30 yers poli of Hyderabad front pages · Hyderabad” he was an Author of Internationally recognised a volumious Book titled as “PICTORIAL HYDERABAD” along with several other

The 30 years political struggle of

HYDERABAD

By

K. KRISHNA SWAMY MUDIRAJ(1894- 1967)

First published by him in 1948

Republished in 2011 byShri K. Krishna Swamy Mudiraj

Memorial Trust Hyderabad.

Translated from Urdu by

Architect Ansar Naqvi

The 30 years political struggle of HYDERABADby K. KRISHNA SWAMY MUDIRAJ

(1894- 1967)First published by him in 1948

Translated from Urdu byArchitect ANSAR NAQVI

Republished byShri K. Krishna Swamy MudirajMemorial Trust, Hyderabad

First Edition (English) : August, 2011

Copies : 1000

© Copyright : Publishers

Price : Rs. 200/-

Cover Design : Shakeel Ahmed(A.P. Hindi Academy Awardee)9959652570

Copies Available with : M. Narsimloo Mudiraj11-37/4, New Gaddiannaram,Hyderabad -500 060Cell: 93463 56861

Printed at : Karshak Art Printers,40, APHB, Vidyanagar,Hyderabad - 500 044.Ph: 040-27618261

“Lagenge har baras maylay shahidoun ki chitaoun par;Watan par mitne waloun ka yehi naamo nishaan hoga.”

Fairs held yearly on the martyrs' pyres;Are the only 'Aide Memoires' of their dying for the Mother

Land

DEDICATION

To those valiant sons of Hyderabad who lit thelamp of freedom with their blood as the fuel.The lamp that is radiant now in the niche ofdemocracy and the dazzling light emanatingfrom it would make all facets of life brilliant.

The 30 years of Political Struggle of Hyderabad

iv

K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj

v

Table of ContentsFOREWORD by the translatror vii

1. CHAPTER ONE 1Dictatorship of the Desi Royals under the British Colonialism

2. CHAPTER TWO 8British power in Hyderabad

3. CHAPTER THREE 13The efforts to create political awakening in the masses

4. CHAPTER FOUR 24Establishment of Political organizations

5. CHAPTER FIVE 34Communal riots and Government policy

6. CHAPTER SIX 49The political struggles of Hyderabad and News Papers

7. CHAPTER SEVEN 56The Rise and Fall of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen

8. CHAPTER EIGHT 62Hyderabad State Congress

9. CHAPTER NINE 72Congress preparations for a glorious struggle

10. CHAPTER TEN 83The Nizam's shenanigans to maintain his independent sovereignty

11. CHAPTER ELEVEN 92The last struggle of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen

12. CHAPTER TWELVE 105Rule of Repression and Violence in Hyderabad

13. CHAPTER THIRTEEN 124The Rise of Communist Power in Telangana

14. CHAPTER FOURTEEN 135Police Action


vi

FOREWORD

This book titled as “THE 30 YEARS POLITICALSTRUGGLE OF HYDERABAD” now being publishedis the true and honest translation of an Urdue Book titled

as “Hyderabad-ki-Teessala Siayasi Jadujahed”. This urdu book wasauthored by a great Personality, the Former Mayor of Hyderabadlate Sri K.Krishna Swamy Mudiraj, who was a Scholar, an Historian,a Philontharaphist, Social reformer, founder of various EducationalInstitutions, a Crusader of Down Trodden. Above all, he was arenowned Jornalist and Author of several books, particularly“PICTORIAL HYDERABAD” in two volumes which receivedinternational appreciations and laurels.

The in depth study of this book throws light on the entire political,social, economic status emphasing on various struggles events,sacrifices, achievements, particularly certain secret dealings andactivities of political and other parties, such as the Congress theCommunists the Arya Samajis, MIM and Backward ClassesAssociations particularly the militant organisation which wassuddently emerged and created havocs disturbing peace andTranquilty of the State for a very considerable period named as“RAZAKARS” etc.,

The Author Sri K.Krishna Swamy Mudiraj who himself was anoted writer with his natural skill endeavoured very honestly to depicitthose happinings, proceedings and the activities of all the personsinstitutions, political parties involved during this 30 years periodstarting from 1918 to 1948.


vii

The present day generation particularly who had witnessedatleast a glimplse of pre-indepenaence period and the postindependence period of Hyderabad naturally shall enjoy and be ableto refresh and re-collect their memories to the events meticulouslydescribed in this Book, and for the younger- generations who areborn much after the independence it shall not only prove to be aninteresting collection of historical facts, but shall be a valuable Bookof History knowledge and valued information.

Late Sri K.Krishna Swamy Mudiraj, the author, who is regardedas the “JATHI PITHAMAHA OF MUDIRAJ CASTE” died in theyear 1967. Besides the above titled “30 years political struggle ofHyderabad” he was an Author of Internationally recognised avolumious Book titled as “PICTORIAL HYDERABAD” along withseveral other Books.

In the year 1993-94 with an aim and objective to propagate thegreat ideals and teachings of this personality Late Sri Krishna SwamyMudiraj and to render necessary assistance, financial help andguidance etc to the Poor Mudiraj Students with a name of SRI K.KRISHNA SWAMI MUDIRAJ JAYANTHI CELEBRATIONSalong with a Trust named as “SRI K.KRISHNA SWAMI MUDIRAJMEMORIAL TRUST” was formed. This Celebrations committeeand it’s Trust have been very promptly celebrating his Birthdayfunctions every year without fail on a grand scale and struggling veryhard and making all of it’s efforts to implement and propagate by allmeans utilising all resources the teachings and high ideals of thisPersonality among all.

The very noteworthy and praisworthy action taken by thisCommittee is re-printing of the “PICTORIAL HYDERABAD” in


viii

two volumes comprising 1000 pages. This action has been highlyappreciated by several sections of the Society, top Bearucats,politicians.

The decision taken by this Celebrations committee headed bySri M.Narsimloo Mudiraj and extraordinary efforts they have takento get this Book translated and got printed facing innumerablehardships is really loudable and praiseworthy.

Sri M. Farook Ali Khan, Founder Chairman and Sri M.Narsimloo Mudiraj Secretary of “Subedar Amir Ali Khan global peacefoundation” met Sri Dawood Ashraf, Retired Asst Director A.P.Archives in connection with the Amir Peace Foundation (A. P. F.)and during the discussion the later told that “the Book” 30 yearspolitical struggle in Hyderabad” authored by Sri K. Krishna SwamyMudiraj was available with him which was presented by sri K. KrishnaSwamy Mudiraj personally to his father Sri Syed. Ali Ashraf who wasthe Editor of several News papers. Sri M. Nasimloo Mudiraj requestedSri Dawood Ashraf to give the said Book to reprint the same in Englishand Urdu.

He was kind enough to give the said Book. Sri K. KrishnaSwamy Mudiraj Jayanthi Celebrations Committee offers its sinceregratitudes to him.

In this context it is just and appropriate to describe that anexpert and an authority in Urdu, English languages Sri Ansar Naqvialong with his sister Mrs. Farhat Naqvi, M.A., M.Phil has takenextreme care, interest and with great dedication sincerely completedthe True Translation of this Book into English from its original Urduscript.


ix

It shall be in the fitness of things to mention the able wise andproper guidance, help, assistance given by the President AndhraPradesh Mudiraj Mahasabha Sri Kasani Gnaneshwar Mudiraj.Further, it is a matter of great satisfaction, that several Office Bearersnamely Sri D. Lakshminarayana, Sri G.Sathyanarayana, Sri KotlaNarayana, Sri P. Yadiah, Sri. R. Bhasker Raju, Sri S. Srinivasulu andothers have also rendered their very valuable services. The CelebrationsCommittee expresses its gratitudes to all of them.

Now, this Book containing several un-noticed and un-recordedhistorical facts some of them very sensatianal, thrilling, emotionalalso surprsing informative, educative, very rare and valuable is readyto be read and preserved by all.

JAIHIND

SRI KRISHNA SYAMY MUDIRAJJAYANTHI CELEBRATIONS COMMITTEE

ANDHRA PRADESH MUDIRAJ MAHASABHA


x

POTRAIT OF JATHI PITHAMAHA KRISHNA SWAMY MUDIRAJ

(1893-1967)

Krishnaswamy Mudiraj was born

on August 25th 1893, the holy day of Sri

Krishna Janmastami at Jalna,

Aurangabad dist. He was born to a poor

peasant family.

Education : He passed matriculation in

1911 from Chaderghat High School,

Hyderabad. After his intermediate from

Nizam College he studied Printing and

Publishing Technology at Bombay

including type writing and shorthand.

Service : He served as Private Secretary

to the then Prime Minister of Hyderabad

State Maharaja Sri Krishna Prasad Bahadur, subsequently joined in

Govt. Service at Accountant General Office and served for 9 years.

Social Service : As the leader in him got an awakening, when,

influenza was ravaging the city then, he became a volunteer in the

relief Organisation. The foundation was laid for the social service

conference in 1917 he joined them in its working and attended the

conference at Hadgaun in Maharashtra. In 1918 he became the

member of its Working Committee. He became member of Standing

Committee in 1921, 1923 and 1927. He was entrusted with the

Publicity and Volunteer Corps work during the annual meetings.

KRISHNA SWAMYMUDIRAJ


xi

He has a great affinity for congress during those days and was

professing and propagating the ideals of Congress.

Writer / Journalist : At this juncture he started writing “The Pictorial

Hyderabad” in 1929 in two

volumes. This is an epitome

of book for all the people of

India as it depicts many a

picture of Hyderabad in

those glory days of Nizam.

This depicts the way of life

the costumes people wear

and the culture therein. He was the editor of Deccan Star an English

weekly in 1926, and was also a Urdu weekly - Masaavat in 1939. He

was the Editor of New Era an English daily after independence. He

served as Coloumnist to several Urdu papers i.et., Siyasat, Rayat,

Rehnumae Daccan, Emroz etc., He established his own

Chakdrakantha Press in 1925 which was one of the premier presses

in South India. He was an author of several books, such as “30 years

Political struggle of Hyderabad”, “Liberation of GOA”, “Mudiraj

Jati Charitra”, Biography of Nawab Deen Yar Jung Bahadur” etc.,

Jathipitha / Service to Backward Classes : He had a great affinity for

his sect and clan - Mudiraj and was founder President of the Mudiraj

community from 1920 to 1941 doing yeomen service and uplifted

them from the ruins. He brought some sense in their life and educated

them. He was one of the founder members of Hyderabad Backward

classes association and also instrumental in formation of Yadava


xii

Sangham, Munnuru Kapu Sangham. As organising any CASTE based

committees, Political party meetings were prohibited during the days

of Nizam, as such he conducted meetings during Ganesh Chaturthi,

Janmashtami and through Harikathas.

Municipal Services : He was elected as

councilor from Chudibazar

Constituency continously for more than

25 years; was Naib Mir Majlis before

Independence. Chairman of several

committies; was elected as IV Mayor of

Hyderabad Municipality in 1957-58.

Greater Hyderabad Master plan was

finalised during his Mayorship; was

instrumental in abolishing “Manual

Riksha Pulling System” while providing

alternate employment to the effected.

Resolution to instal Sardar Vallabhai

Patel’s Statue infront of Public Gardens; was passed during his tenure.

As Mayor he received Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of

India in 1958 and hosted a dinner for him. Civic reception was

accorded to Marshal Tito, President of Yogoslavia. Marshal Tito

presented him his personal Wrist Watch as a token of his deep

adminration and love.

Crusader of Ill-Literacy, Popularising Hindi/Women Education :He was Joint Secretary for Jeeva Raksha Samithi and carried all such

activities under this guise. He founded many libraries along with


xiii

P a d m a b h u s h a n

Madapati Hanumantha

Rao and founded the

Chudibazaar Libarary.

He founded Hindi

Kanya Pathasala in 1921

and encouraged female

literacy and education in

those days. He is the co-founder of Narayanguda Girls High School

and Venkatrama Reddy Memorial Girls College. This act was

appreciated by Messers Pandit Hridayanath Kunzru, Malaviya, DK

Karve of Pune, and even Mahatma Gandhi.

He was the member of Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha

and attended the Lahore session as representiative of the Sabha. He

was habitual Khadi wearer, and propogated the untouchability as

sin. He was member of Yadagiri Gutta Temple for 14 years and

member of the advisory committee for the welfare of Backward

Classes. He was a member from MCH of Osmania University senate

in 1957.

He passed away in 1967. He has done great service to his clan

and if not for him the race wouldn’t be what it is now. The Mudiraj

Community owe their life to him, people like him are born only

once in a life time.

Naming the Road in his memory : As a fitting tribute to this

great personality, the Government of Andhra Pradesh issued orders

vide GORt No. 996 MA dated 4.11.1996 to name the road from


xiv

Begum Bazar cross roads to Jummerat Bazzar as “Krishna Swamy

Mudiraj Marg” by the then Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu

and was inaugurated on 25-8-1997 by the Honourable Minister for

Muncipal Administration of A.P. Sri Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy.

A Tribute : In 1993, K. Krishna Swamy Mudiraj Jayanthotsava

Committee was formed to celebrate his birth anniversaries and

propagate the ideals of Krishnaswamy Mudiraj under the patronage

of A.P. Mudiraj Mahasabha by B. Babu Shankar Mudiraj as founder

President and M. Narsimhulu Mudiraj as founder secretary along

with others as members.


xv

GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH

ABSTRACT

Naming the road from Begum Bazar Cross Road to JummerathBazar ofter Late Sri K. Krishna Swamy Mudiraj, former Mayor ofHyderabad - ordes - Issued.

MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION & URBAN DEVELOPMENT (F2) DEPARTMENT

G.O. Rt. No. 996. MA., Dated : 4.11.1996

Read the following : -

1. From Sri K. Krishnaswamy Mudiraj JayanthiCelebrations Committee, Hyderabad.representation dt. Nill.

2. Govt. Memo No. 15116/F2/96-1, M.A., dt. : 5.7.96.3. From the Commissioner and Spl. Officer, M.C.H.

Lr. No. 2239/SE/G7/96. dt : 22.8.1996

*****ORDER :

The Sri K. Krishnaswamy Mudiraj Jayanthi Celebrations Committee,Hyderabad has represented on the eve of the Centenary Celebrationsof a great Hyderabadian late Sri K. Krishnaswamy Mudiraj that he was aMir Majilie in the earstwhile state of Hyderabad prior to Independence.

Subsequently in the year 1958-59 he was elected as a Mayor ofHyderabad, and he was a Councillor from Chudi Bazar constituency with-out break for 25 years. During the Councillorship, he rendered remark-able services to the locality in particular and to the city of Hyderabad ingeneral. Hence, the celebrations committee has therefore requested toname the road from Begum Bazar Cross Roads to Jummerath Bazarafter late Sri K. Krishnaswamy Mudiraj former Mayor of Hyderabad.

The Commissioner and Spl. Officer, Municipal Corporation ofHyderabad has reported that the Committee specially has constitutedfor the erection of statues and naming of streets has agreed the pro-posal for naming of the Road from Begum Bazar road to JummerathBazar to name after late Sri K. Krishnaswamy Mudiraj former mayor.

Government after careful examination of the proposal decided to namethe raod from Begum Bazar Cross Roads to Jummerath Bazar after SriK. Krishnaswamy Mudiraj.

The Commissioner and Spl. Officer, Municipal Corporation ofHyderabad is requested to take further necessary action in the matter.

(BY ORDER AND IN THE NAME OF THE GOVERNOR OF ANDHRAPRADESH)

C. ARJUNA RAO,

PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT.

To

The Commissioner and Spl. Officer,

Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad.

The Chairman,

Sri K. Krishnaswamy Mudiraj Jayanthi Celebrations

Committee, Hyderabad. H.No. 3-5-762, Narayanguda, Hyderabad.

SF/SC.

// Forwarded by Order //

Section Officer


1

CHAPTER ONE

Dictatorship of the Desi Royals under theBritish Colonialism.

The Pillars of the British Empire: - The role played bythe Desi States in maintaining the power and hegemonyof the English and strengthening of the British Empire

in India is unprecedented anywhere in the world.

The faithful help rendered by the Princely States of India underthe Rajahs and Nawabs and especially that of the Hyderabad Stateunder the Nizams has been acknowledged from time to time by theBritish Empire. And many English intellectuals have presented thisfact in no uncertain terms "Had the rulers of the Princely States ofIndia and the Nizams of the Hyderabad State not come to theirrescue in critical times, the power and hegemony of the Englishmenand the British Rule on Indian soil would have come to an endmuch earlier."

Tipu's Challenge to the British: -At a time when Tipu Sultan had challenged the growing power

of the British Empire and was trying to safeguard his countrymenfrom the deadly grip of the Englishmen was thundering likelightening in the battlefield, the Nizams of Hyderabad helped theirwhite Allies. And when this flame of independence was extinguished,the fate of India was sealed. The blood stains of Tipu's blood thatappeared prominently on the Nizam's hem never vanished.


2

The Nizam's help against the Mutineers: -In the Political Upheaval of 1857 AD, known as the Ghadar or

Sepoy Mutiny the blood of thousands of Patriots was spilled. And itwas with the Nizam's invaluable aid to the British that this firstmovement for independence was brutally crushed and the Britishregained their power and hegemony.

The grazing lands of British Imperialism in India: -For the very survival of the British Imperialism in India, the

Englishmen badly needed such faithful allies who would help themfrom time to time in their political and economic exploitation ofIndia, so that their oppressive regime is perpetuated. In the 200 yearsof foreign rule the Desi Rajahs always supported the powers that beat every turn and every juncture assuming that the yellow patchesdenoting their fiefdoms will remain embossed for ever on the politicalmap of India and this unfortunate country will never see the springof democracy. They thought that these grazing lands of imperialismwill forever remain luxuriantly verdant and they will continue torule over the millions of their naïve and voiceless subjects like theyhad been over the ages. But perhaps they never knew that the honor,dignity, greatness and glory of freedom that once shone like alightening on Tipu's brow and the torrent of uprising that manifesteditself in 1857 could become an irrepressible tornado and a furioustsunami that could tear as under all from New Delhi to White Hall.

The Dual Slavery of the Ryots: -The rulers of the Princely States of India, under the patronage

of the British continued to express their oppression and despotism.It never bothered them to consider the sorry state of millions ofthose who had the misfortune of being their subjects. Destitution,penury and ignorance never allowed them to come out of their vicious


3

cycle towards progress since they were caught within the clasp ofdual slavery, on the one side was the iron grip of British imperialismand on the other the dictatorship of the Desi rulers and the oppressionof these tyrannical regimes had rendered them spineless and half dead.

The public wealth always filled the coffers of the rich but thiswealth was put to use to either maintain the grandeur of the mansionsof pleasure and gratification or to boost the royal shelters of majestyand glory. The money kept being splurged on tours and travels toParis, London and New York and on having fun with the westernbeauties but the poor Ryots remained in hunger and destitution underthe millstones of dictatorship.

The pitch darkness of ignorance and indigence: -This all pervading gloom of ignorance and deprivation that was

devoid of any ray of hope for the populace, was brought aboutprimarily by the native princely states and the rich upper classes whokowtowed to the British hegemony. Even the civil liberties wereutterly nonexistent let alone the possibility of a political struggle.There were restrictions even on the social and religious activities ofpeople of the native princely states, lest they get awakened throughthese gatherings and get united to seek their just rights and demands.

India, under the yoke of dual slavery of British imperialism anddictatorship of the Desi rulers could not come out of its backwardnessfor a long time as all avenues of awareness and development wereshut down, under such circumstances it was obvious that the political,economic, educational and social life of the people of native princelystates could have been anything but lowly and deprived. The test ofloyalty of the Ryots was their remaining content and being reasonablyhappy and satisfied with the way things were, without demur or anyword or gesture of protest against their rulers under any circumstances.


4

Efforts to keep the state Ryots away from NationalistMovements;

The oppressive violence, persecution, dictatorship and tyrannicalrepression cannot perpetuate themselves forever. When the winds ofchange and revolution started blowing in British India and Nationalistmovements kept on growing and gained strength, the native princelystates too could not remain insulated for long from their effects. Thedoors of political activities were firmly shut for the Ryots of the nativeprincely states and no effort was spared to keep them isolated fromthe ongoing political struggles and nationalistic resistance movementsin the rest of India. But in spite of all such efforts, political awarenessgradually began to grow within the native princely states and thepeople's understanding about their exploitation and persecution bythe rich upper classes in the native princely states, as well as theirown capabilities to counter and oppose such atrocities also started togrow. This was a pleasant beginning with a pleasant ending for theRyots of the native princely states. Although some tokendevelopmental works were undertaken in some native princely statesof India with the state of Hyderabad leading them in suchdevelopmental activities, which were undertaken more as a means ofpersonal glorification of the ruler or as window dressing and externalshowcasing than as a foundation for the real welfare and developmentof the people. However such activities did neither change thefundamental structure of the old feudal system nor make any dent inits spirit.

The Nizam as Karaoh, the richest man of the world: -Among the rulers of the native princely states, His Exalted

Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad had an eminent position as anintelligent and wise ruler but all his intelligence and wisdom was


5

consumed by his passion to be known as the world's richest man andnot as the world's biggest philanthropist. The peasant, the labor andthe working classes and also the plebeians of Hyderabad wallowed intheir poverty, penury, misery destitution, and hardships as ever butthe Nizam went on collecting heaps and heaps of wealth, went onerecting minarets of gold sovereigns and continued to boost thecaptivating glitter of gold and bedazzlement of diamond studdedjewelry until he was awarded the soubriquet or title of the richestman of the world and the stories and anecdotes of his legendry wealthbecame the topics of discussions among the rich and famous glitteratiof the world from Europe to the Americas.

Economic exploitation of the people of Hyderabad: -The legendry wealth of the Nizam, that is still talked about in

the world was nothing but the result of a series of measures designedto loot the people of Hyderabad state of their money and to exploittheir economy for the benefit of the Nizam. It is a deplorable factthat the wealth that should have been used for public welfare is lyingidle as a huge stash for the last 30-35 years and would likely remainso for an unknown period. Sir Ali Imam, the then prime minister ofthe Government of Hyderabad had submitted a proposal that if undera well considered plan, the Nizam invested a large portion of hiswealth as his share capital in a number of profitable large scaleindustries in the state, it would on the one hand result in an increaseof his wealth and on the other, lead to the development of the industryand economy of Hyderabad besides the benefits for the people ofHyderabad it would bring. But since the Nizam was least botheredabout the benefits for the people of Hyderabad and was concernedonly with his own wealth, he rejected the proposal.


6

The Nizam's loot: -The Nizam's loot and plunder continued in full swing and

unabated until 25-30 years ago. His full, unrestrained power anddirect control on the administration afforded him vast opportunitiesto increase his wealth. The "Nazrana Season" (a period of offerings)was in full bloom. Appointments for senior and middle level posts inGovernment, promotions, awards, decorations, Jagirs, Mansabs,grants and titles were all the manifestations of the "Nazrana" magic.It looked as if this spring harvest of wealth was only for the Nizamthat was raining only gold sovereigns on a very clever sovereign whohad devised such a devious revenue stream of "Nazrana" that it wouldnever dry up so long as his monarchy lasted.

The beauty of the whole scheme was that the lesser nobles andNawabs, Jagirdars, Mansbdars and officials used to feel privilegedand honored to receive the gift sent to their palaces, mansions andhouses as a head load carried by the liveried Chobdars and lead by aMunshi so graciously from Aala Hazrat's King Kothi Mubarak, butwhich more often than not consisted of the rotten left over mangoesand tomatoes from the orchards of the Sarf-e-Khas Mubarak or merelya fistful of roasted Bengal gram. And the recipient Jagirdars,Mansbdars and officials used to vie with each other for the honor ofbeing the one to have sent the return gift highest value to Aala Hazrat'sKing Kothi Mubarak, with the highest Nazrana in the form of Gold,Jewelry, pearls, and Cash.

The direct administration from 1914 to 1919 and this type ofloot and plunder by the Nizam naturally generated a strong reactionamong the masses as it was ultimately their wealth that was beingcollected from them to be channeled to the coffers of the Nizamthrough the Jagirdars, Mansabdars Tahsildars and officials by way ofthe Nazrana.


7

Consequently when the frequent complaints about the misdeedsof the royal ally of the British crown and a loyal friend of the empirereached the Viceroy, the possibilities of intervention and reform wereopened up and to mitigate the system and remove this directadministration of the Nizam, an Working Committee was set up in1919 AD. which was expanded later to include other issues ofgovernance. But the Nizam chose to find other ways and methods toperpetuate his dictatorship in spite of the Working Committee.

Although a Working Committee was set up in Hyderabad andeven a legislative council too was established but the Governancenever crossed the principles of feudal system and the legislatureremained just a namesake. Attempts were made at every stage tokeep the people in the dark and to trample their awareness becausethe Nizam and his Government were free to crush the public and thepower of the British Imperialism was behind him for support.


8

CHAPTER TWO

British power in Hyderabad

Before going any further to know about the politicalstruggle of the people of Hyderabad, it may be necessaryto consider the political background that was composed

of the British imperial power mixed with the dictatorship and tyrannyof the Nizam and which had cast its shadows on the body politicuntil the end of the British power and Indian independence.

The Paramountcy Concept: -Hyderabad state was the safest and fortified refuge of the British

Imperialism in India and the British efforts were on until the verylast moment to extract various benefits from it.

The spirit of the agreements entered into by the East IndiaCompany with Hyderabad and other princely states of India wasbeing altered commensurate with the exigencies of the times andthe convenience of the British until finally all such agreements andcovenants were given the importance of not more than the wastepaper. The Hyderabad rulers were recognized as autonomous withintheir dominion and there was no interference in the internal affairsof the state by the British Viceroy. But with the change ofcircumstances and events all conventions and agreements were thrownto the wind and when the last Nizam tried to assert his dominionover the province of Berar during his correspondence with the thenViceroy, Lord Reading, the concept of Paramountcy was most


9

vehemently invoked by the Viceroy. His argument was that sinceHyderabad and other princely states were under the Government ofIndia which in turn was subservient to the British parliament, theBritish Government as the Paramount power had the right to interferein all the affairs of the states as it deemed fit and proper. This newinterpretation of authority created a flutter among the Desi rulersbut they were powerless against the might of the British Empire asthey were themselves responsible for strengthening the roots of theEmpire in India and the leading ruler among them, the Nizam, asthe specialally and faithful friend of the British Government hadbeen helping it most faithfully at every step.

