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Talha Hussain | طلحہ حسین

Sep 17 • 45 tweets • 18 min read

#Thread #Long #1948HyderabadMassacre: An Unforgettable Day in Indian History, The Story of First #Genocide in Independent India where an estimated 200K ppl were murdered. & the deplorable quest to celebrate this Genocide as some achievement!!

The geographical map of Deccan state has changed over the years, It spread over a vast area of 86,000sq miles until 17 September 1948 when Indian forces deposed the Nizam ending his rule.
The bitter truths that come out of History's Critical study are a lesson for the present.

The eventual inclusion of the state of Hyderabad in India was a logical and natural matter for which there were many reasons. For example, on the map of India, the state of Hyderabad was at its very heart, surrounded by the borders of democratic independent India.

1st, Indians had sacrificed their lives & property in millions to get freedom frm the British, without assimilating all princely states, achieving the status of a country was neither theoretically nor practically possible.

2ndly It was unlikely that the ruling Muslim community which was 18%, could rule over the majority for long.
3rd, for the survival of a state, its int'l connection depends on ports or airports. The state of Hyd had no ports & air travel was in its infancy.

4th, Due to Indp Struggle a Democratic Conscious was wakened in the minds of the ppl. There4, For a large number of ppl (Hindus/Muslims), it was no longer possible to live under the rule of a king.

For these reasons, Hyd's annexation was an imperative that eventually had to happen, but if it had been done peacefully by awakening the public consciousness, it would hav been a great achievement of history, but unfortunately.

Hyderabad's fall is not only a tragedy in the history of muslim India but also a stigma in the history of India itself, the cause of which was on one hand the Indian leadership which, through prejudice and hatred, treated Hyderabad.

OTOH was the Muslim leadership which stood on the sentimental attitude of responding to bigotry with bigotry and hate. According to Abul Ali Maududi, who wrote clearly in a letter to Qasim Rizvi 9 months before the fall of Hyderabad,

He wrote "The Nizam's government is a wall of sand which is sure to collapse. "Before these situations, all kinds of conflict should be stopped and a peaceful compromise should be reached with India at any cost" The letter was Torn by Qasim Rizvi in a fit of anger.

Altho HydMuslims found a sane & brilliant Leader in form of Nawab BahadurYar Jang, Fate had something else in mind & he died mysteriously allegedly martyred by poisoning. After His Death, last hope of Muslim leadership was lost. lamp went out & d nation's boat continued to sink.

Furthermore, the State Congress, Hindu Maha Sabha, and the Arya Samaj movement created instability by presenting fake or exaggerated stories of atrocities against the Hindus outside the state to create national and international opinion against the state.

Although these conspiracies could not get the support of the people, the silence of Nizam helped spread the poison of communalism and riots started gradually. The Latur Riot was important in the history of Hyderabad and the first major victory for the sectarians.

the communist movement whose leaders included Makhdoom Mohiuddin, for a while looked like a middle path between Mahasabha and the Razakars. However, it soon became a tool of sectarian groups and instead turned against the Muslims.

The two sides had taken the path of confrontation. The Razakars were armed with ancient weapons like muskets, clubs, and swords, while the sectarian cadres consisted of trained ex-soldiers with modern weapons.

The Rebels would always attack with precise targets & massacre people (muslims & UC Zamindars), whereas the Razakars would take hours or even days to arrive. As a result, the sectarian forces would have done their work, shed the blood and escaped.

Razakars would thn retaliate agst Rest of Hindus who wer mostly innocent, nothing to do & the result would b tht whatever hapened to these innocents would be publicized in the press, inciting the hearts of the Hindus of Hyd & Indian Ppl & Army, the flames of revenge flared up.

The leaderships of both Hyderabad and India were sincere in their intentions. In order to join, Nizam demanded concessions. Nehru & Sardar Patel's far-sighted eyes saw the consequences of acquiring a state by giving concessions.

Both sides continued their efforts. The Nizam wanted to meet Lord Mountbatten in Hyderabad till the last moment. The Hyderabad government wanted a dignified settlement of the issue because militarily, it was already helpless.

OTOH, ther was a Severe economic blockade on Hyd. In this situ, Hyd couldn't demand & get independence.
OTOH, the expediency that was used is the same today in many places, to eradicate the weak, they are forced to clash so the charge of tyranny and oppression falls on themself.

Razakars, A voluntary organization became the useful fools under leadership of Qasim Rizvi. This group consisted of independent youth who had no or nominal connection with the government. On this pretext, the whole of Hyderabad was targeted.

