Hyderabad Liberation Day: Amit Shah to kick off celebration, Telangana will observe it as National Unity Day

The BJP had on Friday announced that it would celebrate September 17 in a grand manner. BJP leaders accused the TRS of not observing the day as it was afraid of upsetting the AIMIM. BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said the party would hold a massive public meeting at Parade Grounds on the day, which is known as the Nizam Vimochanotsava Amrutotsvam.

Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Secunderabad, has written to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao inviting him to be the guest of honour at this year’s event. Reddy’s letter to KCR, written on September 3, says: “…the Government of India, after careful consideration of the various aspects, has decided to celebrate 75 years of Hyderabad State Liberation… The Government of India proposes to launch these celebrations at Hyderabad, which was the epicentre of the struggle for freedom… I request for your august presence as the Guest of Honour at the inaugural programme at Parade Grounds on 17th September, 2022.”

While the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka already commemorate this day as Marathwada Liberation Day and Hyderabad-Karnataka Liberation Day, respectively, the Centre aims to celebrate the day across the three states and also take it directly under its wing. Similar letters have also been sent to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

The letter also mentions the intent behind the large-scale celebrations this year. As part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the government is identifying events and individuals that have not been given the attention that was deserved over the years, it says.

When India gained Independence in 1947, even though 562 princely states announced the merger with the Indian Union, there was some resistance from the erstwhile state of Hyderabad. Reddy says in the letter, “On September 17, 1948, more than one year after India secured Independence from the British, the erstwhile state of Hyderabad, comprising the entire state of Telangana and some districts in Maharashtra and Karnataka, got independence from the Nizam’s rule. This was possible due to the swift and timely action of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel under Operation Polo.”

Sources say the move is also aimed at highlighting the Bhairanapally massacre of August 27, 1948, when Razakars – a private army of the Nizams of Hyderabad – killed 96 villagers in an effort to quell their uprising for demanding the merger of the Nizam’s dominion into the Indian Union soon after August 15, 1947.

The BJP wants to use the opportunity to score a political point over Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, which was founded as Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) in 1927 as a pro-Nizam party. In fact, the MIM had shunned integration with India and advocated the setting up of a ‘Muslim dominion’ in India, sources say. KCR and Owaisi are seen to be close to each other politically, with both praising each other at various events and rallies lately.

Meanwhile, Owaisi has also written to Shah and KCR to mark the day in a big way, but as National Integration Day. “17 September marks merger of erstwhile Hyderabad State with Union of India. Wrote to @AmitShah & @TelanganaCMO suggesting that the day should be observed as National Integration Day. It’ll be an occasion to celebrate the struggles of people against both colonial & autocratic rule,” he tweeted on Saturday.

(With inputs from Sreenivas Janyala, Hyderabad)