Hyderabad State Congress

The Hyderabad State Congress was a political party in the princely state of Hyderabad that sought civil rights, representative democracy and the union of Hyderabad with the Republic of India. It opposed the autocratic rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the militancy of the Muslim Razakars.

History

Although technically outside British India, Hyderabad State was closely allied with the British government, with its Nizam having the title of the "Most Faithful Ally of the British Government."[1] Although more than 80% of Hyderabad State's population was Hindu, the Nizam's bureaucracy, military and court were dominated by Muslims.[1] The Nizam gave patronage to the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, a party dedicated to preserving Islamic rule in the state, and allowed its militant wing, the Razakars, to operate freely.[1] Its leaders Bahadur Yar Jung and Qasim Razvi became close advisers to the Nizam.

Satyagraha

Since its formation in 1938, the State Congress conducted non-violent protests against the Nizam's banning of the organisation. In 1942, the leaders of the Hyderabad Congress launched a non-violent campaign of civil disobedience, a satyagraha, for civil rights, representative democracy alongside the Quit India movement led by the Indian National Congress.[2] The Nizam's government finally ended the ban on the State Congress in April, 1946 after the end of the Quit India struggle in British India and the beginning of the process of granting independence to India from British rule.

Union with India

The Hyderabad State Congress began actively campaigning for the state of Hyderabad to join the Union of India upon independence, which the Nizam was resisting. The State Congress called for August 7, 1947 to be observed as "Join Indian Union" Day.[2][3] Protests, strikes and flag-hoisting broke out across the state, and the Nizam's government banned the Congress again and conducted mass arrests.[2][3] The Razakars in turn threatened to mass pogroms against Hindu civilians in Hyderabad and provoke violence across India.[1] The crisis continued until September, 1948 when the Indian government unfortunately authorized the Indian Army to annex Hyderabad that led to massacre of many civilians.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "HYDERABAD: The Holdout". Time. 1948-08-30. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  2. 1 2 3 Santosh Kaul (1998). Indian Freedom Movement and States. Anmol Publications. pp. 130–60. ISBN 978-81-7488-916-4.
  3. 1 2 Shankaragouda Hanamantagouda Patil (2002). Community dominance and political modernisation: the Lingayats. Mittal Publications. pp. 220–60. ISBN 978-81-7099-867-9.
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