On September 17, 1948, the Nizam of Hyderabad surrendered to the Indian Union’s military action, bringing an end to the princely state’s independence. This annexation followed a period of intense conflict, with the Indian government moving in to integrate Hyderabad into the Union, while the Nizam’s private militia, the Razakars, fought communist backed village militias in parts of the Telangana region.
To fully understand the significance of September 17, it’s important to look at the historical context. Unlike many other princely states, Hyderabad wasn’t annexed or attacked during the British Raj from the late 18th century onwards. In fact, it was one of the first princely states to accept the British policy of subsidiary alliance. Under this arrangement, Hyderabad allowed British forces to station in the capital in exchange for protection against external threats. In return, the Nizam was not only required to dissolve its own army but also required to pay the British and, if unable to do so, ceded territory as compensation. It was through this alliance that the districts of Anantapur and Kurnool, among others, were handed over to the British.
This system allowed the Nizam to maintain a degree of autonomy, making Hyderabad a unique case in the larger narrative of British India. However, by 1947, the situation had changed dramatically. As India gained independence, the princely states were faced with a choice: accede to India, join Pakistan, or remain independent. The Nizam chose the latter option, setting the stage for the Indian government’s military action in 1948 termed as ‘Operation Polo’
Operation Polo and the subsequent annexation of Hyderabad state into Indian Union remains a watershed moment in Telangana’s history for two significant reasons.
First, the administrative changes that followed the annexation sowed the seeds for demands for a separate Telangana state. Outsiders were recruited into key positions in the newly annexed administration, which gradually led to resentment among locals. This discontent would later fuel the Telangana statehood agitation, culminating in the formation of Telangana as a separate state in 2014.
Second, the annexation brought to the surface the rebellious, anti-feudal spirit of Telangana’s society. The anti-feudal sentiments that emerged during this period have remained a defining feature of Telangana’s political culture. Many political analysts believe that this very sentiment played a crucial role in shaping the narrative of the 2023 Telangana assembly elections, where the Indian National Congress (INC) positioned itself as the party fighting against feudal tendencies, particularly targeting former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR).
Congress and the “Praja Palana Dinotsavam”
The Indian National Congress, having played a pivotal role in the military action to annex Hyderabad, could have claimed this event as a cornerstone of its legacy. However, the current INC leadership, under A. Revanth Reddy, has chosen to commemorate September 17 as ‘Praja Palana Dinotsavam’—or ‘People’s Governance Day.’ According to the Congress narrative, this day marks the end of the Nizam’s monarchy and the beginning of democracy in Telangana.
However, this interpretation is not without its flaws. Following the annexation, Hyderabad was placed under military rule, led by General J.N. Chaudhary, until 1949. It was only then that a civilian government was installed, with M.K. Vellodi, an ICS officer from outside Telangana, taking charge. Furthermore, the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, was appointed as Rajpramukh (Governor) by the Indian government. True democratic governance only began after the 1952 general elections, raising questions about the Congress’s claims that democracy took root immediately after annexation.
Another issue with Congress appropriation of this day was that there was large scale communal violence after the military action in the Hyderabad State. The Sundarlal Committee appointed by the Union to look into the communal violence reported that the districts of Osmanabad, Gulbarga, Bidar and Nander were the most affected by the communal violence. Notably, these were also the districts the Razakars were powerful. For example, the committee noted that in the town on Latur, where there was a population of 10,000 Muslims-only 3 remained; 2-3 thousand people were killed and the rest, fled. A rather baffling part of the report was the participation of sections of the Army in the violence against Muslims.[1] This shabby handling of the annexation surely takes away the credibility the Congress seeks to have. Although the people of Telangana largely remember Operation Polo to be a Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s initiative, Congress has stopped appropriating any part of it, whatsoever. The word ‘Praja Palana’ was actually an election slogan given by the Congress as a promise during the Assembly Election 2023.
BRS’s ‘National Integration’ Day
On the other side is the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which, although was only formed in 2001 as Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), played a leading role in the Telangana statehood movement. After coming to power in 2014, the BRS adopted a neutral, federalist stance, celebrating September 17 as ‘National Integration Day.’ This approach allowed the party to acknowledge the importance of the day without getting mired in the political or historical controversies surrounding the annexation. In 2016, BRS MLC and then Member of Parliament K. Kavitha reportedly stated that Moderate Telangana people do not believe in the Liberation Day and that the party believes in a day where Telangana state was merged into the Indian union. In 2023 the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeeen also conducted a Tiranga Rally on September 17th, last year and celebrated the day as National Integration Day like their tacit ally-the BRS-did.
Even in 2024, after the BRS found itself in opposition for the first time since 2014, the party continued to celebrate National Integration Day. On September 17, K.T. Rama Rao (KTR), BRS’s working president, unfurled the national flag at the party headquarters, reinforcing the party’s message of unity and integration.
BJP’s Hyderabad Liberation Day
Meanwhile, in contrast, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has chosen to frame the event differently. Rather than focusing on the broader integration narrative, the BJP has appropriated the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who oversaw the military action that led to Hyderabad’s annexation. For years, the BJP has advocated celebrating September 17 as ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day,’ a term that reflects their view of the event as a victory over the Nizam’s autocratic rule.
