Falsifying history

PARVATHI MENON

THERE are a few interesting features that marked the 'Liberation Day' celebrations on September 17 this year in various places that were part of the princely state of Hyderabad.

Even the use of the expression 'Liberation Day' is illustrative. The surrender of the Nizam of Hyderabad to the Indian Government on September 18, 1948 (not September 17) did represent, for the people of Hyderabad state, liberation from the repressive hold of feudal autocracy. But for those who led the struggle against the Nizam's regime - the Communist Party, the Andhra Mahasabha and the Congress - liberation from the Nizam's oppressive rule was an objective linked quite clearly to the demand for merger of the princely state with the Indian Union. Despite the repression unleashed against the democratic movement by the Nizam, largely through the agency of the Razakars, the volunteer army of the Majlis Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen commanded by Kasim Razvi, the democratic movement gained momentum after August 15, 1947. It was the demand for merger with the Indian Union that united the different political streams that comprised the anti-Nizam front. The entry of the Indian Army into Hyderabad on September 13, 1948, was a response to this demand and hastened the fall of this hated and, by then, tottering regime.

The second striking feature of the celebrations this year, which were marked by fanfare of the kind not seen in the 50 years that 'Liberation Day' has been observed, was the lead taken by the BJP and its sister organisations, and the high-profile role they played in making it a media event. This contextualises the not-so-subtle emphasis on 'liberation'. The acceptance of this term by other political parties has lent indirect support to the interpretation of this period in Hindu-Muslim terms (as liberation for Hindus from the oppression and terror of a Muslim ruler). Such an interpretation, which emphasises the religious aspect of liberation from autocracy, becomes a handy tool for sectional political mobilisation.

A dalam undergoing training in Telengana in 1949. It is historically uncontested that the brunt of the Razakars' actions was borne by the Communist-led movement in Telengana.

In Gulbarga, the State Government played straight into the hands of communal elements by taking over the 'Liberation Day' festivities, only to withdraw in confusion when it saw that it had stirred a communal stew. In Hyderabad, where each party celebrated 'Liberation Day' on their own, the BJP launched a mendacious offensive against those who can rightfully claim the political legacy of the anti-Nizam struggle - secular parties, in particular the Left parties.

Union Home Minister L.K. Advani, who attended the BJP-organised function in Hyderabad on September 17, led the assault by stating that the Razakars and the Communists "formed an unholy partnership to work against liberation", a rather brazen travesty of historical truth, especially when it comes from a leading representative of a party whose political forebears were nowhere in the picture during 1947-48 in the movement against the Nizam. It is historically uncontested that the brunt of the Razakars' actions was borne by the Communist-led movement in Telengana, and the Congress in other parts. An angry statement issued by the Communist Party of India in response to Advani's remark said: "When the CPI along with the Andhra Mahasabha organised people for liberating Hyderabad from the clutches of the Nizam, Mr. Advani and the RSS were nowhere near Hyderabad."

In Telengana, the struggle against the Nizam and the feudal regime which propped him was led by the Communists and the Andhra Mahasabha. According to P. Sundarayya, the legendary Communist leader and chronicler of the Telengana struggle, during the course of the movement "the peasantry in about 3,000 villages, covering roughly a population of three million in an area of about 16,000 square miles, mostly in the three districts of Nalgonda, Warangal and Khammam, had succeeded in setting up gram raj, on the basis of fighting village panchayats. One million acres of land were redistributed among the peasantry under the guidance of the people's committees... During the course of this struggle against the Nizam's autocracy, the people could organise and build a powerful militia comprising 10,000 village squad members and about 2,000 regular guerilla squads, in defence of the peasantry against the armed attacks on the Razakars and the Nizam's police" (P. Sundarayya, Telengana People's Struggle and its Lessons, Calcutta, 1972, page 2).

The anti-Nizam movement in the Kannada- and Marathi-speaking parts of Hyderabad state is less well documented. It was the Arya Samaj under Swami Ramanand Tirth which came into the leadership of the anti-Nizam movement - most of the followers of the Arya Samaj joined the Congress by 1946-47. The leadership of the Arya Samaj gave a communal colouring to the struggle. In his doctoral thesis, titled "Integration of Hyderabad Karnataka (1946-56)", on the anti-Nizam and pro-merger movement in the Hyderabad Karnatak region, B.C. Mahabaleswarappa, a reader in Gulbarga University, has traced the growth of the Arya Samaj in this region. "The message of the Arya Samaj - India for Indians. Except Hindus, all are foreigners on the soil of Hindustan - gave needed courage to the Hindus to oust the alien rule of Nizam and face the atrocities of the Razakars." (page 60)

The Congress leaders of the Hyderabad Karnatak region decided in September 1947 to organise border camps from where armed attacks could be carried out against the Razakars. According to Mahabaleswarappa, around 100 border camps were set up: of these, 18 camps were along the border of Hyderabad Karnatak with the Bombay and Madras presidencies. The nationalist workers were given training by soldiers who belonged to the erstwhile Indian National Army. From here the nationalist soldiers undertook raids against Razakar centres and even 'liberated' and took over the administration of some areas (like Ittagi and its neighbouring villages in Yelburgi taluk).

The autocracy of the Nizam undoubtedly had a pro-Muslim, anti-Hindu aspect to it. The Nizam's administration was largely Muslim, Urdu was imposed on his subjects, and the Razakars' actions were targeted against Hindus. The Arya Samaj, which took up cudgels for the 'Hindu masses' against 'Muslim oppressors', took over the leadership of the anti-Nizam movement partly owing to the late arrival of the Congress; until 1940 the Indian National Congress did not take up the people's struggle in the princely state.

What is not emphasised in the current debate is the fact that Hindu deshmukhs and jagirdars formed part of the support base of the Nizam. A section of Dalits joined the Razakars' forces, and a number of Hindu religious maths lent support to the Nizam's regime. Another historical fact that is suppressed is the backlash against innocent Muslims after the police action. Thousands of Muslims were massacred by Hindu communal elements in Shahapur taluk in Gulbarga district of Hyderabad Karnatak, in Kushtagi (Raichur district), and in Latur Omerga and in Osmanabad (Bombay presidency). Muslims also participated in large numbers in the struggle against the Nizam. "The famous and influential sufi from Gulbarga, Sajjad Darga Bande Nawaz, spoke against the Razakars," recalled Maruti Manpade, Gulbarga district secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). "The CPI had Muslim leaders who fought in the struggle in Gulbarga, like Makhdoom Moiuddin who came from Hyderabad, 'Painter' Parothe, and Ghulam Nabi Azad, another Communist from Hyderabad who came here during the struggle."

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