Interference in the form of advice and implementation: -The British Viceroys and Residents began openly interfering in

the internal affairs of Hyderabad sidelining all agreements and after1920 this interference intensified and expanded further and furtherin the form of implementation and advice, which had all beendesigned fundamentally to ensure, expand and protect the Britishvested interests.

The toy Chamber of the Princes: -Before the First World War the cornerstone of British policy

Vis a Vis the Desi states was to ensure mutual exclusivity and norelations between them. But after the war a toy in the form of theChamber of Princes was created to amuse them. The Nizam ofHyderabad kept himself away from the Chamber apparently toprotect his personal fiefdom and self respect. But his power that wasat loggerheads with the British Imperial interests was already eclipsedand it was beyond the capacity of the Nizam and a fistful of hiscohorts to save it.


10

The Nizam continued to accept the directions and advices ofthe Viceroys and Residents halfheartedly and efforts were made tokeep them satisfied and happy but the British representatives couldnot be satisfied with either the Nizam or his Government. Theyrepeatedly went on reminding him of his responsibilities andcontinued criticizing the state administration.

British officials in Hyderabad: -After a while British officials were deputed to Hyderabad and

none could object as there was no moral ground for any protest. Theright or wrong intervention and interference of the British mighthave been prevented had there been any cooperation between theruler and the ruled. But the Nizam was allowed to exercise his powersin the internal affairs of the state so long as these did not hinder theBritish vested interests, especially when such unquestionable powerswere used to suppress and subjugate the ordinary people of the stateand to keep them in a state of helplessness and vulnerability. Ratherthe British helped the Nizam from time to time in order to ensurethat the people of Hyderabad did not get involved in any politicalstruggle and this great bastion of support for the British among theprincely states of India remained intact and the great loyal friend ofthe Raj too remained insulated from the democratic aspirations ofthe people and their effects.

The Nizam sought to get back Hyderabad's erstwhile provinceof Berar from the British but he failed miserably in this constitutionalbattle with his mentors who were bent upon smothering all voices ofdissent to their hegemony in India even if it was the voice of themost faithful friend of the British Crown, the Nizam of Hyderabad.And on this issue even his voice became the lone and weak song of anightingale in the cacophony of the British Bandstand. Because of


11

the dominance of British officers in Hyderabad the process ofParamount Power reached its pinnacle and the state repression becamedoubly repressive for the poor peasants by the division of power withthe land revenue and law and order, the two most importantdepartments of state administration captured by the British officersand the rest remaining with the local officers. Thus the people whowere already surrounded by their ignorance and deprivation werecaught in the tussle for holding on to their respective turfs betweenthe local and the British officers and they became even more powerlessand incapacitated.

The peak of dispossession: -This incapacitation and inaction that had overtaken the people

of Hyderabad for a very long time and which was actually perpetuatedby successful diplomacy of the Nizam and the British was for longmisconstrued as a sign of peoples happiness and well being in theNizam's dominions, their silence and helplessness was covered upunder the golden swathe of their fidelity and loyalty to the Nizam.The propaganda continued that under the traditional eastern valuesand conventions all the Hindus, Muslims and other communities ofHyderabad consider the Nizam as the centre of their hopes andaspirations and their loyalty, love and devotion to the personality oftheir ruler is a firm reality. The only way that a dictatorial monarchycould be saved and perpetuated was through the constant massanesthesia of the body politic of the state with the opiate of the socalled loyalty, love and devotion of the ruled to the ruler. But whenthe nationalistic struggle in British India gained momentum andwinds of democracy started blowing then this stupor of the so calledloyalist inebriation got diminished and people of the princely statesas well as Hyderabad began sobering up and they realized that they


12

had now reached the peak of dispossession and until they developedthe power to face up to the might of the oppressive regimes and hadthe ability to demand their rights within their own selves their presentcondition cannot change for better.

Interest in public welfare by some patriots: -There was no political awareness among the people of Hyderabad

some 25-30 years ago. (from the time when this book was firstpublished in Urdu in1948) It seemed as though they are contentwith their pitiable condition, so much so that there was no specificmovement or glamour even in the socio cultural life of the commonman. Although there were some concerned people among bothHindus and Muslims who were inwardly fuming with the autocracyof the Nizam and their patriotism and nationalist fervor was inclinedto create political awareness and understanding among the peoplebut their efforts were scuttled and any such beginning was nipped inthe bud by the Nizam's aristocracy and the British hegemony. Suchnationalists were kept under strict surveillance and all their activitieswere considered suspect because they were discontented with theways of Governance and their hearts were brimming with the urgeto serve the people for their welfare. The C.I.D. of the Nizam'sGovernment used to monitor their activities and efforts were madeto ensure that they could not establish close contacts with the publicand do not draw the public attention to their rights and benefits. Itseemed impossible under the dual despotism of the Nizam and theBritish to create a political front and to make people adhere to it butdespite these circumstances the constant and untiring efforts of thenationalists to gradually awaken the masses through different waysand means and to make them inclined to join the political struggledid succeed.


13

CHAPTER THREE

The efforts to create political awakeningin the masses

Unsuitable state of affairs: -It was well nigh impossible to create political awarenessamong the people of Hyderabad and to gather them

in a united front. To open a diatribe against an ancient feudal systemand to establish happy and healthy changes appeared to be unfeasibleas the task of cutting the roots of aristocracy and oppression that hadgrown very strong needed a very potent mass weapon. A large part ofthe state consisted of Jagirs and Zamistans owned and controlled bythe various Rajahs and Nawabs through their own retinue of loyaland brutal village strongmen who were entrusted to procure the bestportion of the harvest or its price as the share or tahsil of the Raja orthe Nawab concerned, each such jagir and Zamistan was spread overthousands of acres of arable land, ponds, rivers, orchards andplantations. And the thousands of peasants living in hundreds ofvillages under such Jagirs and Zamistans were considered as thebondsmen and bondmaids of the Dora (Lord). The civil rights wereunheard of and the conditions of such villages were the worst. TheNobles, the Rajahs and Nawabs, Jagirdars, Taluqdars, Maqtadars,Zamindars, Qawldars, Seths, Sahukars, Capitalists and other vestedinterests like the Taluqdars, Tahsildars, Patels and Patwaris were allsupporting the prevalent exploitative feudal system because the systemsuited them and their vested interests as they had an unopposed run


14

in the villages to do what they wanted including picking up any girlor woman at will for the pleasure of themselves and their friends orguests or killing someone for no reason at all without any let orhindrance or appeal. Under such an unsuitable state of affairs, creatingawareness and awakening the masses against the feudal lords andtheir patron saint the Nizam was no doubt an uphill task.

Indifference of the Muslims: -The two major communities in the state i.e. the Hindus and

the Muslims both were in a state of suspended animation or werefrozen, especially the Muslims who were afraid to come near politicsas the Nizam's Government had thrown some crumbs of the politicoeconomic pie towards them by way of jobs and entitlements whichkept them content upon their condition. And there was this wrongnotion in their hearts and minds that it was their own Government,whereas in reality it belonged to none but the Nizam and a fistful ofhis cohorts and minions who were looting the public for their ownpower and vested interests.

Initial rumblings:-But except for some socio religious activities most prominent

being the Miladun Nabi, Muslims of the state were unwilling to takepart in any mass activities. About the Hindus the Government ofthe Nizam had by now suspected that some form of initial politicalrumbling had begun among them. It was because of this suspicionthat the Government imposed the condition of prior approval evenfor educational, social and religious gatherings of the community.Thus finding no possibility of a platform for political discourse, thereligious and social meetings and congregations were utilized as ameans of furthering the political awareness and it began with theHari Katha and Shri Jeev Rakhsha Mandalis.


15

Political awareness through Socio-Religious Congrega-tions: -

Eminent personalities were invited to the Hari Kathas and theyused to give speeches. Social reforms and unity were often the topicsthat were discussed and debated on the occasion of Janmashtamiand Ganesh Chauth, political lyrics were recited and short plays onHindu Muslim unity were enacted. The purpose of all such apparentlyinnocuous activities was to gradually guide the people to a state ofpolitical awareness without getting on the wrong side of the regimeand obviously this effort took many years to fructify.

Hindu Social Conference:-When it was felt that as a result of all these years of socio religious

activities and discourses, some amount of awareness has been createdamong the masses, it was decided to establish the Hindu Social ServiceConference. The first session of the conference was held at Hadgaon(Nanded, Maharashtra) on April 13, 1918, under the chairmanshipof Sat Nandi Maharaj. The second session too was held Hadgaonand Pundit Keshav Rao, Advocate High court presided. On June 30,1920 the Hindu Social Service Conference held at Nanded underthe chairmanship of Pundit Waman Rao Nayak. Three more sessionsof the Hindu Social Service Conference were held in 1921, 1923and 1927 at Hyderabad, Bombay and Gulbarga, presided respectivelyby Prof. D. K. Kurve of Puna, Barrister Mr. R. Jayakar of Bombayand Mrs Sarla Devi Chowdhary.

The Hindu Social Service Conference was apparently a socialorganization and generally resolutions on religious and social reformwere passed through its platform and overtly all discussion, debateand discourse was limited to such topics but the fact is that thisorganization was actually used covertly to spread political awareness


16

among the people and it performed this task very well. And throughit educational demands too were raised.

Osmania University strengthened the intellectual aware-ness:-

This was the period when Osmania University was beingestablished. It was Nawab Imadul Mulk who first felt the need for auniversity in Hyderabad; Sir Ali Imam, the then prime minister ofthe Government of Hyderabad moved the proposal forward duringhis incumbency and finally this movement succeeded with thepersonal interest and attention of Sir Akbar Hydari (Home Secretary).Had the rulers of Hyderabad known the fact that the Universitywould become a catalyst for an intellectual transformation borderingthe political awareness and struggle, besides the avowed growth ofhigher education in Hyderabad, they would have never agreed toestablish it in Hyderabad state. The Nizam of Hyderabad was merelyhankering after the title Sultanul Uloom that was to be conferredupon him as the founder of the University and he was completelyunaware of the intellectual atmosphere the University was bound tocreate. This unintentional act of the Nizam eventually proved to bevery effective to strengthen the general political awareness in the stateand some communal people conceded later that it was the Universitythat caused the trouble of political awakening among the majoritycommunity in the state.

Movement to establish public libraries in Telangana dis-tricts: -

It was Shri Madapati Hanumanta Rao who deserves all accoladesand kudos for the way he quietly and wisely spread the politicalawareness among the people of Hyderabad, especially the people of


17

Telangana. During this period he started a campaign to set up publiclibraries at the District and Taluq head quarters and it went on tobecome a grand success. The Nizam's Government could not stopthis clever ploy to spread the political awareness and awakening amongthe people since ostensibly this was an innocent educational campaignand because of it the youth developed a taste for reading and theybegan to be indirectly indoctrinated theoretically and graduallyattached themselves to the political situation and events of the state.Besides this Shri Madapati Hanumanta Rao also began attempts tounite and organize various Hindu castes and creeds. Hence variousorganizations such as the Yadav Jan Sangham, Mannuru KapuSangham, Mudiraj Maha Sabha etc. were established.

These organizations proved handy to prepare the ground andthe efforts to make people ready for the grand movement that waslater to be known as the Andhra Conference, eventually bore fruit.

Hindi Libraries:-To promote the same purposes Hindi Public Libraries were

established in the capital city Hyderabad itself at Hashmat Ganj,Chowk and Churhi Bazar which continued to flourish under ShriRama Kishan Dhoot, Mohan Lalji Baldewa and this writer, KrishnaSwami Mudiraj respectively. The first annual function of the ChurhiBazar Hindi Public Library was presided over by Raja Govind PershadArya (brother of Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad Bahadur), the secondannual function of the Churhi Bazar Hindi Public Library waspresided over by Raja Indira Karan Bahadur Asifjahi. The third annualfunction of the Churhi Bazar Hindi Public Library was held in 1923which was presided over by Pundit Deen Dayal Sharma with greatfanfare.


18

Ban on entry of Malawiyaji:-The fourth annual function of the Churhi Bazar Hindi Public

Library was to be held on May 23 1925 and it was to be presidedover by Pundit Madan Mohan Malawiyaji and when all arrangementsfor the grand function were made ready, suddenly through his Firman(Royal Edict) dated May 15, 1925 the Nizam banned the entry ofPundit Malawiyaji into Hyderabad. Punditji was obviouslydisappointed with this development and he sent a telegram to thiswriter Krishna Swami Mudiraj to carry on the good work with fullvigor. Since despite the best efforts of the office bearers of the librarythe ban was not lifted and the function had to be cancelled. The banwas protested throughout India and people gave vent to their angeron this ban order of the Nizam in many meetings and rallies in theBritish India.

The Khilafat Movement and show of grand unity of Hin-dus and Muslims: -

In 1922 the Khilafat Movement was at its peak in all of BritishIndia. The spectacular growth of this movement under the jointleadership of Mahatma Gandhi and Moulana Mohahammad Ali andMoulana Shaukat Ali and the spirited spectacle of Hindu Muslimunity seen those days was the brightest chapter of the India'snationalistic life. This movement entered Hyderabad too with fullforce and in spite of all the joint attempts of British and the Nizamto scuttle it the Khilafat meetings and rallies were successfully heldthroughout Hyderabad. This was the first spectacular publicdemonstration of political awakening of people of Hyderabad. Hindusand Muslims of Hyderabad emerged as such a united and dynamicmoving force that the Nizam and the then Resident were anxiousthat this swift torrent of unity may one day become a deluge to wash


19

them away. The great gathering at Vivek Vardhini Theatre publicmeet was an exemplary meeting of Hyderabad where Hindus andMuslims were embracing each other in full sincerity and makingsolemn pledges to take forward the cause of Indian nationalists'movement for independence. The pious and leading lawer ofHyderabad Moulvi Abdul Qayyoom was presiding over the meeting.Pundit Madapati Hanumanta Rao, Pundit Raghavendra Rao Sharma,Pundit Waman Nayak, Barrister Asghar Ansari (Asghar Yar Jung)Pundit Keshav Rao and Sirajul Hasan Tirmizi mesmerized andelectrified the huge gathering with their highly emotionally chargedand arousing oratory and the meeting reverberated and the air echoedwith sky rending and enlivening slogans of Hindu Muslim unity.This meeting was held on the day of Raksha Bandhan and the Hindustied the Rakhi as a token of love and unity to the wrist of the presidentof the meeting, Moulvi Abdul Qayyoom. The president thanked hisHindu brethren for this public display of sincerity and love anddeclared that Muslims should now respect and preserve the honor ofthis Rakhi which in effect is a symbol of an unbreakable bond of loveand unity.

While such Khilafat meetings were proving to be very effectivefor uniting the people of our state and in advancing their politicalawareness, the Nizam forcibly ended them through a Firman. Thisorder of the Nizam caused an uproarious reaction, especially amongthe Muslim youth it manifested a frenzy and emotional outburstagainst the Nizam. Some youth addressed the Nizam in a derogatorymanner through a telegram. Police made some arrests and irate youthattacked the office of the residency and shattered its window panes.Mohammad Abdul Rahman Sahab Raees, was arrested for incitingthe Muslim youth against the Residency and the Government of theNizam and he was incarcerated at Mannanur and the movement was


20

crushed with full force. After the Khilafat movement the HinduMuslim unity was never seen again in the state. Inatead after awhilethey began drifting away from each other in diametrically oppositedirections.

Kakinada Congress Session: -The Congress Session that was to be conducted in 1933 at

Kakinada under the chairmanship of Moulana Mohammad Ali waseven otherwise being considered a very important session but for thepeople of Hyderabad it became an extraordinary attraction. Not onlysome important leaders of the Indian National Congress werecontacted and the people of Hyderabad got an opportunity to benefitfrom the views of the national leaders of congress but the occasionwas used to conduct a public meeting at Kakinada to make somepolitical demands from the Nizam.

Hyderabad peoples' contacts with Congress leaders: -The details of this brief are that, in those days all those congress

leaders and delegates travelling to Kakinada (which was then part ofthe Madras Chairmanship) by train for the Kakinada CongressSession from Bombay, Puna, Ahmedabad and Gujarat had to breaktheir journey for some time in Hyderabad and proceed to Kakinadaby another train. Pundit Waman Nayak, Pundit MadapatiHanumanta Rao, Pundit Keshav Rao and Pundit Raghavendra RaoSharma thought this to be a good opportunity and set up a camp atSecunderabad Railway station and made the leading congress leadersa guest of Hyderabad for the 6-7 hours of their break journey time.Among the congress leaders were such stalwarts as Deshbandhu C.R.Das, Vitthalbhai Patel, Motilal Nehru and Mrs. Sarojini Naidu etc.These congress leaders used to address the people at the station itselfand used to remind them of their nationalistic responsibilities. For


21

three days Secunderabad station became the hub of all politicalactivities because the people of Hyderabad got this extraordinaryopportunity to benefit from the views of the national leaders ofcongress. The angst and anxiety of the Government of the Nizamwas to be seen to be believed. Secunderabad area was beyond itsjurisdiction and it could do nothing to stop the ongoing activitiesand for a long time it bore a grudge and wanted to take revengeagainst the Hyderabad leaders who used such an ingenious methodto establish contacts with the top congress leaders.

The special train that left for Kakinada on the last day had someleading congress leader in it. Some 250 youth of Hyderabad too hadthe opportunity to travel with them upto Kakinada. The ban on theentry of Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, which was in force for many years, waslifted a few days ago. This afforded Sarojini Naidu to set foot on hermother land and to travel with 250 sons of the soil for the nationalyatra of congress.

An important meeting of Hyderabad representatives inKakinada:-

Those youth who had accompanied the congress leaders toKakinada decided that a meeting of the delegates from Hyderabadshould be organized here so as to demand the setting up of an assemblyin Hyderabad from the Nizam. A request was made to the secretaryof the reception committee of the Kakinada congress session toconduct the meeting at the some venue and finally the announcementwas made for the public meeting about Hyderabad at such a far offbut a very important centre. The national leaders who speciallyattended this meeting included Deshbandhu C.R. Das, PunditMotilal Nehru, Moulaua Shaukat Ali, Babu Subha's Chandra Bose,Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru & Mr. Vitthal Bhai Patel Roy Baseshwar


22

Nath Presided over the meeting, Mr. Anne (Berar) was the Secretaryof Mr. Roy, Pundit Keshaw Rao moved the resolution of demandsand after it was seconded by Pundit Waman Nyak and PunditMadapati Hanumantha Rao, it was adopted unanimously. On thisoccasion same leaders of the Indian National Congress spoke in favorof the demands and the passed resolution was sent to the Nizam andhis Government by Telegram.

The C.I.D. Devils:An interesting incident on this occasion shows the ways how

the C.I.D. sleuths stalk the political leaders and the tricks they adoptto get details of their activities. Nobody had an idea that amongthose who traveled in the special train from Hyderabad to Kakinada,there was a gentleman who was from the Nizam's C.I.D. in Kakinadahe seems to have set his sights on the hand bag of Pundit WamanNayak, which contained some important papers. One day this C.I.D.officer of the Nizam beautifully conned Waman Nayak's servant andvanished with the hand bag and the many political leaders at Kakinadahad to admit that the Nizam's C.I.D. was very sharp in deed.

Anyway, the public meeting of Hyderabad representatives atKakinada proved to be very successful in many ways. The Hyderabadyouth who had the opportunity to listen to the debates and resolutionsof congress leaders in Kakinada and who received the inspiration todeliberate under the guidance of National Leaders on various issuesfacing them felt their resolve strengthened and they realized that ifthey persisted with their activities of awakening the masses to theirpolitical and civil rights and to make the way forward through acontinued struggle and prepared them for a major political face offthen the victory of the masses will be certain in the end.


23

The Govt. of the Nizam went against the organizers of theKakinada Meet and they were threatened and harassed in variousways but it could not get an opportunity to take any vengeful actionagainst them. However in the end it had to give up the efforts one toits own wise counsel.

Memorandum for State Reformation by B. RamksihanRao: -

The Hyderabad Reform Association submitted a memorandumin April 1924 to the Govt. of Hyderabad, which contained certainproposals for the legislative council. The Nizam and his Government,issued a Firman on 14 Jamadiul Awwal 1338 A.H reassuring thepeople of Hyderabad that in order to run the state administrationproperly a legislative council will soon be established in a propermanner.


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CHAPTER FOUR

Establishment of Political organizations

When the political struggle of Hyderabad emergedfrom its initial silent stages into a middle courseand it was felt that it was about time to set up

political organizations here on a solid basis, then the ground wasprepared for it, Shri M. Hanumantha Rao, having successfullyestablished public libraries at the District and Taluq, headquartersand having the task of uniting and organizing different Hindu Casteand creeds achieved to a large extent through the establishment ofthe various Sabhas was now very much eager to the establishment ofthe Andhra Conference.

A grand meet in Suryapet: -He therefore organized a meeting with the cooperation of the

nationalist cadre, in the name of Vartak Sabha at Suryapet (Nalgonda).He had to face a lot of difficulties in getting the Govt. permission forthis meeting. Finally with a lot of strict pre-conditions the permissionto hold the meeting was granted. Thousands of people from alldistricts of Telangana and Hyderabad attended the meeting. TheGovt. deputed the deputy director general of police (districts) Mr.Manoharlal Puri to monitor the meeting.

This meeting was actually a prelude to the proposed AndhraConference. Different resolutions were passed in the meeting raisingvarious demands; many of them were of a political nature too. This


25

meeting had a very good impact on the people of Telangana districtsand they braced themselves for a long political battle and becameprepared to face the consequences.

Establishment of Andhra Conference: -The establishment of Andhra Conference was an important

milestone in the history of Hyderabad's political struggle sincefollowing its footsteps many other organizations were set up laterand the amalgamation of all such organizations finally gave birth tothe Hyderabad State Congress. There were a lot of difficulties, hurdlesand objections in the way of setting up the Andhra Conference butit was the perseverance and courage of Madapati Hanumanth Rao,with which he overcame all such hurdles and succeeded in establishingit. The Govt. was bent upon putting up all sorts of prohibitions andhurdles on it so as to make it an ineffectual organization and MadapatiHanumanth Rao wanted it to be established at any cost. Ultimatelyhe succeeded and the first session of the Andhra Conference washeld on 30th Ardibehisht 1339 Fasli, corresponding to 29 Feb. 1930AD. at Jogipet. Mr. B. Pratap Reddy, B.A.B.L, editor GolcondaPatrika presided over it. The second session of the Conference washeld at Devarkonda, Nalagonda on 29 Feb. 1931, which was presidedover by Mr. B. Ram Kishen Rao [1], and Advocate High court. Someother annual sessions of the Andhra Conference were presided overby Pundit Hanumant Rao, Shri Konda Venkat Reddy and Mr.Narsing Rao, editor 'Ryot'

Madapati's Leadership: -The Andhra Conference kept growing from strength to strength

under the wise leadership of Madapati Hanumanth Rao and withina few years it proved its importance and benefits to the people ofAndhra. The misgivings and reservations of the Nizam's Government


26

at the time of giving permission to set up the Andhra Conferenceproved to be right. The fear of the Government that gripped thehearts of people began to gradually wear off and the people ofTelangana began to become a bit bolder through the AndhraConference. The annual sessions of the Andhra Conference becamethe platform for promoting and taking forward the political struggleof the people of Hyderabad through peaceful and constitutionalmethods and it increased the worries of the Government of the Nizam.

[1] He is at present the Chief Minister of Hyderabad.

The Government Headache with the conference resolu-tions:-

The Andhra Conference was like a pricking thorn in the eyes ofthe Government of the Nizam, because through its platform theGovernment of the Nizam was being constantly criticized. Thepolitical debates, resolutions and memoranda of the AndhraConference became a constant headache for the Government becausetime and again demands were being raised from its platform for thereform of University and state educational system, civil rights,cancellation of circular 53, amelioration of farmers' woes andintroduction of certain agrarian reforms.

Demand for a responsible Government: -The major and fundamental demand was for a responsible

Government that was being made with full force in the open sessionsof the Andhra Conference. For the Government of the Nizam thecall for a responsible Government was becoming a fearsome call as itwas a negation of his Governance and a clarion call for opening thedoors of democracy in the state. Andhra Conference sessions werebeing held regularly until the time when the political struggle in the


27

state entered its most turbulent period and the Andhra Conferenceand other such organizations were merged into a much largerorganization, the Hyderabad state congress.

Maharashtra Conference: -Impressed by the awareness created by the Andhra conference

in Telangana districts, the need to create a similar political organizationin Marathwada districts of Hyderabad was felt strongly and theGovernment too tried to create hurdles in its establishment. But thefounders did not give up until they succeeded in setting up theMaharashtra Conference. The first session of the MaharashtraConference was held on April 1st. 1925, at Vivek Vardhini Theatrein Hyderabad. Raja Pratapgirji presided over the session which waswell attended by a large number of nationalists from Poona, Bombay,Nagpur and other places as special invitees. Jagatguru Shankar Bharatiand Swami Kuruweer Peeth, Doctor Karatkoi came down toHyderabad to participate in the deliberations of the conference despitetheir other pressing engagements. Lectures of the Swamiji wereorganized at many other places after the concluding session of theMaharashtra Conference.

Maharashtra Conference too got engaged in the battle forpeople's rights especially those of the people of Marathwada anddemands were being raised for fulfillment of public welfare measuresthrough establishment of a responsible Government. WhileMaharashtra Conference sessions were being held regularly theirsuccess led to the founding of Karnataka Conference.

