Rama Krishna Sangem
BJP led union government for the third year officially celebrated Hyderabad Liberation Day in a colourful event at Parade Ground, Secunderabad on September 17, Tuesday. Union coal minister G Kishan Reddy led the event where union minister of state for home Bandi Sanjay, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and parliamentary board member Dr K Laxman and others too joined.
The celebrations were conducted by the union culture ministry. BJP which demanded the Telangana government for about a decade has started conducting the liberation day through the central government from 2022 onward. BJP accused,first then CM KCR and later CM Revanth to conduct the liberation day on September 17, when the 7th Nixam Mir Osman Ali Khan surrendered his powers to the union government following a 4 day long military action, in 1948.
It;’s well known that while Britishers gave independence to India on August 15, 1947, some princely states particularly the largest of them, Hyderabad state led by the Nizam, refused to join the Indian union. Mir Osman Ali Khan tried all options to retain his control over Hyderabad, that spanned over Telangana, some districts of north Karnataka and southern Maharashtra, but to of no avail.
Communal angle too
This is not just an issue of a large princely state forcibly merged into Indian union through a military action, named Operation Polo. When the Nizam initially refused to join the union, some forces within his administration formed into a militia, widely known as Razakars and tried to suppress all those who opposed their rule. Those who opposed Nizam included two groups – one the communists who waged an armed struggle to establish their own rule.
The other group, though docile and smaller in size was of the Congress and nationalists forces who wanted Hyderabad state too join the independent India. During these 13 months – from August 1947 to September 1948 – what happened was largely communal clashes – where Muslim dominated Razakars attacked the communists and the nationalists. Of course some Muslims were among communists, some Hindu feudal lords supported the Nizam.
Kishan Reddy: “Politics of appeasement”
In his address at the Parade Grounds on Tuesday, union minister Kishan Reddy attacked BRS and Congress for indulging in appeasement politics to retain the Muslim vote bank. “These two parties are afraid of AIMIM which commands the Old city of Hyderabad. That’s why they are not ready to celebrate the Hyderabad Liberation Day,” said he. BJP wanted to put cultural and historical record straight on September 17.
Interestingly, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy held another meeting to mark September 17, titled as “Praja Palana Dinam” (People’s rule day). the CM invited union home minister Amit Shah and Kishan Reddy too the event. But, Kishan turned it down saying that twisting the name of Hyderabad liberation day to Praja Palana Dinam was not acceptable to him. Opposition BRS observed national integration day at its party office marking the occasion.
Kishan Reddy recounted the achievements of PM Modi on the occasion, as the day also marked for two more things – PM Modi’s birthday and his third term government’s first 100 days in office. Another union minister Sanjay too recounted the achievements of the union government in the last 100 days. Cultural events were organised and a police parade was held on the occasion.
