Hyderabad Deccan - Telangana

948,
Hyderabad was an independent country popularly named as
princely state with Nizam VII, Mir Osman Ali Khan as its ruler. Hyderabad was never under the British rule. Hyderabad was as
large as the present country France. It had its own currency,
railways, postal department, Judiciary, military etc. In fact, there were 544 princely states then spread all over the area which is presently known as India. Hyderabad was one among them. All these princely states were occupied and merged by the Indian Union after it got independence from the Britishers. But as Hyderabad was one of the largest princely states,
the Indian government that was
formed after the Britishers left, it
wanted Hyderabad to merge into
Indian union, because Hyderabad
State was in between the North
and South regions, therefore, if
Indian Union wanted to rule over
the Southern region then it was
not possible so they wanted to
occupy the Hyderabad state, so
that they can include the whole
North and South regions and rule
over it. However, the VII Nizam
did not agree to the proposal of
Indian government and wanted
some time to think about it as
the Britishers had given him
three choices, one is to merge
into Indian Union, two is to
remain independent and the
third is to merge into newly
formed Pakistan. Let us examine ‘Liberation’ in
what sense and from whom? In
the year 1948, on the pretext of
suppressing communist
movement that was spread only
in four districts of Hyderabad
State, the Indian union attacked
the Hyderabad state to
overthrow the Nizam rule which
was considered as Muslim rule. Though the police action was to
occupy Hyderabad state but
actually in the name of police
action, Muslims were killed in
large numbers. It was estimated
officially by the Sundarlal
Committee appointed by the
government of India that One
Lakh Muslims were killed by the
Indian army and unofficial
estimation is more than two lakh
Muslims were killed. The Arya
Samaj and other Hindu
fundamentalist organizations
along with Indian military were
involved in the killing of Muslims.
17th September is not the
liberation day but day of
genocide, the implications of
which can be felt even today. The Nizam of Hyderabad State
never even thought of this type
of massacre, because he always
considered Hindus and Muslims
as his two eyes. The way the
people of Hyderabad were
targeted due to the Nizam of
Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan’s
innocence and lack of future
understanding, he underwent
shock due to that. All his dreams
went scattered, his tongue went
soar, because this richest man of
the world would never have
dreamt that his home would be
destroyed so brutally in front of
his eyes and he was unable to do
anything. The Indian Union’s aim was not
just to exterminate the Nizam’s
government, but also to erase
the culture, language, history and
literature of Hyderabad. So, the
Nizam’s government was
eliminated by one attack, but the
culture, language, history and
literature that has strong roots,
could not be erased even after
the military action of 17th
September. But it has been
continuously under attack. The
recent uprising Telangana
movement is born/emerged from
the remaining of culture,
heritage and language of
Hyderabad, which is called
Hyderabadi tahzeeb. Because of
this we have given the slogan
Hyderabad is Telangana and
Telangana is Hyderabad. It is time now to think as to who
is benefiting by giving the
slogans of ‘Liberation Day’ and
who wants the state government
to declare this day officially as
liberation day. In the year 1948,
as the Congress gave the reasons
of suppressing the communist
movement and occupied the
Hyderabad state to overthrow
the Nizam’s rule, in the present
times, BJP is using the same
strategy and supporting the
Telangana movement and
propagating that the Muslim rule
will come back. One should also
think as to why the BJP and TRS
have been celebrating this
particular day? These two parties
are working on same ideological
line and majoritarian ideology of
these parties will make the
people to stand against Muslims. The BJP is making communal
statements and instigating
common people against Muslims
and bringing differences among
the communities. So, the SCs, STs
and BCs are thinking on the lines
of BJP. On the one hand TRS
praises Nizam for providing
infrastructure and on the other
hand it is depicting him as
enemy of the people. This dual
stand will benefit them both in
getting more votes in
forthcoming elections. More than
this both the parties want to
hide the real history of
Hyderabad. History is not a
monolithic one, it must be read
in multiple ways and bring out
the facts to construct the
understanding. This day has been celebrated by
the BJP and Congress as
liberation day. TDP celebrated it
as a merger day and the TRS and
left parties have celebrated it as
betrayal day and the Muslim, SC,
ST, and Bahujan organizations
have named it as Invasion day. So, there is no clear
understanding among the
political parties as to what they
should call the day 17th
September as. We can understand with the
opinion of various political
parties that they are not sincere
towards the separate Telangana
movement and are playing vote
bank politics to increase their
political employment. We Telanganites are still under
the suppression of the
Seemandhras, so we haven’t got
the liberation and freedom yet. Though India has got
independence in the year 1947,
Hyderabad was already
independent. But after the
merger, the Andhra occupied the
Telangana region, diverted all the
natural resources to their region
and now they have occupied the
Waqf lands and are ruling over
us. Therefore, people of
Telangana are still under the
suppression of the Seemandhras. Therefore, in real sense we
haven’t got freedom yet. Unless
and until Telangana is formed as
a separate state, we cannot say
that we are free and liberated. There was no Telangana
movement at the time when the
Indian Union attacked the
Hyderabad State. There was only
communist movement that too
spread over a small part of the
Hyderabad state, say in four
districts. Therefore, 17th
September cannot be considered
as Liberation day as it had no
connection with Telangana
freedom. It is a black day in
human history as lakhs of
Muslims were massacred. Telangana people who know
about the history of Hyderabad
very clearly also know that 17th
September is neither a liberation
day, nor betrayal day but in fact it
is a black day in human history. Hyderabad was originally sited on the south side of the Musi
river and built to reflect Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah's Splendor and style of governance. The city has now
spread widely in all directions - north across the river, eastwards and westwards. The area south of the Musi, the original Hyderabad, is what is referred to as the Old City or shehar (city) by
the populace. Its nucleus is the Charminar, a famed landmark and the symbol of the city. With its four minarets and small mosque on the roof, the Charminar is as meaningful to the locals as perhaps the Arc de Triomphe is to the citizens of Paris.....