Andhra Volunteer Corps:-The Andhra leaders were feeling the need for a regular volunteer

corps, therefore when the silver jubilee meeting of Telugu Library


28

Sultan Bazar was celebrated under the chairmanship o f Raja BahadurVenkat Ram Reddy, the city police commissioner in 1926, the needfor such a corps was felt even more strongly. Hence the AndhraVolunteer Corps was set up under the captaincy of this writer, KrishnaSwamy Mudiraj. There were no restrictions on joining the corps thatonly those Andhraites whose mother tongue was Telugu could joinit as volunteers but the idea was that any resident of Telangana,whether his mother tongue was Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannadaor Urdu was an Andhraite, hence he was eligible. Even AndhraConference worked under the same principles. Therefore while amongits volunteers were people like Jumlapuram Keshav Rao, UmapatiRamachandra Rao and Nandagiri Venkat Rao, there were also thelikes of Pundit Narendarji, Mugunde Rao Purwalkar, Pundit MangalPershad Tiwari and Shri Dharnidhar (presently inspector CID).

Besides the Andhra Volunteer Corps, there was another volunteercorps, Adi Hindu Social Service league, working under Bhagya ReddyVarma. The activities of the young volunteers from both these corpshad an impact on young kids and small corps of children were set upin various localities thus the spirit that was activated among the youthwas also seen in younger children too.

Shri Vishnu Conference:-As mentioned earlier, the political goals were being achieved

through the religious and social functions and congregations, underthe same strategy, attempts were made to conduct the first session ofthe All India Shri Vishnu Conference in Hyderbad but theGovernment of the Nizam refused to grant permission. However onNov 26 1926 a session of the All India Shri Vishnu Conference washeld in the residency area under the chairmanship of Jagat guruSwamy Anant chari Maharaj. In this session some religious resolutions


29

were passed along with some political demands. Political leaders toowere often invited to such conferences along with the religious leadersin order to fulfill the political purposes too and a number of politicalleaders from Madras participated in this All India Shri VishnuConference.

In 1926 different pamphlets and articles in different languageswere published and distributed inside Hyderabad and outsideespecially to the members of the congress and legislative assembliesso that the poor condition of the Hyderabad administration and thebackwardness of its people was highlighted. Among such pamphletsand publications a voluminous book entitled "Misrule of the Nizam"became very popular and people outside Hyderabad became interestedin the feelings and intent of the people of Hyderabad. Late TekmalkarRanga Rao, Advocate was responsible for the contents and publicationof this book.

Peoples Educational Conference: -The urgency to mobilize public opinion for political awareness

and educational aspirations was felt because, Hyderabad EducationalConference, the organization that was primarily concerned witheducational development of the people was coming under increasedGovernmental view point and pressure.

In 1928 a separate organization was set up in the name of PeoplesEducational Conference and the first of its sessions was conductedunder the chairmanship of Pundit Hruday Nath Kunzru at the VivekVardhini Theatre, Gowliguda. Hundreds of delegates fromMarathwada and Karnataka attended this conference. From theplatform of Peoples Educational Conference, many educationaldemands were presented before the Government. Although this


30

organization was set up upon educational foundations but its viewswere entirely nationalistic and the educational reform demands thatwere being raised through it couldn't have been fulfilled withoutchanges in the system of Governance. Thus this conference tooincreased the worries of the Government and through it the politicalaffairs and the will of the people was being strengthened clandestinely.

The second session of Peoples Educational Conference was heldon Dec 1931 under the chairmanship of Dr. Ram Pershad Tripathiagain at the Vivek Vardhini Theatre and the conference kept ongrowing every year. This organization still exists but it doesn't havethe kind of fervor it used to have in those days and it is being neglectedperhaps due to the fact that the goals set for it have mostly beenachieved. The restrictions on civil rights imposed by the Governmentcan be imagined by the fact that even condolence meetings held tocommemorate the death of national leaders were either not allowedor many hurdles were put up in their way.

Hurdles in Lala Lajpat Roy's condolence meeting: -Famous national leader Lala Lajpat Roy died at 7.30 A.M. on

April 17 1928 in Lahore and the news reached Hyderabad on thesame day within a few hours. Every where it sent shockwaves, andshops in Pathergatti, Charkman, Teksal, Mitti ka Sher, Kasarhatta,Begum Bazar, Siddi Ambar Bazar, Osmanganj, Gowliguda,Hashmatganj, Residency Bazar, and Isamian Bazar were shut downin mourning but the city commissioner of police forced the shopsopen within a few hours. On Nov 18, 1928 a condolence meetingwas organized at Arya Samaj Mandir (Residency Bazar) which waspresided over by Pundit Keshav Raoji and all shops in the arearemained closed. The proposal to hold a number of public condolencemeetings by the citizens of Hyderabad was delayed because it was


31

rejected by the Government at first but when the organizersthreatened to hold the meetings in violation of Government ordersand the Government would be responsible for the consequences thenthe Government was forced to relent. This incident shows how peoplewere unable to even show their grief openly. However on Nov 29,1929 public condolence meeting was held at the Vivek VardhiniTheatre under the chairmanship of Pundit Waman Nayak and thecondolence resolution was presented by Diwan Bahadur AramuduAyengar and it was seconded by Maulvi Sirajul Hasan Tirmizi, PunditM. Hanumant Rao and Mr. Ram Chander Nayak Barrister.

Arrival of Mahatma Gandhi in Hyderabad: -It was a great occasion for the people of Hyderabad that the

greatest leader of India and the centre of peoples hope and aspirations,Mahatma Gandhi were to arrive in Hyderabad in April. The entirecity was so eager to welcome him that they were waiting with abatedbreath to see him. So when on April 6 1929, he arrived by BombayMail at Nampally Railway station along with a contingent of theAndhra Volunteer Corps that was sent to Wadi Junction as an advancereception party under the leadership of Krishna Swami Mudiraj therewere passionate scenes of mob euphoria at the station in spite of thewider Bandobast by the Police as well as the volunteers of the AndhraVolunteer Corps. The public was so eager that they were falling oneover the other to just have look of the Mahatma. There were so manypeople that there was no place at the station and it was well nighimpossible for even a hat to drop to the ground. With great difficultyBapuji was whisked away to the waiting car through a backdoor ofthe train compartment and he was lead in a procession up to theVivek Vardhini Theatre the venue, where already a enormous crowdof people were waiting. The Mahatma addressed the people here. Amemento and an official public acknowledgement and recognition


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of the work of the Mahatma were presented to him. Gandhiji stayedin the city for three days and he inspected various organizations andinstitutions. On behalf of the Hindi Sabha Kanya Path Shala ChuriBazar, Krishna Swamy Mudiraj haad the honor of presenting anacknowledgement along with money bag to the Mahatma in thePath Shala hall. The Mahatma wrote in the visitors' book of the PathShala the following comment in Hindi:

"Mein is Pathshala ki Unnati chahta hoon" i.e. I wish all successfor this school.

Mahatma Gandhi also addressed a public meeting inSecunderabad. He also addressed the Harijans in the Adi Hindu SocialService league Bhavan and congratulated Mr. Bhagya Reddy on hisperformance. This visit of Mahatma Gandhi to Hyderabad and hisspeeches encouraged the people and they felt that they were not aloneand have somebody to patronize them.

Arrival of the Ali Brothers:-Whenever national leaders came to Hyderabad or passed

through, the people used to receive them and offered them a warmand tumultuous welcome because the very presence of the nationalleaders among them even for a short while was like a shot in the armfor them and their struggle. So when Moulana Mohammad Ali andMoulana Shaukat Ali came to Hyderabad along with their famousmother, who was the real inspiration behind the Ali brothers andwas known as Amma Bi among the public as well as among thefreedom fighters of India, people of Hyderabad showed the sameverve and vitality in welcoming them. There was a huge crowd ofemotional supporters at Secunderabad Railway station jostling witheach other for a glimpse of the legendary Ali Brothers and in themelee quite a few people fell unconscious. With great difficulty these


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respectable leaders were brought from the station to their host'sresidence.

Hindu Dharam Parishad: -In order to fulfill certain political needs a religious body under

the name of Hindu Dharam Parishad was set up. Its president wasRja Pratap Girji nd secretary was Pundit Waman Nayak. The firstconference of the parishad was held on April 1925, hundreds ofdelegates from the Telangana, Marathwada and Karnataka participatedin the conference. The sessions continued for three days. Leaderslike Pundit Seshadri from Bombay, Puna and Sholapur were invitedas special guests. Jagatguru Shankrcharia, Maharaj Keru Veer Sethand Dr. Karatkoti had a leading role in making the Hindu DharamParishad a grand success. A number of resolutions including some ofa political nature were passed from the platform of the Hindu DharamParishad. When a resolution on the Harijan welfare was presented,the pundits and shastris opposed it vehemently. There waspandemonium in the session and the situation was brought undercontrol with great difficulty. Then Bhagya Reddy rose to support theresolution and there was complete silence in the hall. His speech wasso emotional and effective that the entire audience was affected bythe pathos, the speaker, Bhagya Reddy himself broke down and insuch an emotionally charged scenario Jagadguru Shankrcharia gotup and embraced Bhagya Reddy and the people began cheering him,the entire hall began reverberating with shouts and slogans of"Jagadguru ki Jai" "Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai" "Bhratmata ki Jai" andthis resolution that was being opposed with such ferocity was adoptedunanimously. The arrangements for the conference were made bythe Andhra Volunteer Corps and Adi Hindu Social Service league.Since the Government had denied permission to hold it within thecity limits, it was held in the residency area.


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CHAPTER FIVE

Communal riots and Government policy

The exciting unity that was established between theHindus and Muslims as a result of the KhilafatMovement could not last for long. And both

communities drifted away from each other shortly after the Shuddhiand Sanghatan Movements were launched by the Hindus in BritishIndia. Although there was no noticeable reaction of the movementsin Hyderabad and the Shuddhi movement did not spread here.However as a result of external influences communal tensions beganspreading beneath the surface. Even the Government of the Nizamfelt it appropriate to follow the policy of the British Imperialism forits own survival.

The Patronage of Muslim:-From 1928 onwards there were perceptible changes in the

policies of the Nizam's Government and ignoring the ground realitiesit assumed that in view of the increasing political activism of theHindus which was becoming dangerous for the Nizam's Governmentit must bring the Muslims closer to itself. The riots began in thedistricts. On Dec. 28, 1928, with due permission the Hindus ofNanded took out a religious procession in Taluq Wazeerabad. TheHindus and Muslims clashed with each other in the procession anda large number of Hindus were injured.


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Riot near the Sikh Gurudwara Nanded:-On the same day a riot broke out near the Sikh Gurudwara and

there was a serious clash between the Sikhs and Muslims leading toaa lot of people getting injured from both communities but therewere more Sikhs among the injured as the Muslims had the supportof the Government and the Police.

The strife of the Maal Tekri: -Had the Govt. attempted sincerely to pre-empt the factors

causing such riots then perhaps the fire wouldn't have spread as muchas it eventually did. But not only the Government ignored them butit began acting in a partisan manner.

The Muslims buried a destitute beggar in the land of a place inNanded that was known as Maal Tekri and which was considered bythe Sikhs as their land and on the day of the Eid ul Adhha (BakridTir 15, 1338 F.) there was a bloody clash between the Sikhs andMuslims, there were more Sikhs among the injured and a generaltension prevailed in the city. Sikhs in Punjab got emotionally involvedin the dispute and they became eager to support their co-religionistsin Hyderabad. Questions on this rioting were raised in the PunjabAssembly and when the situation began to get wider with possiblyserious repercussions, the Govt. of the Nizam was forced to take astep.

The appointment of an English Judge: -The Nizam obtained through the residency, the services of Sir

H. Cuming, Judge of the Bengal province to investigate the MaalTekri cases. The gentleman arrived in Hyderabad on Sept. 12, 1929nd fter conducting his inquiry gave his judgment on DEC. 7, 1929in favor of the Sikhs, which also ordered that the Muslim corpse


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buried in the Sikh property of Maal Tekri must be removed therefrom within a month to some other place and in case of failure to doso by the concerned party, the Sikhs will have the right to do so. TheMuslims of Nanded were against this judgment but they had to wilynilly abide by it and the corpse of the Muslim Fakir buried in MaalTekri was removed from there and buried elsewhere.

The Gulbarga Riots: -There was a serious riot in Gulbarga. A Palki used to be taken

out traditionally in procession from the famous Shaarana Basappatemple in Gulbarga. So on Muharram 9, 1343 AH. The palkiprocession was taken out and when the band in the processioncontinued playing music near a mosque, Muslims objected to it andthere was an altercation but on the next day on 10th. of Muharramit blew up into a major rioting and mayhem, the temple too wasdamaged and on 12th. Muharram Mr. Azizullah, the superintendantof secret police was shot dead by Muslims; his body was brought toHyderabad for burial. Many people were injured in this riot.

The Government appointed a commission of inquiry. Themembers included Nawab Zulqadar Jung Bahadur, Nawab Agha Yarjung and Pundit Keshav Rao. But the commission's report was nevermade public.

Riot in the Ganj of Bidar:-After while there was a serious and bloody riot in Bidar. Shops

in the Ganj were doused with kerosene and were burn down in broaddaylight. Muslims looted many Hindu shops. Many people wereinjured in the rioting and arson. A Sahukar (moneylender) from theGanj was arrested for the disturbance and a case was filed againsthim. It was not as if the Government was unaware of these riots and


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the factors responsible for them but nothing was done to preventthe repetition of such unfortunate events. So the communal riotscontinued unabated and from time to time news kept coming aboutsuch occurrences from the villages and districts, the enmity andantagonism between the communities kept growing. In Hyderabadwhere people were living in complete communal harmony for agesbecame antagonistic and hostile to each other because of the divideand rule policy of the Government. The Government was attemptingto provoke the Muslims to stand up against the Hindus to frightenthem into giving up their political activities; an event in this regardwas seen on 10th. Zilhijj 1339 AH. When the Muslims armed withswords and batons were demonstrating on the roads and streets ofthe city with impunity and nobody stopped them.

The Government of the Nizam had sown the seeds of HinduMuslim riots but when the desired goals were not achieved it tried toabsolve itself and come clean from such a policy. And for this purposethe Government set up a commission known as the religious functionscommission in 1335 F. This commission consisted of Nawab AkhtarYar Jung, Nawab Ahmed Yar Jung, Roy Bal Mukand and RajaNarsingh Raj. The mandate of the commission was to suggest changeof routes for the Palki Seva and Rath Yatra etc. wherever any mosquewas located on their routes and if there were difficulties in change ofroute, then to ensure that any band / music group was stopped fromplaying the music at some distance from the mosque. Mr. Giri Raj,Judge High Court and Roy Roop Lal too worked in this commissionfor some time and there were some others who helped in itsinvestigations but the commission continued to work at the beckand call of the Government and it was far from justice. The peopledisregarded the commission's decisions because they were bent uponachieving their rights at any cost and they were no more afraid to go


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to jail. However the goals the Government had wished to achieve bypatronizing the Muslims were obvious and the efforts in this directionwere visible from time to time in different ways and its violent wayskept on growing. When the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen wasestablished and it assumed the full-fledged role of a political party,its activities started benefitting the Government. Although a largesection of Muslims was against the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeenbut it achieved a wider acceptability. Khaksaar Party and SiddiqDeendar Chinna Baseshwar too were used to provoke the Hindus.Vitriolic speeches were made, especially against those Hindus whowere taking leading part in the political struggle. Siddiq DeendarChinna Baseshwar continued to spread communal poison againstthe Hindu religion and its Avatars through pamphlets. So in a protestpublic meeting held at the Seetha Ram Bagh Temple under thechairmanship of Raja Bahadur Bansilal Pitti, the attention of theGovernment was drawn to such propaganda. And the Governmentwas warned that if such a sorry state of affairs was allowed to continueand the religious sentiments of Hindus were allowed to be hurt inthis manner the results would be very dangerous and communal riotswould break out. But such protests fell on deaf ears and theGovernment remained a mute spectator. Such hurting and hatefulpropaganda and pamphlets were not banned on the contrary theNizam's Government banned the entry in Hyderabad of a numberof news papers and magazines published outside the state which werecritical of the administration and were highlighting the plight of theHyderabad people.

Arrival of Pundit Jawahar Lal Nehru: -When the young and youthful leader of India, Pundit Jawahar

Lal Nehru arrived in Hyderabad on June 30, 1930 the people of


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Hyderabad gave him a rousing reception. Punditji stayed at GoldenThreshold, the residence of Mrs. Sarojini Naidu. There was a greatBandobast of C.I.D. and police upon his arrival. People were eagerto listen to Punditji's speeches but the Government of the Nizamhad imposed a condition that during his stay in Hyderabad PunditJawahar Lal Nehru would neither attend any public meeting nordeliver any speech or address. There was a always a milling crowd ofpeople around the residence of Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, just to have aglimpse of Punditji that used to disperse despondently everydaywithout either seeing him or hearing him. There was widespreadunrest among the people against such restrictions. Finally Punditjihad to go back carrying an impression of Hyderabad as a medievalfeudal state.

Second coming of Punditji: -Pundit Jawahar Lal Nehru arrived in Hyderabad in 1349 F. for

a second time. This time he stayed at the residence of Mirza Yar JungBahadur, former chief justice. Thousands of people came for a stirringwelcome to their leader at the airport. Mrs. Padmaja Naidu garlandedhim and Mr. Krishna Swamy Mudiraj, in his capacity as the DeputyMayor of the Municipality had the honor of garlanding him on behalfof the citizens of Hyderabad. On this occasion too the people couldnot benefit from his speeches. It might have been that Punditji wasbeing over cautious about the restrictions imposed on him by theNizam's Government due to the fact that the Indian nationalCongress did not like meddling in the internal affairs of the states.There were murmurings among the people about the intrepid act ofthe Nizam's Government in imposing such restrictions on such animportant leader. However people continued to gather around theBungalow of Mirza Yar Jung Bahadur, for a glimpse of Punditji and


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their resolve against the oppression of the Nizam continued to bestrengthened.

Arrival of Moulana Shaukat Ali:-Moulana Shaukat Ali arrived in Hyderabad on July 26, 1931by

Bejwada Mail. A large number of people welcomed him atSecunderabad railway station. He stayed as a guest of Nawab AsgharYar Jung, member High Court. Many nobles and leading businessmenof Hyderabad hosted dinners and receptions for him but even hewas denied the opportunity to address the people.

A Firman of the Nizam: -The extent to which the political struggle of the people of

Hyderabad had progressed and had become a threat to the monarchyof the Nizam can be gauged from the under mentioned Firman ofthe Huzoor Nizam that was issued on 25th. Ramzan, 1350 H.

"The few misguided opponents of this state who, either out ofignorance or malice are ready to be sympathetic to the enemies oflaw and order who are bent upon boycott and civil disobedience ofthe British Crown are hereby strictly warned and cautioned that inthe event of any of their overt and covert activities with a view tocause any disturbance in the established order and as a result thereofcivil disobedience or any acts similar to it are committed against thetrusted ally of the Asafiyah Sovereignty i.e. the British Crown or anyof their enemies are sided with or supported by any of the citizens ofthis state, such persons will be held guilty of treason and they will beliable to the severe chastisement of the Aala Hazrat H.E.H. TheNizam's Government"

The Nizam considered the nationalistic awareness of the peopleof Hyderabad and their political struggle as malicious and ignorant


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but look at the miracle of change and revolution that the same peopletoday are the manifestations and quintessence of power andsovereignty and the Government of the Nizam is in smithereens inspite of the graciousness and people friendliness of the national leaders.

When Moulana Muhammad Ali died in London in 1930thenews was heard in the nationalist circles of India with great grief andmourning and his old congress colleagues were greatly affected. Thepeople of Hyderabad sought permission to hold a condolence meetingwhich was immediately granted and a condolence meeting was heldat Kothi near Putli Bowli.

Ban on Motilal Nehru's condolence meeting:-But when Motilal Nehru died the same year all sorts of hurdles

were created in the way of the condolence meeting. The Governmentof the Nizam delayed permission for the meeting so much that theorganizers were forced to conduct the condolence meeting in theresidency area. One newspaper from Hyderabad and manynewspapers of British India protested this attitude of the Government.

The condolence meeting for Motilal Nehru was held under thechairmanship of Maulvi Sirajul Hasan Tirmizi in Devi Deen Bagh.Thousands of people gathered to pay their tributes to the departedleader. On Feb. 15, 1931 at 2.30 PM a mourning procession wastaken out from the house of Waman Nayak at Gowli Guda andreached Arya Vatika in the residency. This was a one mile longprocession; Pundit Waman Nayak was leading the procession whenthe procession reached Devi Deen Bagh it became a large publicmeeting. Waman Nayak read out an article written by MahatmaGandhi in condolence for the death of Motilal Nehru. Pundit WamanNayak made the people take an oath and pledge to carry forward themission of Motilal Nehru.


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This kind of procession was the first of its kind for Hyderabad.All the shops were closed both inside and outside the city limits. Butthe police commissioner Raja Bahadur Venkat Rama Reddy forciblygot all the shops opened by 12 noon at the orders of the Government.These events show how much powerless the people were in thosedays and how their struggles were tried to be crushed.

Akola Conference: -There was a proposal to hold a political conference in Hyderabad

but the Government was unwilling to give permission for the same.When all plans in this regard failed then perforce Akola (Berar) wasselected as the venue.

This conference was held under the chairmanship of ShriRamchandar Naik Barrister at law, former chief justice of theHyderabad state. Thousands of delegates from all districts ofHyderabad participated and the general public too attended in largenumbers. The honorable chairman in his presidential addresspinpointed the reforms with the help of statistics that were requiredurgently in various sectors such as education, public health,agriculture, industry and commerce, finance and revenue, police andarmy, religious affairs, jagirdari system, excise and customs, journalism,banking, courts and all others including public administration andGovernance. He showed how these reforms were necessary and howthe people were distressed in the absence of reforms. One of themany resolutions passed in the conference was to demand the settingup of a truly representative legislative council and a responsibleGovernment. This conference also contributed to the public unrestthat they have been made so powerless that they cannot even hold apolitical conference in their own house and were forced to go out ofHyderabad to present their demands.


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Establishment of a Municipal council:-One of the demands made through the resolutions passed in

the Akola conference was that the Government establish a Municipalcouncil in Hyderabad on par with other civilized cities. The questionof passing a new municipal law was also raised and it took ten yearsof constant struggle for this to be passed. The organizations like theAndhra, Marathwada and Karnataka Conferences kept on pressingfor the establishment of the Municipal council every year and peopleamong the members of the then Sanitary committee such as PunditWaman Nayak, Pundit M. Hanumantha Rao and Roy BaseshwarNath etc. too kept pressing for the need for a new Municipal Actfrom time to time.

When the Municipal council was established it followed thenew Municipal Act for 9 years. During this period elections wereheld for 13 wards twice or thrice but when the performance of theelected representatives became well known and the Governments'shortcomings became obvious as a result of their better performancein exercise of their powers then these powers were taken away througha Firman which were won by the people a after a long and arduousstruggle.

The new Municipal Act that was made into law after the PoliceAction, under which the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad hascome into existence, is not worth keeping for a longer time.

It is a sad commentary on the present state of affairs that therights given to the public representatives in Municipal administrationunder the Nizam's Monarchy twenty years before the Police Actionhave been forfeited under this so called democracy and Janata Raj.The Municipal Act of 1342 Fasli had lesser public representation


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but more and wider powers to the public representatives but theMunicipal Act of 1950 has wider public representation with limitedpowers. This cannot be tolerated.

This large public office of local self Government should be sopowerful and with such authority that it catered to the civic andpublic needs without any let or hindrance. But unfortunately all thepowers of this present Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad arenow vested in the state Government, under this dominance and withshrunken powers it is not in a position to fulfill its important andheavy responsibilities.

Hurdles in setting up of private schools:-The restrictions imposed on the public by the Government were

such that the people had to obtain prior approval of the Governmenteven to conduct such religious meetings as the Hari Katha, GaneshUtsav and Janmashtami etc. The nationalistic leaders of Hyderabadwanted to set up such private schools where intellectual awarenesscan be inculcated at a nationalistic level among the students andthey could be prepared for their future responsibilities. But even hererestrictions were imposed. And it was made necessary to obtainpermission under the rules in force to set up a private school as under:

"From now onwards as per the rules prescribed, it is orderedhereby that the permission to establish a private school in the stateshall be obtained from the office of the District Superintendant ofEducation located at the district head quarters. And the foundersand patrons of all such schools that have been established until noware hereby required that after acquainting themselves with the rulesprescribed therein, they shall submit in the prescribed form anapplication for approval latest by 1335 Fasli in the office of the District


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Superintendant of Education located at the district head quarters ofthe district concerned. Filing which action for the closure of suchschools shall be initiated as per rules prescribed in this regard."

There were widespread protests against this order and peoplecontinued to struggle against such restrictions, every public meetinghad the resolutions passed against this imposition but the Governmentdid not budge.

An evil Circular # 53:-Circular # 53 that was later infamously called the evil circular

was for long time the main hurdle in conducting any public meeting.Under the stipulations of the Circular 53, the organizers desirous ofholding a public meeting had to give a written guarantee to the Policecommissioner or other officers of the Government authorized thereinthat the speakers will not express their opinions on any political topicand will not criticize the Government. Such hurdles in a politicalstruggle were daunting but the resolve of the public leaders remainedunshaken nevertheless. And they continued their march forward.

There was a lot of strife on account of Circular # 53 and atevery stage; every place vociferous demands were made for itscancellation. The text of the Circular # 53 is reproduced below toenable the readers to have a feel of the difficulties of those times.

