Number of questions- Mains: 02, Prelims – 10
Mains Questions of the day:
1. Describe the events that led to Operation Polo.
Introduction:
Write briefly about the condition of Hyderabad state after India got independence.
Body:
Explain the operation polo of Hyderabad state
Conclusion:
The military action by the Government of India against the Nizam’s State during September 13-17, 1948 was an important historical landmark. It ended the autocratic feudal regime and integrated the Hyderabad State into the Indian Union.
Content:
- Operation Polo was the name for “police action” in 1948 against Hyderabad state by the then-independent Dominion of India.
- It was a military operation in which the Indian armed forces attacked and annexed the Nizam-ruled princely state.
- India initiated Operation Polo on September 13, 1948 to annex Hyderabad after the Nizam state violated ceasefire agreement.
- Operation Polo was the code name for the September 1948 “police action” against Hyderabad state.
- Hyderabad signed a ceasefire agreement with the dominion of India in November 1947.
- India, on the instructions of Home Minister Sardar Patel, invaded Hyderabad on September 13, 1948, and completed the operation on day 5, i.e. September 17.
- Sardar Patel had major doubts about the Nizam of Hyderabad’s intentions due to the state’s location.
- Hyderabad state was in the heart of India, surrounded by land.
- The Nizam was not interested in forging connections with India, which implied he had other ideas in mind.
- As a result, Sardar Patel put up an inquiry team to find out what the Nizam was up to. i.e. Hyderabad was friendly with Pakistan yet opposed to India.
- Also, Hyderabad had promised to provide Pakistan Rs 20 crore (against the ‘Standstill Agreement’).
- Pakistan intended to use the money to buy weapons and ammunition for a battle against India over Kashmir.
- In a sense, the Nizam of Hyderabad was funding Pakistan’s fight against India.
- Hyderabad was forced to postpone the loan sanction to Pakistan until the ‘Standstill Agreement’ ended.
OPERATION POLO:
- Discussions between the government of India and Nizam on the matter of annexation of Hyderabad State continued till the last week of June 1948 and failed.
- Indian Government by last week of July, 1948 had decided on the attack on Hyderabad State.
- Since the Kashmir problem was raging at that time and the monsoon rains were in full swing the military action was postponed for a few days.
- At this juncture a great supporter of the Hyderabad State, Mohammad Ali Jinnah passed away.
- India considering that the matter of Hyderabad was to come discussion in UNO and sensing the right situation decided to go ahead with the military action on Hyderabad on September 13th
- Indian Government informed the British High Commissioner, Pakistan High Commissioner and American Government of the impending police action in view of the atrocities of the Communists and Razakars in Hyderabad State and for the maintenance of law and order.
- Though the Indian government planned a full military attack on the State of Hyderabad, the same was named as Police Action (Truman Document).
- An independent country charging on to another independent country with military was against the basic principles of UNO.
- Contemporarily American government also took up military action on the Korean Archipelago against Communists and named it Police Action.
- India followed the same and named its aggression as Police Action.
- In order not to leave any evidences there of the expenditure of the forces was shown under the treasury of Department of Health.
- The police action was initiated by the Government of India on the State of Hyderabad on September 13.
- Commander in chief of Southern command during the Police action- Lt.Gn.E.N.Goddard
- Police action on Hyderabad was led by
- Lt.Gen. Maharajsingh
- Maj. Gen. J.N.Choudhury from Sholapur and
- Maj. Gen. Rudra from Vijayawada.
- Nizam’s Military Commander El Edroos, who was aligned with Government of India sent secret orders to his military officers of lower cadre not to fight against the Indian Forces and to come back to Hyderabad.
- With such a development, Indian Forces found it very easy to penetrate and make their way into Hyderabad State
- Military Forces entered the city of Hyderabad within four days.
- If El Edroos has not colluded with Indian Forces, they entry into Hyderabad city would in any case have not been possible by September 17th
- Hyderabad, like Jammu and Kashmir would have remained an independent country on the evening of September 17th, when the question of Hyderabad came for discussion before the Security Council at UNO.