History of Hyderabad
Ancient history:

The area around Hyderabad was ruled by the Mauryan Empire in the third century B.C during the reign of Ashoka the Great. After the death of Ashoka (232 BCE), as the Maurya Empire began to weaken and decline, the Sātavāhanas who started out as feudatories to the Mauryan dynasty, declared independence and established their empire in this region. The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar (Pune) and Prathisthan (Paithan) in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of the Deccan plateau & central India for 450 years,i.e., from 230 BCE onward until around 220 CE. After the decline of the Satavahana Empire in 220 AD, the region came under the rule of the Andhra Ikshvaku dynasty (225 AD - 325 AD), the successors of the Satavahanas in the eastern Deccan. The capital of Andhra Ikshvaku dynasty was the town of Nagarjunakonda in modern day Nalgonda district and named after Nagarjuna, a southern Indian master of Mahayana Buddhism who lived in the 2nd century AD, who is believed to have been responsible for the Buddhist activity in the area. Medieval history:

Various Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms ruled the area during the subsequent centuries. The area was ruled by the Kalyani branch of the Chalukya kings. When the Chalukya kingdom became weaker, Kakatiyas, who were feudal chieftains of Chalukya, declared independence and setup their kingdom around Warangal. The fall of Warangal to Muhammad bin Tughluq's forces from the Delhi Sultanate in 1321 AD brought anarchy to the region. For the next few decades, the Bahmani Sultanate of the Deccan fought the Musunuri Nayakas on the north and the Vijayanagara Rayas on the south for control of the region. By the middle of the 15th century, the region was under the firm control of the Bahmani Sultanate which controlled the Deccan north of the Krishna River from coast to coast. Founding:

Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, a ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, was the founder of Hyderabad City. In the year 1591, when the Moon was in the constellation of Leo, Jupiter in its own abode and all celestial planets favourably placed, he laid the foundation of a new city which he called Bhagyanagar after his beloved queen ‘Bhagmati’. Bhagmati embraced Islam and took the name Hyder Mahal and consequently Bhagynagar was renamed Hyderabad after her. The Qutb Shahis: Main article: Qutb Shahi dynasty
The Golconda Sultanate:
In 1463, Sultan Mohammad Shah Bahmani dispatched Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk to the Telangana region to quell disturbances. Sultan Quli quelled the disturbance and was rewarded as the administrator of the region. He established a base at Kakatiya hill fortress of Golconda which he strengthened and expanded considerably. By the end of the century, Quli ruled from Golconda as the Subedar of Andhra lands. Quli enjoyed virtual independence from Bidar, where the Bahmani sultanate was then based. In 1518, he declared independence from the Bahmani Sultanate and established the Golconda Sultanate under the title Sultan Quli Qutub Shah. This was the start of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty. The Bahmani Sultanate disintegrated into five different kingdoms, with the others based in Ahmednagar, Berar, Bidar and Bijapur. The Founding of a New City:
Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah of the Qutub Shahi dynasty built the city of Hyderabad on the Musi River five miles (8 km) east of Golconda in 1589. The Purana Pul ("old bridge") spanning the Musi was built a few years earlier, enabling quick travel between Golconda and Hyderabad. Hyderabad was named as the City of Hyder after the title of the Fourth Caliph Ali. Many people though, commonly believe that the city of "Hyderabad" was named after the people as their residence as "City of the Brave" from the Persian words "Hyder/Haider" (Persian and Urdu meaning lion or brave and "Abad/Abaad" (Persian and Urdu meaning abode or populated) after surviving the plaque epidemic that ravaged Golkonda. There is another urban myth and folklore which may be an apocryphal that the Sultan named it after his wife Hyder Mahal(not likely he gave her a male name or title). Lack of space for expansion in Golconda fort city made the Sultan called up his best of advisers to search for a new virgin wooded elevated land site near a river void of any man-made structures or monuments. The city concept was planned on grid-iron pattern reflective of well related precincts with an iconic monument as the main foci. He also ordered the construction of the Char Minar in 1591 a tall structure to oversee the urban development and to keep watch of the river banks flooding the nearby areas causing epidemics of grave nature. The New City Flourishes:
The early history of Hyderabad is inextricably intertwined and fortune rose during the 16th and early 17th centuries, Hyderabad became a center of a vibrant diamond trade. All seven Qutb Shahi sultans were patrons of learning and were great builders. They contributed to the growth and development of Indo-Persian and Indo-Islamic literature and culture in Hyderabad. Some of the sultans were known as patrons of local Telugu culture as well. During the Qutb Shahi reign Golconda became one of the leading markets in the world for diamonds, pearls, steel, arms, and also printed fabric. In the 16th century the city grew to accommodate the surplus population of Golconda and eventually became the capital of the Qutb Shahi rulers. Hyderabad became known for its gardens (called baghs) and its comfortable climate. Visitors from other lands compared the city most to the beautiful city of Isfahan in Iran. Mughal conquest and rule:
By the mid-17th century, politics in the Deccan were ready for yet another tectonic shift. Mughal prince Aurangzeb spent most of his time in the Deccan fighting local Hindu and Muslim kingdoms to establish and enforce Mughal Sovereignty. After the death of Shah Jahan in 1666, Aurangzeb consolidated his power in Delhi as Emperor and returned to the south. He spent most of his imperial reign in military camps in the Deccan, in an almost desperate campaign to expand the empire beyond the greatest extent it had reached under Akbar. The biggest prize in his eyes was the rich city of Hyderabad, protected by the reportedly impregnable fort of Golconda. Hyderabad Falls to the Mughals:
Aurangzeb with his brave commanders Khwaja Abid Siddiqi (Qulich Khan)s/o Shaikh Mir Ismail Siddiqi and Qaziuddin Siddiqi (Feroze Jung) father and son laid siege to Golconda in 1686. Golconda held fast under months of siege, and Aurangzeb had to retreat in frustration. Aurangzeb returned in 1687 and laid siege for 9 months camping in the Fateh Maidan ("victory field," now the Lal Bahadur Stadium). Khwaja Abid Siddiqi (Qulich Khan) died in these war and was buried at Kismatpur near Attapur Hyderabad. Local legend has it that the fortress held on, but the gates were opened at night by a saboteur Abdullah Khan Pani who was bribed by Aurangzeb. Sultan Abul Hassan Tana Shah, the seventh king of the dynasty, was taken prisoner. Hyderabad's independence was eclipsed. Aurangzeb's efforts would turn out largely in vain, with Hyderabad remaining in Mughal hands for less than four decades. For a few decades, Hyderabad declined, and its vibrant diamond trade was all but destroyed. Aurangzeb's attention moved away quickly to other parts of the Deccan, with the Marathas slowly but steadily gaining ground against the Mughals. Viceroys Become Kings:
With the emaciation of the Mughal Empire after Aurangzeb's death in 1707, the Mughal-appointed governors of Hyderabad gained more autonomy from Delhi. In 1724,Chin Qulich Khan Asaf Jah I Mir Qamaruddin Siddiqi son of Qaziuddin Siddiqi and grandson of Khwaja Abid siddiqi (Qulich Khan), who was granted the title Nizam-ul-Mulk ("governor of the country") by the Mughal emperor, defeated a rival official to establish control over Hyderabad. Thus began the Asaf Jahi dynasty that would rule Hyderabad until a year after India's independence from Britain. Hyderabad Starts Growing Again:
Asaf Jah's successors ruled as Nizams of Hyderabad. The rule of the seven Nizams saw the growth of Hyderabad both culturally and economically. Hyderabad became the formal capital of the kingdom and Golconda, the former capital, was all but abandoned. Survey work on Nagarjuna Sagar had also begun during this time. A Delicate Balancing Game:
When the British and the French spread their hold over the country, successive Nizams won their friendship without bequeathing their power. The Nizams allied themselves with each side at different times, playing a significant role in the wars involving Tipu Sultan of Mysore, the British and the French. During the reign of the third Nizam, Sikandar Jah, the city of Secunderabad was founded to station French troops and subsequently, British troops. The British stationed a Resident at Hyderabad and their own troops at Secunderabad, but the state continued to be ruled by the Nizam. Hyderabad, under the Nizams, was the largest princely state in India, with an area larger than England, Scotland and Wales combined. It was considered the "senior-most" princely-state, and within the elaborate protocols of the Raj, its ruler the Nizam was accorded a 21-gun salute. The State had its own currency, mint, railways, and postal system. There was no income tax. Industrialisation:
Various industries emerged in pre-independence Hyderabad, the major industries that were established in various parts of Hyderabad/Telengana are:

