Among the most gruelling challenges
that independent India faced was the integration of Princely States to evolve a
strong, coherent and unified Bharat. But for the indefatigable efforts
of Sardar Vallabhai Patel in the accession of Princely States into the Indian
Union would have been a nightmare. At the prospect of transfer of power from
the British to Indian Union, several Princely States fervently aspired to
remain independent. Leading from the front Nawab of Bhopal, heralded the
formation of Chamber of Princes to remain a third dominion. Sardar Vallabhai
Patel and V P Menon, convinced, coaxed, coerced 562 Princely States to accede
to Indian Union. But five states- Travancore, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Junagarh and
Hyderabad remained defiant.
Travancore’s dewan Sir C. P.
Ramaswamy Aiyar, a lawyer by profession declared his intention to keep
Travancore an independent state in 1946. Influenced by Mohammed Jinnah and with
the support of UK which had eyed the Uranium deposits in Travancore, Aiyar
stuck to his position. Having narrowly survived an assassination bid by Kerala
Socialist Party member, caused a change of mind and Aiyar approved the
accession on July 30th, 1947.
Reluctant to join Indian Union,
Nawab of Bhopal who had friendly ties with Muslim League wanted to remain
independent. But by July 1947, he acceded to India. Strangely, the Hindu King
of Jodhapur with Hindu majority somehow believed that he would stand to benefit
more from joining Pakistan, vacillated but finally joined Indian Union. Nawab
of Junagarh ruling a Hindu majority state invited Shah Nawaj Bhutto of Muslim
League to be the Council of his Ministers. Upon his advice, he signed the
accession treaty with Pakistan. India objected to this accession which is
against the basic paradigm of Two nation theory and demanded Plebiscite.
Overwhelming 91% voted in favour of India and India eventually sent forces to
annex the principalities. Junagarh joined India after independence in February
1948.
Of all the five states, Nizam of
Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan VII of Asaf Jahi dynasty who harboured the belief
of having special position in India and deemed as the ‘richest man in the
World’ wanted to make Hyderabad an independent Islamic state. Exploiting the
doctrine of Paramountcy, giving wings to his Islamic State aspirations, Nizam
laid claims to the sovereignty of Hyderabad state. He defended his claims
insisting that Hyderabad has been an independent state. But in reality, barring
Travancore, Udaipur, Kolhapur and few Rajput states none of the states ever
enjoyed any independence. With British leaving India, Nizam stubbornly refused
accession and bought time by inking a standstill agreement on November 29th,
1947.
According to the agreement, while
both parties, the Dominion of India and State of Hyderabad and Berar haven’t
reached concurred on the final nature of relationship between the two, it was
agreed that to carry out the execution of terms, Agents be appointed in
Hyderabad and Delhi to discharge functions.
KM Munshi was appointed as the
Agent of Indian Dominion to oversee the implementation of the agreement in
Hyderabad. The book, “The End of an Era” is a first-hand account of the trials
and tribulations faced by him while discharging his duties in Hyderabad. It offers
rare insights into the agenda of the Nizam, who is obsessed with money and
power.
Dogged by the malignancy of
selective enunciation of facts and exposition of truths, often the real events
are comfortably ducked or brushed under carpet. As a result, while the
accession of Hyderabad would characteristically remind people of the “Operation
Polo” launched on September 13th 1948 and eventual Nizam’s surrender
on September 17th which is reckoned as the “Liberation Day” is well
known, discussions about nefarious scheme of activities that led to the rushing
of Indian troops is totally missing from the public debate.
Munshi’s Memoirs, fill in that
lacuna and provides a detailed account of the events that caused an armed
conflict between the Hyderabad State forces and Indian Security forces. In so
far as the Indian academic literature is concerned, the operation is portrayed
as India’s forceful annexation. But the dangers portended to the Indian
dominion by the forces proliferating in the region were hardly chronicled.
Munshi’s account of the Nizam’s ambitions, ban on the State Congress, birth of
Mulki movement, encroachment of Hindu’s political rights and the rise of Muslim
fanaticism will help us appreciate the timely intervention of the Indian forces
which culminated in the integration of Hyderabad state into Indian Union.
Chosen by Sardar Patel and blessed
by Mahatma Gandhi for this unfinished mission of accession of Princely states,
Munshi had a daunting challenge ahead. Privy to the agenda of the Nizam, Sardar
alerted Munshi of the task that lay ahead of him terming Hyderabad as “the
cancer in the belly”. Lying in the Deccan Plateau, the strategic centre of
India, Hyderabad effectively separates the North India from the South. Hyderabad
state comprising of 86% of Hindus was a battle field for four powers- Nizam,
Majlis-i-Ittehad-ul-Mussulmeen (MIM), Hyderabad State Congress and the
Communist Party. With Nizam tacitly approving the objectives of MIM of uniting
all Muslims in state and reducing the Hindu majority by mass conversions into
Islam, both of them worked as single unit.