The flamboyance & the speeches of volunteer leaders served to add fuel to the fire. On April 6, 1948, scandalous news was published in the HT that Rizvi had decided to hoist the flag at the Red Fort. He denied it But the arrow was released, & it had done its job

India's tough attitude can be understood after carefully studying the situation in Kashmir at the time. From 1947 to 1948, the action on Hyderabad was stopped for 1 year using the Standstill Agreement. This was mainly due to the fact that Indian troops were fighting in Kashmir.

During this time, the Nizam helped the new state of Pakistan with millions of rupees after playing an active role in its establishment. But in any case, just like the British, it was the fate of the Nizam that the one on whom he threw his wealth failed to save him.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah(Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-azam) in Hy

The mistakes that the Nizam continued to commit were incalculable. On One Hand, Nizam expressed a distance from the Razakars to GOI. OTOH, 6May 1947, he allowed 1000s of Razakar uths to parade in his birthday which was celebrated by the Razakars.

Contd.

Through pictures of these events, not only India but the whole world was led to believe that Nizam and volunteers are two sides of the same coin. In reality, the Nizam was more suspicious of the Razakars than the armed Hindu groups.

The standstill accord could not be implemented honestly, There was no solution and no person who could create a way for compromise. Mahatma Gandhi who could have been acceptable was dead, Bahaduryarjung was dead.

Soon the means of transportation were stopped, oil, petrol, and chlorine for drinking water were stopped and cholera broke out in the city. The medication was stopped a long time ago. Nizam's request for an end to the blockade was unheeded.

Jinnah's death on 11 Sept 1948, proved to be an auspicious omen for Indian Army. While, Mountbatten was assuring Nizam that Nehru Govt would protect him well, Indian troops entered from 22 directions & heaviest attacks were from Sholapur & others from Beirawadi.

The military operation was named "Operation Polo". Name was chosen to humiliate Nizam's family as AsifJahi princes & Umra were nt only fond of polo but also experts & placed bets worth 1000s of rupees.

Hyd forces continued to retreat. For 4 days, reports of 1000s of Muslim deaths continued. Warangal, Bidar, & Aurangabad were bombarded & millions of people were left in the dust or displaced.

On Sept 16, the matter was to be brought up in the United Nations Security Council, India Claimed that this a "Police Action" against a few sectarian elements.

The last meeting of #Hyderabad Legislature before finance mi

On September 17 Nizam Arrived at the radio station accompanied by Indian Officials & read out a single written announcement that he had resigned. He Put the blame squarely on the Razakars and he was retained as Rajpramukh till 1956

Night of 17 & 18 Sept was Night of Festival of barbarians where any Muslim seen would b killed. Communists, AryaSamaj & MahaSabha workers made the soldiers identify house & property of Muslims. Women wer targeted & raped. Millions became orphans. Ths continued for several days.

The gruesome details of these massacres were described at by many Congressmen, now those reports are still lying under the mountain of files with countless reports of riots like Bhagalpur and Bombay.

In the name of “Police Action”, there was Looting, arson, murder and gang rape on a mass level. After the incident, the govt appointed an inquiry committee Named “Sundarlal committee” whose reports were not made public until 2013.

The report mentioned that “while Muslim villagers were disarmed by the Army, Hindus were frequently left with their weapons”. & “at several locations, members of the armed forces brought out Muslim adult males from towns & villages & massacred them in cold blood.”

The committee found that several armed & trained men belonging to well-known Hindu communal groups participated in and led the massacre. The wounds of the 1948 Hyderabad Massacre are still raw for Muslims today.

Sadly Fascists are celebrating this Genocide as "Hyderabad Liberation Day". Nizam was a native of India and not an outsider like the Portuguese, against whom words like Liberation & celebration can be used.

But in their hatred towards Muslims, the BJP wants Indians to celebrate genocide, the first one of Indian independent India. This shameful behaviour towards Muslims and this inhumane lust to celebrate the genocide and one of the worst episodes of Indian history is deplorable.

17th September is not the liberation day but the day of genocide, the implications of which can be felt even today. Does celebrating Hyderabad Liberation Day not undermine the history of a despicable human tragedy?

Here is another thread by @ShamirOmari bhai Calling out these "Liberation" bullshi

https://twitter.com/ShamirOmari/status/1571160765213847553

This has been Corrected and published as an article in @TheCognate_ edited by @Zaknetic bhai. The attack on Hyderabad on 17 September 1948 is the day of genocide, & not day of “liberation”. thecognate.com/1948-hyderabad…

Here is a brief of what Operation Polo meant & means for Last 4 Muslim generations...