- On September 17th, the Cabinet of Laiq All resigned and handed over the reins of Mir Laiq All administration to the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan.
- On the evening of 17 September, Mir Osman Ali Khan announced his submission over the official Deccan Radio.
- He has also ordered the release of Swami Ramananda Tirtha from the jail.
- On 18 September 1948 Chief of Nizams Army Gn.EL. Edroos surrendered before Major General Choudhury
- As per the military rules Major General J.N.Choudhury who reached Hyderabad first took over responsibilities of Administration.
- Though General Choudhury was appointed the Military Governor, Mir Osman Ali Khan continued as the legal Head of the State.
- Sardar Patel on this occasion commented that the ulcer that was there in the stomach of India was removed.
- On 18th September, 1948 Nizam met General Choudhury and formally the handed over the powers.
2. Explain the conditions under the rule of M.K.Vellody.
Introduction:
Mention the condition of Hyderabad state after its integration into Indian Union.
Body:
Explain the rule of M.K.Vellody
Conclusion:
- Social tensions arose due to influx of people from different regions.
- Protests started with the hunger strike of a student from Khammam district for the implementation of safe-guards promised during the creation of Andhra Pradesh.
- The movement slowly manifested into a demand for a separate Telangana.
Content:
The Rule of M.K.Vellody:
- As an impact of Sunderlal Committee Report, Central Government removed the administration structure under the leadership of J.N.Choudhury. On the Advice of Indian Government, Nizam Mir Osman All Khan appointed M.K.Vellody as the Chief Minister of Hyderabad State.
- Ramaswamy Modaltar Indian Representative at UNO declare that civil government was formed in Hyderabad and Nizam happens to be its constitutional head.
- At the same time B.Narasinga Rao hinted to UNO that there is no Hyderabad state anymore and a civil government is in place. Hence he opinioned that freedom of Hyderabad is no longer a matter for discussion.
- Since Urdu continued to be the Official Language of the Hyderabad State, citizens did not know Telugu.
- Telugu known Andhra teachers were introduced into the educational system and local Hyderabadis lost their jobs.
- The government specified that the candidates should have proficiency in Kannada, Telugu, and Marathi as the additional required qualification for the appointments.
- Based on these orders, a large number of non-mulkis were appointed. In the name of modernization of administration of Hyderabad English was introduced.
- After that citing the lack of proficiency in English Nizam state employees were sacked and Andhra Officers from Madras province were brought in.
- Moreover, Telugu was introduced in the Educational institutions of Hyderabad state.
- At that time Chief Minister Vellodi started getting Urdu records of the Hyderabad State translated into English.
- During this many land records were tampered with.
- In this way the records were spoiled and all the lands in Hyderabad state were usurped.
- According to the 1949 Mulki regulation, Mulki means that person must be a local by birth or that person’s father should have completed the service of 15 years at his birth.
- Vellodi’s government stated that these rules need not be followed strictly during the recruitment and appointed many non-mulki’s.
- Vellodi’s Government removed collectors of all the districts in Hyderabad State and appointed Andhra Officers in their place and called them Chief Administrators.
- Andhra Officers thus appointed started introducing their relatives in to Government jobs in that slowly.
- These officers started resorting to corruption in a big way.
- Andhra Officers were treating Telangana People as ignorant and considered themselves as reformers. This situation leads to the mulki agitation in the latter days.
- Some parties demanded that the government to impose time limit for the non-mulki employees and after that those jobs should be filled by the locals removing the non-locals.
- An agreement was concluded between the Government of India and the Nizam in 1950.
- According to that, the Nizam was appointed the Rajpramukh of the Hyderabad state.
- Indian government also agreed to pay Nizam a sum of 1.25 crores annually during his lifetime.
- Nizam worked as the Rajpramukh of the Hyderabad state from 1950 to 1956.
