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| Justice Keshavrao Koratkar |
The Social Uprising
It is the Amrit Mahotsava of Hyderabad Mukti Sangram 'The people's struggle, frequent rounds of negotiations, and the final intervention by the Indian Army under the name Operation Polo termed as Police Action the Nizam State of Hyderabad was integrated with India on another day of National Importance, 17th September, 1948.' Here's a comprehensive yet brief introduction of the Unsung National Movement..
The communal extremities of Nizam State
The Nizam state had population of 1.6 Crore. Hindus consisted of 86%, Jain, Parsis, Christians were around 4% and 11% were the Muslims. In absolute numbers, Muslims were around 16 lakhs in total population of 1.6 Crore.
Majority Hindus were denied there religious and cultural rights. A firman issued on the background of Ganpati, Dusshera can substantiate, what it is a Muslim State in Hindu majority.
The firman issued on 17 Aban 1326 Fasali (Persian calendar. The year is 1917 AD) stated,
1: Hindus must celebrate their festivals in their homes without using any joyful musical instruments.
2: Those who want to go out for 'Simmolanghan' should go quietly, without using any joyful music or instrument.
3: The flags and Gudhis should not be erected on the very day of Dusshera. Hindus can erect them after Muharram.
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| Dreaded communal bigot Qasim Razwi: leader of Razakars |
Incidences of Communal Brutality
The armed Razakars inflicted unprecedented atrocities against Hindus in the state. It is evident to quote few of them to sense the grim of it.
Village Guda in Basmat Taluka of then Parbhani district (now in Hingoli district), on a particular day, the armed Razakars encircled the village. Captured as many people as they could in the village and threw them into a large well. Covered the well with stover, and torched it. People trapped in the well died a brutal death. Later, they torched the whole village. People who survived were the ones who were not in the village on the unfortunate night.
Village Gorta in Bidar District. On 8th May, 1948, hundreds of Razakars stormed in. They raided 400-odd houses in the villages, dragged women out and raped at will, butchered children in front of the Lakshmi Temple, and shot anyone who posed a resistance. Over 200 villagers lost their lives.
These are just few examples. There are hundreds of such atrocious incidents across the state. Many of them went unnoticed. However, the govt. of India published a white paper on Hyderabad. The incidences of Guda and Gorta find mention in the white paper.
Gashti Nishan
With the advent of education, contact with people from British Indian provinces, people in the state started gathering for political, social, religious rights. To control such gathering and uprising among people, Nizam issued the 'Gashi Nishan 52 and 53' which made it mandatory for common people to seek permission from the officials, effectively from Nizam, to gather for social, political gatherings. Such permissions were never granted.
Justice (Retd.) Narendra Chapalgaonkar of Bombay High Court, states in his book 'Kahani Hyderabad Ladhyachi'
"Communal riots started in Hyderabad state in 1930s. It was not the case that there was communal harmony before. The Hindus were used to the communal oppression and never fought back, asserting their rights."
The communal establishment and the incidences of communal oppression are self explanatory. It gave rise to the people's movement. The people's movement was not just religious-cultural rights but had a clear vision of national integrity.
Social Uprising
Justice (Retd.) Chapalgaonkar states,
"Denying their religious, cultural rights to Hindus resulted in a divide between Hindus & Muslims. Initially due to lack of social awareness Hindus were not assertive about their rights"
Hindus had accepted their fate in the feudal system of Hyderabad state. However, from 1901 a social awareness began. This was in the form of social gatherings, libraries, private schools and celebrating Hindu festivals on large scale.
Dharmveer Vamanrao Naik, Justice Keshavrao Koratkar were prominent figures in the movement of social awareness. Justice (Retd.) Chapalgaonkar states,
"The freedom fighters, revolutionaries who led the movement in 1940s, were the products of these social movements"
Ganesh Vachanalaya (library) established in 1901 in Parbhani (Proud to note that my maternal Great Grandfather was one of the founders), The Saraswati Bhuwan school (which now has expanded as a prominent education society running many schools, colleges in Marathwada) in Aurangabad, Nootan Vidyalaya in Parbhani, Selu and Bidar, Vivek Vardhini in Hyderabad, are few of such prominent institutes.
Sarvajanik Ganesh Festival became popular in the Hyderabad state.
These social gatherings led to interactions with people, leaders from various districts. It led to formation of organizations termed to be dedicated to social causes in Kannada, Telugu and Marathi speaking regions. These were Marathi Samajik Parishad, Karnataka Parishad and Andhra Mahasabha.
In the year 1937, The Maharashtra Parishad conducted a seesion at Partud (now in Jalna district) under the leadership of eminent lawyer from Parbhani Shri Govindrao Nanal.
The Parishad openly propounded the political rights and demanded a responsible government, elected by the people within Hyderabad state. The Maharashtra Parishad later expanded its scope and became Hyderabad State Congress...
Part 3: The Unsung Heroes, and initial movement.
Stay Tuned.....
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