Accession Or Annexation?

In Operation Polo, almost 40000 people were reported to have lost their lives at the hands of troops sent by the Indian government in 1948. It is intriguing to know what exactly led to such heavy bloodshed and a fierce state-sponsored crisis.

The Harsh Streets of Hyderabad; Image Source: The Indian Express

After independence, the 'union of states' in the Indian constitution is most likely the main reason that Hyderabad was made one of the states. In contrast, old India pre-independence was segmented into many princely provinces that were governed by their native rulers. As one of the empires that were spread across Aurangabad of Maharashtra to Raichur of Karnataka for centuries was Nizam of Hyderabad.

Following the partition, these states were given the option to either join the Indian Union or remain independent. The Nizam of Hyderabad also had dilemmas like many other provinces, and agreed to hold an agreement that excluded India from all internal matters, but gave access to external affairs and defense forces. Hyderabad was thus spared the accession and chose to remain an independent nation, although rumors of Pakistan's support had already begun.

Following the violation of the agreement, the Hindu population was greatly threatened. The Nizam conspired to arm themselves with a semi-private military with the support of outsiders, primarily to control the Hindu masses. As places were pushed into Islamic brutality, this eventually culminated in the mass oppression of Hindus.

India was more than just suspicious about the intentions of the state after they loaned Pakistan 15 million pounds. Meanwhile, communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims continued to persist in the country, which was another issue that worried the state heads.

Sardar Vallabhai Patel's resistance to independent Hyderabad was "an ulcer in the heart of India which needs to removed surgically"

A debate in Parliament continued over the atrocities of Hyderabad, and annexing Hyderabad would have resulted in a direct confrontation between East and West Pakistan, but there was no choice. This is when Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the then home minister of India decided to launch "Operation Polo" which was basically meant to be a police action. Following this, 36000 troops stormed into the state from Aurangabad and one could not help but tremble in terror.

The province was declared in a state of emergency, as troops swept away whoever stood in their way. While the war was only five days long, the cries of battle that resulted nerved the whole country for a while.

Following this entire bloodbath in Hyderabad, the Nizam was left without an option other than to surrender his royal status and accept the Instrument of Accession to join India's 'union of states'. Consequently, the Hyderabad we see today was built on the foundations of masses of dead bodies piled up in a state-sponsored crisis.