Hyderabad Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII issued a firmaan prohibiting the despatch of any representative to the constituent assemblies of Bharat and Pakistan and resolved to become a sovereign, independent state.

He sent a delegation headed by the Nawab of Chhatari to meet Lord Mountbatten to discuss the demands of the Nizam to retrocess Berar to him and grant dominion status to Hyderabad. Both of these demands were technically denied. Mountbatten opined that Berar was practically integrated with the central provinces. Therefore,  any changes in the status quo could be brought about only with the consent of the people of the area. Similarly, Dominion status for Hyderabad was also rejected as Mountbatten firmly stated that His Majesty’s Government will only accept accession to either of the two new dominions.

Failure of the talks

These proposals were unacceptable and thus the delegation returned to Hyderabad. The last Viceroy and first Governor-General of Bharat post- independence, Lord Mountbatten was hopeful about Hyderabad’s accession with Bharat and he pleaded that some extra time should be given to the Nizam to educate the 15% minority which held most of the top positions.

On the 8th of August, the Nizam again wrote to Mountbatten refusing to accede to Bharat while accepting in principle to enter into an agreement with the country albeit with conditions of near absolute autonomy as an independent, sovereign state, especially the demand of the privilege of not aligning with Bharat in case of any war with Pakistan.

After several rounds of negotiations, Hyderabad signed a standstill agreement with the dominion of Bharat in November 1947, continuing all previous arrangements except for the stationing of Bharatiya troops in the state. However, with the advent of the terrorist Razakars with whose support the Nizam wanted to establish an independent Islamic state, the life of the majority Hindu community became hell. In order to curb the menace of the Razakars and the Nizam, it became necessary for Bharat to take punitive actions against the state of Hyderabad in September 1948, leading to the surrender of the Nizam and the signing of the final accession with Bharat.

The Nizam, the Muslim Majlis, and the oppressive Kasim Razvi all tried their best to prevent Hyderabad’s merger into the Bharatiya Union and cheated their subjects. The Nizam declared that both the Hindus and the Muslims are as dear to him as his two eyes. He cleverly fooled the populace by stating that the Hindus would be upset if Hyderabad merged into Pakistan and the Muslims would not like it to be merged with Bharat, adding that in these circumstances, he said it would be better that  Hyderabad remained independent. He hid his ambitions and religious fanaticism and issued a decree declaring Hyderabad as independent. But the reality was very different. Hindus who constituted the majority of the population in Hyderabad wished to merge their region into the secular, independent Bharat and wanted a responsible, democratic government to be established. The Hyderabad State Congress party was struggling to achieve this aim, while the Nizam was trying to hide the reality and suppress the people’s aspirations. He nurtured the religious organization ‘Ittehadul Musalmeen’ to support him in this venture.

Role of Opposition Political Parties

A number of political organizations sprung up with the goal of bettering the economic and social plight of the majority Hindu community in the state. The Andhra Mahasabha was formed in 1936. This organisation served as a cover for the banned Communist Party of India (CPI) – the vanguard of the Telangana Peasants’ Armed Struggle.

The Arya Samaj, established in 1892, came under attack in 1938 from the Nizam’s government with the latter issuing orders that prohibited the Arya Samaj from setting up kunds – fireplaces for prayers – without the express permission of the government. Following this policy, the famous 1938 Satyagraha was launched that witnessed an increasing polarization between the Hindu and Muslim communities in the state.

The Hyderabad State Congress was founded in September 1938 with the goal of responsible government under the aegis of the Nizam and the Asaf Jahi dynasty. The objective of the Hyderabad State Congress is attainment by the people of Responsible Government under the aegis of H.E.H. the Nizam and the Asaf Jahi dynasty. The goal was to be achieved by peaceful and legitimate means and by promoting national unity, fostering public spirit and developing and organizing the intellectual, moral, economic, and industrial resources of the country.