"Any person, who is desirous of holding any kind of publicmeeting, is required to inform in writing about his intent in thisregard to the Police Commissioner when the proposed meeting is tobe held within the city limits or in other cases to the Taluqdar of theDistrict concerned at least 10 days in advance. If prima facie theproposed meeting is apolitical in nature or in the opinion of thePolice Commissioner or the Taluqdar concerned as the case may be,


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the event is entirely unlikely to have any possibility of any politicalrepercussions, the applicant person shall immediately be informedthat there is no need for the permission for the proposed publicmeeting and he may go ahead with the program. It shall be to theentire satisfaction and discretion of the Police Commissioner or theTaluqdar concerned as the case may be, to call for the agenda or theprogram of the meeting and the manuscripts of the speeches thedetails of the listed or other speakers. However unless there is anapparent or reasonable ground to call for such details from theorganizer (s) this stipulation must not be resorted to, providedhowever that the organizer (s) take the full responsibility that theproceedings of the proposed meeting will be entirely apolitical.Provided further that if it found that the event is even remotely likelyto have any possibility of any political repercussions, the applicantperson shall immediately be informed that there is a need for theGovernment permission for the proposed public meeting and hemay not go ahead with the program without such permission inwriting from the Government, save and except where the Governmenthas already granted such a permission in general for a politicalmeeting. In the absence of Government permission for such meetingsthe chief organizer will be held entirely responsible for ensuring thatthe meeting will not take a political form or color. And if in theopinion of the Government, it becomes necessary or expedient toobtain a guarantee in writing or other surety securities and assurancesas it deems fit and proper from the organizer (s) the same shall be soobtained to the satisfaction of the authority concerned"

Almost all organizations protested against the above circular.When after the Andhra and Marathwada conferences, the KarnatakaConference was established; it too struggled for the abolition of theCircular # 53. The Karnataka Conference owes its birth to the long


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and relentless efforts of Shri Rama Chari and Shri Janardhan RaoDesai because the Government had put all sorts of hurdles in itsestablishment but these leaders succeeded in its establishmentnevertheless.

Nizam's Subjects' League: -The Hindus of Hyderabad had a longstanding grievance that to

a large extent they were being kept away from the state administrationand attempts were being made to give them a lesser opportunity inGovernment jobs. Even some of the Muslims had a similar grievancethat their rights were being overlooked and Muslims from outsidethe state were being preferred especially for senior positions. Thereforesome of the Jagirdars joined hands with some leaders of the state toform a new association in the name of the Nizam's Subjects' League.The exams for the Hyderabad Civil Service (HCS) were reduced to amere formality and intelligent people of Hyderabad had noopportunities. However there was no dearth of opportunities forMuslims from other states. There was a continuous inflow of U.P.Muslims in top Government jobs. This generated a lot of tumultamong the Hyderabadis. The Mulki Movement was started and theyounger Hindu / Muslim Jagirdars stood up to protect their rights.While the Nizam's Subjects' League had the patronage of the stateleaders, it also had the backing of some senior Mulki bureaucrats.The League had the likes of Shri B. Ramakrishna Rao, Pundit WamanNayak, Mrs. Padmaja Naidu, M. Narsing Rao and Sir Nizamat Jung(Minister for Political affairs) as members. An active member of theLeague got a book "Whither Hyderabad" printed and published fromMadras. The government promptly banned the book and all copieswere confiscated from those who had it.


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The Nizam's Subjects' League had one of its most importantmeetings in the West End Theatre (Raj Mahal Talkies Kacheguda)presided over by Nawab Shamsher Jung Bahadur. The bold way theyounger generation of the Jagirdars expressed themselves in theircriticism of the Government was unprecedented. Because, neverbefore, did anybody raise his voice against the Nizam with such forceand fervor.

As usual the Government was able to crush this movement too.The English minister of revenue and police, Colonel Shnox Trenchwarned the young Jagirdars that they will be denied their Jagir sharesif they continued with their rebellious activities. The cooperation ofthe state leaders with the Jagirdars was only to ensure indirect benefitsfor the nationalist movement through the awareness and struggle ofthe Jagirdar classes and a new front was opened against the Nizam.Otherwise they were poles apart in terms of principles and goals.


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CHAPTER SIX

The political struggles of Hyderabadand News Papers

The story of the political struggles of Hyderabad will beincomplete without enlightening the readers about theattitudes of the Press towards it, as quite often the Press

has played a fundamental role in creating the political awareness andreporting the struggle of the people. The extraordinary importanceof the Press as the fourth pillar of the state is well recognized.

The initial period of Journalism:-About 30 years ago, the Press in Hyderabad was in its infancy.

The Mushir-e-Deccan, the Sahifa and (Urdu Newspapers) were theonly dailies published from the city then. The Rahbar-e-Deccan,under the editorship of Mr. Ahmed Mohiuddin and Mr. AbdullahKhan had begun its publication not long ago. The addition of thisthird Newspaper was welcomed in journalistic circles.

In late 1928, Subh-e-Deccan under the editorship of Mr. AhmedArif and Mr. Ali Ashraf began publishing. Because of its progressivepolicies it soon became popular in certain circles of the state.

The Nizam Gazette weekly as a semi political, scientific andliterary journal was already in publication from a year before thisand Mr. Syed Viqar Ahmed and Mr. Habeebullah Rushdi were itseditors. The rumors about this Journal’s being a mouthpiece of the


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Nizam’s Govt. were almost proven right because from the time ofMaharaja Sir Kishen Pershad to the end of Sir Akbar Hydary’s periodit was committed to support the Government policies and remainedcompletely isolated from the nationalist and political struggle of thestate until the advent of the stormy period of the Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen when it adopted a rabid communal color.

The Iron grip of the Press law:-During those days when civil rights were non-existent and strong

measures were taken to keep the public away from political awareness,the old press law was so draconian and grid iron like tight that anypolitical topic was taboo. It was months of hard work to obtain apress declaration. The only saving grace of this unjust law and itsfirm grip could be that it prevented the entry of people with pueriletaste and rank ignorance in the field of journalism.

Trouble for the free press:-In a Monarchy and Dictatorship there was obviously no room

for a free press. But nonetheless a few sparks were beginning to growinto flames which would later become beacons of the free press.

It appears strange that in spite of so many restrictions, theHyderabad papers were able to express their views upon the politicalmovements of the British India quite freely to a certain extent andthese appeared to be almost in line with the views of theircontemporaries in British India in the freedom movement. And thiscan be verified by sifting through the archive files of the local Newspapers. But it was impossible for the local press to comment uponthe political movements within the state or to be even mildly criticalof the state Government or administration. To write anything againstany departmental head or the secretary was not as easy as it is to


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criticize the Indian Prime Minister these days. In those days everynews paper was under close scrutiny and the Government was keenlywatching everything being written by them. The papers werethreatened from time to time with closure if the writing was foundto be sympathetic to the political activists of the state.

Support for political activism:-----Mr. Narsing Rao’s weekly paper the “ Ryot” presented itself as

the herald of contemporary national political movements. The plainspeaking of the “Ryot” on various issues was hard to bear for theGovernment, especially when some of its contemporary papers beganfollowing its lead on many issues e.g. the purchase of the Nizam’sguaranteed state railway, the Berar issue, problems in the Roads andBuildings department, the questionable behavior and performanceof some officials etc. were some issues upon which the “Subh-e-Deccan” and the “Musheer-e-Deccan” often concurred with the viewsexpressed by the “Ryot”.

The campaign for Hindu Muslim unity by the Journals:-The Muslim press could not have supported the demand for a

Responsible Government but they were critical of the existingdispensations’ shortcoming and it’s acts of omission and commission;they were emphasizing the need for good governance. “The GolcondaPatrika” of Shri Gopal Reddy too played an important role in takingforward the political struggle of the state and continued writingagainst the administration quite strongly. “The Nizam Vijay” was astandard bearer of the Maharashtra movement and its articles toowere not to the Government’s liking. “The Mamlikat Daily” tooremained an adherent of nationalist thoughts for a long time and itused to discuss seriously about the political issues and movements ofthe state. Hindu Muslim unity was the slogan of every newspaper


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and journal for long; especially the leading papers among them werethe “Ryot”, the “Subh-e-Deccan” and the “Musheer-e-Deccan”. Onthe Nanded, Gulbarga and Bidar communal riots almost allnewspapers strongly pleaded that the Government must find the truecauses of these riots and crush such elements with full force, that arefound to be responsible for spreading hatred among the Hindus andMuslims and fanning the fires of communalism in the state. But theGovernment did nothing. Not only that there was no punitive actiontaken against the guilty but no one was even questioned.

The Nizam’s grip over the Press: -With the growth of the Ittehadul Muslimeen the attitudes of

the Muslim publications too changed. On the one hand they got anopportunity to write rather freely and on the other hand the Nizam’sinterest in the newspapers too increased. From1930 onwards theNizam started paying attention to the press. And he liked the ‘Subh-e-Deccan” among the Urdu periodicals. Initially this interest waslimited to the publication of his poetry but later it expanded to themovements and resources. At first unofficial publication of theFirmans in the paper began and then personal criticism of theeditorials started from time to time. Whenever any senior official orany Jagirdar was affected by the press criticism he used to presenthimself before the Nizam. And any issue that the Nizam himselfpreferred to be criticized by the press was discreetly pointed out tothe editors of the Subh-e-Deccan. But when some criticism was notto the liking of the Nizam, the Subh-e-Deccan was advised cautionthrough private instruction. When the Nizam’s grip on the papertightened and he was angered by an article of the Subh-e-Deccan, itfell from favor and the “Rahbar-e-Deccan and the Nizam Gazette”became his favorites and the King Kothi correspondence began to bepublished in these papers.


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Effects of communalism on Newspapers:-When the “Manshoor” started publication under a new name

“Waqt” it began the trend of communal and sensational journalism.It used to claim itself as the herald of Ittehadul Muslimeen and startedattempts to provoke the Muslims against the Hindus and triedunsuccessfully to crush the political struggle of Hyderabad demandinga responsible Government. Mr Abdul Rahman Raees, who was anemotional and communal person, was fomenting trouble as ajournalist. His extremely communal and provocative writings and ageneral demand from the public to curb such writings forced theGovernment to close the paper temporarily.

Free Press:-The “Payam” of Qazi Abdul Ghaffar kept up its Jihad against

communalism and for presenting the democratic aspirations of thepeople of the state. It especially took up the cudgels against the divisivepolitics of Ittehadul Muslimeen and continued criticizing thewaywardness of its leaders.

After disassociating himself from the Subh-e-Deccan” Mr. AliAshraf started the “Tanzeem” in 1938. The Tanzeem continued withits independent policies for a long time.

The “Ryot” in its second round, when it had become a daily,carried on with its bold criticism of the ongoing policies of theGovernment with regard to the political movements of the state.The Deccan Chronicle and the Daily News (both English dailies)too proved their nationalistic credentials as ought. The “Meezan”that was started by Mr. Ghulam Muhammad, a capitalist Muslimbusinessman from Calcutta soon joined the communal bandwagon.At a time when there was a clash of ideologies between the Ittehadul


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Muslimeen and the State Congress and the State Congress was onthe verge of success, the “Rahbar-e-Deccan”, the the “Waqt”, the“Meezan” and the “Ittehad” were strongly siding with the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen”.

Assassination of the “Imroze” editor: -During those tumultuous days a young nationalist Mr.

Shoebullah Khan started his newspaper “Imroze”. Shoebullah Khanwas not some leading or well known journalist and it was not verylong that he began his career as a journalist. But by becoming a martyrfor his country and fellow countrymen he became a distinct journalist,who became the target of the bullet of an unknown assassin and hewas killed for his practicing the ideals of a free press, for his anticommunal stance and for his nationalistic point of view. Qasim Rizvi,the leader of the Razakar movement and some of his friends weretried by a special court for the assassination and finally they wereacquitted. The people of Hyderabad admit and acknowledge thegreatest contribution to their struggle made by Mr. Krishna SwamyMudiraj, the bold local correspondent of “The Hindu” Madras, whooften staked his own life to get the correct news and transmit it tothe periodicals of the British India and who was one among the othercorrespondents of the non local news agencies that were sending thenews of that violent and wildly tyrannical period to the rest of thecountry. The Hindu, Madras proved its mettle and used all its mightin support of democracy, whereas there was a local news agency knownas the “Deccan News” that was born out of a communalist agendaand during the Razakar period it took its communalist and sectarianmadness to a new height and limit. However the Modern NewsAgency deserves kudos for its excellent work and contribution toensure perpetuation of democratic values. There were some other


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news agencies too that were more or less inclined towards the unitybetween all communities and democracy. Such were the times duringthe political struggle of Hyderabad and the roles played by the pressin it. And such are the times now when the state is independent andthe press is truly free, it is incumbent upon the press to fulfill itsresponsibilities as a big force in a democratic set up and the generalexpectation is that the press will never be lagging behind in fulfillmentof this responsibility.


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CHAPTER SEVEN

The Rise and Fall of the Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen

The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen was originally set upto unite the various Muslim sects into a single entityand to educate the ignorant Muslims who were mostly

from the rural areas about the religious tenets, obligatory practicesand rituals and it continued to carry on with its original objectivesfor a long time. But when the issue of Federation cropped up with itsfull import and its importance in relation to the states became obviousand the question of representation of Hindus and Muslims in thecouncil presented itself before the Muslims then Nawab Bahadur YarJung became willing to organize the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeenas a political entity.

Nawab Bahadur Yar Jung was the scion and heir of a PathanJagirdar family. He was naturally gifted with an intelligent mind andawakened heart. He was educated and trained under the orientalscholars and the religious ethos, ethics and values were dominant inhis conduct since his childhood. When he grew up his oratory anddiscourses brought him name and fame. As the founder president ofthe Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen he acquired more clout and whenhe ventured outside Hyderabad and met Mr. Jinah a number of timesthere was a change of heart in him.


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The opposition to Majlis by Muslims:-At a time when the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen was on the

ascendant as a political organization, many sincere and moderateMuslims were of the view that this kind of politics will be detrimentalin the days to come to not only the Muslims but it will also have adevastating impact on the state and its ruler.

Many Muslims were against the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeenand especially the nationalist Muslims were quite wary of its policies.With the passage of time and the changing political events andscenarios the clout and reach of this sectarian organization’s poisonouseffect kept on spreading far and wide.

Nizam and Hyderi Hands in Glove with Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen:-

The Self Rule formula that was being pursued by the MuslimLeague in the British India was a God Send for Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen. When the Majlis organized itself fully and gainedstrength, it marched forward with a dangerous policy. In the previouschapters it has been made plain how the Government of the Nizamhad adopted a policy of preferential treatment and appeasement ofits Muslim subjects merely to look after its own interests. The Nizamand Sir Akbar Hyderi’s ministry began considering the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and Bahadur Yar Jung as an unanticipated boonfor their own purposes. And they kept trying to strengthen them onthe sly. But later on differences cropped up between Bahadur YarJung and Sir Akbar Hyderi and the mutual tensions were aggravatedfurther especially during the constitutional reforms.

The “Ana al Malik” (I am the Sovereign) slogan:-Bahadur Yar Jung had become the Qa’ed-e-Millat (the


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undisputed leader of the community) of the Hyderabadi Muslims.The Nizam was under the impression that Bahadur Yar Jung wouldnever have much of popularity and power but when the slogan fromthe platform of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen was raised thatthe Muslims of Hyderabad were the real Sovereign and the Nizamwas only a representative of this Sovereignty; the Nizam consideredit a challenge to his power. Nawab Bahadur Yar Jung raised theslogan of “Ana al Malik” (I am the Sovereign) and raised it with fullforce. He began reminding even the British their status with regardto Hyderabad based on their treaties with the state. This made boththe Nizam and the British wary of Nawab Bahadur Yar Jung andtheir apprehensions persisted until his death.

Boycott of constitutional reform:-The Iyengar committee on constitutional reforms was busy in

preparing its report. And after toiling for ten months the report wassubmitted to the Working Committee and the Council submitted itwith a few amendments along with a long petition to the Nizam.On July 17, 1939, the constitutional reforms were announced. Thisannouncement created a great turmoil in all circles and the reformswere rejected outright. The groups with nationalist and congress viewpoint did not like the reforms because they were not fully satisfiedwith them. But surprisingly even the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeencast off these reforms because these were contrary to what waspromised to the Muslims.

The secret assurances to the Muslims:-The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen published the assurances

given to it through a secret Memorandum by the Government, whichwere as under:


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“The council has made these two recommendations with regardto the representation made by the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.

The first; insofar as the demand that “the overall Muslimrepresentation in the Legislative Council; with the exception of themembers of the Government, shall not be reduced to a minority inthe council” is concerned; it is recommended that the QanunchaMubarak may include a proviso that all the three representatives ofthe Sarf-e-Khas Mubarak, to be nominated by Aala Hazrat Bandagan-e-Aali (the Nizam) will only be Muslims”.

The second; insofar as the demand that “the representatives inthe Legislative Council; must obtain the mandatory votes” isconcerned; it is recommended that the Qanuncha Mubarak mayinclude a proviso that the votes obtained by the representativeconcerned from his own party must be increased to 51 percent fromthe proposed 40 percent”

Therefore the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Hyderabad ishereby assured that the above resolutions will be enforced when theconstitutional reforms are implemented”.

This secret Memorandum is hereby handed over to NawabBahadur Yar Jung, the leader of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen as perthe orders of Aala Hazrat Bandagan-e-Aali (the Nizam).

(Kazim Yar Jung Secretary, Peshi, October 4, 1939).

Obviously this double speak policy of the Government couldn’thave succeeded. After strong opposition to and rejection of theannounced reforms, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen struggled toget the above secret assurances enforced and conflict between theGovernment and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen kept growing.


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Dissatisfied with the Nizam’s policies Bahadur Yar Jung abdicatedhis titles and jagirs. The Nizam ordered a ban on his speeches. As thepresident of the All India states Muslim League, Bahadur Yar Junghad been well known in British India and was becoming quite closeto Mr. Jinnah, his political mentor.

Disappointment of Qae’ed-e-Millat with the Nizam:-In his last days Bahadur Yar Jung had become disillusioned with

the Nizam and his Government as the reality had become plain tohim that the Nizam and his Government were using the Muslims asan instrument to achieve their own ends and they were sympatheticneither to the Hindus nor the Muslims and that it was only aResponsible Government or its equivalent dispensation that couldset right all that was wrong with the state administration. While theGovernment was thinking of mollifying him with a ministerial berth,he died under mysterious circumstances. This loss was felt across allsections of not only Muslims but also the Hindus of the state. Thegeneral consensus was that had he lived longer, a reasonablecompromise could have been worked out between the Hindus andMuslims in the days to come and the allied forces would not haveturned towards the perilous position that eventually destroyedHyderabad and its people.

An attempt for a compromise: -After Bahadur Yar Jung the presidency of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul

Muslimeen devolved to Moulvi Abul Hasan Syed Ali who wasconsidered a staid and realistic leader. After Bahadur Yar Jung, it wasdifficult to reign in the rabidly communal and violence proneelements of the Majlis. And Abul Hasan Syed Ali’s temperament wasnot such that he would stoop down to any unbecoming methods tobalance the conspiratorial groups of the Majlis. He planned to have


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a comprehensive long term settlement with the Majority Hindusbecause the prevalent times and events justified such an arrangement.However there was a huge and vociferous resistance in Majlis to suchattempts by him and he disassociated from the Majlis in such a waythat he never even talked about it.

Ittehadul Muslimeen on the way to its destruction:-Ittehadul Muslimeen now began its journey towards its

destruction. Politics and Pondering became so cheap that they werenow a commodity on sale at the street corners. When Qasim Rizviassumed the presidency of Ittehadul Muslimeen, and declared himselfto be a Mujahid-e-Aazam, every other Muslim too became a Mujahidand Sarfarosh. Dreams of reviving the grandeur and glory of theIslamic Medieval kingdoms were being evoked. The right to ruleover Hindus was being thought of as a birth right of Muslims. Swordsand Scimitars were being sharpened and exhibited openly.Distribution of guns and military organization were commenced ona wide scale. The persecution and ethnic cleansing began, Razakarsunleashed a reign of terror everywhere. Muhajireen (Muslim migrantsfrom the rest of India) were being welcomed in Hyderabad and Croresof Rupees were being spent on them to strengthen the IslamicSultanate of Hyderabad and to unfurl the Asifjahi Flag on the RedFort at an appropriate time.

The last round of Madness and terror:-It was as if this period of destruction and devastation and these

crazy and terrible hours were waiting for a severe reaction. TheIttehadul Muslimeen had sunk Hyderabad and it will perhaps bevery long before the people of Hyderabad can lead a normal lifeagain. With the Police Action this fascist group was annihilated anda new period began.


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CHAPTER EIGHT

Hyderabad State Congress

In view of the trial and tribulations faced by the state on theissue of constitutional reforms and the direction the generalpolitical events were taking a need was being felt for an

organization that was founded on non communal and non sectarianbasis and which could become a powerful centre for the people. Anumber of informal meetings and consultations were held inHyderabad and the districts.

Upon being appointed as the Sadr-e-Azam (prime minister),Sir Akbar Hyderi read out a Firman of the Nizam in a special sessionof the Legislative Council that the Nizam has set up a committeeheaded by Divan Bahadur Amod Iyengar for taking the process ofconstitutional reforms further.

Public convention before constitutional reforms: -This committee generated a lot of public interest, it was therefore

felt necessary to solicit public opinions and demand that could bepresented before the Government. Shri Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy(member legislative council) and Shri G. Ramachari held a conventionof various sections of Hyderabad people on Nov. 13, 1937. MoulviAbul Hasan Syed Ali presided over this convention. Wide rangingdebate and discussions were held freely on various aspects of theproposed constitutional reforms; thereafter the following resolutionwas passed.


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“This convention of the representatives of various sections ofthe people of Hyderabad resolves hereby that a committee be and ishereby formed consisting of the following members present in thisconvention, with powers to increase its members as it deems fit fromtime to time for the purpose of formulating a scheme for the proposedconstitutional reforms so that the same is presented to theGovernment”

Members of the committee:1) Mr. M. Hanumant Rao, 2) Mr. Govind Rao Nanal, 3) Mr.

Bhagya Reddy, 4) Mr. Sripat Rao Palnitkar, 5) Mr. M. Narsing Rao,6) Mr. Konda Venkat Ranga Reddy, 7) Mr. D.D. Italia, 8) Mr.Mohammad Abdullah Pasha, 9) Mr. Ganpat Lal, 10) Moulvi AbulHasan Syed Ali, 11) Mr. B. Ram Kishan Rao, 12) Mr. S. V. Nayak,13) Mr. S. B. Sharma, 14) Mr. Sirajul Hasan Tirmizi, 15) Mr. KrishnaSharma, 16) Mr. Krishna Swamy Mudiraj, 17) Mr. Rama Chari, 18)Mr. Janardhan Rao Desai, 19) Mr. Kalimuddin Ansari, 20) Mr. SyedMohammad Ahsan, 21) Raja Panna Lal, 22) Mrs. Rustomji and 23)Mrs. Cornelious.

Mr. M. Hanumant Rao was unanimously elected as the presidentof the committee. The committee held a number of meetings toformulate a scheme for the proposed constitutional reforms.

Disassociation of the Muslim representatives from theconvention:-

In the last meeting of the committee , when the proposed schemewas to be adopted, (13/12/1938) Moulvi Abul Hasan Syed Ali Mr.Mohammad Abdullah Pasha Mr. Kalimuddin Ansari and Mr. SyedMohammad Ahsan expressed their wish to disassociate from theconvention. Because in their view, the issue of reservation of the


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council seats for Muslims was not resolved satisfactorily. Theyproposed that at least 50% of the seats, including those that wereproposed to be filled through a general election must be reserved forMuslims. The members of the committee were against this proposal.However they agreed that in case of the Muslims’ insistence onreservations, the Hindus might agree to a proposal for 20%reservations for Muslims and the rest open with freedom to contestfor all. There was no settlement on the issue and the talks endedinconclusively at this stage. Moulvi Abul Hasan Syed Ali and hisassociates maintained that from the point of view of the right to voteand the powers of the legislature this was a fundamental issue andwas likely to affect them and as they disagree with the principle ofmajority vote to decide such issue in the legislature they can no longercooperate with the convention.

The constituent committee presented its report in a publicmeeting and got it approved. It was then sent to the Government sothat it can reflect upon the peoples’ demands and aspirations whilefinalizing the constitutional reforms. It was at this juncture that theneed for a purely political institution was strongly felt because peoplehad been politically active for years and it was now showing results.

After a number of informal meetings and deliberations it wasdecided that this political institution is named as the HyderabadState Congress. In July 1938 a provisional committee was set up forworking out its bylaws. After this initial work a membership drivewas taken up. In its objects clause it was made clear that anybodywho was a member of any sectarian or communal organization couldnot become a member or office bearer of this organization nor therebe any place in it for anybody who were associated with any religiousor communal group.


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Unconstitutional ban on the Congress:-People from all castes, creeds and religions were members of

the Congress. It was already made clear that the Congress was foundedon entirely secular and nationalist basis. But in spite of this theGovernment began to view it as a sectarian and communalorganization and thus a ban was imposed on the State Congress evenbefore it was practically born. On Sep. 8, 1938 the Governmentproved its wisdom by imposing a ban and declaring it an illegalorganization. When a meeting of the general body of the StateCongress was about to be held on Sep. 9, 1938 at the residence ofShri G. Rama Chari at Abids, an order from the Police Commissionerwas received that “Since the Government has declared the StateCongress illegal you are requested not to hold its public meetingthat was scheduled to be held on September 9 at your place”.

This act of the Government of the Nizam was in itselfunconstitutional; because a political organization that was constitutedon democratic and nationalistic principles and that had made itclear that anybody who was a member of any sectarian or communalorganization could not become its member or an office bearer norwill there be any place in it for anybody who were associated withany religious or communal group, was being declared as communaland was being banned and was being prevented as an illegalorganization before it even began any of its political activities. As ifthe Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen was not a communal organizationin its view.

However a conflict ensued against this strange behavior of theGovernment. The founders and leaders of the State Congress striveda lot to get this ban order rescinded and when all constitutionalremedies were exhausted and they became hopeless with the


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Government then it was decided to begin a Satya Graha as there wasno other means available to draw the attention of the Governmentto its unjust ways.

Commencement of Satya Graha: - - - - -On Oct. 24, 1938, State Congress began its Satya Graha and

Shri Govind Rao Nanal, president of the State Congress along withfour of his associates i.e. Shri Janardhan Rao Desai, Shri Ram KishenDhoot, Shri Raavi Narayan Reddy and Shri Srinivas Rao Borekarwas arrested during their Satya Graha at Putli Bowli, Sultan Bazarroad. Subsequently other leaders and active members of the Congressdid Satya Graha one after the other and graced the Jails. And morethan 400 Congress Satya Grahis were made Government guests.