Industries in pre-Independence Hyderabad

Company Year
Singareni Collieries 1921
Nizam Sugar Factory 1937
Allwyn Metal Works 1942
Praga Tools 1943
Sirsilk 1946
Hyderabad Asbestos 1947
Vazir Sultan Tobbaco Company,Charminar cigarette factory 1930
Karkhana Zinda Tilismat 1920

Integration into Indian Union:
Main articles: Operation Polo and Telengana Rebellion
When India gained independence in 1947, the Nizam declared his intention to remain independent, either as a sovereign ruler or by acquiring Dominion status within the British Empire. In order to keep essential trade and supplies flowing, he signed a Standstill Agreement with the Indian Union which surrounded him on all sides. The law and order situation soon deteriorated, with escalating violence between the private Razakar army fighting for continuation of the Nizam's rule and the people with the support of the Congress leaders like Swami Ramanand Tirtha and the communists of Telangana, were fighting for joining in the Indian Union. As the violence spiraled out of control with refugees flowing into the coastal Andhra region of the Madras state of India, the Indian Government under Home Minister Sardar Patel initiated a police action titled Operation Polo. On September 16, 1948, Indian Army moved in to Hyderabad State from five fronts. Four days later, the Hyderabad forces surrendered. The number of dead was a little over 800[citation needed]. The Police Action achieved success within a matter of days. The Nizam finally surrendered and signed the Instrument of Accession to the Indian Union and Hyderabad was integrated into the Indian Union as a state. Hyderabad State:
Main article: Hyderabad state
The state got its first democractic government and the representatives of its 18 million people were admitted to the Constituent Assembly drafting a constitution for free India. For the next eight years, Hyderabad continued as a separate state within the union. Reorganization of States and Formation of Andhra Pradesh:
Main article: States Reorganisation Act
On November 1, 1956, the states of India were reorganized on linguistic grounds. Consequently, the terrorities of the State of Hyderabad were divided between newly created Andhra Pradesh, Bombay state (later Maharashtra), and Karnataka. Hyderabad and the surrounding areas were annexed into India, and later to Andhra Pradesh based on Telugu linguistic majority, and Hyderabad became the capital of the new state of Andhra Pradesh.