Yunus Yacoob Lasania on Forgotten Histories: Hyderabad's Annexation to India

17 September 2020 marked 72 years since the princely state of Hyderabad was annexed to India through military force, known as Operation Polo or Police Action.

The story of how the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad was annexed to India in 1948 is often forgotten. Much like Punjab and Bengal this region was also marked with violence, especially against Muslims, largely owing to communal elements.

The last state to be annexed to India, Hyderabad at that time was spread over 82,000 square miles and had a population of over 16 million people. Osman Ali Khan—the last Nizam—had wished to stay independent—the option given to princely states by the British. What transpired then? How and why did the annexation happen?

Around the same period—1946-51—Telangana, which was part of the Hyderabad state then, also witnessed the Telangana Armed Struggle—a Communist Party of India-backed peasant rebellion against state-appointed landlords. One of the first…