Why Sardar Patel warned Hyderabad could ‘become a cancer in the nation’s belly’

From 1947 to 1948, the Indian government and the Nizam of Hyderabad had been locked in a tussle. The Nizam was determined that Hyderabad should remain independent and become a dominant regional force. After all, he had a standing army of 24,000 soldiers, 6,000 of whom were regulars.
The Indian Army entered Hyderabad on September 13, 1948, and Operation Polo, a military campaign to integrate Hyderabad into India, lasted 109 hours, concluding on September 18, when Hyderabad finally became a part of India.
In 1947, as India emerged into the light of independence, the princely state of Hyderabad cast a shadow over the nation’s unity, much like Kashmir and Junagadh.
Hyderabad, a vast land stretching across the Deccan Plateau and encompassing parts of what are now Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, remained an enigma.
Despite its predominantly Hindu population at over 88 per cent, the ruler Mir Osman Ali Khan was a Muslim, continuing the Asaf Jahi dynasty’s rule from 1712, when it was merely a vassal of the Mughals.
Reports began to swirl of rising injustices against Hyderabad’s Hindu populace, perpetrated by the Razakars, a militia formed by Kasim Razvi, president of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party.
Among them was Asaduddin Owaisi, the current MP of Hyderabad.

Crowd of Hyderabad cheering for the Indian Army after its arrival in the city

India’s leaders feared that allowing Hyderabad to assert its independence could sever the crucial link between north and south, potentially leading to an alliance with adversaries like Pakistan. This, they believed, would undermine the nation’s internal security and leave it vulnerable.
It was at that time that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel said that if Hyderabad was not integrated, it would become “a cancer in the belly of India.”
Hyderabad boasted its own currency, coinage, and military, and the Nizam was adamant about maintaining the state’s independence.
He sought domain status, which the British denied. Despite this, Hyderabad was given a grace period of three months, starting from India’s independence on August 15, 1947, to decide its fate. Kashmir, Hyderabad, and Junagadh were among the princely states that refused to join India under different circumstances.

Hyderabad Riyasat in Colonial India (Image: Getty)

Unlike Kashmir, Sardar Patel was particularly determined to integrate Hyderabad into India. But why was it so?
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s views on Kashmir wove a tapestry as intricate and evolving as the fate of the princely states themselves.
Before the dawn of independence, Patel, a strategist in the realm of political integration, engaged in crucial dialogues with Louis Mountbatten, the final British Viceroy and the nascent nation’s first Governor-General.
His whispers to Mountbatten bore the weight of ambition. Rajmohan Gandhi’s Patel: A Life reveals a lesser-known episode where Mountbatten extended a personal assurance to Hari Singh, the Raja of Kashmir.

Maharaja Hari Singh of Dogra dynasty who was ruling Kashmir at the time of India’s independence (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

With a blend of diplomatic charm and quiet confidence, Mountbatten conveyed that if Kashmir chose to remain independent, the Indian government would not hold it against them.
This promise stood in stark contrast to Patel’s resolute stance on Hyderabad, where his approach was far more assertive.
VP Menon, Former Secretary to the Government of India under Patel, corroborated Mountbatten’s assurances, aligning them with Patel’s disposition. Patel himself, in a letter dated September 13, 1947, made it clear that, if Kashmir chose the path towards Pakistan, he would acquiesce to its decision.
This marked Patel’s pragmatic approach. Yet, Patel’s indifference towards Kashmir stood in sharp relief against the impassioned views of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
The shifting sands of Patel’s stance, particularly following the annexation of Junagadh, a princely state by a Muslim ruler, revealed his strategic dexterity. While Junagadh was conceded, the stakes in Kashmir demanded a different calculus.
Hyderabad’s princely state roots go back to 1712 when the princely state was merely a vassal to the Mughal Empire. It was not until 1759 that treaties were signed with the East India Company. In a treaty of 1803, the British provided guarantees for the recognition of Hyderabad’s sovereignty.
In favour of the British, the Nizam promised lifelong loyalty to their cause of establishing an empire across the entire subcontinent. After gaining independence from Mughal rule, the Nizam faced several clashes with the Marathas, who held a stronghold in the Deccan region.

