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Showing posts with the label Operation Polo

Operation Polo

The events before and after Operation Polo in Hyderabad post-Independence After the country won its freedom, Indian Army forces were sent in to overcome the kingdom’s troops.  The aftermath of this event on September 13, 1948, is still being researched, investigated and written about The Partition of India and Pakistan is a dark chapter in the history of humanity that led to the death, displacement and destruction of property of millions of people. A much more complex story, albeit on a smaller scale, unfolded in the princely kingdom of Hyderabad. Ruled by Nizam Osman Ali Khan who was as whimsical and unpredictable as they come, the kingdom had 81.17% Hindus and a 12.83% Muslim population according to the 1941 Census. When India became free on August 15, 1947, Hyderabad remained independent. Rather, it tried to stay independent citing the communal bonhomie, size of the kingdom and its infrastructure. But it was not to be. Beginning on September 13, 1948, at 4.30 a.m. the Indian Army at