Annexation of Hyderabad

Operation Polo was the code name of the Hyderabad "police action" in September 1948, by the newly independent Dominion of India against Hyderabad State. It was a military operation in which the Indian Armed Forces invaded the Nizam-ruled princely state, annexing it into the Indian Union.

Quotes

• Inside Hyderabad the Razakars were on a rampage, with Kasim Razvi, their chief, carrying on a virulent campaign against Bharat in general and Hindus in particular. ... On 31 March he called upon the Muslims of Hyderabad not to sheathe their swords until Islamic supremacy had been established. He exhorted them to march forward with Koran in one hand and sword in the other to crush the enemies, and assured them that the 45 million Muslims in the Indian Union would act as their fifth columnists in any such showdown. The Hyderabad State was then boasting of 2 lakh Razakars with small arms, 40,000 regulars and irregulars of the State’s forces besides a number of Pathans.
  Massacre of Hindus, destruction of temples, rape and abduction of Hindu women went on unchecked, with the Hydera- bad Police acting had in glove with the Razakars. Razakars é then began indulging in border raids on the neighbouring States of Madras, Bombay and Central Provinces. Attacks on through- trains became frequent. Exodus of Hindus from Hyderabad started.
  J.V. Joshi, in his letter of resignation to the Nizam’s Executive Council, charged that the law and order situation had completely broken down ; that incidents were not lacking where i the police had joined the Razakars in looting, arson, murder and d molestation of the womenfolk; and that, in their despair, many Hindus had sought shelter outside the State. To quote his words: ‘‘A complete reign of terror prevailed in Parbhani and Nanded districts. I have seen in Loha a scene of devastation which brought tears to my eyes Brahmins were killed and their eyes were taken out. Women had been raped, houses had been burnt down in large numbers. My heart wrung in anguish...”
  • quoted in Tragic story of partition

• In the book ‘Marathwada Under the Nizams’, historian P.V Kate records, “Some women became victims of rape and kidnapping by Razakars. Thousands went to jail and braved the cruelties perpetrated by the oppressive administration. Due to the activities of the Razakars, thousands of Hindus had to flee from the state and take shelter in various camps”.
  • ‘Marathwada Under the Nizams’, historian P.V Kate also quoted at [1]

• From a long term point of view, the collapse of Hyderabad was a significant event in the history of India, for the Nizam’s rule was the last and the most outworn relic of the Mughal Empire. ...
  The Nizams would have been thrown on the scrap-heap of history by the Marathas long before the end of the 18th century… After 1857, the British Crown kept them… in power as a potential reservoir of strength in the event of a country-wide anti-British outburst. Later, the Nizams were the most glittering pendants to the Imperial Crown, as also counter-weights against mili­tant nationalism. The Nizam’s Hyderabad had, therefore, lived because the British rulers were interested in main­taining them, though the people of the State had to pay a heavy price for it.
  • The End of an Era; Hyderabad Memories - 256 Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi · 1957 also quoted at [2]