The role of communists in the Hyderabad liberation movement has come into focus and it is time we examined their contribution in liberating the Hindu masses from the Islamist Nizam’s Razakars.
Hyderabad liberation struggle
The Union government declared September 17 as Hyderabad Liberation Day, commemorating the integration of Hyderabad, ruled by the Nizam, into Bharat on 17 September 1948. This day is also observed as Liberation Day by Maharashtra and Karnataka. The princely state included regions in present-day Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana. After independence, the Nizam wanted to remain independent or join Pakistan, but the majority Hindu population in Hyderabad wished to join Bharat.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel gave the Nizam three months to decide, and a standstill agreement was signed in November 1947. However, extremist Islamist leader Kasim Razvi and his Razakars, the military wing of the MIM, aimed to maintain Islamist dominance in the state. They unleashed a reign of terror, including murders, rapes, and mass conversions of Hindus, with the goal of making Hyderabad a Muslim-majority state.
The Razakars’ atrocities culminated in the horrific massacre in the village of Veera Bairanpalli, where villagers were brutally attacked during the Bathukamma festival, resulting in numerous deaths, rapes, and looting. Survivors narrated tales of horrific violence and terror. It was only the Bharatiya army’s intervention with Operation Polo in September 1948 that put an end to the Razakars’ reign of terror and prevented the establishment of an Islamist-Communist state.
During the period of Islamic brutality in 150 rural Telangana villages, over 40,000 civilians sought refuge in central Bharat. Estimates of the death toll vary, with the Sunderlal committee appointed by Jawaharlal Nehru suggesting 30,000-40,000 deaths, while independent observers claimed it exceeded 200,000. Responding to Sardar Patel’s insistence, Nehru authorized Operation Polo, a five-day military operation initiated on September 13.
The MIM (Ittihad-ul-Musilmeen) was banned in 1948, and its leader Kasim Razvi was jailed until 1957. He later sought asylum in Pakistan, handing over leadership to Abdul Wahid Owaisi. Sardar Patel’s timely action saved Hindus in Hyderabad from unspeakable atrocities, a chapter often missing from history textbooks.
Role of communists
Recently, claims (archived tweet) were made of communists leading the Hyderabad liberation fight against the Razakars who were supported by the Nizam and ‘Hindu landlords’. However, contemporary materials indicate that the communists had switched sides and joined the Nizam later in their opposition to the Bharatiya government considered to be capitalists by them.
Between 1946 and 1948, around 3,000 villages in the Nalgonda and Warangal districts, including Khammam, were “liberated” by the guerrilla armies of the Communist Party. This period saw armed confrontations between the Communist forces and the Razakars. To address the ongoing uncertainties, a “standstill agreement” was signed between Bharat and Nizam’s government on 29 November 1947, with negotiations aimed at reaching a final settlement.
In February 1948, the Communist Party of India (CPI) characterized the Nehru government as being under the influence of Anglo-American imperialism and embarked on an armed struggle to overthrow it. Their goal was to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat, a core communist ideology. B.T. Ranadive, who followed the Stalinist approach of achieving an armed revolution, replaced the non-combative PC Joshi as the leader of the CPI.
The Communist forces believed that with control over 3,000 villages, they could eventually defeat Nizam’s army. Their plan was to transform the Nizam’s territories into a Commune Republic and then use it as a base to challenge the Nehru government.
In May 1948, the Nizam lifted the ban on the Communist Party in the state. Subsequently, the communists publicly advocated for Nizam’s state to remain independent rather than join capitalist Bharat. They even instructed their members to resist the Bharatiya army if it entered the Nizam’s dominions.
However, as cited earlier on 13 September 1948, Bharatiya forces, following Sardar Patel’s orders, initiated a multi-pronged march into the region. The Nizam’s Razakars were swiftly defeated, and General El Edroos surrendered to General Chaudhuri on 18 September 1948.
