Operation Polo led to the deaths of 1,373 Razakars, 807 Nizam soldiers, and 66 Indian Army soldiers. This operation which finally culminated in Hyderabad's merger is celebrated as Hyderabad Liberation Day by the Indian government on September 17 annually
At the time of Independence, there were 565 princely states in India. When it came to the merger of these princely states with the Indian Union, most of them agreed. However, three princely states- Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagadh were adamant.
Hyderabad, which was then spread over 82,698 square miles, was ruled by one of the richest royal families of India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the Nizam of this princely state, was known to be one of the richest persons in the world. The Nizam used to have his own Army, Railway and Postal department.
Historian Ramchandra Guha wrote in his book ‘India After Gandhi’ that the responsibility of the merger of these princely states with India was on then Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel. His Secretary VP Menon was meeting the kings, Maharajas, Nawabs and Nizams of every princely state.
When Menon went to Hyderabad for the purpose of merger, the Nizam was adamant. At first he demanded that Hyderabad should be declared an independent country and then he started leaning towards Pakistan. The Nizam and Mohammad Ali Jinnah got along well. Nizam Mir Osman Ali wrote a letter to Jinnah to know whether he would support Hyderabad if he declares war against India.
Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins wrote in their book ‘Freedom at Midnight’ that Lord Mountbatten also advised the Nizam to merge with India, but he did not agree. The Nizam tried to convince Britain to declare Hyderabad an independent country. He even pleaded on the basis of his cordial relations and loyalty to the British monarch. However, he was left disappointed.
By the end of the summer of 1948, Vallabhbhai Patel realized that the Nizam was not going to bow down at any cost. Even Pakistan was trying to broker an agreement between Hyderabad and Portugal. The Nizam was also in direct contact with Mountbatten through his advisor Sir Walter Monckton.
Inder Malhotra wrote in ‘The Horse that led Operation Polo’, that the Nizam also expressed his desire to become a member of the Commonwealth. However, the British government rejected the proposal.
After facing disappointment globally, the Nizam started collecting weapons. General L Edrus, who was the Army chief of the Nizam, wrote in his book that the Nizam travelled to Europe in search of weapons but no one sold him any. This was because Hyderabad was not an independent country till then. However, after a lot of efforts, an agent of the Nizam was successful in buying weapons from an Australian smuggler and convinced him to bring them to Hyderabad.
By that time, Vallabhbhai Patel had made up his mind to take military action against Hyderabad. When Lord Mountbatten left his post on June 1948, Patel started working on his plan.
Senior journalist Rehan Fazal wrote in an article in BBC Hindi that just before the operation, Sardar Patel met General KM Cariappa and asked him whether the Indian Army will be able to fight back if Pakistan intervenes in the Hyderabad operation. General Cariappa gave a positive response.
On September 12, 1948, the Indian Army barged into Hyderabad. Along with the Nizam’s Army, the Razakars were also fighting against the Indian Army. However, they had to surrender.
Inder Malhotra wrote in his article in The Indian Express on May 31, 2010 that when the Indian Army entered Hyderabad, Pakistani Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan immediately called a meeting of his Defense Council and asked whether they can take any action from the sky in Hyderabad. Group Captain Elworthy replied, “No”.
To this, Liaquat Ali Khan asked, “At least we can drop bombs on Delhi?” Elworthy said, “It is possible. But we have four bomber planes, out of which only two are operational. One of these can drop bombs on Delhi, but it will be difficult for it to return…”
Hyderabad was liberated in 5 days. In the operation, 1,373 Razakars, 807 soldiers of the Nizam’s Army and 66 Indian Army soldiers died. Finally, the Nizam had to sign the document of merger. The military operation carried out by the Indian Army action was known as ‘Operation Polo’. The government celebrates this event as Hyderabad Independence Day every year on September 17.
