THIS write-up is intended to inform the readers of the glorious history of Hyderabad and its forcible annexation by India to be its part, despite Hyderabad opting not to join India after 200 years of British rule. It is also a reminder to us, the Bangladeshi people, to reflect upon and take lessons from this history that may enlighten us about the stakes of our future status as a nation.
Briefly, let us familiarise ourselves with the history of Hyderabad. In 1724, Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah established Hyderabad, a state that spread over most of the Deccan plateau. At the time, Hyderabad used to have its own army, airline, rail services, radio, banking and postal department networks. In terms of population and GDP size, Hyderabad was the largest monarchy in India at that time. The state covered 82,698 square miles. That was more than the total area of England and Scotland combined. Interestingly, more than 80 per cent of Hyderabad鈥檚 population was Hindu, and despite being a minority, Muslims occupied important positions both in civil administration and the army. The Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Shah, had the intention of keeping his state as an independent entity and did not join India or Pakistan after 1947. The Nizam took advantage of the fact that the Indian government got preoccupied with the Kashmir war soon after independence, and all focus and resources were fully diverted towards tackling the Pakistani threat over Jammu and Kashmir.
Briefly, Hyderabad, in pre-British times, was composed of three regions: Telangana, Marathwada and Karnataka. Three languages, Telegu, Marathi and Kannada, were spoken in the erstwhile state of Hyderabad. There are no natural lakes in the region, but the dams built across hills and low ground over the centuries have resulted in a myriad of reservoirs, some of which were of impressive dimensions. The state is rich in minerals. There was coal, gold, marble, mica, garnet and limestone, but coal was worked on a reasonably large scale. There were six textile鈥� mills producing cotton yarn and machine-woven goods; a government-sponsored handloom and dying industry providing clothes for half the population of the state; and there were cottage and handicraft industries like carpets, blankets, silk goods and metal in-lay articles. The state also produced edible oil from groundnut, castor and other oilseeds, leather for the local markets and for export using 84 tanneries, soap, alcohol, cement, cigarettes, glass, stoneware pipes and other sundry products. Moreover, the railways, electric, telegraph and postal systems were all introduced in the state in the 19th century. Twentieth century Hyderabad was very much a princely state, with its self-sufficient economy. It was, like other princely states, a place where being of the same religion as the ruler did not automatically warrant elevated employment, nor was the converse true, for high officials and even prime ministers in Hyderabad had sometimes been Hindus.
From the late 16th century on, the Nizam-ul-Milk authority was under British tutelage, but as this control was mainly confined to the political field, it was not followed by major social changes. It could be said that the socio-economic structure that emerged in the days of Nizam Asaf Jah I survived in its outlines until the end of the princely era in 1948.
Historically, since its independence from the British Raj in 1947, India has prided itself on its secularism, although it is an open secret that this secularism is a mere cosmetic cover for soft Hindu nationalism. The first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was not ignorant of the fact that a more open form of Hindu nationalism would have alienated the world鈥檚 major geopolitical powers at a time when decolonised India sought the leadership of the upcoming Third World. So, the Congress adopted a carefully crafted policy towards integrating the princely states by adopting a soft negotiation policy. When the British were leaving India, all but three of the 562 princely states were uncertain about merging with India. These were Kashmir, Junagadh and Hyderabad. In 1947, when the British left India, they gave the princely states the choice to either join India or Pakistan or remain independent.
The Nizam of Hyderabad initially approached the British government with the proposal to designate Hyderabad as a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations. The proposal was rejected by Lord Mountbatten, then Viceroy of India. Despite the rejection, the Nizam began negotiations with representatives from European nations and sought to buy Goa from the Portuguese so that Hyderabad would have access to the sea. Overruling Nehru鈥檚 efforts to address the issue diplomatically, Sarder Patel sought military means. The Muslims, becoming desperate, resorted to violence.
The 1947鈥�48 period was tense in the Hyderabad state, as Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh and last monarch, was deliberating between joining India or running an independent state. Meanwhile, a journalist, Shoaib Ullah Khan, who used to run Imroz, an Urdu daily, and supported the idea of Hyderabad joining India, was murdered by Razaakars (a Muslim militia) for it. The newly independent State of India found that the richest and largest princely state that was ruled by a Muslim simply could not be easily integrated into the new nation. It was far too triggering for the soft Hindu India. Upon witnessing the refusal of the ruling Nizam, the new India then opted for force. New Delhi unleashed a so-called 鈥榩olice action鈥� that would last for too long and see far too many Muslim victims, who were subjected to the revenge of their Hindu 鈥榝riends鈥� and neighbours who always felt that the Hyderabad State was illegitimate.
Based on a committee report that had been suppressed by succeeding governments until 2013, the victims were in the tens of thousands. The numbers lie anywhere between 27,000 and 40,000 individuals, either put to death immediately or killed after first being inhumanly subjected to extreme forms of torture and sexual violence. The Muslims tried to respond to this force by the Delhi authorities with a force of their own. However, they were eventually crushed due to the sheer numbers and superior military power of their opponents.听
The brain behind Operation Polo, as it was called, was someone named Sardar Ballav bhai Patel, who was also a soft Hindu nationalist, probably the reason why the ruling BJP party inaugurated the 鈥楽tatue of Unity鈥� in 2018, with Sarder Patel having been transformed into the world鈥檚 largest statue (182 metres) due to supposedly 鈥榰nified鈥� India. This unification of India includes forcefully annexing Kashmir and Hyderabad. In fact, the BJP has been pushing to make the 17th of September 鈥楬yderabad鈥檚 Liberation Day.鈥� As for the Hyderabad Muslims, many of them have migrated to different countries, mainly Pakistan. Those who remain are caught in a constant siege of cultural welfare, being viewed as foreign by the surrounding groups, if not for their race.
The violent means of annexing Hyderabad is a stark reminder that it need not be the last one of annexation by force by India. Our people must realise that our existence in South Asia, surrounded by India and Myanmar, must be carefully managed if we are to remain a peaceful neighbour in the region.
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Humayun Kabir ([email protected]) is a former United Nations Official in New York.