It was the first ever experience of this type of Satya Graha forHyderabad hence it drew a lot of public attention. There used to bestrict security arrangements by the Police and C.I.D. at the SatyaGraha venues so that the public would not gather at such places andget practically interested in it. The address of the Congress office wasunknown but daily bulletins were published that a Satya Graha willbe held at such and such time and place. The Police were clueless tillthe last moments about the place from where the Satya Grahis wereto come but right on the dot they would appear as if from nowhereshouting slogans and were arrested promptly. The public wasprevented from passing through the Satya Graha venues andsometimes the area was cordoned off, roads were closed. There wasan announcement that Shri Digambar Rao Bindhu would offer SatyaGraha at Kacheguda Railway Station. So the police had made strictsecurity arrangements on all roads leading to Kacheguda. They haddecided to prevent Bindhuji from entering the area. But Shri RamaChari took him by car to Falaknuma Railway Station from where he


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boarded a local train and reached Kacheguda. And when he cameout of the station shouting nationalistic slogans along with a groupof supporters the police were taken aback and pounced on them.They were all arrested and taken away to jail.

Release of the 400 Satya Grahis:-So this Satya Graha continued for a long time and on April 10,

1939 the Government released the 400 Satya Grahis, without liftingits ban on the State Congress but it had become clear to it that itcannot continue imposing it for long.

Satya Graha by Arya Samaj:-In the same period the Arya Samaj launched a movement for its

religious rights. Pundit Vinayak Rao Vidyalankaar was the presidentof the Arya Samaj Hyderabad. The Satya Graha of the Arya Samajisbecame so wide spread that bands upon bands of the Arya Samajisfrom Punjab, Delhi, Bombay and Nagpur began coming and offeringSatya Graha in Hyderabad, which made the Government circles toworry and there were attempts to somehow end this chain of SatyaGrahas.

The Government compromise with the Samaj:-The Government got tired of arresting the Satya Grahis and

when it realized that use of force is becoming ineffective, then it wasdecided to have a negotiated settlement of the issues. The Governmentinvited Shri Desh Bandhu Gupta from Delhi and Shri Ghanshamsingh Gupta from Nagpur for talks and the demands of the AryaSamaj were accepted upon which the Satya Graha was called off.

During the same period, a party named as the Hindu SocialLiberties too was doing Satya Graha to seek the right to protest and


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processions. So the number of detainees from these two parties alonehad reached about 10,000. All of them were unconditionally releasedin August 1939.

The efforts to evacuate the prohibition on the State Congresscontinued unabated. And Pundit Kashinath Rao Vaidya was incorrespondence on the subject until Dec. 2, 1939.

The proposal of name change for the Congress:-So as a result of all such correspondence, the Government

appeared to be somewhat inclined. A proposal was made by theGovernment that if the State Congress changed its name and if itwas not affiliated to any party or organization from outsideHyderabad state, only then the Government may consider revokingthe ban orders. The standing committee of the Congress agreed toboth these conditions and the resolution of the standing committeewas sent to the Government.

The Government’s Volte Face:-The Government was not expecting the State Congress to agree

to the said conditions but when finally it found the Congress firmon its commitment to these conditions, it went back on its promiseand an additional condition was stipulated that if the demand for aresponsible Government was given up then the matter of lifting theban on Congress may come up for consideration.

Dread of the name of Responsible Government:-The State Congress understood from such tricks of the

Government that it was not willing to lift the ban in any way. Thedemand for a Responsible Government was anathema to it. Althoughthen it did not mean anything more than the Government being


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answerable to the legislature. And Huzoor Nizam being free to usehis royal powers wherever and wherever he deemed fit. The founderof the State Congress himself had expressly stated that the ResponsibleGovernment would strengthen the Asif Jahi Monarchy. Had the thenpowers that be, shown any wisdom, then perhaps the Governmentof the Nizam would not have faced the fate that it did in 1948. Butthe fact is that the then ruling coterie did not have the statesmanshipand farsightedness which is required at such momentous occasions.They wished to keep a large part of their subjects away from theresponsibilities of the Government and administration and werethinking of strengthening their rule by overlooking the effects of thevoice of the public. Obviously this was nothing short of a lunatic’sdream.

Jawahar Lal Nehru’s support:-There was no change in the unjust policy of the Government

against the Hyderabad State Congress and it was bent uponcontinuing with its ban on it. Thus many years passed.

In the British India, the States Peoples’ Conference was lookingafter the interests of the people of the princely states in order toguide them and to get their demands accepted by the rulers. TheStates Peoples’ Conference had to turn its attention to Hyderabadtoo. And on June 10, 1946, its general council passed a resolutionshowing sympathy and support to the just demands of the people ofHyderabad. It demanded that the Government of the Nizam shouldconcede the demands of the State Congress. Pundit Jawahar LalNehru, the president of the States Peoples’ Conference, addressed aletter to the Prime Minister of Hyderabad pressing for lifting theban on the State Congress. Hence on July 3, 1946 the Governmentlifted the ban albeit half heartedly. However the unceasing efforts of


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Shri Rama Chari and his active struggle till the last with regard tothe revoking of the ban on State Congress cannot be forgotten.

A Great session of the State Congress:-Soon after the ban on the State Congress was lifted the

organizational work was undertaken from July 3, 1946 itself. And itsfirst session under the presidency of Swamy Ramanand Teerth washeld at a grand scale at Musheerabad. Shri Shankar Rao Dev, thegeneral secretary of the Indian National Congress participated inthis session. Hundreds of delegates came from the districts and almostone lakh people were present in this historical session. Mr. B. RamKishen Rao presented a resolution demanding the immediate settingup of a responsible Government in Hyderabad and accession of thestate in the Indian Union. This resolution was in fact a challenge tothe Firman of the Nizam issued on June 12, 1946, with a slogan ofindependent Hyderabad.

Swamyji’s programme for Congressmen:-Swamy Ramanand Teerth, the president of the Hyderabad State

Congress in his presidential address stressed upon the congressmento strictly adhere to the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, because unlessthey follow his principles and his strategies their mission cannot havethe moral force. Swamy Ramanand Teerth also presented aprogramme as to how the aims and objects of the State Congresscan be propagated and popularized in public. He advised furtherthat public meetings should be held at different places and theCongress demands should be forwarded by letters and telegrams tothe Nizam and his Government with copies marked and forwardedto the president of the Legislative Assembly, Pundit Jawahar Lal Nehruand to Dr. Pattabhi Seeta Ramaiah, the president, States PeoplesConference.


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The circumstances under which this session of the congress washeld were conducive to its objectives and people were intently focusedtowards it. When the Government realized that the State Congress isreadying itself for a great and final conflict then it too began gatheringall its forces and thus the stage was set for the fierce clash of twopowers and two ideologies.


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CHAPTER NINE

Congress preparations for a magnificentstruggle

India was to see the dawn of independence on August 15,1947. While the country was being partitioned and theBritish were about to hand over power to two different

dominions and depart from India, the Nizam was dreaming aboutkeeping Hyderabad as his own independent country. And the peopleof Hyderabad who had been struggling for years against the monarchyand dictatorship had decided to escape tyranny and persecution byattaching their fate with the Indian Union. The Hyderabad StateCongress gave the people a program at this juncture and began itspreparations for a great resistance.

Plan to push us to the front: -The Government began to garner support of those who were in

favor of an independent Hyderabad. It therefore appointed the AmanSabha and the Azad group, which were set up under the leadershipof a Hindu Jagirdar, to take up a struggle to oppose the State Congress.During this period the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen had aspectacular growth in its power and reach with an increasingly evidentmartial spirit.

The Majlis held a number of meetings at different places. Armedrallies were taken out and the atmosphere was vitiated by itscommunal speeches and slogans. Therefore the riots of Warangal


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were a direct consequence of such practices. The executive committeeof the State Congress felt the urgent need for a review of the situationand to work out plans and strategies to strengthen its cause. OnJune 29-30 and July 1, a meeting was held at Sholapur and after duedeliberations it was resolved that despite all the coercion and violenceunleashed by the Government, the movement must be carriedforward. The meeting instructed the people to oppose at any costthe Government’s attempts for crushing the civil liberties and to pushforward their demands with full force.

Hundreds of group meetings and public meetings were heldacross the length and breadth of the state. And thousands of pamphletscontaining the resolutions of the State Congress translated in Telugu,Marathi, Urdu, Kannada and Hindi etc. were cyclostyled anddistributed. Thousands of telegrams were sent and the people showedan extraordinary interest in the struggle. Except for Warangal,Nizamabad and Nanded the meetings everywhere were conductedfreely and without any Government restrictions. The movement wasgetting stronger and it appeared as though the talks in Delhi mightbreak down. The Nawab Saheb Chhattari, (the then Prime Ministerof Hyderabad) broadcast a speech that was in support of the Nizam’spoint of view. In reply, Swami Ramanand Teerth made a proposalfor conducting a plebiscite on the question of the accession ofHyderabad state in the Indian Union but it was neglected.

Non Cooperation with the Nizam’s Government:-The president of the State Congress motivated the public for

Non Cooperation with the Nizam’s Government and detailedinstructions were published in this regard, which were as under:

1) All members of the Legislative Council, Municipal Council,District Boards and Village Panchayats should resign.


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2) Public should withdraw their deposits from the State Bank ofHyderabad and boycott it.

3) Postal Saving Banks, Taluq Unions, and Mutual CooperativeAssociations should be boycotted.

4) There should be no interaction with the Government in thematters connected with the Levi and all members of the FoodCommittees should resign.

5) All Government functions should be boycotted.

The Hyderabad State Congress had a special session atHyderabad at the end of July and it was decided to celebrate August7 as the Indian Union Day. An appeal was made to the public toviolate the prohibitory orders on meetings and rallies, take out PrabhatPheris, Processions and Rallies and to go on strikes everywhere. Andthis proposal of the State Congress executive committee became asuccess. The Indian Union Day was celebrated not only in the citiesand towns of Hyderabad but it spread even to some villages too.Many people were arrested in connection with violation of theprohibitory orders and conducting public meetings and rallies, takingout Prabhat Pheris, Processions and Rallies and going on strikes inmany places. People in Khammam, Auragabad and elsewhere wereattacked with Lathi Charge. The Government adopted a new policyand detention of the public was left to the discretion of the localdistrict authorities. Swamy Ramanand Teerth and Shri KrishnamaChari violated the prohibitory orders in Hyderabad but they werenot arrested. The president of the Andhra Provincial State Congress,Shri Jallapuram Keshav Rao was arrested, but it was consideredunnecessary to detain the president of the Maharashtra ProvincialState Congress, Shri Mukund Rao Pudgaonkar, however Mr.Manikchand Pahade was not only arrested but he was brutally beaten


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up by the Police in Aurangabad. In Gulbarga, Shri Ashwat Raocourted arrest but he was not arrested however in Raichur, Mr. GodhelHanumant Rao together with three other leading citizens was arrested.It was being felt among the Congress circles that on August 15, whenthe Nizam would declare his independence, the Government maytry to hit the Congress movement very hard. Perhaps as anadvancement of the same view, Swamy Ramanand Teertha wasarrested in Madhira on August, 12 but he was later released.

When the Hyderabad State Congress sensed that the possibilitiesof the Nizam and his Government’s joining the Indian Union wereover and the slogan of an independent Hyderabad was gaining groundthen Swamy Ramanand Teertha through his very effective statementissued on August 11, made a proposal before the public that theyshould celebrate August 15 as the Independence day of India, Hoistthe Union Flag and take a pledge to ensure the merger of Hyderabadin the Indian Union. The people were further exhorted to commenceCivil Disobedience to strengthen their struggle. The time had nowcome for a severe collision, conflict and sacrifice and it appeared asthough the people were ready to face everything.

Help and cooperation of parties from outside: -The Congress executive committee in its Sholapur session took

stock of the situation and appointed Madapati Hanumant Rao,Govind Das Shroff, Murlidhar Kashekar, and Dr. Melkote inchargeof Andhra, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Hyderabad / Secunderabadrespectively. An action committee too was set up. The executivecommittee decided further that it was essential to set up a coordinationand propaganda / publicity committee. And this section was handedover to Shri S. K. Deshampayen. The office of the publicity committeewas working from the office of Bombay Provincial CongressCommittee.


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The all India significance of the Movement: -While this movement of the Hyderabad State Congress was a

manifestation of the political aspirations and independence of thelocal people it was also closely related with the interest of IndianUnion itself and it had thus gained an all India character. It wastherefore thought necessary to make known the significance andusefulness of the movement to the people of the adjoining states /provinces of Hyderabad and to seek the support and help of theoutside institutions and parties. In this regard the members of theworking committee began touring and established a rapport withthe Provincial Congress Committees and other leading persons. ShriRamchandar Rao went to Madras, and there he had talks with thecity Congress leaders. He also met the Journalists and succeeded ingetting their cooperation in publicizing the Hyderabad movement.Ramchandar Rao also met Professor Ranga, Obul Reddy, KaleshwarRao and others in Bezwada. As a result the Andhra Provincial CongressCommittee set up a subcommittee for Hyderabad and it latercelebrated a Hyderabad Day.

Similar tours were undertaken by Swamy Ramanand Teertha,A. K. Waghmare, Manikchand Pahade and Phoolchand Gandhi inthe Central Provinces, Maharashtra and Berar.

As a result of these meetings, Shri Brijlal Binyani, Keshav RaoJadhe, Dr. Antrolekar, Rao Saheb Patwardhan and others assuredtheir cooperation in Hyderabad’s struggle. Swamy Ramanand Teerthawent to Bombay along with Shri Digambar Rao Bindhu, the presidentof the action committee and there he talked to the president of theBombay State Congress Committee, S.K. Patil. He also met anddiscussed with the leader of the Socialist Party of India, Jay PrakashNarayan. Shri Pranshicharya toured Karnataka and arranged for


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responsible people. He also went to Hubli, Dharwar, Bangalore andMysore to talk to some of the leading political leaders as a result, theKarnataka Provincial Congress set up its Sub-Committees so as toenable them to take necessary steps for supporting the HyderabadMovement.

In order to accelerate and strengthen the Congress struggle inHyderabad and Secunderabad, work was started in the first week ofJuly and Shri Laxman Rao, Shri Jagannath Rao Burdapurkar, ShriRamulu, Sham Spingslekar, Shri Narender Ji, Shri Hardikar and ShriPasolkar were the leading activist in this regard. A number of groupmeeting were conducted in different parts of the city and thesemeetings were addressed specially those of the students by ShriRamanand Teertha and Dr. Melkote. More than 9000 special cardsand registered letters containing the demands of the State Congresswere sent by people and different organizations to the president ofthe constituent assembly. On 26th and 27th July two leading activistsShri Krishna Dubey and Shri Jaganaath Rao were arrested. PanditNarender Ji and three of his associates were arrested on July 3rd.

Preparations in Andhra Districts:The great public meeting that was held by the Congress workers

at Bezwada on July 10th had participation of 225 delegates from the10 districts of the Andhra Region. The delegates vowed to leave nostone unturned to make the program and struggle of the Congress agrand success. The initial work in Warangal and Mahboobnagar wasalready completed and this meeting of Bezwada held in spreadingthe movement in Andhra area.

A lot propaganda work was already taken up in the Andhraregion about the Congress demands. A number of group meetings


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were conducted but the officials promulgated Section 144 in theWarangal city and Madheera Taluq. Warangal district was declaredas a sensitive area and the purpose of such promulgation was thatthere should be no meetings in connection with the movement. Theriot in Warangal diverted the attention of the workers towards reliefwork. This riot was the handy work of the partisans of Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen. In which a lot of bloodshed, vandalism andarson was indulged in by the troublemakers. The police beganarresting the political workers instead of the rioters. Much beforethis the detention of Shri Raj Lingum, Chandramuleshwar Rao, ShriVishwanathan, Shri Malikarjun Rao, Ji Satyanarayana and RangaReddy had affected the movement in Andhra but in spite of this thenew workers came forward and the movement carried on.

Preparations in Marathwada:As far as Maharashtra was concerned, Aurangabad, Parbandi and

Nanded districts were already prepared for the movement. After alittle while Beedh and Osmanabad also joined the movement. InMarathwada too meeting were held on the lines of the meetings heldin Andhra. The demands for a responsible government in Hyderabadand the State of Hyderabad joining the Indian Union were madethrough resolutions passed in such meetings. These resolutions weresent to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders of India. The Noncooperation movement launched by the president of the StateCongress had a telling effect in these areas and the members of thepeace committees and the food committees resigned en masse. Manymembers of the village panchayats including the Patels too resignedfrom their posts. Itehad-ul-Muslimeen and its supporters celebratedthe independent Hyderabad day in all districts and Taluq headquartersand took out armed processions but it did not affect the Marathwada


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people and they carried on with their movement without beingdeterred.

A number of group meetings were held in Nanded. It wasplanned to hold public meetings at 25 places which were prohibited.The president of the Maharashtra Congress Committee Shri MukundRao Pudgaonkar visited Parbhani and prepared the people for struggleand except for Karonda, in no other place the public meetings wereprohibited.

The public meetings in Aurangabad and its Taluqs like Gangapur,Jalna, Paithan, Vijapur and Ambardh was quite successful and fromhere too a number of letters and telegrams about the congress demandswere sent. Purushuttam Rao, Ratanlal Koticha, Ramling Swami,Narahara Rao, Vamanrao Wazay and Narayan Rao Joshi played amajor role in preparing the people for the struggle in Parbani districtand these people addressed a number of group meetings and publicmeetings in contravention of the prohibitory orders in Beedh, Ashti,Georai and Mominabad. Similarly meetings were held in Osmanabaddistrict also and hundreds of telegrams were sent.

Preparations in Karnataka:Preparations in Karnataka began comparatively later. Some work

was done earlier in preparing the people of Bidar, Gulbarga andRaichur for the struggle by Murlidhar Rao Kamtakar, Devalgaonkarand Arhwi Rao. The working committees had appointed MurlidharRao tour Karnataka and he had visited a number of places, but sincehe was arrested in Hyderabad on July 14th he could not attend thegroup meetings. Now, Shri Bedap was made in charge of Karnatakadistricts and more than 75 group meetings were held in Gulbargaand a number of telegrams were sent.


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The communal situation in Karnataka especially in Bidar wasbecoming critical day by day because the Unionists were beinginstigated by the delay. Under these circumstances there was no placefor public meetings. Shops were being looted in Bidar, Zaheerabadetc. Despite of these difficulties and restrictions workers wereboisterous and they were busy in taking the nationalistic movementforward.

Great success of the Indian Union Day:-In response to the Nizam’s declaration that on August 15, he

will assume the position of an independent ruler and against hisresolve that Hyderabad will in no way join the Indian Union andthat it will maintain its status and dignity as an independent sovereignstate, the State Congress and the people had pledged to take theirstruggle to its logical conclusion and to offer all possible sacrifices.This great conflict therefore manifested itself in the form of the IndianUnion Day on August, 7.

The Ittehadul Muslimeen was busy in its activities with a lot ofgusto and verve. Communal tensions were rising day by day. TheGovernment had promulgated prohibitory orders in order to subduethe Congress. Section 144 was imposed and national leaders andworkers were attacked with lathis but in spite of all this, the movementspread all over, not only in urban but also in the rural areas the IndianUnion Day was celebrated; students, laborers and other sectionsshowed extraordinary interest in it.

Swamy Ramanand Teertha, the president of the Hyderabad StateCongress, inaugurated the celebration of the Indian Union Day witha grand public meeting at Sultan Bazar where the national flag wassaluted. Section 144 was imposed in the afternoon of the same day


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in Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Swamy Ramanand Teertha alongwith Shri Krishna Chari Joshi (member of the executive committee)violated the prohibitory orders and addressed the public at manyplaces, so both were arrested but they were soon released.

The Indian Union Day was celebrated with a lot of enthusiasmin Andhra. Police had surrounded Madhira, however the presidentof the Andhra Congress Committee, Shri Jamalapuram Keshav Raomanaged to enter along with his associates and conducted Satyagraha.The demonstrations were very successful in Warangal, Yellandu, YerraPaliyam, Kal Kota, Manu Kota, Mahaboob Abad, Srisailam andTallada. Processions were taken out, national flags were hoisted andstrikes were organized in 30 centers of Manthani. Same activitieswere taken up in Sirsilla, Huzoorabad, Jagtiyal and Metpally. In Taluq.Parkal the Indian Union Day was celebrated at 32 places. More than10,000 people participated in the public meeting at Parkal.

In Mahaboobnagar, Nizamabad etc. large scale demonstrationswere held. On the whole, the Indian Union Day was celebrated at196 places in Andhra and 118 people were arrested on August 7.

In Maharashtra the Indian Union Day was celebrated at 117centers and Parbhani was on the top in this regard as demonstrationswere held at 46 places in the district. Prohibitory orders were violatedat many places and Satyagrahis cour arrested. In all 132 persons weredetained in the Province on August 7. The situation in Aurangabadwas different when compared with the other districts since it wasvirtually under the Police Raj. In Nanded the labour class went on acomplete strike.

Karnataka too came up to the expectations of the center to alarge extent. Well known leaders in Karnataka organized Satya Graha,


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many public meetings were held in Gulbarga and people went on acomplete strike. In Raichur, Prohibitory orders were violated at manyplaces. the Indian Union Day was celebrated in Bidar too. Thus thiscampaign of the Hyderabad State Congress became a grandsuccess to such an extent that even the 12000 millworkers of Bombaywent on a strike in support of the Indian Union Day of the HyderabadState Congress, shutting down all the mills on August 7. On thisoccasion the Government of the Nizam tried to suppress thiscampaign of the State Congress through the use of force but soon itrealized that it was not easy to face the growing wrath of the public.


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CHAPTER TEN

The Nizam’s shenanigans to maintain hisindependent sovereignty

The circumstances under which the transfer of Britishpower was taking place in India provided the Nizam awindow of opportunity to attempt strengthening his

aristocratic dictatorship on an even keel and by assuming the positionof an independent monarchy; he planned to keep the state separatefrom the Indian Union against the public wishes.

The Ittehadul Muslimeen had gathered its full strength andhad gone quite far to help maintain this new political status ofHyderabad and the Nizam. But it was forgotten that in matters andissues that have a direct bearing on the present and future of thestate and on the collective life of the people, the wish of the peopleis of utmost importance and it is impossible to move forward andachieve success by overlooking it.

The State Congress’ challenge to the Nizam:The initial firman (the Royal edict) issued by the Nizam on

11th June 1947 was already challenged by the Hyderabad StateCongress and in order to make known the public view-point on theissue, the Indian Union day and the Independence of India day werecelebrated with full fervor and enthusiasm on 7th and 15th Augustrespectively.


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Through the said firman the Nizam had refused to send hisrepresentatives to both the constituent assemblies and had announcedthat the legal result of the departure of the prevalent power fromIndia in near future would be that he would be eligible to declare hisown Independent monarchy and it was political wisdom that theintegrity and the safety of the dominion of the Nizam must be themain focus of all activities in Hyderabad.

Negotiations with New Delhi and Karachi:When the issue of the establishment of relations with the Indian

Union was considered in its totality in view of the geographicalposition of India, Pakistan and Hyderabad in the Indian subcontinent,negotiations were started with the governments of India and Pakistan.The Nizam was desirous to have discussions with the Indian Unionon the basis of an agreement but the government of India was notagreeable to have any negotiations on this basis and the matter becamecritical. There were strong differences of opinion among thedelegation of the state which had affected the Nizam as well and theIttehadul Muslimeen was getting irritable. A member of the statedelegation and a minister of the unionists Mr. Abdur Rahim said ina statement on 8th August 1947 “We shall not hand over the defenseand foreign affairs to any other state, so we will not continue discussingthese issues”. The two minister members of the delegation, Nawab AliYawar Jung and Mr. Abdur Rahim went to Karachi on 9th August tohave discussions with the government of Pakistan and there theybegan secret deliberations with Mr. Jinnah and Mr. Liyaqat Ali Khan.The Delhi talks were broken and a critical situation of suspensionwas created.

In certain circles it was being thought that the Nizam will decideabout his joining of the Indian Union before 15th August but then


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the question had not attained the criticality before the governmentof India to an extent that it would affect the celebrations of 15thAugust 1947, the first independence day of India. The auspiciousday of 15th August came and went but the Nizam did not declare hisposition. On the other hand the slogans for an IndependentHyderabad gained strength and the activities of Ittehadul-Muslimeengained momentum.

Nizam’s participation in the Independent Hyderabad Day:The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen celebrated the Independent

Hyderabad Day on August 15th. 1947. Public meetings were heldeverywhere and armed processions were taken out. The Nizam himselfattended the Hyderabad Day function organized by the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. While addressing a farewell meeting held inhonor of the last resident of Hyderabad, the Nizam once againdeclared:

“I will become an independent monarch after the British leaveIndia”. The Nizam also expressed his wish to make Hyderabad unitedwith the British Common Wealth and His Majesty the Nizam himselfwould be the living example of such a unity.

Nizam’s position on August 15th, 1947:-The Nizam assumed the position of an independent monarch

on August 15th, 1947 and he declared the same through a firman:

“I had made known my stance in context of the emerging issueswith regard to the independence of India through my firman dated June11, 1947 and my address on August 14, 1947; that in so far as my statewas concerned; I shall become an independent monarch as soon as theBritish leave India”. Hence, with effect from August 15, 1947, I haveattained this position.


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Talks with Mountbatten:-The Nizam published a manifesto about Berar that his

Paramountcy on Berar was subsisting as usual and until itsamalgamation with Hyderabad State the administrative arrangementswould continue as they were.

The plan of the Nizam to strengthen his independent monarchyand simultaneous efforts to begin talks with New Delhi resulted inthe revival of the talks with Lord Mountbatten that were broken offbefore 15th August.

The differences between the members of the Hyderabaddelegation went on increasing and in the local Muslim press, somedelegates were severely criticized and there was an expression of noconfidence on such members. The press coverage of these differencesand the criticism was so severe that the Nizam had to issue a firmanon 2nd September 1947.