- During this period, the administration was carried on the name of Nizam.
- Andhra migrrants wanted Lakhs of acres of land in Hyderabad state and started trails to merge with Hyderabad state.
- According to the Employment office there were 70000 unemployed in the Hyderabad state in 1952.
- In such a situation, General Elections were held in 1952.
- In these elections Congress party won and formed government under the leadership of Burgula Ramakrishna Rao.
Military rule employment policies of Vellody:
- During the Nizam’s rule, more than 90% of the police and civil jobs were represented by a single community.
- The government recognized the need to give preference to all the sections mainly in the armed forces.
- It gave preference to all the sections in 60% posts.
- So, to maintain law and order. It received and appointed armed forces from the neighbouring states of Madras, central provinces and Bombay.
- The government considered to give priority to Telugu language in administration because the language of majority people of the Hyderabad state was Telugu.
- So, in the place of Urdu Telugu was given priority and some Telugu people were appointed.
- New staff were to bring Land ownership under the Control of revenue administration by abolishing the Jagirdari system. So the government decided to fill jobs by a special recruitment.
- A group of more than 200 officers of the Indian union were appointed to solve the financial crisis in Hyderabad state and restore it to normally. They worked hard to achieve it.
- Many employees who involved directly in the policies and who resorted to corruption and misused power during the rule of Nizam were removed from their positions.
- A public service commission officer was appointed after independence and the government had decided to reappoint the eligible employees based on their moral standards.
- Some persons got job opportunities.
- Military officer examined some cases and provided them Job opportunities.
- The new government introduced some reforms in Military and Police departments.
- The number of the army of Hyderabad was reduced stating that such a large number of army personnel are not necessary.
- Later, the number of police personnel was also reduced.
- In appointing the required number of officers and staff based on their requirement in the district, non-muslims also got preference.
- The government established employment exchanges for the recruitments in some lower and middle cadre jobs.
- Of these employments exchanges, one was located at Hyderabad, the second at Warangal and the third at Aurangabad.
- These regional employment exchanges conducted recruitments in Government departments and Private companies.
- The government established ‘Bikanur training centre’ to provide training to skilled workers and Technical experts. Every year 1200 candidates were being trained in 20 types of Professional courses.
- During this course, Employess from other states and different parts of the country came to Hyderabad.
- Mainly hundreds of people from the neighbouring Madras State got employment here
- Majority of them belonged to Andhra region.
- Showing the scarcity of Technical experts, officers at high level appointed many of their relatives and nearest one.
- Some persons got jobs by submitting fake Mulki certificates.
- Non locals earned a lot of properties in Hyderabad and Started their domination on the locals.
- Many non-mulkis entered government positions in the process of rejuvenating the administration of Hyderabad.
- Normal employees and technical experts got jobs to assist the higher authorities.
- This migration increased tremendously during 1948-1952. So there was widespread discontentment among the locals and they started protests.
- Non-locals entered the administrative system and created obstacles to the promotions of Telangana Employees.
- They created hurdles to the local employees by conducting exams mainly in Telugu and English.
- Some active students and youth started gairmulki (non-mulki) movement in 1952.
Prelims of the day:
1.Who among the following founded the Telangana Praja Samithi?
- Chenna Reddy
- Bhagya Reddy
- Pratap Kishore
- Neera Kishore
Answer: A
Explanation
Sri M. Chenna Reddy, founded the Telangana Praja Samithi (TPS) political party in 1969 to spearhead the statehood movement.
2.In which of the following year Telangana Agitation took place?
- 1965
- 1967
- 1968
- 1969
Answer: D
Explanation:
After formation of Andhra Pradesh, it witnessed two serious agitations
- Telangana agitation in 1969
- Jai Andhra movement in 1974
3.In which of the following years, Telangana regional committee was formed?
- 1956
- 1957
- 1958
- 1960
Answer: C
Explanation:
Telangana regional committee was formed in 1958 with K. Achyutha Reddy as the president.