At that time, Mir Osman Ali Khan, the Seventh Nizam of Hyderabad was one of the richest people on the planet (Image: Getty)

However, with the collapse of Maratha’s power, the Nizam were able to rule the Deccan unopposed, supported by the British. This was when the Nizam was able to extend the borders of his territory from Madras in the south to Madhya Pradesh in the north.
During the 1857 uprising, the princely state did not offer any support to the rebelling sepoys, a position which earned the Nizam at the time the hereditary moniker ‘Faithful Ally’ from the British government.
The princely state would again offer its support to the British war effort during the First World War by contributing around one hundred million dollars in cash and supplies and deploying Hyderabadi army units.

Princely state of Hyderabad

At the request of the British, Hyderabad’s government also issued a formal proclamation against the Ottoman sultan’s November 1914 fatwa calling for a holy war against the United Kingdom and its allies, and urging his fellow Muslims to fight for the Allied forces.
In the years before independence, Hyderabad was looked on as the main pillar of Islam in India, with British authorities seeking to cultivate the Nizam’s continued support.
In Hyderabad, the landscape of authority was largely shaped by Muslims, while the majority Hindu population found itself grappling with a stark imbalance in both civil rights and representation.
The mid-1920s heralded a period of rising discontent, as Hindu organisations, despite constituting over 85 per cent of the state’s population, felt their voices and needs were stifled within the governance framework.
The State Reforms Association, largely led by Hindus, championed calls for increased representation in Hyderabad’s Legislative Council, striving to bridge the chasm between their numerical strength and political influence.

Thimmanna Kainoor was a freedom fighter who also fought against the Razakars, who were threatening the Hindu community in Hyderabad. Later, he met with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

However, these appeals were often dismissed by the Nizam’s officials as mere provocations from Congress-aligned factions. By the 1930s, the Hindu Mahasabha emerged as a vocal critic, spotlighting grievances related to rights and opportunities that seemed perpetually out of reach for Hyderabad’s Hindu majority.
In 1937, the Hindu Mahasabha convened a committee to tackle these issues, and the following year, Swami Ramananda Tirtha founded the Hyderabad State Congress, advocating fervently for a more representative government. Yet, their aspirations were soon stifled by a Draconian public safety law, leading to arrests and a ban that persisted until 1946.
Emerging from the shadows of suppression, the State Congress reasserted itself as a key advocate for Hyderabad’s integration into the Indian Union, championing the cause of democratisation and a more equitable governance structure.
Efforts to convince the Nizam to join the Indian Union through diplomacy were unsuccessful, leading the Indian government, under Nehru and Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, to initiate a military campaign known as ‘Operation Polo’ on September 13, 1948, to integrate Hyderabad into India.
Havaldar Bachittar Singh, Havaldar Amar Singh, and Naik Narbahadur Thapa emerged as notable heroes in the 109-hour campaign that culminated in the annexation of Hyderabad on September 17, 1948, when the Nizam declared its defeat and the Army captured Hyderabad on September 18.

Indian Army only took 109 hours to finish Operation Polo (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

One of the most dramatic moments of Operation Polo was the capture of a crucial bridge by Havaldar Amar Singh of the Punjab Regiment. In an unprecedented move, Singh volunteered for a high-risk mission to seize the 300-metre bridge over the River Penganga near Ballarshah.
He and 17 other soldiers concealed themselves on a sandbagged goods wagon, also known as a flat or platform, which was pushed by a railway engine.
Major General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, commanding the 1 Armoured Division and destined to become Chief of Army Staff, spearheaded the Indian forces in Operation Polo.
Mir Laiq Ali, the Prime Minister of Hyderabad, had boasted of a million soldiers ready to defy the Indian Army. Yet, these numbers proved empty, as the Razakars, largely comprising the Nizam’s forces, faltered before the might of a disciplined and professional army.
The Indian military orchestrated a masterful campaign, employing infantry, armoured units, and air support to swiftly capture pivotal locations and cities. Blockades were artfully laid to sever the Nizam’s supply lines and isolate his forces.
The rapid advance and capture of key positions left the Nizam’s defenders little chance to mount a sustained resistance, leading to a swift resolution of the conflict.
On September 17, 1948, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, proclaimed a ceasefire. The next day, Indian troops marched into Hyderabad, and General El-Edroos of the Hyderabad army surrendered.
The toll of Operation Polo saw 42 Indian soldiers fall, 97 injured, and 24 go missing. On the Hyderabad side, 490 soldiers perished, with 122 wounded. The Razakars faced even graver losses: 2,727 were killed and 3,364 captured.