In 2022, the Ministry of Home Affairs officially declared September 17 as Hyderabad Liberation Day, stating that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to celebrate the day under a government order. A press release from the ministry emphasized the BJP’s recognition of the Hyderabad Liberation Movement—a term notably absent from much of the historical literature on the Telangana armed struggle. In 2022, Home Minister Amit Shah attended the 75th anniversary celebrations, and the BJP launched a series of public outreach initiatives, including bike rallies and public meetings, to further solidify its claim to the day. In March 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs published a Gazette Notification saying that the government has decided to commemorate September 17 as Telangana Liberation Day.
While the BJP had been using the term ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’ well before 2009, it was only after 2022 that the central government officially recognized the term, signalling a broader political effort to claim this moment in history for itself. Ideally, this should have worked-for the larger population in somehow associating BJP’s commemorative events and the Telangana Armed Struggle, but it has not.
For example, Telangana BJP leader Guduru Narayana Reddy producer a film called Razakaar and released it just before the 2024 Parliament Elections. The pre-release function for the movie was attended by the who’s who of the State BJP unit. However, a surprising presence among the attendees was the famed Telugu leftist film maker R.Narayana Murthy who took the opportunity to school the fundamentalist leaders on the event’s stage itself while everyone watched. This was possible because of a strong commune memory about a struggle between people of Telangana and the Nizam. The fact that the recent Telangana Agitation for separate statehood borrowed tactics, art, and inspiration from the earlier struggles of Telangana has imprinted a fresh recall of the Telangana Armed Struggle. This has made the task to claim and appropriate September 17 more difficult for the BJP. On top of this, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh-BJP’s predecessor- took a good 3 elections to achieve a meagre 2% vote share in combined Telangana and Andhra Pradesh after independence. Therefore, the problem for BJP in its mission to appropriate September 17th is that it simply has no history fighting for the state, and those who are intrinsically linked to the rebellion and have spearheaded it are its political enemies.
Communists and September 17 (1948)
The Telangana Peasant Struggle was significantly shaped by the Communists, who mobilised local populations against the Nizam and his feudal agents across various districts. While contemporary fundamentalist forces often depict the Hyderabad state’s exploitative dynamics in a communal context, they tend to ignore that many local feudal lords under the Nizam were predominantly Hindu. Recognising the class nature of the struggle, the Communists took decisive action.
During this time, Qasim Rizvi led the Razakars, a private militia aimed at establishing Hyderabad as a Muslim-only state. Although separate from the police, the Razakars collaborated with them to suppress Communist peasants and proponents of Indian integration. In response, the Communist Party organized guerrilla squads, redistributed grain, and secured explosives from coal miners to disrupt Razakars operations. They also fought for land redistribution, tenant rights, and the cancellation of unjust loan deeds, promoting social justice amid conflict.
Despite being banned, the Communists participated in Hyderabad State elections through the ‘People’s Democratic Front,’ winning five out of 11 parliamentary seats in the Telangana region, equal to the Indian National Congress (INC). In the legislative assembly, the Communists became the principal opposition with 42 seats with 36 of them coming from Telangana region, showcasing significant local support that rivalled that for Congress- which got 38 seats from the Telangana region-and underscoring their influential role during this transformative period.
The two main Communist Parties in the State- the CPI and the Communist Party of India (Marxist)[CPI(M)] commemorate September 17 but barely attract any media to cover their stories except their own party-run newspapers. The CPI has been conducting a Commemoration Week since 2017 and the CPI(M) too has been holding various activities on the day, every year. However, their parties’ participation in the Telangana Armed Struggle remains relatively unknown to younger generation.
What does this mean for Telangana and its people?
The attempts by fundamentalist forces to distort the significance of September 17 reflect a broader agenda to stoke division. However, the people of Telangana have largely resisted these efforts. Instead of focusing on one day, many recognise the complexities of the entire 1946-1952 period, viewing it as a prolonged struggle rather than a single transformative event. This understanding shows a maturity that political parties have struggled to emulate. Although Operation Polo may have been the single biggest event, the population remembers the stories of their villages being raided by the local feudal lords, and their goons-thus decimating the fundamentalist narrative of Hindu Population versus Muslim King.
Now, it surely is the responsibility of the current Congress-led government to take a clear stance on this historical narrative. In a state where the principal opposition is a non-BJP party, the Congress has a unique need to reinforce its secular identity. By presenting a more complete picture of the Telangana struggle, rather than allowing fundamentalist views to take root, the government can ensure that the nuances of history are not lost. How the ruling party addresses this will influence the state’s political landscape in future. The choice is between engaging meaningfully with Telangana’s past or allowing divisive forces to shape the conversation moving forward.
(The author is a legal researcher with the organisation)
[1] Pandit Sundarlal Comiittee Report on massacres in Hyderabad, 1948, Available at: https://archive.org/details/pandit-sundarlal-committee-report-on-the-massacres-in-hyderabad-1948/page/n12/mode/1up
Related:
Role of progressives in Telangana land struggle – Part III
Role of Progressives in Telangana Peasant Armed Struggle