Criticism of the ministers and the constitutional advisors:The firman read:

“Recently there have been some irresponsible and uncalled for attackson my ministers especially the prime minister and my constitutionaladvisor Sir Walter Monkton. Such criticisms have made the members ofthe Hyderabad delegation wary while they were busy in very importantand critical talks at Delhi, which has acted as an obstacle in their workand has damaged the interests of the state”. The hullabaloo in the Muslimpress led to Nawab Ali Yawar Jung’s exit from the campaign ofdiscussion with the Indian Union. The critical issues that had to betackled by the Titular Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten,included the Hyderabad issue. Initially it was thought that the Nizamwould act wisely and would reach an amicable settlement. But as the


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days passed his indecisiveness and delaying tactics made the situationstill more critical. The Ittehadul Muslimeen had such a grip on theNizam that he was unable to take any decision by himself and hisunstable nature affected the real issues and made them even moreconfused.

Sir Walter Monkton had gone to New Delhi along with theHyderabad delegation as its spokesman on 19th September 1947. Hehad informed the government of Hyderabad beforehand that thebreaking off of the Delhi talks would prove detrimental to the interestsof Hyderabad. He had also expressed his intention to return toEngland immediately. This resolute decision of Sir Walter made theIttehadul Muslimeen a worried lot and the unionist leaders pressedSir Walter that if he left for England under the present circumstancesthen his return would be disastrous for the Ittehadul Muslimeen.The talks that began from 20th September had Sardar Patel alongwith Lord Mountbatten on behalf of the Government of India. TheHyderabad delegation stressed that the Nizam gives a lot ofimportance to the difference between joining and being associatedwith the Indian Union. According to them joining the union wouldlead to a great bloodshed. Besides they were apprehensive of theexternal interference as well. In reply, Sardar Patel said that theapprehensions expressed by the members of the Hyderabad delegationare unfounded and in case there were riots in the state then thegovernment of India would put all its resources and forces at thedisposal of the Nizam to quell them.

The results of the Nizam’s unstable policies:Lord Mountbatten warned the delegation that if there was no

agreement or settlement before 15th October and the talks werediscontinued, then the issue would become very serious for the


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government of India and it will become more so for the Hyderabadstate as well. The Hyderabad delegation had taken with them a fewpossible solutions for the Delhi talks which were not helpful in solvingthe actual issues but were likely to cause increasing confusion. SirWalter Monkton had a better understanding of the constitutionalposition of Hyderabad in the changed circumstances and the overallview of the Indian Union. There were no differences worthmentioning about the approach to these talks between him and LordMountbatten but the problem was that the instructions received fromthe Nizam by the delegation and the lines on which the Nizam wishedthe talks to proceed further had created a difficult situation for himand the delegation.

Sir Walter Monkton’s formula:-Sir Walter Monkton wanted to present a formula of “Statutory

independence” so that the distinct status of the Nizam was maintainedwithout affecting the greater interests of the Indian Union. But thetalks did not proceed on these lines. The Nizam was not firm in hisplace. Sometimes he seemed amenable to a reasonable compromiseand at other times the desire for total independence would createextremism in his views. This unstable policy resulted in making thesituation even worse and no suitable agreement could be reached.

The Indian Government view point:-The Government of India was willing to give certain special

privileges in so far as the Hyderabad state was concerned. For exampleit had no objection that Hyderabad’s Agent General be appointed atLondon or any other place. It had offered to provide all facilities forthe procurement of the state’s military requirements, arms andammunition. It was also ready to remove its military bases from theSecunderabad Cantonment and provide other trade and commerce


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facilities to the state. But the Nizam and his Government adamantlywanted nothing except full independence as a result the Hyderabaddelegation kept going to New Delhi and coming back from time totime and as far as the agreement was concerned no useful work couldbe completed and finally not only the talks were broken down butthe mutual relations too got soured and the Government of Indiawas forced to consider economic blockade of Hyderabad.

Increasing military strength of Hyderabad: -Meanwhile there was a continuous effort to make Hyderabad

militarily strong, plans for reorganization and expansion of the Armyand the Police on a strong foundation were being implemented.Irregular armed forces were made regular and the National Guardsof the Ittehadul Muslimeen, who gained notoriety later as the Razakars(volunteers) were made to grow fast into a powerful paramilitarywing of the armed forces and they were helped to become armed tothe teeth. New recruits were drafted into the army. The Pathans,Mayos and Malabari tribals were especially preferred besides manyof the Muslim immigrants from outside the state too were recruitedinto the army. Thus the autocracy and oppression of Hyderabad werebeing sought to be strengthened and many nationalists were of theopinion that if and when the Nizam and Nizam’s Governmentsucceeded in their plans, Hyderabad state would become a permanentsecurity risk to the Indian Union and the democratic aspirations andfreedom of the people would be crushed with full force.

In the Hyderabad Legislative Assembly’s session it was statedthat all steps were being taken to protect the independent status ofthe state. A Reserve Bank for the state was being established,negotiations were in progress for setting up a Dollar Exchange andthe budget was to be firmed up through a new executive.


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Heights of Propaganda:-The Nizam was hell bent on maintaining his independent status.

So among other plans, the powerful tool of propaganda was put touse and Lakhs of Rupees were spent recklessly on this department.Propaganda agents were sent to different countries abroad. Journalsand the press were manipulated. Attempts were made to contact someof the British Members of Parliament. It was the result of suchattempts that the then leader of opposition in the British Parliament,Sir Winston Churchill too raised his voice.

A delegation of British and American Journalists consisting ofabout 16 members was invited to Hyderabad at state expenditurecosting Lakhs of Rupees.

This delegation was a state guest in Hyderabad. The statedepartment of information and communications was instructed towork as a representative for all departments of the independentHyderabad state using the latest propaganda techniques. So the antiIndian Union propaganda reached a crescendo and when about threeor four weeks were left for the Police Action to begin it reached itspeak. However Dr. Jaysuriya and Pundit Kashinath Rao presentedvery informative and open statements to the leader of the delegationwhich impressed the members. These open statements are indicativeof the courage of both these gentlemen.

The efforts to make the radio broadcasts of those days moreexciting and sensational in order to instigate and exhort the publicagainst the Indian Union and to tell the stories of the power andmight of Hyderabad state and to project its passion for Jihad are wellknown to everybody.


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Detention of Swamy Ramanand Teertha and the fullpowers of the Working Committee: -

The Working Committee of the Hyderabad State Congress hadalready passed a resolution in its session held on July 1, 1947 atSholapur that in the event of the detention of the president of theState Congress, the Action Committee, established by him wouldautomatically assume all the powers vested in the Working Committeewith regard to the ongoing movement. When Swamy RamanandTeertha and some members of the Working Committee were arrestedby the Government of Hyderabad on August 15, 1947, Shri DigambarRao Bindu, the president of the Congress Action Committee tookall powers in his hand and handed over the Sholapur resolution tothe press, which read as under:

“In the event of the detention of the president of the StateCongress, which would be an emergency situation for the WorkingCommittee, the Congress Action Committee would automaticallyassume all the powers vested in the Working Committee and itspresident with regard to the ongoing movement and it would beconsidered as the highest authority to run the movement on thebroad outlines proposed by the Working Committee”.

After the arrest of Swamy Ramanand Teertha the State Congressentered the final and greatest phase and it became incumbent uponShri Digambar Rao Bindu to lead us forward with utmost acumenand wisdom because on the one hand was our confrontation withthe Government and on the other was the clash with the IttehadulMuslimeen which had become very strong as a political party.


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CHAPTER ELEVEN

The last struggle of Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen.

The Royalist Party: -Among the important factors that shaped the political life inHyderabad was the activism of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul

Muslimeen. This political outfit first established its way among theMuslims of the state and when it gained strength and was wellorganized the Government too was inclined towards it, so much sothat four of its representatives were included in the then last cabinet.But practically The Majlis controlled the entire Governmentmachinery and the Nizam himself came under its spell. The closeand deep relations between the Majlis and the Nizam prompted theState Congress to label the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen as the King’sParty. For a considerable period the Majlis was like a chunk of tastyfood in Nizam’s mouth and when the movement for IndependentHyderabad began the Majlis reached the pinnacle of its power andreach. Even the conscientious officers in the Army, Police and otherimportant departments were mentally allied with the Majlis and theNational Guards of the Majlis finally became a wing of the state Armyand Police.

Nizam’s Power handed over to Majlis:-Some non-partisan observers were of the view that all the powers

of the Nizam were defunct and in his desire to become an independent


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sovereign against the Indian Union he had surrendered all his powersto the Majlis.

Crazy Campaign:-The Ittehadul Muslimeen during the secondary phase of its

campaign was focused on gaining special privileges for the rulingclasses and on proving the Muslims as the embodiment of Royalpower and when India reached near the stage of independence, itspolitical struggle was devoted to seek an Independent GreaterHyderabad and after August 15, 1947, all its energies were throwninto its crazy campaign that was begun to attain full independencefor Hyderabad and independent sovereignty for the Nizam. Thepower and sway of the Majlis in those days was unprecedented,because the Government and the King were completely under its fistand couldn’t proceed an inch without its permission.

Resignation of Sir Mirza Ismail: -When Sir Mirza Ismail became the Prime Minister of Hyderabad

there were expectations in some circles that the Nizam’s Governmentwould now be in a position to discharge its duties in an unbiasedmanner without any let or hindrance but within a very short timepolitical conspiracies began and Sir Mirza Ismail had to submit hisresignation from the Prime Minister ship. The removal of Ali YavarJung and other members from the Hyderabad delegation as well asthe resignation of Sir Mirza Ismail was a result of the Majlis’ powerand sway.

The Nizam originally wanted the Delhi talks to proceed as thosebetween two sovereign states for an agreement but the Governmentof India absolutely refused to negotiate on this basis. When the talkscould not proceed on the lines of an Independent Greater Hyderabad,


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the Ittehadul Muslimeen began to instigate the people for a sacrificeand created a fear psychosis. The president of the Majlis in hisstatement dtd. July 28 1947 said:

Threats by the Action Committee: -“They have a lot of doubts and the way the situation has been

in a flux for the last two days, I can say that none can help the Muslimsexcept Allah. Even a small error can destroy the Muslims”

The president of the Majlis appealed to the Muslims: “Do notkeep an eye on the present events like mere spectators but understandthat only a great sacrifice alone can save you from the imminentcalamity. Everybody must be prepared for sacrifice and Muslims mustremember that the Islamic King of the Deccan is theirs alone”

The president of the Majlis appealed further to the Muslimsthat they should be ready for whatever struggle the action committeewould launch and participate in it wholeheartedly for the freedomof Hyderabad. They should not shy away from any possible sacrificethat may be required at this stage. The secretary of the actioncommittee, Mr. Abdul Rauf made an announcement on August 8,1947 that from August 15 onwards when the Paramountcy has ceasedthe 25 lakh Muslims have pledged to maintain the Freedom ofHyderabad and its Independent Sovereignty.

Communalism over Politics:-With the transfer of power, the Nizam, his Government and

the Majlis reckoned that they now had a golden opportunity tomaintain and safeguard their own freedom and that of Hyderabadbut the fact that it was well nigh impossible to succeed in anycampaign by neglecting the hopes and aspirations of 15 millionpeople of the state and without getting their help and cooperation in


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the endeavor, was forgotten. Majlis and the Government coterie wereswept in emotional currents and communalism had overtaken theirpolitics with full force. This was the reason why their struggle waslaunched on a wrong footing and they never had an opportunityuntil the very last to think realistically and take a correct step.

Congress opposes the Standstill Pact: -Since July 1947 the need was being felt that after August 15,

when both states (Indi and Pakistan) would have got the power, aStandstill Pact with the Indian Union would become necessary. TheGovernment of the Nizam wished to have a similar pact with theGovernment of India and according to its point of view negotiationsshould continue for a larger political settlement. The Hyderabad StateCongress was against the Standstill Agreement on the ground thatuntil the fundamental question of Hyderabad’s joining the IndianUnion is decided no agreement of even an interim nature be enteredby the Government of India with the Nizam. The working committeeof the State Congress in its meeting held on July 30, 1947 passed thefollowing resolution in the matter.

“It has come to the knowledge of the Hyderabad State CongressWorking Committee, through reliable sources that negotiations areunderway between the Government of India and the Governmentof the Nizam that Hyderabad should hand over defense, foreign affairsand communications and join the Indian Union and a StandstillAgreement be executed between the Indian Union and HyderabadState. It is important that the difference between these two issues ismade clear. The issue of Hyderabad State joining the Indian Unionis of a fundamental nature whereas the Standstill Pact is of anadministrative nature”.


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“The Working Committee is of the view that in these days of arevolutionary but basically interim period, the most important andfundamental issue must be resolved first through an agreement andin its absence the Standstill Pact is improper”

“The Working Committee expects that until the issue of thejoining of Hyderabad State in the Indian Union is fully settled nointerim agreement will be executed”.

The Hyderabad State Congress Working Committee alsochallenged the declaration of the Nizam that he had attained hisposition of an independent sovereign and ruler with effect fromAugust 15, 1947. For this purpose the Hyderabad State CongressWorking Committee held its meeting on August 24, 1947 at Bezwadaand passed the following resolution:

The truth about independent Hyderabad:-“Hyderabad has decided to remain independent and separate

from the Indian Union and the ruler of Hyderabad claims to haveattained his full royal status and sovereignty. This body without soulis neither supported by history nor by the public. The ActionCommittee considers the claim of Monarchial Sovereign power animaginary and make-believe story. The Princely States and the rulersof Hyderabad have always considered their very existence as dependentupon the British Crown and even now they were falling head overheels to find a place among the comity of nations under the BritishCommon Wealth and to remain subservient to it in order to prolongtheir undemocratic rule. The people of Hyderabad have rebelledagainst the separatist ways of the Nizam and their struggle againstthe present unconstitutional regime in the state is continuing.Without the initial marks and symbols of democracy the Fascist


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Hyderabad cannot have a place among the comity of United Nationsof the world and cannot establish independent foreign relations”.

The resolution of the Congress Action Committee:-“In view of the Geographical location of Hyderabad and its

being surrounded on all sides by the Indian Union, it is sheerfoolhardy to build up its military power unless it is meant to confrontthe peoples’ freedom struggle and the freedom of the Indian Union.Therefore the Action Committee considers the policies of theGovernment of Hyderabad unrealistic and entirely disastrous. Itrepeats its opinion once again that it is only through joining theIndian Union that Hyderabad and the people of Hyderabad canachieve greatest freedom, peace and prosperity. This is the Mandateof the people who have become the real sovereigns at the end ofBritish Paramountcy”.

“The Action Committee has noted that there are attempts todeceive and defraud the public through trickery about some of theconstitutional changes. The sole purpose of such steps is to obfuscatethe prevailing fundamental democratic issues. But the committee isconfident that the people are fully aware and would not be misguidedby such deceptions. It feels it necessary to declare that people with apersonal need or those having vested interests would desist fromdiscussing these issues on such a basis because this will be entirelyagainst the democratic freedoms and common interests of the people.Nothing less than Hyderabad’s joining the Indian Union andformation of a responsible Government in Hyderabad can beacceptable to the public. The people have commenced a great struggleto achieve these goals under the banner of the Hyderabad StateCongress and they will continue their struggle until the time theyreach their goals”.


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“The Action Committee invites the farmers, workers, generalpublic, legislature, rich and poor all to contribute their might to theextent possible in this public struggle for freedom and democracy”.

The most worrisome issue for the Majlis was that the Delhitalks were not progressing as per its wishes. Hence its misgivingsabout some members of the Hyderabad Delegation and about SirWalter Monkton were increasing and these misgivings eventually tookthe form of an agitation. The Nizam had to express his confidenceupon his Prime Minister and Constitutional advisor through a Firmanonce again. In his Firman the Nizam made it clear that appointmentand suspension or dismissal of officials was the sole prerogative ofthe King and his Government and any protests or agitations in thisregard from any quarter in future will be dealt with strictly.

The direction of the Delhi talks: -When it became plain about the Delhi talks that the Government

of India and Lord Mountbatten were not willing to let Hyderabadhave the important portfolios of Defense, Foreign affairs andCommunications and Sardar Patel was unwilling to let thenegotiations continue any longer the Majlis agitation turned againstNew Delhi. In a meeting of the Majlis-e-Shura of IttehadulMuslimeen, Mr Qasim Razvi president of the Majlis gave a speech inwhich he said:

“Sardar Patel is issuing threats on behalf of the Indian Unionthat there will be serious repercussions if Hyderabad does not jointhe Indian Union. These threats signify that economic sanctions willbe imposed against Hyderabad and Hyderabad will be isolated fromthe rest of India in terms of communications and transportation”.


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Ittehadul Muslimeen’s challenge to Sardar Patel:-Mr Qasim Razvi president of the Majlis in his speech said: “

Sardar Patel should understand that Hyderabad too can undertakeactivities in retaliation and can cause extensive damage to the IndianUnion. Hyderabad is a great power and can stand up with courageagainst any nation of the world. Junagarh surprised the powers thatbe of the Indian Union by joining Pakistan although it did not haveany geographical affinity with Pakistan and the Indian Union couldnot do anything against it because it had no power. Referring toRampur and other states the president of the Majlis said that thesestates were forcibly made to join the Indian Union, as a result thesestates are under the occupation of the Indian Union Armed Forces.If Hyderabad joins the Indian Union, it will also face the same fate.The members of the Hyderabad delegation did not have the interestsof Hyderabad close to their hearts and the Nizam was initially misledby wrong advice but Huzoor Nizam has absolutely refused to jointhe Indian Union. His resolve and determination cannot be shakenby any means. Under any circumstances the Muslims of Hyderabadwho have resolved to sacrifice their everything for the independenceof Hyderabad will never be ready to join the Indian Union. Similarlyany amount of pressure brought to bear by the Indian Union uponthe Nizam would not make him inclined to join the Indian Union.

The Government efforts to talk to the Congress leaders: -The Government of the Nizam that appeared not to be overly

impressed with the general demand of Joining the Indian Union butthe success of this movement had rattled it. So in order to put thisissue on the back burner and to fulfill its own interests attempts weremade to talk to local congress leaders, so through Mr Panna Lal Pittiit was tried to contact Swamy Ramanand Teertha. The Action


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Committee of the State Congress which was then the empoweredgroup deliberated on the issue and the following statement of Mr.Digambar Rao Bindu appeared in the Newspapers:

“At a time when the wheels of the vehicle of violence are on afull roll it is understood that the Government is planning to begintalks and it is learnt that it is attempting through some unofficialsources, to get in touch with Swamy Ramanand Teertha who is atpresent incarcerated. The Government has once again failed to adopta correct plan of action. The view point of the State Congress isabsolutely clear. The Government should contact Swamy RamanandTeertha directly and clarify its stand and intention on the demandsof the State Congress that Hyderabad should join the Indian Unionand immediately establish a responsible Government. I would askthe persons who are interested in such clandestine talks to desistfrom it. The violent Government machinery is in full operation andany attempts to create such contacts will prove to be a delaying tacticand would be tantamount to misleading the public. The Governmentshould prove its bona-fides by bringing to an end the violence andsuppression, the undemocratic front and communal rioting to buildup public confidence and accept the public aspirations”.

This attempt of the Government however could not succeedbecause there was no sound basis for the talks. Besides, the StateCongress had guessed the true intentions of the Government that itwanted to get the Congress leaders entangled in talks and divert thepublic attention from the real and fundamental issues. When theGovernment was frustrated in this plan its behavior became stricterand with the full partnership and cooperation of the Majlis it beganobsessive preparations to proceed towards a stage which was verytreacherous.


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Ban on the Indian Union Flag: -The grand Indian Union Day celebrations organized on a wider

scale by the Hyderabad State Congress on August 7, throughout theHyderabad dominions had witnessed a clash between the Governmentand the public, a second and more intense clash took place on theissue of the Indian Flag. The events and circumstances hademboldened the State Congress and the public. The argument of theNizam’s Government was that the Flag of the Indian Union whichwas a foreign flag must not be hoisted in any manner in Hyderabad.The Congress claim was that since Hyderabad is an intrinsic part ofthe Indian Union and the Tricolor manifests the glorious past andhopeful future of the people they are willing to die for its hoistingand for protecting its respect and sanctity. The Government of theNizam considered the Indian Flag a hindrance in the way of theIndependent Hyderabad and on August 3, the flag was bannedthrough an order that read as under:

“The prime Minister of the Government of Hyderabad doeshereby order that no foreign flag be hoisted at any public meeting orfunction, nor should it be saluted. Any violation of this order ispunishable with imprisonment for a term up to 3years or fine orboth”.

The Foreign flag mentioned in this prohibitory order was theIndian Tricolor and this was the thing that was controversial betweenthe Government and the Congress but the convener of the ActionCommittee of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Mr. Yameen Zubericlarified through a warning that the Government and the Muslimsof Hyderabad cannot tolerate the Indian Flag. He said:

"We have already warned the Government that if the Indian


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Union attempted to hoist its flags on its office buildings, post andtelegraph offices and the G.I.P.Line railway stations located withinthe boundaries of Hyderabad state, the Muslims will not tolerate itin any way. The responsibility for the consequences of any suchattempts in the night of August 15 will not be upon the Muslims butwill wholly be upon the Government".

This challenge of the Government of the Nizam and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen was replied on behalf of the State Congressand Swamy Ramanand Teertha made a fervent appeal to the publicto hoist the Indian flag on August 15 through the length and breadthof the state by stating:

"It has been our demand that Hyderabad should join the IndianUnion, for which the State Congress is already running a campaign.In connection with the Indian Independence Day one of ourprograms was to pay our respects and salutations to the Indian Flagcollectively as well as individually. The present order appears toprohibit it. We do not consider the Indian flag a flag of any foreigncountry. It is our will and wish that Hyderabad becomes an integralpart of India and for this reason we pay our homage to the Indianflag. In spite of these prohibitory orders we will hoist the Indian flagboth individually and in different meetings. We do not care aboutthe three year punishment. The prohibitory order is a challenge tothe people of Hyderabad and I hope that they will accept thischallenge".

Insulting the flag: -The Government ban on the Indian flag and the appeal of the

State Congress for hoisting it had a salutary effect. The Indian flagwas hoisted in a number of places in cities, districts and Taluqs and


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the police not only removed it forcibly from the places of its hoistingbut it was thrown down and torn into pieces. Hundreds of peoplewere arrested for violation of the prohibitory orders and many peoplewere Lathi Charged. On Aug 14 and 15 when the Bombay-Madrasexpress reached Gulbarga station at 2.00 pm. All its compartmentswere pasted with the Indian flags which were immediately removedby the police. Similarly in some other trains that were enteringHyderabad areas the Tricolors were flying from all compartmentswhich were being removed forcibly by the railway police and the citypolice.

When Mr. R.K. Sidhu raised the question of this insult of theIndian flag in the Constituent Assembly, Pundit Nehru had to sayclearly that wherever the Indian flag has been desecrated strongmeasures would be taken against those responsible. The Governmentof the Nizam denied that the Indian flag was insulted anywhere inthe state and the State Congress Action Committee decided inBezwada that on November 25, a Day of the Indian flag will becelebrated.

The Government of the Nizam once again mobilized its fullmachinery of oppression and violence to make the Flag Day a failure.But there was a great deal of fervor and enthusiasm in the public, sothe Flag Day was celebrated throughout the State with great zeal.From imposing section 145 to prohibition of coming out armed,gathering of more than five persons was tried by the Governmentbesides ordering Lathi Charges at different places. More than 500people were arrested on August 28.


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Firing in Parkal:-On the 3rd. of September 1500 people from Parkal and nearby

villages gathered to celebrate the Flag Day and when the processionwas moving towards the venue armed police began firing because ofwhich 15 persons died and 100 were injured. After the firing whenthe terrorized people were running helter-skelter, the army surroundedParkal. 150 Hindu cadres were taken into custody. Although therewere Majlis supporters too in the attackers, but none of them werearrested.


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CHAPTER TWELVE

Rule of Repression and Violence in Hyderabad

When the sun of freedom shone on August 15th. 1947in India, it was expected that the fortune of thepeople of Hyderabad too will shine and they too

will enjoy the fruits of freedom like the people of the other Indianstates and provinces. But they were disappointed when they felt thatunder the Nizam’s rule, there were attempts to deny them their dueshare of independence and in the name of Independent Hyderabaddictatorship and oppression were being sought to be entrenched.People had to fight a hard battle to win freedom for Hyderabad andto make the state join the Indian Union and it was only in September1948 that they achieved their goal.

Trial of all weapons of oppression:-The Government of the Nizam was fully aware that its failure in

its endeavors to remain independent would lead to adverseconsequences, in view of this fact, all weapons of oppression andviolence were used freely and no effort was skipped to showcase itsmight and power. Hyderabad, that for centuries was called a cradleof peace and safety and was well known for its communal harmonyand unity became the centre of communal antagonism and violence.

Detentions of the nationalist workers, Lathi attacks and firingsbecame a daily affair and all those strategies to crush the public strugglewere put to use which were available to the Nizam’s Government.


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The Police and Army raj:When the movement of the State Congress seemed to be gaining

strength in the districts and taluks then many platoons of the armyand police were sent there. Many army units which generally consistof five to six hundred regular soldiers were sent to Warangal,Mominabad, Aurangabad, Kareemnagar, Nalgunda, Osmanabad,Nanded, Jangaon, Parbhani, Jalna and Ajanta etc. To help the regulararmy of the state there were the armed police, Arab army, the nationalguards of the Ittehadul Muslimeen and Armed Muslim Public.Looking at all these army activities any non-partisan person was forcedto say that the State of Hyderabad was under the army rule.

Recruitment of Phatans and Malabaris in the army:Special attention was paid to increase the strength of the regular

armed forces of Hyderabad and Phatans, Mayos and Malabaris fromoutside the state were recruited who belonged to the warrior tribes.Similarly there were recruitments in the police too and many Muslimrefugees became the law and order officials. Although the army andthe police had no direct contact with the Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen but it was subservient to the general attitude of the Majlisand used to express its communal bias in crushing the nationalisticmovement of the people. Many lathi attacks were made against thepublic at Hyderabad, Secundrabad, Aurangabad, Khamam Met,Huzoorabad, Parkal, Narayanpet and other centers. More than 51people died in police and army firing from the date when the StateCongress began its regular campaign until August 1947.