Founded by Mahmud Nawaz Khan in
1926, this militant communal outfit soon proliferated into a robust network of
Ittehads under the patronage of Nizam. Perceiving it as a weapon to realise his
goal of remaining independent, Nizam pampered the MIM and allowed himself to
drown in this web of intrigue. Soon all his level-headed, sensible and prudent
entourage of Ministers and advisers were replaced by MIM sympathisers and
supporters. Subsequently, Ittehadis penetrated every organ of the
administration. Building a strong propaganda network and loyal media houses,
MIM held its sway over the Hyderabad state. With its unflinching loyalty
towards Muslim League, it birthed the idea of political Islam and sowed seeds
of enmity between Muslims and Non-Muslims.
MIM brought about Muslim
consolidation, pressurised Nizam to distort the recommendation of the reforms
committee by insisting on 50:50 representation of Muslims and non-Muslims in
Legislative council. This marked the political subjugation of Hindus whose
religious freedom was soon trampled.
Coincidentally, around the same
time, the Communist party in India driven by the ideology of Sovetizing the
regions in Andhra and Hyderabad, made friendly overtures to State Congress,
penetrated their ranks and soon used the Congress cloak to expand its base. Countries
believed that independent India burdened by the bloody partition, mass influx
of refugees, raids by Pakistani tribes in Kashmir would struggle to find feet
and collapse. Keen on capitalising on this precarious domestic situation,
Communists unleashed their agenda.
Concomitantly communists and
Razakars or the Ittehads raided, looted, plundered villages and robbed them of
the precious jewels and cash to build armies and buy weapons. Lured by the MIM
agenda, Nizam turned a blind eye to the internal security. Roping in the ranks
of depressed class which were called the Harijan Ittehads, Razakars stormed in
to the villages and destroyed, burnt houses and raped Hindu women.
Amid this alarming unrest, Nizam
refused to honour the terms of the Standstill agreement and denied entry of the
central forces to restore peace and harmony. In the meanwhile, MIM steadily
built an army of volunteers and dispatched representatives to European
countries for procuring advanced weapons and air support.
Slowly, Nizam allowed himself to
become puppet of MIM, which took orders from Jinnah. With Ittehads excesses
reaching a tipping point, Nizam who couldn’t exercise his free finally managed
to reach out to India Union. But by this time, Ittehads who completely took
over the reigns from Nizam prepared for a full-blown war.
Unfortunately, all these events in
the run that triggered “Operation Polo” by the Indian Union find a scant
mention in our academic records. As Agent of Indian Union in Hyderabad, KM
Munshi, makes record of all his astute observations which includes the steady
rise of Islam fanaticism and the seasoned tactics of the Communists in his
memoir.
After the death of MIM founder,
Kasim Razvi, as President steered the movement through his insinuating speech.
On the eve of Weapons Week, he said- “Hyderabad is an Islamic State. The
Indian Union is trying to wipe out this Muslim rule from Deccan. Remember that
there are four and a half crores of Muslims in the Dominion, looking to raise
the banner of this Islamic State…The time is not far when we have to throw our
entire weight to maintain the integrity of this Islamic State. We have been
ruling the Deccan for the last 800 years and we shall rule it whether the
Indian Union likes it or not.
Power has come to the hands of the
Indian Union after one thousand years. They are not capable of ruling that is
the reason why they lost it to Muslims. Now when that power has come to them,
they think they can brow beat us and terrorise us by bullying and blustering….
I know every one of you is imbued with spirit of jehad. Remember Karbala.”
People in the Hyderabad had to
survive the atrocities of Communists. The following is the summary of the
government report- “From the 15th August, 1946 to 13th
September, 1948, they (Communists) brutally murdered nearly 2000 persons,
attacked 22 Police out posts, seized and destroyed village records, manhandled
a large number of village officials, burnt ‘chadris’ and Customs outposts,
captured 230 guns, looted or destroyed Paddy and robbed cash and jewellery
worth more than a million rupees. They attempted large-scale disruption of
communication and lines of supply and transport and steadily and systematically
adopted the technique of guerrilla fighting with the arms and resources at
their disposal.”
Operation Polo wasn’t a simple
annexation exercise, this “Police Action” by Indian Dominion effectively
stemmed the rising tide of Islamist fanaticism and the spurious Communist
expansion in South India. Seven decades hence, the ascendent inclement wave of
Political Islam under the aegis of a communal political party with roots in MIM
and the concurrent dominant narrative setting by vested interests akin to the
Nizam era is creating ripples across the country. Interestingly, the astute
observations made by Munshi seven decades ago, seem to be more relevant now
than ever.
Besides, uncovering the
indispensable missing links of the annexation story of Hyderabad, this book
enhances common understanding about the prevalent socio-political environment
of the Deccan and the quintessential struggles faced by non-Muslims under a
Muslim ruler swept off by his feet by a communal outfit.
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