The Union Home Ministry announced on Tuesday that September 17 will be celebrated as ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’ every year. A notification released by the Ministry stated that Hyderabad remained under the rule of the Nizams for 13 months after India gained independence on August 15, 1947, and did not attain independence until later.
The region was freed from Nizam’s rule on September 17, 1948 after a police action known as ‘Operation Polo’. The people of the region have demanded that Hyderabad Liberation Day be celebrated on September 17.
“Now in order to remember the martyrs who liberated Hyderabad and to infuse the flame of patriotism in the minds of youth, the Government of India decided to celebrate 17th day of September every year as ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’,” the notification read.
When India gained independence, the Razakars called for 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 bravely against the atrocities of the Razakars, a private militia that defended the erstwhile Nizam rule in Hyderabad, to merge the region into the Union of India.
On September 17, 1948, the then Hyderabad state, which was under the rule of the Nizams, was annexed into the Union of India following military action, initiated by the then Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The Narendra Modi government had held event on September 17 every year in last few years to mark ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also attended the event in the past. Last year, Shah visited the state to celebrate the day, along with Union Tourism Minister and Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy, party’s National General Secretary Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and other leaders.
While addressing the gathering, Shah criticized the state government led by BRS for not celebrating the day officially.
“The BRS led state government is not celebrating the Telangana Liberation Day officially eyeing on vote bank politics. The people of Telangana will teach a befitting lesson to it,” Shah said.
“The central government has been celebrating the Telangana Liberation Day officially with three reasons including to educate the future generations on freedom struggles, felicitating the struggle warriors and rebuilding the state,” Shah added.
(with PTI inputs)
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