Syllabus: GS1/Post India Independence
Context:
- September 17, 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the accession of Hyderabad (a princely state) into the Indian Union.
Background:
- Hyderabad, in 1947, the largest of the Princely States, comprising present-day Telangana and parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
- The seventh Nizam Mir Usman Ali, ruler of Hyderabad, was then the richest man on the planet.
In August 1947:
- As the British prepared to leave India, the provinces were given the option of joining either India or Pakistan, or remaining independent.
- While most provinces on the Indian side of the border acceded, some harboured dreams of independence.
- Most significant among these were Jammu and Kashmir in the North, and Hyderabad in the south.
- In 1947, Home Minister Sardar Patel asked to join India, but it was refused by the Nizam. Instead, he declared Hyderabad as an independent nation.
- The Nizam wanted an independent status for Hyderabad and signed the Standstill Agreement with India in November 1947 for a year while negotiations with the Indian government were going on.
| Standstill Agreement: – It can effectively stall or stop the process of a hostile takeover if the parties cannot negotiate a friendly deal. – The Nizam nominated a three-member team to negotiate a Standstill Agreement, which was signed on November 29, 1947 by Governor General Lord Mountbatten and Nizam Osman Ali Khan, had following features: 1. It is valid for one year; 2. Foreign Affairs, Defence and Communications were under India’s control; 3. Domestic affairs were under Nizam’s control. |
Revolt and Razakars:
- As early as on August 7, 1947, the Hyderabad State Congress had launched a satyagraha for democracy in the province.
- In the rural areas, a Communist-led peasant movement, against large landholdings, forced labour and excessive tax collection, was gaining strength.
- The Nizam responded by unleashing a para-military force, the Razakars, on the people.
- The atrocities and communal nature of the Razakars against non-Muslims and opponents of the Nizam had no bounds.
- In response, the Union government had to order the army to tackle the situation on September 13, 1948, under Operation Polo.
| Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875-1950): – Leader of the freedom movement, and a Congress leader; – Follower of Mahatma Gandhi; – Deputy Prime Minister and first Home Minister of independent India; – Played an important role in the integration of Princely States with India; – Member of important committees of the Constituent Assembly on Fundamental Rights, Minorities, Provincial Constitution, etc. |