In other words, the initial opposition of the Communists to Nizam’s forces was not to save the people from the Islamist Razakars and Nizam but to pursuance of their own agenda. What is lesser known is the story of communist collaboration with the Islamists.
The untold story of communist collaboration with the Hyderabad Nizam
As early as 1940, the Communists had gained control over entire villages in Warangal and Nalgonda, establishing a parallel government. These districts had a history of peasant unrest due to oppressive zamindars and large landowners. The Communists exploited this situation, offering promises of liberation but ultimately imposing tyranny. Those who resisted were brutally attacked, and the “liberated” villages became dangerous no-go zones.
Octroi booths and police stations were burned, and raiding the homes of landowners became a common method for fundraising. The Communists’ actions in Warangal and Nalgonda reflected a ruthless approach to gaining power and control. Needless to say, the mainstream narrative propagated in this regard was that of a great ‘peasant revolt’ with the communists ‘liberating’ the poor masses.
In 1940, the Comrades Association was formed in Hyderabad with support from the local Communist faction. Narayana Reddy, a charismatic leader, initially presented himself as a Congress worker and even faced arrest during a Satyagraha in 1938. However, his fortunes took a different turn when he connected with another Communist named Makhdum Mohiuddin. Recognizing their potential, the CPI entrusted them with a significant mission of gaining control over the entire Andhra region, with the ultimate goal of establishing an independent Communist Province there. The subsequent step envisioned using this Communist Republic of Andhra to further the cause of liberating the rest of Bharat (read: turning it into a communist republic).
Simultaneously, Communist forces in Hyderabad infiltrated the Andhra Mahasabha, a State Congress organization based in Vijayawada. They employed persuasive tactics, made promises of support for the freedom movement, and exhibited humble behaviour to win over Congress politicians who were, as described by KM Munshi, “gullible”. Narayana Reddy, the rising star, was then strategically placed in the Andhra Mahasabha, where he assumed the role of president. Swiftly, he initiated a campaign against the “original” Congress members, purging them from the organization and converting the Andhra Mahasabha into a Communist stronghold.
Simultaneously, Hyderabad’s Communists infiltrated various bodies of the State Congress, including trade unions, student bodies, and even the Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (MIM), which was closely aligned with the extremist Kasim Rizvi and his fanatical Razakars.
In 1948, the MIM, led by Kasim Rizvi, assured the Nizam they could create “South Pakistan”. This situation also presented an opportunity for the Communists to engage in a duplicitous strategy. At the same time, the Communists, following Moscow’s orders, infiltrated the Congress Party and pretended to support Hyderabad’s integration into Bharat. What’s less known is that this support was most pronounced, if not exclusive, in areas firmly under Communist influence. They swiftly entered hundreds of such villages, where they raised both the Indian national flag and the Communist Red flag. Munshi highlights that the Communists managed to gain control of numerous villages by capitalizing on the Congress Party’s popularity.
When the Razakars began their bloodthirsty Jihad, communists stepped in to ‘offer support’ against them. Munshi describes how, in the face of harassment by the Razakars, the villagers needed the means to resist rather than seek martyrdom. Consequently, the Communists, armed with modern weapons and a consistent source of funds, took charge of the villagers’ resistance efforts against the Nizam’s police and the Razakars. They were adept at replenishing their resources through raids on the homes of affluent rural residents when necessary.
State Congress workers occasionally collaborated with these Communist groups but were eventually marginalized. This aligns with the Communist strategy observed in various other regions. By aligning themselves with resistance movements, they restored their reputation as patriots and successfully infiltrated nationalist circles, securing influential positions in the country. Their methods were characterized by speed and ruthlessness, yielding immediate results.
So while communists initially supported the liberation of Hyderabad from the Razakars and Nizam, the communist party of Hyderabad issued a pamphlet reversing their stand. Their opposition was only to give themselves the stamp of patriots. Their contribution to Hyderabad’s liberation struggle must be seen in the light of KM Munshi’s revelations and analysis.
(Featured Image Source: Swarajya Mag)
