In the 1940s, the cornered Britishers did their best to sow the seeds of Balkanisation of the soon-to-be Independent India. The British proposal for princely states to decide their own independent political fate could have been proved as a catastrophe for the nation.

However, the visionary leadership of Sardar Vallabhai Patel facilitated the merger of 565 princely states into the Union of India without any controversy or false hefty promises to any Raja or Rajwada (King or Kingdom). However, Nizam Shahi of Hyderabad forced Sardar Patel to adopt an iron fist strategy. He didn’t allow a hostile territory to form within India and personally took care of the Hyderabad problem. It is time to nip all the communal Nizam Shahi sentiments brewing within the state before marking the 75th anniversary of the heroic Operation Polo, next year.

Year-long celebrations of ‘Operation Polo’

On the 17th of September, next year, Hyderabad will mark the 75th anniversary of the successful culmination of Operation Polo. For this, the Union Government has announced organizing a year-long event on the historic occasion of Hyderabad Liberation Day. The program called ‘Hyderabad Mukti Diwas‘ will commemorate the independence of Hyderabad from the tyrannical rule of Nizam.

The mega event will be held at Parade Ground in Hyderabad and will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Several Chief Ministers may grace the mega event in the state on that day.

Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy stated that Telangana CM K. Chandrashekhar Rao, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai, and Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde have been requested to organize appropriate programs to celebrate the historic day in their respective states.

On that memorial day, tributes will be paid to all those who sacrificed their lives in Hyderabad’s liberation and merger with India.

#AsaduddinOwaisi seems to have a problem with @BJP4India calling the 17th September event in Secunderabad as a 'Liberation Day'. Maj Gen Edroos, Commander in Chief, Hyderabad State Forces surrendered to Maj Gen J N Chaudhuri, of the Indian Army. It was not 'Integration Day', Mr. Owaisi.

Amit Shah said, "The Telangana govt promised to commemorate Telangana Liberation Day in September if voted to power. However, they backtracked due to the fear of Majlis. The first HM of the country Sardar Patel freed Hyderabad from the tyranny of Razkars and merged it with India."

Is there any cynicism with the name?

As usual, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi started whining about the program and its name. Rattled with Hyderabad Mukti Diwas, Owaisi demanded that the program name be changed to National Unity Day.

Isn’t it ironic that those who cry on top of their voice against the changed nomenclature of some cities or places are asking for the same in this case?

He said, “On behalf of AIMIM, I have written letters to Home Minister Amit Shah and Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao. ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas‘ may be more appropriate for the program instead of naming it Mukti (liberation).”

Brief History of Bhagyanagar

It is worth noting that on the 13th of September, the Indian Army began its attack from the fort of Naldurg and the Tuljapur district. The operation finally ended with Hyderabad’s merger with India on the 17th of September 1948. It finally liberated Hyderabad from the clutches of Nizam.

The then-Hyderabad princely state included present-day Telangana, the present-day Marathwada region of Maharashtra, and the districts of Kalaburgi, Bellary, Raichur, Yadgir, Koppal, Vijayanagar, and Bidar in North Karnataka. Urdu was the official language of the state when only 20% of the population communicated in it. Contrary to that, the prominent languages of the region were Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, and Hindi. These languages were deliberately sidelined and trampled by the then-Nizam administration.

It seems that Hyderabad may see a minor replica of that historic event in today’s political environment. Owaisi has been notorious for raising several communal demands and popping Muslim angles in any issue, program, or scheme. It seems that the Union Home Minister is following the footsteps of Sardar Patel. He has decided to crush all the communal Nizami sentiments and elements in Hyderabad and Telangana. It will also expose the false notion that Owaisi and his style of communal politics hold huge support in Hyderabad and neighboring regions.

References:

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