Hyderabad Liberation Day

Why is in news? Hyderabad Liberation Day is a pivotal moment in our nation's history: Prime Minister

For paying tribute to all those who gave their lives for the liberation of Samsthan and its merger with the India Union.

It is a way for people to celebrate and honour the sacrifice of people.

The state governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka officially observe September 17 as the Liberation Day.

Telangana rebellion:

The Telangana rebellion was started by a group of peasants in late 1945, against the prevalent jagirdari system where power to collect revenue and govern certain landholdings was installed in certain officers.

Represented by the Comrades Association, who were affiliated with the Communist Party of India, the rebellion turned violent and clashed with the Razakars, a militia headed by Kasim Rizvi.

In 1945 Nizam of Hyderabad put forward multiple conditions to join India — all of which were unacceptable to the Indian state

In the meantime, Kasim Rizvi and his Razakars became increasingly dominating, difficult to ignore presence in Hyderabad.

He influenced all major decisions the Nizam undertook and installed his chosen men in the government.

In order to ensure that Hyderabad’s already deteriorating law and order condition did not worsen further, India signed the Standstill Agreement with Hyderabad, stating that all administrative agreements that were in place between the Nizam and the British Crown would continue between the Nizam and India.

Operation Polo:

The signing of the Standstill Agreement, however, ensured peace for only about a year.

Almost instantly, Hyderabad started violating the conditions, simultaneously the violent activities of the Razakars increased, creating an atmosphere of anarchy in the state.

As a last resort, India launched ‘Operation Polo’ in September 1948 and defeated the rebel forces within five days to make Hyderabad an integral part of India.

On 17th September 1948, the state of Hyderabad got its independence from Nizam’s rule.

It was possible due to the swift and timely action by the first Minister of Home Affairs of India, Shri Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel under Operation Polo.

With the spontaneous participation of people chanting Vande Matram and with the demand of the merger of the samsthan into the Indian union, the struggle transformed itself into a massive people’s movement.

Other illustrations of struggle:

The struggle of Ramji Gond against the British;

The fight of Komaram Bheem;

The valour of Turrebaz Khan in 1857 who wanted to hoist the Indian national flag on the residence of the British Resident Commissioner at Koti in Hyderabad city.