- The Telangana Regional Committee was formed in 1958 and Achyutha Reddy was its first president. Hence, Option 3 is correct.
- He was the Member of Indian National Congress.
- The Telangana Regional Committee was abolished in 1974 after the acceptance of the Six-Point formula.
- The Gentlemen’s agreement of Andhra Pradesh was signed between Telangana and Andhra leaders before the formation of the state of Andhra Pradesh of India on 20 Feb-1956.
- The agreement provided safeguards to prevent discrimination against Telangana by the government of Andhra Pradesh.
- The violations of this agreement are cited as one of the reasons for the formation of separate statehood for Telangana.
4.In which year of the following years, Telangana Regional committee was abolished?
- 1989
- 1984
- 1969
- 1974
Answer: D
Explanation:
Telangana regional committee was formed in 1958 with K. Achyutha Reddy as the president.
- The Telangana Regional Committee was formed in 1958 and Achyutha Reddy was its first president. Hence, Option 3 is correct.
- He was the Member of Indian National Congress.
- The Telangana Regional Committee was abolished in 1974 after the acceptance of the Six-Point formula.
- The Gentlemen’s agreement of Andhra Pradesh was signed between Telangana and Andhra leaders before the formation of the state of Andhra Pradesh of India on 20 Feb-1956.
- The agreement provided safeguards to prevent discrimination against Telangana by the government of Andhra Pradesh.
- The violations of this agreement are cited as one of the reasons for the formation of separate statehood for Telangana.
5.Who was the first president of Telangana Regional Committee?
- Achyutha Reddy
- Chenna Reddy
- Bhagya Reddy
- Pratap Kishore
Answer: A
Explanation:
Telangana regional committee was formed in 1958 with K. Achyutha Reddy as the president.
6.In which of the following year, Razakars system in Telangana was formed?
- 1935
- 1948
- 1938
- 1936
Answer: C
Explanation:
- The Razakars were the paramilitary volunteer force of the Muslim nationalist Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) party in the Hyderabad State under the British Raj.
- Formed in 1938 by the MIM leader Bahadur Yar Jung, they expanded considerably during the leadership of Qasim Razvi around the time of Indian independence.
7.Who among the following, organized the Anjumen-e-maref?
A. Mulla Abdul Qayyum
B. Maqdoom Moinuddin
C. Miskeen Ali
D. Abdul Kasim
Answer: A
Explanation:
- Mulla Abdul Qayyum of Hyderabad became a great champion of the Congress.
- He attacked the nobility and opposed the special favours granted to them in the Nizam state.
- He was also responsible for organising Anjumen-e-maref which aimed at developing social, intellectual and economic life of the people.
8.In which of the following year Bhoodhan Movement was started?
- 1951
- 1952
- 1953
- 1954
Answer: A
Explanation:
- Bhoodan Movement was started by Mahatma Gandhi’s disciple Vinoba Bhave in April 1951.
- Born spontaneously at an evening meeting in an Andhra Pradesh village, the movement saw land owners gifting land to the landless.
9.Which of the following was called Bloodless Revolution?
- Bhoodhan Movement
- Peasant arm struggle
- Quit Telangana movement
- Tribal movement
Answer: A
Explanation:
- The Bhoodan movement (Land Gift movement), also known as the Bloodless Revolution, was a voluntary land reform movement in India.
- It was initiated by Gandhian Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at Pochampally village of Nizambad district.
10. Who is the founder of Imroz magazine was assassinated in Hyderabad?
- Mulla Abdul Qayyum
- Maqdoom Moinuddin
- Shoebullah Khan
- Khader Aseer
Answer: C
Explanation:
- A patriot and freedom fighter, Shoebullah Khan was shot dead and his right hand was chopped off on 22nd August 1948 by the Razakars led by Qasim Rizvi, the then MIM chief.
- Shoebullah Khan was the editor of Imroz, the Urdu daily published from Hyderabad in those days