Police had become so powerful that there was no control of theGovernment on its actions and it got used to remain undeterred intorturing the nationalist workers and Satya Grahis in different ways,insulting them and looting their belongings at the first available


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opportunity. Thus the protectors of the people’s lives and propertiesand their honor themselves were playing the role of dacoits.

Atrocities upon Atrocities:The police already had considerable powers but the Government

of the Nizam threw a gazette notification implemented an ordinancethrough which special powers were granted to all magistrates andpolice officers. According to the ordinance firing order can be givenafter a mere warning on all those who violate the Government’sprohibitory orders. Similarly the punishment for conspiracy againstthe Government and seditious activities was fixed as death and seizureof properties. It was announced that the hearing for such crimeswould be carried out by a special tribunal whose president wouldnot be less than the rank of an additional and session judge. Throughthis ordinance of the Government the police had many moreopportunities to play with the life, property and honor of the people.

Maltreatment of Political prisoners:The political prisoners were treated in the same way as the

ordinary criminal prisoners in the jails of Hyderabad at many placesin the districts the political prisoners were not paid more than six oreight Anas daily which were hardly sufficient for a single meal becauseof this namesake daily allowance some political prisoners used tohungry and were on the verge of death and finally hundreds of politicaldetainees had to go on a hunger strike. The president of the Andhraprovincial congress committee Sardar Keshav Rao began the hungerstrike in Warangal jail which spread to the jails of Jangaon, Nanded,Raichur and Aurangabad. The 700 political prisoners of the Warangaljail adopted this weapon in desperation. The political prisoners sentan ultimatum to the Government of the Nizam that if their demandsfor the food and other necessities like books, paper, pen etc. were not


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fulfilled they would go on a hunger strike from 1st September. Theofficials ignored this ultimatum and finally the strike began. SwamiRamananth Teertha and Dr. Melkote too joined the Hunger strikersin a show of practical sympathy and finally the chief justice and thedirector general of prisons met the prisoners and assured them tofulfill their demands and on this basis the strike was called off from8th September.

Communal terrorism:The foundation of the political philosophy and point of view

of the Majlis-e-Itthedul Muslimeen was on religiosity and thisorganization as a political outfit gained unprecedented power andreach and the way it absorbed communalism within itself was unique.Every average muslim began to feel that his interest are deeply attachedto the state and until all muslims do not struggle for safeguardingthe independence of Hyderabad and to make it a safe and fortifiedplace there interest and their individuality will always be in danger.The concept of independent and greater Hyderabad made them fallin love with the Majlis and the Majlis and the Government of theNizam became one with them in this campaign.

The Majlis together with its volunteer organization soontransformed itself into a fascist organization and began helping theGovernment with full force in crushing the people’s movement andwithin a short time the power of Majlis itself was increased so muchthat the Nizam and his Government began following its instructionsand orders without demur.

After considering the communal terrorism and the activities ofthe Majlis, the Hyderabad State Congress passed the followingresolution in its meeting:


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“The Hyderabad State Congress has been observing for quitesome time that in order to stop the increasing political awareness ofthe people, the communal elements and the vested interests arereadying themselves to push forward a paramilitary force. Training,procurement of arms and ammunition and other explosives for theparamilitary troops have become an almost a daily affair. The lootand arson is continued on regular basis. Killing of public andassassination of political workers is being attempted. These elementsare terrorizing the people so that the common man becomes worriedand terrified in order to keep the people enslaved on a permanentbasis.”

When the Majlis came to know about the New Delhinegotiations that the Government of India would never accept anindependent Hyderabad under any circumstances and there wouldbe no agreement on this basis then the Majlis began arming theMuslims openly with full force and the Majlis started distributingswords, guns, spears, lances and other weapons in the Muslim localitiesand they were told in the present time their biggest assets were theweapons.

Recruitment of Five Lakh Razakars:Armed processions were being taken out on behalf of the Majlis

in cities, districts and taluks and march pasts of the Razakars beganin different places. The Muslim press became more belligerent; fireand brimstone were being spewed through speeches and statements.Events of looting of people, burning of houses and shops, murderand mayhem became prominent in the rural areas and communalriots were intensified.

Secunderabad had been a strong centre of the State Congress


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and it was so because of its being a center of working class activitiesand many workers with awareness were members and workers of theCongress. These working classes were being guided by Mr. MahadevSingh (presently the president of the Socialist Party) and Mr. Giri.The Majlis tried to break up this front by various means but it couldnot succeed. On August 16, 1947, when a Satya Graha was beingdone at Kingsway (Secunderabad) the police did a Lathi Charge andmany Muslims began helping the police. As a result both communitiescame to blows and when this news spread the Muslims jumped atthe Hindus and the Hindus attacked them with crude bombs. Manypeople were seriously injured from either side and had it not rainedright in the middle of rioting, this riot would have taken a fatal turn.On August 19, when there was another riot in Secunderabad theHindus began migrating from here not only to the nearby villagesbut also to Bombay, Puna, Bezwada, Manmar etc. in search of anasylum.

Unprecedented Student struggle: -The verve, courage and passion with which the working classes

took part in the national movement were exemplary in themselves.The students also had always responded positively and withenthusiasm to various appeals made by the State Congress althoughthey had a lot of obstacles and difficulties in their way, the departmentof education was breathing down their necks and they were beingthreatened with dire consequences if they participated in the nationalpolitical movements. When such warnings of the Government didnot have any effect on the students their parents and guardians werewarned that they will be held responsible for all such activities oftheir wards. The students nevertheless went ahead with differentprograms of the State Congress. They celebrated different days. There


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was a student rally with 8000 students in connection with the FlagDay. On August 8, all students participated in the different rallies allover Hyderabad and condemned the Government violence againstthe public. The police in Hyderabad City fired teargas shells andLathi Charged their processions. Processions and rallies were takenout in Aurangabad, Jalna, Nalagonda, Surya Pet, Bhongir,Mahaboobnagar and elsewhere. Students from Secunderabad wenton a strike on August 9 in sympathy with the students who were illtreated by the police during the August 8 processions.

The All India Students Congress appealed to all students tocelebrate September 15 as Hyderabad Day and the All India StudentsFederation too fully supported this proposal. The Hyderabad studentswent on a strike on September 15 and took out processions fromschools and colleges and the police left no quarter in beating themup and misbehaving with them.

Similarly the labour sections were taking practical interest inthe nationalist movement. While laborers in villages and townssupported the State Congress the factory and mill workers too provedtheir sympathies with the nationalist movement. Hence on theoccasion of the Indian Union Day the workers of the Lalagudaworkshop, the labourers of Hyderabad and Nanded textile mills,Railways and Bus Service employees went on a strike.

Apart from the sympathies of these sections of Hyderabad, thesympathies of all of India were with the nationalist movement ofHyderabad. Every sensible citizen was of the view that sinceHyderabad has been a part of India geographically and politically itshould achieve its due prime status within the Union of India, becauseits separate and independent presence would be dangerous for Indiaand the Indians cannot tolerate that Hyderabad should maintain its


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dictatorial and independent status against the wishes of the peopleof Hyderabad.

The Bombay Provincial Congress Committee, the AndhraProvincial Congress Committee, the Karnataka Provincial CongressCommittee etc. provided moral support to the campaign of theHyderabad State Congress. The Nationalist Press of India tooparticipated to the extent possible in pushing forward the state’snationalist movement. Had there been no moral support of the peopleof India and had there been no timely Police Action by the IndianUnion then perhaps the nationalistic struggle of the state would havetaken a very long time to succeed and it would have taken ages forthe people of Hyderabad to reach their goal.

The Majlis as a paramilitary organization: -It was not much difficult for the Majlis to take the form of a

paramilitary organization because the Government of the Nizam wasbacking it. The recruitment of Razakars was taken up on a wide scaleand arrangements were made to increase their numbers to five lakh.The Action Committee of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen wasresponsible for all these schemes.

A plan was made in consultation with the retired army officersas to how this army of Razakars can be organized and how theirtraining could be completed. Platoons and Companies of theRazakars were made and the cities and districts of Hyderabad weregiven under the charge of the Razakar captains and commanders.Stenguns, other guns, swords and all other weapons were madeavailable to them. Razakar Parades were undertaken from time totime. In the capital Hyderabad, the Razakar army platoons madeMarch Pasts day and night on major roads and streets in order to


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intimidate and terrorize the Hindu population so that the objectivesof the Majlis could be achieved. Major communal riots occurred inthe districts which finally led to the major communal flare up at BibiNagar. Besides organizing the Razakars and their military trainingthe Majlis also tried to arm all the Muslims of Hyderabad to a largeextent. It was declared that every Muslim must wear the Khakiuniform so that he can enter the battlefield whenever required andthe enemies should feel that every Muslim of Hyderabad was aRazakar. For this purpose Lakhs of Khaki uniforms were made andmost of the Muslims started wearing them.

The arrival of the Refugees:The initial arrival of the Muslim refugees or the Muhajirs was

due to their fear and insecurity in the Indian Union but the IttehadulMuslimeen thought it would be a great idea if 20 – 25 Lakhs MuslimMuhajirs from Nagpur, Ajmer, Mewar, Punjab, Madras and Malabarcame and settled in Hyderabad then the population of Muslims inHyderabad would double and thus they would be in a position toprotect and maintain the independence of Hyderabad. For thefructification of this plan the Majlis sent its agents to all those placesin India were the Hindu-Muslim riots had taken place and Muslimswere moving out from those places. They were invited to Hyderabadand many promises were made so there was a continuous pouring inof Muslim Muhajireens in Hyderabad. Trains full of Muhajireensbegan arriving at Kacheguda and Nampally railway stations everydaywhere the officials from Majlis and the Government were posted towelcome and receive them. These refugees who carried with themthe terrifying stories of atrocities against them were filled with hatredand a desire for revenge. There were shortages of housing and fooddue to their arrival in the city and issue became very critical but since


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the Government of the Nizam was a partner in this plan of the Majlis,Lakhs of rupees were spent on them and a number of refugee campswere opened for them in different places. The distress of the refugeesalong with the activities of the Majlis increased the communalemotions to a dangerous level day by day and when the Hindus ofHyderabad considered the situation in Hyderabad critical for themthey began evacuating the state, then it occurred to some Muslimintellectuals to set up a Pakistan in southern India and one of themDr. Syed Abdul Lateef emphasized the need for evacuation of theHindus of Hyderabad to Madras, C. P. etc. and the immigration ofMuslims of Madras, Malabar and C.P. etc. to Hyderabad in one ofhis statements. This mischievous proposal was condemned stronglyby the state congress circles. The Government of the Nizam overtlyattempted to stop the migration of the hindus from Hyderabad butcovertly it was satisfied that if the migration of hindus is faster itwould be in its own interest. Despite such critical situation the peoplewere firm in their place and the truth is that for them there was noquestion of leaving Hyderabad at all.

Warning to the Razakar organization:The Razakar wing of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen was

dominated by the lumpen elements and on some occasions even theleaders of the Majlis were forced to issue a warning to them that ifthe events continued in the same way then the Majlis will have tobear the burden of such activities of the Razakars. In the districtsRazakars were filling their pockets through loot, oppression andviolence which went on widening. This went on for a long time. Thefact of reaction to the action was forgotten which would prove to beextremely dangerous.


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The epithet of traitors for the nationalist Muslims:In view of the interest of the state and its people those nationalist

Muslims who were pressing for an agreement between Hyderabadand the Indian Union and joining the Indian Union by Hyderabadwere being called as traitors and slaves of Hindus and in the Majliscircle there was an open expression of hatred for them.

There was no possibility of the talks between Hyderabad andthe Indian Union succeeding because the Majlis force was behindthe Hyderabad delegation and it was insisting upon having its way.The statutory independence formula for Hyderabad that wasproposed initially by Sir Walter Monkton proved to be a failure andfinally he was fed up as the constitutional advisor to the Nizam andhad to resign and return to England.

The breaking off of the negotiations with Government ofIndia:

The Hyderabad delegation continued in futile negotiations fora long time. When the Government of India felt that the situationwas becoming unbearable as the Government of the Nizam was tryingto play for time in order to prepare itself for war, then it clarified inno uncertain terms that there was no way that the Government ofIndia would go any further than what it has already offered and thusthe talks were broken off.

Economic Sanctions against the state:-The situation began taking a serious turn soon after the talks

were broken off. Weapons were being imported into the state bydifferent means. Foreign politicians were being contacted. Lakhs ofRupees were being spent on propaganda. At this instance theGovernment of India felt the need for some economic sanctions to


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be imposed upon the Hyderabad state, that was part of India butthat had now turned against it and was bent upon harming it. Sowhen the economic sanctions took effect and the Hyderabad statefelt the pinch, the Government of the Nizam and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen realized that Hyderabad state cannot survivewithout the help and cooperation of the Indian Union.

The Mir Laiq Ali Ministry _ that was actually a Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen Ministry _ now had very serious problems at its hands.In the 1947 Budget a huge amount of money was provided towardsdefense requirements and when the 1948 Budget session began, thethen finance minister Nawab Moin Nawaz Jung Bahadur had to clarifyin his budget speech that a larger and larger portion of the revenue isrequired to be reserved for the protection and defense of FreeHyderabad. The actual truth was that billions of rupees of publicmoney was already spent on the Free Hyderabad campaign withoutpaying any heed to its repercussions.

The economic sanctions imposed upon Hyderabad state by theIndian Union were unbearable for the state but the Government ofthe Nizam and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen tried to boast tothe public that they would not allow Hyderabad to bow down to theIndian Union. Petroleum products were stockpiled in the state,restrictions and controls were introduced upon the use of all itemswhose imports from India and elsewhere were stopped due to theblockade, for this reason the consumers were put to a lot of hardship.It seemed as if an armed conflict with the Indian Union was nowinevitable and imminent.

Strange Propaganda: -The propaganda technique adopted against the Indian Union


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by the Government of the Nizam and the Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen surprised everybody. Very provocative and harsh wordswere used against the national leaders of India and it was made outthat a large majority of the State is ready to defend the independenceof Hyderabad. A full blown propaganda was launched that countrieslike Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and other Islamiccountries were ready to help support and defend independentHyderabad if the need be. And if at all the Indian Union dared toattack Hyderabad these countries will not remain silent and wouldnot shy away from providing all possible help to Hyderabad. At timesit was said that the independent tribes of the frontier would givetheir blood and sweat for Hyderabad and at other times it was beingsaid that the Arab league had decided what is to be done in matter ofHyderabad. So, different types of rumors and stories were undercirculation. One such rumor was that even America was deeplyinterested in the Hyderabad issue because it was trying to set up itsstrong bastions against the spreading flood of communism in Asiaand Southeast Asia. And being disappointed with the reaction ofIndia, it would like to set up its Air bases in Hyderabad and for thisreason it is supporting Hyderabad from behind the scenes and itwould not count its paces in openly supporting it when the timecomes.

This story also did the rounds that there is a secret military pactalready executed between Hyderabad and Pakistan that if and whenIndia attacks Hyderabad, Pakistan would come to its rescue. Thisissue was linked to the loan that was taken from Hyderabad by theMinister of Finance Pakistan Mr. Ghulam Mohammad. Theargument was that had there been no such pact why would such ahuge amount of money be handed over to Pakistan and why wouldthe Hyderabad Agent General be sent to Karachi and sometimes the


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statement of Mr. Churchill was cited to show that everything is settledsecretly with Great Britain.

The Muslim Fears:It appeared as though that the whole world was sympathetic

towards Hyderabad and was willing to help it and the poorGovernment of India was isolated in the world. It was only a fewweeks now for the imminent clash between Hyderabad and the IndianUnion and naturally there was a question in the minds of Muslimpopulation as to, how could the state of Hyderabad face up to a statewhich was thousand times stronger than Hyderabad? And what wouldbe the chances for the Hyderabad army successfully defending andpreserving the State’s Independence and sovereignty? On thesequestions the people were misguided by the Majlis and the Muslimpress, saying that the Indian Union was very week now and the Statesthat have acceded to India have become restless and were wary of theGovernment of India. The Sikhs too were just biding their time foran opportunity to secede from the Union. Hyderabad on the otherhand was comparatively in a much better position in all respects.Apart from the government forces, there were 5 lakh Paramilitaryforces of the Razakars and that the two great Air Force fleets thatwere built up with an expense of Crores of Rupees were kept readyand under wraps with full secrecy in Pakistan and Goa, would startbombarding Bombay and Puna and reach Hyderabad as and whenHyderabad was attacked. The Hyderabad army would then take overthe port of Masulipatnam and Hyderabad state would have an opensea access that would help it with weapons, arms and ammunitionsand other supplies.

Such stories were being repeated so often and with such force inthe Majlis and semi-government circles that they were being taken


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to be facts by the people. Anybody who doubted the veracity of thesestories and the possibility of the success of Hyderabad were beingcondemned as the fifth columnists. The poor Muslim populationwas kept in the dark until the very last moment, and when the IndianAir Force planes were flying over their heads without any resistance,it became known that all these stories were nothing but a subterfugeand a mirage.

When the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen felt that in spite of allthe maneuvers of the Razakars and all the possible military posturesand preparations of the Hyderabad Government and despite powerfulpropaganda _ which was in effect a psychological warfare _ neitherthe government of India was intimidated nor the nationalistic peopleof Hyderabad were affected, then the president of Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen Mr. Qasim Razvi went to Delhi in order to talk to SardarPatel and find a via media. But the situation was so bad and the airwas so much vitiated against the Indian Union that Sardar Patelrefused to entertain him.

At this juncture it was not possible even to get the facilities thatwere offered by the Indian Union in the initial stages of the failedDelhi talks. Mr. Qasim Razvi had to return from New Delhi crestfallenand Ittehadul Muslimeen and the government of Nizam in theirdespondency began marching towards their destruction whichappeared to be destined for them.

The dual role of the Nizam in the campaign for indepen-dent Hyderabad: -

Later, the Nizam began projecting himself as innocent andpowerless in the campaign for the independence of Hyderabad. Butit is a historical fact that the Nizam played a dual role in this campaign.


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He made the Majlis and the Muslims a tool for the protection of hisMonarchial power initially and when he felt that Hyderabad cannotsucceed in the military conflict against the forces of the Indian Union,he began showing himself as helpless, powerless and a captive of theMajlis. He secretly made contacts with the Indian Union in thehope that while the Indian Union forces would rid the State of theRazakars, his own rule and hegemony would be safeguarded at thesame time automatically.

Military clash at Nananj: -Hyderabad state had made the fronts and fortifications ready at

all its borders. Army was deployed and the air of an impendingemergency was palpable everywhere. At the border villages of Nananj(Osmanabad district, now in Maharashtra), there was a skirmishbetween the State Troops deployed there and the advancing IndianArmy Troops. This event took place in August 1948. The State Troopconsisted mostly of Pathans, many of whom were killed in battle andthe Majlis tried its best to make the incident reverberate throughoutthe state dramatically. Many plays were staged, Poems were writtenand recited based on this event and the stories of the valor and heroismof the Azad Hyderabad troops were spread house to house.

The Deccan Radio was instructed to carry out propagandaagainst the Indian Union as much as possible in its broadcasts andnever let any stone kept unturned in upholding and developing theMartial spirit created among the Muslims by Majlis. So there wereprograms of this kind broadcast daily from the radio. Provocativeand incendiary statements and articles began appearing in theNewspapers and the National leaders of India were being challengedthat Hyderabad would treat them in the same way a sworn enemy istreated.


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The last warning of Sardar Patel: -Looking at such a critical situation Sardar Patel kept cautioning

the Government of the Nizam. And finally in one of his broadcastspeeches he had to declare:

“I used to think that the Nizam would have had the sense to findout that the true position of Hyderabad State as an integral part of Indiain view of its geographical, political and cultural affinity was within theIndian Union. A region of the country that is like a heart to its bodycannot be kept out of the whole body. Those who are trying to keepHyderabad Independent and separated from India are strictly mistakenand this slip-up by them would create havoc. The Indian Union waswilling to give certain privileges to Hyderabad, but it was misconstruedas its weakness and it was thought that through intransigence andobduracy, an independent Hyderabad would be agreed to. The IndianUnion could never even imagine about the separation and independenceof Hyderabad. The situation is worse and out of control and it is nowthought necessary that Hyderabad should be put through a surgicalprocedure because when the surgeon has no other alternative left, he willhave to perform surgery. And when all remedies and medicines provedetrimental or useless the patient needs surgery”.

The Hyderabad State was under the spell of Fascist malevolenceand when the proposal for an operation by the Indian Union wasput forward, some pragmatic Muslims felt that while the days of theNizam and his despotic rule were numbered, the Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen will also be finished along with all of its political andcommunal beliefs.

Although the Hyderabad State Congress was unable to keep upthe momentum of its agitation to the level it was able to show from


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July 1947 to October 1948 because most of its leaders and workerswere in jails. But even in such a tempestuous period successful effortswere made to maintain the moral strength of people and to alleviatetheir fear and trepidation.

Mr. Munshi’s services:-The Agent General of India in Hyderabad, Mr. Kanahyya Lal

Munshi performed very valuable services. On the one hand he keptthe Government of India well informed with up-to-date informationabout the critical situation of the state and the conspiracies of theGovernment of the Nizam and the Majlis and on the other hand hemaintained close and cordial relations with the State Congresselements and provided them with all possible moral help. Prior tothe Police Action when Mr. K. M. Munshi tried to meet the Nizam,he was prevented from it despite the best of his efforts. And at theinstance of the Majlis, so many restrictions were imposed on Mr. K.M. Munshi before he left the state that he was unable to move aboutfreely in Hyderabad.

Similarly the last Agent General of Hyderabad in Delhi, NawabZain Yar Jung (former minister of roads and buildings) too did hisbest to serve the interests of Hyderabad in spite of the strict restrictionsplaced upon him due to his patriotism and he became the cause ofestablishing contacts between the powers that be of the Governmentof India and the Nizam. That was the reason why he was not forgottenafter Hyderabad was freed from the Razakar period and militarygovernment was established. He was offered the post of a Ministerfor Roads and Buildings.

The effect of the death of Qaid-e-Azam:Till the last moment of the military preparations when there


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was silence from Pakistan then many Muslims began to doubt thatthis new country of the sub-continent might desist from jumpinginto others’ fire and this was true. When the Qaid-e-Azam Jinnahdied on 13th September 1948 in Pakistan, there was a general senseof despondency among the Muslims of the State and it wasunderstood that the propaganda about Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan,Egypt and other Islamic countries coming to Hyderabad’s rescue wasmerely a lie and a trick of the Majlis.


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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Rise of Communist Power in Telangana

The Communist during the Second World War:The Communist party in India has not been able to achievethe power and sway for which it has been struggling for a

long time. At the time of the Second World War the alliance betweenRussia and Germany was over and the circumstances made Russia apowerful ally of the Western Alliance, the Communist in India gaveup their secret activities and began singing the songs of independentstruggle while talking about supporting the British in the War. Andwhen the War ended in the form of victory of the Allies then theirstruggle was directed towards their real goal but when restrictionswere imposed they had to go underground.

Initial struggle in Telangana:-The Communist party found south India suitable for its

revolutionary activities and Telangana area in Hyderabad was moresuitable for them because of the poverty of the farmers and agriculturalmismanagement was it its zenith in the area. The Communist beganworking in Telangana quite innocently. Farmers and farm labourersin Nalgonda and Suryapet etc. were contacted and sympathies wereshown towards their poor conditions and the government highhandedness was condemned. They were told about the inequity inland distribution and that despite the farmers being the backbone ofthe state economy they were being crushed under an archaic medieval


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feudal system. And that unless they stood up fearlessly to protecttheir own interests and readied themselves to fight the tyranny, theircondition will continue to be pathetic. Gradually they were persuadedto boycott the Government’s Levi System as it was severe injusticethat the food grains produced by the farmers after great hardshipshould be handed over to the Government instead of the farmersbenefiting from the open market profits. Such persuasions becamesuccessful among the farmers and they became reluctant for thepayment of Levi and sometimes they resisted it.

Prohibition by the Nizam’s Government on the Party:-Since there were no restrictions imposed on the Communist

organization by the Government until then, they had no difficultyin publishing their doctrinal and political literature and instrengthening their organization or in spreading their outreachquietly. In the districts, towns and villages as well as in other citiesand the capital the Communist cadres were working as per theirspecial technique with impunity. Their influence among the Laborclasses, Students and Youth was on the rise. The Communist Ideologyas a political and social theory has a certain charm and attraction butits practical aspects are so horrible, that no society that has a moralframework, cannot tolerate it in this form. When the Communistsbegan spreading fear and terror in Hyderabad State as per theirpreplanned strategy and their activities became dangerous theGovernment of the Nizam banned the Communist Party onDecember 3, 1946.

Temporary alliance with the Congress:-It is a prominent aspect of the Communist strategies that the

group or party they ally with for the time being, is ditched by themsoon after they achieve some of their goals and they ally with some


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other group or party. Same thing happened in Hyderabad too. Whenthe Hyderabad State Congress saw the Nizam and his Governmentin full swing in their campaign to keep Hyderabad separate andindependent from India, it launched a powerful agitation and SatyaGraha against it. At this juncture, the Communists under their ownobjectives thought it necessary to align themselves with the SatyaGrahis. And this statement [1] was released by them:

“The flag of the Indian Union is the flag of the people ofHyderabad too. The Communist Party of Hyderabad and the StateAndhra Maha Sabha (Communist) too are participating in theirstruggle to join the Indian Union”.

The “Azad Hyderabad” slogan: -The Government of the Nizam was taken aback by this alliance

of the Communists with the State Congress and in order to breakthe friendship it lifted the ban on the Communists. The sameCommunists who were considering the struggle for merger ofHyderabad State with the Indian Union as rightful and werepractically participating in it, changed suddenly and began shoutingthe “Azad Hyderabad” slogan. By establishing friendship with theNizam’s Government and the Razakars they got the opportunities tocarry on with their activities after the Police Action and for a longtime after it and they succeeded in secretly strengthening theirorganization and spreading their movement far and wide.

