Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday extended greetings to people on Hyderabad Liberation Day, saying the courage of the martyrs and their dreams continue to inspire the nation towards the peak of progress. The day marks the anniversary of the merger of the erstwhile Hyderabad State under the Nizam’s rule with the Indian Union on September 17, 1948.
Shah said the Hyderabad Liberation Day commemorates the indomitable patriotism of the people of the former princely State of Hyderabad, which comprises present-day Telangana, Karnataka, and the Marathwada region.
He said people had suffered inhuman brutality and fought hard to liberate the land from the grip of Nizam’s rule and that of Razakars, and to see India as a united nation. “I bow to the martyrs whose courage continues to inspire and dreams continue to drive our nation towards the peak of progress,” Shah said.
On September 17, 1948, the then Hyderabad State, which was under the rule of the Nizam, was annexed into the Union of India following a military action titled ‘Operation Polo’, initiated by then home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
When India gained independence, the Razakars, a private militia, called for the Hyderabad State to either join Pakistan or to become a Muslim dominion while resisting its merger with the Union of India. The people of the region fought valiantly to merge the region into the Union of India.