Appeal to the Muslims: -Soon after the Police Action the Warangal Communist Party

issued this appeal addressing the Muslim public.

“The majority of Muslims consist of poor peasants and laborers.You (Muslims) have become Razakars due to falling in the trap of


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dirty propaganda of the Majlis. However a few Muslims did joinhands with the common people in fighting the Nizam and theRazakars. It is possible that the Communist Party may forgive themafter this. The average Muslims who joined the Razakars at theinstance of Muslim leaders will not be killed but they will have tohandover themselves and their weapons to the Guerrilla troops ofthe Communists. This is the only way that the Communist Partycan help and protect them”.

Invitation to Razakars: -When the Razakars were routed due to the Police Action, they

began handing over their weapons to the Communist Party. On thisoccasion the Communists invited the Razakars to Join the Party tosave themselves. Some Razakars joined the Communists and amajority either ran away or obscured themselves.

A preview of the Party’s program:-The aims and objects of the Communists in Telangana and their

plan of action to achieve them were revealed by the discovery of aleaflet by the police during a raid of their hideout in late 1950 and itread:

“The middle classes and the people in different trades alongwith the farm labourers and intelligentsia should unite and launch astruggle to root out and destroy the system of capitalism andlandlordism. This struggle is only possible through a unitedrevolution”.

“This united revolution can be brought about by GuerrillaWarfare”.


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“Everybody should get ready by getting as many weapons as hecan get”.

“Every 4 or 5 persons should form themselves into a squadwithout anyone knowing about it”.

“Sabotage and destructive methods should be so adopted thatthey remain unknown to others”.

“Dig trenches on motor able roads”.

“Put obstacles on other roads too”

“Indirectly puncture the vehicle tyres through pins and nailsspread on the road.

Kill the C.I.D. personnel stealthily”.

“When the police attack our villages, go quietly near them andattack them with hand grenades”.

“You can kill the enemy with inflammable or incendiary thingsand by poisoning their food”.

“All youth must form secret volunteer corps”.

“Everybody must get military training and learn techniques ofdestruction and devastation”.

“Only trained people can make their own army”.

“Join such armies in hundreds and thousands because that’s theonly way for launching major attacks”.

“When you have joined the destructive corps then you will betaught many things. And that’s how a large army can be raised”.


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“This is the plan that is being implemented by our brothers indifferent parts of the world like China, Burma, Malaya, Siam,Indonesia, Vietnam, Greece, Korea and the people of other countriesare using these techniques to destroy Lakhs of Government troops”.

“The Indian people too are using these techniques in theirstruggle against the Nehru Government; the Calcutta students havethrown bombs and secret preparations are underway in other places”

“The above techniques are not new to the people of Telanganabut they have used them against the Nizam during the past 18months”.

“We have used these same techniques against the Indian UnionArmy when they entered the Telangana Area for the first time andthe enemy was destroyed”.

“The Communist Party has decided on how to fight this war. Itis fighting it even now and all of you should join this final conflict”.

“We will surely win the final war, the enemy is engulfed in fire,and we have to play our part”.

Thus many such documents came into the hands of the police,which included the Communist Party programs, techniques ofGuerrilla warfare, and ways of procuring arms and ammunition andinstructions to its cadres to incite the people for a rebellion againstthe Government and to adopt various destructive methods.

The violent activities and destructive methods of theCommunists became widespread in Telangana. It is estimated thatfrom August 15th. 1947 to September 13th. 1948, they brutally killedabout 2000 people, 22 police stations were attacked, village land /


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revenue records were grabbed and destroyed, village officers weretreated very badly, Rural Chawries (public utility buildings) andCroregiri (customs / excise) check posts were burnt down, standingpaddy crops were destroyed and jewelry worth about Rs. 10.00 Lakhsand cash was looted.

When a new Government was formed soon after the PoliceAction, the Communists increased their activities and from September13th. 1948 to the end of February 1949, the Communists hadcommitted 448 murders and looted more than Rs. 10.00 Lakhs. Inthe districts of Nalagonda and Warangal the Communists disruptedand destroyed all means of communications on a large scale. Therewere attacks on Government and private trucks, Government’s grainwarehouses were looted and they began torching the post offices,removing / uprooting railway tracks and plundering the Tahsil offices.

Re-imposition of ban on the Communists:After the police action when the military government took over

in Hyderabad it was felt that freedom the Communist had in theState has given them an opportunity to make their organization verystrong and because of their terror and violence the situation wasbecoming very critical hence on this basis an immediate ban wasimposed on the Communist party and plans were made to setup afront against them.

The rural people of Telangana were fed up with the Communistviolence and were willing to help the army and police to the extentpossible against the Communists but they were so much terrorizedby the vengeful nature of the Communists that they were vary ofgiving any information about them to the police. The differentpolitical parties of the state had to clarify their viewpoint against


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these anti social and dangerous activities of the Communist but theycould not take any specific action or move forward in their campaignagainst the Communist in any appreciable manner.

However different pamphlets, articles and fliers were publishedfrom time to time and speeches against the Communist were madein different public forums. Civic centers were opened in the affectedareas for moral support of the people and to normalize the situation.Armed forces were used to finish the Communist movement inTelangana and this campaign of the police and army was taken forwardin the widest possible area with full force.

Had the former government of Hyderabad tried to solve theagricultural land reforms and distribution issue, and had the problemsof the farmers and farm labourers been solved satisfactorily, thenperhaps the Communist movement would not have been able toattain such power and force in Telangana. But in the presence of theold feudal system all this was not possible which resulted in the givencircumstances.

The government of Hyderabad had to spend Crores of rupeesfor eradication of this dangerous revolutionary movement of theCommunists. A network of army and police was establishedthroughout Telangana. In the affected and dangerous areas armytroops were on patrol. Different Dalams (gangs) were broken andthose Communist leaders and chieftains were arrested who wereresponsible for murder and mayhem. At different places a number ofclashes took place between the army troops and the Communist.Many leading Communist were arrested and when the armycampaigns were succeeding, the Communist began complaining thatthe repression of the army has increased to the extreme.


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Detention of the Important Communist leaders:Many Communist were killed during the clashes between the

army and the Communists from time to time and the numbers ofthe arrested kept rising. In the Jungle areas secret hideouts of theCommunists were raided. Among those important Communistleaders who were apprehended were Makhdoom Mohiuddin,Rajbahdur Gour and Ravi Narayan Reddy.

In 1950 and 1951 the Communist struggle was affected badlyand when the elections were near they expressed a change of theirviewpoint. Even before this the Communists had offered that thegovernment should reach an amicable settlement with them throughnegotiations and this offer was rejected on the grounds that theCommunist party should first prove its change of heart. An importantleader and leading member of the Communist party of India hadcome to Hyderabad and he wanted to contact the local Communistleaders and to organize a public meeting, but he was not successful.He came to Hyderabad once more and it became evident from theirattitude that the communist struggle in Telangana should be stopped.

Visit of Acharya Vinoba Bhave:-A few months ago Acharya Vinoba Bhave too had visited the

Hyderabad districts and the villages affected by the Communistmenace. The objective of the visit was to study firsthand the effectsof Communism and to emphasize its eradication in his own way.Acharyaji did not oppose the Communist ideology or dogma butsaid that these were meant to serve the poor and downtrodden butin practice the terror, murder and mayhem unleashed by theCommunists to bring about a revolution cannot be tolerated and itmust be eradicated. Acharya Vinoba Bhave sought donation of landfrom the rich landlords in Nalagonda and elsewhere for distribution


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to the deserving landless and poor peasants. According to him theonly method to solve the problems of land reform and the unrest ofthe peasants was to have the rich landlords declare donation of theirlands and have the same distributed justly among the landless poor.This campaign of Acharyaji was known as the “Bhoodan Movement”.All the land that was donated by the landlords upon his appeal wasdistributed by Acharyaji.

The Communist Party was deliberating on the Telangana issuefor sometime which led to a special result and on October 23 1951,on behalf of the Communist Party of India and the Andhra ProvincialCommunist Committee the following statement was published.

Declaration of ending the Communist struggle inTelangana unconditionally: -

“In view of desire to bring about peaceful conditions inTelangana, the Central Committee and the Andhra Committee havedecided to advise the Telangana peasants and the fighting cadres toend their armed struggle and other activities and motivate the peopleto take part in the ensuing General Elections in order to defeat theCongress at the polling stations”.

“In order to inform the Telangana people and the fighting cadresof the movement about the present decision it is extremely importantto release the communist detainees from the different jails and thewarrants against the other members of the party to be cancelled. Astep of this kind on the part of the government is necessary alsobecause the activities of some anti social elements who are trying toexploit the present situation of Telangana are to be stopped. TheTelangana issue is actually a land reform issue. If the congressgovernment is interested to promote peaceful conditions in Telangana


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then it should welcome our present decision and should stopevacuating the landless peasants from the lands which have been takenover by them”.

“Now that the communist party has ended the peasant strugglein Telangana, the government of Hyderabad should also revive thefull civil liberties and prove its bona fides by releasing the politicalprisoners because these steps are necessary to reassure the public aboutthe free and fair elections”.

“The Congress Party has lost face in Hyderabad and it has beenisolated because it has cheated the public and instead of ending theold feudal system in Hyderabad, during the last three years it hasonly tried to destroy the Telangana peasants, their lands and theirdemocratic movement. Apart from this, it was protecting the Nizamand his Jagirdari pomp and glamour in preference to the emergentpublic”.

“The Communist Party is bent upon giving a final defeat to theCongress at the hustings. The Congress Government of Hyderabadhas refused to accept the just and bare minimum demands of thepeasants of Hyderabad and it is trying to make the military rule apermanent feature in Telangana, besides the Government has rejectedthe Communist Party offer for a negotiated settlement of Telanganaissue”.

“After unconditionally declaring the ending of the TelanganaMovement, the Party is making efforts to have the ban on theCommunist organizations lifted to enable the communists’ freedfrom jails taking part in the elections”.

[1] The Communist crimes in Hyderabad.


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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Police Action

There wouldn’t have been any need for the Police Actionin Hyderabad state by the Government of India if theGovernment of the Nizam had not taken the movement

for “Azad Hyderabad” to such a dangerous level.

First of all, strong military preparations were underway inHyderabad. Weapons were being imported from abroad clandestinelyand secondly, there were not only strong and deeper relations andcooperation being developed between the state’s regular armed forcesand the paramilitary Razakar armies of the Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen but attempts were being made to crush the peoples’nationalistic struggle and to challenge India.

The end of “Azad Hyderabad”:-The existence of an independent Hyderabad was a dangerous

portend for the independence of India itself and in this regard allthe nationalists were unanimous in their view that leaving theHyderabad state unchecked to carry on with such dangerous activitiesthat were detrimental to the security and unity of India would be agreat mistake.

The critical issues that were created before the Government ofIndia immediately after the Independence and the crisis it was passingthrough, provided the Nizam and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeenan opportunity to dream about the independence of Hyderabad and


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to proceed further to realize their dream. That was how the Nizam'sGovernment got a chance from August 15, 1947 to December 17,1948 to play their dangerous game.

A golden opportunity of compromise lost: -The prospect of a most excellent compromise with the

Government of India that was available to Hyderabad legally andconstitutionally was deplorably wasted away; otherwise it had fullpotential of securing many privileges for the Government of theNizam and Hyderabad. The Majlis too would have benefited as apolitical party and most importantly the people would not haveencountered the devastation and havoc that manifested itself beforethe Police Action and the riots, killings, annihilation and mayhemafter the Police Action.

The Nizam's request to the Government of India:-The Government of the Nizam and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul

Muslimeen were under a delusion that the Government of Indiawould not be able to stand up to their power and might be intimidatedby their propaganda and it would enter into an agreement with themon the basis of an Independent Hyderabad. Even the Nizam had toremain under this illusion for a long time. But when the last pictureof reality confronted him, he reported his own innocence anddefenselessness in the whole fracas to the Government of India andbeseeched it to rescue him and the state from the Razakars.

From early September onwards an emergency situation waspalpable in Hyderabad. The Army was pulled in by 5 miles from thestate borders, embankments were constructed in border areas, trencheswere dug, Railway bridges were covered and landmines were laid inimportant places in the frontiers and nearby Indian territories.


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The entry of Indian Army in Hyderabad:-On September 13 the Armed forces of the Government of India

had to commence their action from all three sides of the state. In thenight of September 15 and 16, when the fighter planes of the IndianAir Force were flying their reconnaissance sorties over Hyderabad,Sirens were activated and a general panic spread in the city. OnSeptember 13 when the Police Action began, no resistance at all wasput up from Hyderabad and there were no clashes between the twoarmies. Because the acting commander-in-chief, General Syed Ahmedal Eidroos - who was party to the plan of the Nizam and theGovernment of India to get the Nizam and the state rid of the Razakarmenace - continued to order the commanders of the state Army indifferent zones to fall back and cease and desist from any fight. Thestate Army surrendered at many places to the advancing Indian Army.However thousands of the Razakars of the Majlis who were hardlyarmed showed their misplaced zeal and courage and attemptedunsuccessfully to fight almost barehanded with the armored brigadesand tank divisions at many places and were killed most un-ceremonially.

Nizam's wisdom: -This was the first wise step of Nizam and the Government of

Nizam on the occasion of the Police Action. Because had the statearmy decided to fight, then nothing would have happened exceptthat the battle could have raged at the most for a week and not onlythe entire state army would have been annihilated but the innocentcivilian public too would have had to bear the brunt of war and thewar between both the armies would have terribly increased thenumber of the dead and injured to a deplorable level.


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So, within three days the Indian Army occupied all of the stateareas and the intransigence of the Government of Nizam and theMajlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen came to an end in this manner.

The Police Action on Hyderabad:When the armed forces of government of India entered

Hyderabad then His Highness Prince Azam Jah the crown princewho was also the Commander in chief of the state had to hand overhis sword bowing before the commander of the Indian Army inacknowledgement of the defeat of Hyderabad.

Disarming the troops:There was wide spread satisfaction in general that Hyderabad

had to finally come on the way that was the right way for it. TheState army units everywhere were fully disarmed and disbanded. TheIndian tricolor was unfurled with full glory everywhere. All theresponsible leaders of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and the Ministersalong with Syed Qasim Razvi the leader of the Razakars were arrestedand the Razakars were being rounded up in all cities and districts.The Nizam appointed an ad hoc committee consisting of PanditRamachary, Panna Lal Pitti and Mr. Abul Hasan Syed Ali as thecaretaker government during the interim period.

Establishment of Military Government:After this a Military government was established and General

J.N. Choudhary was appointed by the government of India as theMilitary governor of Hyderabad so that he runs the stateadministration as the head of Military government. The speech MajorGeneral Choudhary broadcast on the radio after his appointment isas under:


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Extract from a Radio Talk

BY

Major General J.N. Choudhary

Military Governor of Hyderabad

"During my tours I had the Great privilege ofmeeting people of all types and classes. All those I metre-assured me regarding the situation and promised theirfurther Co-operation in bringing things completely backto normal. I once again ask all of you, irrespective ofyour community, to give me your continued co-operation. It is only by us, all working together that wewill be able to make progress. Do not listen to rumours,do not spread rumours, regard me and my administrationas what we are, the friends of Hyderabad."

17th September 1948


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Epilogue

Anyhow the people of Hyderabad who began their struggle from1918 to free the state of dictatorship and to establish a fully responsiblegovernment and the sacrifices they made resulted in their achieving thegoal finally in 1948. The brave men of the country who were martyredin achieving this goal must have had their souls Rest in Peace on this day.

The Nizam of Hyderabad, once the richest man of the world, isFifth on Forbes ‘All Time Wealthiest’ list of 2008 with Net Worth of:210.8 Billion USD. Bill Gates the Microsoft Founder by comparison isthe Twentieth, with a Net Worth of: 101.0 Billion USD, continued tolive as a private citizen in his King Kothi until his death in 1968. Mostof his personal and private property, including the various palaces, gardens,and open lands were protected as Blue Book Properties under theagreement that was signed between the Government of India and theGovernment of Hyderabad at the time of the accession of Hyderabadafter the Police Action. Much of his personal wealth, gold, jewelry etc.remained protected in the various trusts that were so wisely set up by himfor the benefit of his children and grand children. The Nizam also set upa public charitable trust to help the poor and the needy. The Nizam alsoset up a separate trust for a large group of his Khana Zads, the group ofselect young boys picked up personally by him from among the generalpublic (more than 3000) who were to be housed, fed, looked after,educated and trained at his personal expense on the lines of the “Jenicheris”of the Turk Sultans.


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“The Hyderabad” was founded in the year 1591 A.D. by SultanMohammed Quli Qutub Shah, the fifth sultan of Qutb Shahidynasty, offers a fascinating panorama of the past, with richly mixedcultural and historical tradition spanning over 400 years.

After the fall of the Golconda Qutub Shahi Dynasty and declineof the Mogul Empire,Mir Quamaruddin, the Governor of theDeccan, who bore the title of Nizam-ul-Mulk Feroze Jung Asif Jah,declared his independence from Mughal rule in 1724. He thusbecame the first Nizam and the founder of the Asif Jahi dynasty.

Asif Jah I continued to maintain Aurangabad, which had beenfounded by the Mughal rulers as the capital of his new state. In1769, Nizam Ali Khan Asif Jah II shifted the capital from Aurangabadto Hyderabad and it soon began to flourish as a cosmopolitan city.The erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad was located in the south-central region of the Indian subcontinent, and was ruled, from 1724until 1948, by a hereditary Nizam. The capital city was Hyderabad.

The seven Nizams of the Asif Jahi dynasty ruled the Deccan fornearly 224 years, right up to 1948. During the Asif Jahi period,Persian, Urdu, Telugu and Marathi developed simultaneously. Thehighest official positions were given to deserving persons irrespectiveof their religion. Persian was the official language up to 1893 andthen Urdu up to 1948. During the British Era in India Hyderabadwas the largest princely state. And it retained control of its internalaffairs.


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In 1798, as part of a subsidiary alliance for military and politicalcooperation that was signed between the Nizam and the Governmentof India, the British stationed a Resident at Hyderabad. But the statecontinued to be ruled by the Nizam. And the area around the palaceof the British resident was known as Residency or the present dayKothi. Since the British troops were stationed at the Residency forsecurity reasons and they used to shop in the nearby bazaar, it becameknown as Troop Bazaar. Thereafter an area north of what is now theHussain Sagar was established as a British cantonment. The area wasnamed Secunderabad after the then Nizam, Sikander Jah.

Soon after India gained independence in 1947, at the time ofthe partition of India and the formation of the Union of India andthe Dominion of Pakistan, the then Nizam, H.E.H. Nawab MirOsman Ali Khan, decided not to join either of the new nations andhe wanted to remain independent as per the choices given in thepartition plan of the British. However, the following year i.e. 1948,the Government of India incorporated Hyderabad into the IndianUnion, using military force, in what was known as "Operation Polo"or what is generally known as Police Action led by General J.N.Chowdhary on the orders of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first HomeMinister of Independent India. Hyderabad State merged with theUnion of India under an agreement with the last Nizam, H.E.H.Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan, who was given the position of theTitular head of the state as Raj Pramukh, which position was held byhim until his death in 1968.

On November 1, 1956 the map of India was redrawn intolinguistic states, and the Kannada speaking districts of Hyderabadwere merged with Karnataka, the Marathi speaking Districts weremerged with Maharashtra and the Telugu speaking coastal Andhra


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and Rayalaseema districts were removed from the then MadrasPresidency and merged with Telugu speaking Telangana to form anew state of Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad city and district then becamethe capital of Andhra Pradesh.


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K. Krishnaswami Mudiraj


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K. Krishnaswami Mudiraj


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Andhra Pitamaha Madapati Hanumantha Rao, I Mayor of Hyderabad and Dr.Rajendra Prasad I President of India being greeted by the councellors (1951

to 56) on his arrival to Hyderabad. K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj (3rd from R to L)

K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj alongwith Andhra Pitamaha MadapatiHanumantha Rao recieving the I President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad


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K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj, Mayor of Hyderabad recieving Pt. Jawahar LalNehru, Prime Minister of India on the occasion of Civic Reception at Hyd.

K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj (2nd from left) in a reception with Mahor of Hyd.Madapati Hanumantha Rao, Gurumurthi, Mayor of Sec’bad the Governor

and other celebrities of the Twin cities


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Sri K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj, Mayor of Hyderabad second from Left, andSri Narayana Swami Mudiraj, Mayor of Sec’bad (fourth from left) during thelunch organized in honour of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, Prime Minister of India.

L to R : Sri K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj, Mayor of Hyderabad at ChowkhiLunch organized in honour of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, Prime Minister of India.


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Sri K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj, Mayor of Hyderabad with Marshal Tito,President, Yougoslavia

Sri K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj with his colleagues at Darul-Shafa in Hyderabad.


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L to R (sitting) Sri Narayana Swami Midiraj, Mayor of Sec’bad, AndhraPitamaha Madapati Hanumantha Rao, I Mayor of Hyderabad and K. Krishna

Swami Mudiraj and Sri Navada Muthaya Mudiraj


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L to R : Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, Chief Minister of A.P., Bhimsen Sachar,Governor of A.P. Sri K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj, Myor of Hyd at Civic week

celebrations in a public meeting of Hyderabad.

Sri K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj, Myor of Hyd speeking on the occasion ofunveiling potrait


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Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru withSri K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj

Redicence of Sri K. Krishna SwamiMudiraj at Chudi Bazar, Hyderabad

3rd from L : Sri P. Rama Swami, former Minister, 2nd from R : Sri SunilSarma, IAS, Commisioner MCH at the inaugural function of Sri K. Krishna

Swami Mudiraj Road


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L to R : Sri Abid Ali Khan, Editor, Siasath speeking at the Mudiraj Grduates’ Asso.,Sri Gopalarao Ekbote, Ex. Minister and Sri C. Jagannatha Rao, Ex. Dy. CM.

Sri K. Krishna Kanth, Governor of A.P. inaugurating the Cenetenary Celebra-tions of Sri K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj. Sri Nazeeruddin Ahmed, Sri Babu

Shankar are also seen


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Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru with Sri K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj


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L to R. Smt. Samrajya Lakshmi, Sri Kasani Gnaneswar, President A.P.Mudiraj Mahasabha, Sri C. Jagannatha Rao, Ex. Deputy CM, Sri N. Laxmi

Narayana Mudiraj, Ex. Mayor

Sri Kasani Gnaneswar, President A.P. Mudiraj Mahasabha, presenting theclothes to Daughter of K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj


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Sri K. Krishna Kanth, Governor of A.P. at inugural function of CenetenaryCelebrations of Sri K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj. Sri Nazeeruddin Ahmed, Sri

Manohar Raj Saxena, Colleague of Sri Krishna Swami Mudiraj, Sri N.Narsimloo Mudiraj, Chairman, Sri K.K. Mudiraj Jayanthi Celebtrations, Sri

Babu Shankar are also seen

Sri K. Krishna Kanth, Governor of A.P. addressing at inugural function ofCenetenary Celebrations of Sri K. Krishna Swami Mudiraj.


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Office Bearers for publishing “30 Years of Political Struggle ofHyderabad” written and published by Sri K. Krishna Swamy

Mudiraj, former Mayor of Hyderabad and former President ofAndhra Pradesh Mudiraj Mahasabha

1. Sri Kasani Gnaneshwar Mudiraj ChairmanPresident, A.P. Mudiraj Mahasabha

2. Sri G. Sathyanarayana Vice-ChairmanFounder Trustee, Sri K. Krishna SwamyMudiraj Memorial Trust

3. Sri M. Narsimloo SecretaryChairman, Sri K. Krishna SwamyMudiraj Jayanthi Celebrations

4. Sri D. Laxminarayana TreasurerTreasurer, A.P. Mudiraj Mahasabha

5. Sri G. Mallaiah MemberFreedom Fighter &President of India Awardee

6. Sri K. Varada Raj MemberChairman, Sri K. Krishna SwamyMudiraj Memorial Trust

7. Sri K. Narayana MemberGen. Secy., Sri K. Krishna SwamyMudiraj Jayanthi Celebrations

8. Sri P. Yadaiah MemberTreasurer Sri K. Krishna SwamyMudiraj Jayanthi Celebrations

9. Sri Govind Ramuloo MemberVice-President, A.P. Mudiraj Mahasabha


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10. Sri K. Krishna Rao MemberGen. Secy. A.P. Mudiraj Mahasabha

11. Sri D. Sadanand MemberVice-President, A.P. Mudiraj Mahasabha

12. Sri R. Bhasker Raju MemberPresident, A.P. Mudiraj MahasabhaGraduates Wing

13. Sri S. Srinivasulu MemberGen. Secy. A.P. Mudiraj MahasabhaGraduates Wing

14. Sri Neelam Tukaram MemberVice-President, A.P. Mudiraj Mahasabha

15. Sri T. Vijaya Kumar MemberGen. Secy. A.P. Mudiraj MahasabhaGraduates Wing

16. Sri Vuppari Narayana MemberEditor, Mudiraj Patrika


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List of Donars for publishing “30 Years of Political Struggle ofHyderabad” written and published by Sri K. Krishna Swamy

Mudiraj, former Mayor of Hyderabad and former President ofAndhra Pradesh Mudiraj Mahasabha

1. Sri Kasani Gnaneswhar Mudiraj

2. Sri G. Sathyanarayana

3. Sri M. Farook Ali Khan, Chairman, APF

4. Sri R. Bhaskara Raju

5. Sri D. Lakshminarayana

6. Sri M. Narsimloo

7. Sri S. Srinivasulu

8. Sri T. Vijaya Kumar

9. Sri P. Chennaiah

10. Sri Balanand Swamy

11. Sri M.N. Venkata Ramana

12. Sri M. Vidyasagar

13. Sri Santosh Kumar

14. M. Laxmi Narayana, DTS, RR Dist.

Documents

30 yers poli of Hyderabad front pages · Hyderabad” he was an Author of Internationally recognised a volumious Book titled as “PICTORIAL HYDERABAD” along with several other