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((short description|1948 military invasion of Hyderabad State by the Dominion of India))
((pp-pc1))
((pp-move-indef))
((Use dmy dates|date=January 2020))
((Use Indian English|date=August 2015))
((Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Operation Polo
| image             = Hyderabad state from the Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909.jpg
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = The [[Hyderabad state|State of Hyderabad]] in 1909 (excluding [[Berar Province|Berar]])
| date              = 13–18 September 1948<br />(((Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=9|day1=13|year1=1948|month2=9|day2=18|year2=1948)))
| place             = [[Hyderabad State]], (parts of [[South India|South]] and [[Western India]])
| coordinates       = ((coord|17|00|N|78|50|E|type:country_source:kolossus-cawiki))
| result            = Indian victory
* Annexation of [[State of Hyderabad|Hyderabad]] to the Union of India
| combatant1        = ((flag|Dominion of India))
| combatant2        = ((flagcountry|Hyderabad State))
| commander1        = ((plainlist|
*((flagicon image|Flag of the Governor-General of India (1947–1950).svg)) [[Governor-General of India|Governor-General]] [[Chakravarti Rajagopalachari]]
*((flagicon|Dominion of India)) [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
*((flagicon|Dominion of India)) [[Deputy Prime Minister of India|Deputy Prime Minister]] [[Sardar]] [[Vallabhbhai Patel]]
*((flagicon|Dominion of India)) [[Minister of Defence (India)|Minister of Defence]] [[Baldev Singh]]
*((flagicon|India|army)) [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Roy Bucher|Sir Roy Bucher]]
*((flagicon|India|air force)) [[Air Marshal]] [[Thomas Elmhirst]]
*((flagicon|India|army)) [[Lieutenant-General]] [[Rajendrasinhji Jadeja]]<ref>((cite web|title=Press Communique|url=http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1948-JULY-DEC-MIN-OF-DEFENCE/PDF/DEF-1948-09-21_213.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India – Archive|date=21 September 1948|access-date=16 February 2020))</ref>
*((flagicon|India|army)) [[Major General]] [[Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri]]
*((flagicon|India|army)) [[Major General]] [[Ajit Rudra]]
*((flagicon|India|air force)) [[Air Vice-Marshal]] [[Subroto Mukherjee]]<ref>((cite web|title=RIAF in Hyderabad|url=http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1948-JULY-DEC-MIN-OF-DEFENCE/PDF/DEF-1948-09-23_223.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India – Archive|date=23 September 1948|access-date=16 February 2020))</ref>))
| commander2        = ((plainlist|
*((flagicon|Hyderabad State)) [[General El Edroos|S.A. El Edroos]]((Surrendered))
*((flagicon|Hyderabad State)) [[Qasim Razvi]]((Surrendered))))
| strength1         = 35,000 [[Indian Armed Forces]]
| strength2         = ((plainlist|
*22,000 [[Hyderabad State Forces]]
*est. 200,000 irregulars ([[Razakars (Hyderabad)|Razakars]])<ref name=ShermanLSE />((rp|8))))
| casualties1       = Less than 10 killed<ref>((Cite web|title=585 Mohan Guruswany, There once was a Hyderabad|url=https://www.india-seminar.com/2008/585/585_mohan_guruswamy.htm|access-date=2021-05-28|website=www.india-seminar.com))</ref>
| casualties2       = ((plainlist|
Hyderabad State forces:
*807 killed
*unknown wounded
*1,647 [[POW]]s<ref name=mohanGuruswamy/>
Razakars:
*1,373 killed
*1,911 captured<ref name=mohanGuruswamy/>))
| casualties3       = ((plainlist|
*Sunderlal Committee: 30,000–40,000 civilians killed<ref name=Sunderlal/>
*Responsible observers: 200,000 civilians killed((sfn|Smith|1950|p=46))<ref name=NooraniUntold/>))
))
<section begin=Lead />
The [[princely state]] of [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]] was annexed by [[Dominion of India|India]] in September 1948 through a [[military operation]] code-named '''Operation Polo''', which was dubbed a "[[police action]]".<ref>((cite web |newspaper=The Times of India |date=15 September 2019 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/hyderabad-had-tried-nrc-71-years-ago-and-failed/articleshow/71132138.cms|title=Hyderabad had tried 'NRC' 71 years ago, and failed))</ref><ref>((cite web |title=Hyderabad Police Action |url=http://indianarmy.nic.in/Site/FormTemplete/frmTempSimple.aspx?MnId=nmnz/S66ueKkrJc8PBO1kw==&ParentID=z2xdy5FtH8G+oZz4hw/CKg== |publisher=Indian Army |access-date=13 September 2014))</ref><ref>((cite book|author=B. Cohen|title=Kingship and Colonialism in India's Deccan: 1850–1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sZKHDAAAQBAJ |year=2007|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-230-60344-8|pages=159–161))</ref>

At the time of [[partition of India]] in 1947, the princely states of India, who in principle had self-government within their territories, were subject to [[subsidiary alliance|subsidiary alliances]] with the [[British Empire|British]], giving them control of their external relations. With the [[Indian Independence Act 1947]], the British abandoned all such alliances, leaving the states with the option of opting for full independence.<ref name=Mehotra>((cite book |last1=Mehrotra |first1=S.R. |title=Towards Indias Freedom And Partition |date=1979 |publisher=Vikash Publishing House |location=Delhi |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.100154/page/n259 247] |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.100154 |access-date=17 August 2019))</ref><ref>See Section 7 (1) (b): "the suzerainty of His Majesty over the Indian States lapses, and with it, all treaties and agreements in force at the date of the passing of this Act between His Majesty and the rulers of Indian States, all functions exercisable by His Majesty at that date with respect to Indian States, all obligations of His Majesty existing at that date towards Indian States or the rulers thereof, and all powers, rights, authority or jurisdiction exercisable by His Majesty at that date in or in relation to Indian States by treaty, grant, usage, sufferance or otherwise."</ref> However, by 1948 almost all had [[Instrument of Accession|acceded]] to either India or Pakistan. One major exception was that of the wealthiest and most powerful principality, Hyderabad, where the Nizam, ''[[Mir (title)|Mir]]'' [[Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII]], a Muslim ruler who presided over a largely Hindu population, chose [[independence]] and hoped to maintain this with an [[Hyderabad army|irregular army]].<ref name="MetcalfMetcalf2006">((cite book|author1=Barbara D. Metcalf|author2=Thomas R. Metcalf|title=A Concise History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jGCBNTDv7acC|year=2006|edition=2nd|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521682251))</ref>((rp|224)) The Nizam was also beset by the [[Telangana rebellion]], which he was unable to crush.<ref name="MetcalfMetcalf2006"/>((rp|224))

In November 1947, Hyderabad signed a [[Standstill agreement (India)|standstill agreement]] with the [[Dominion of India]], continuing all previous arrangements except for the stationing of Indian troops in the state. India felt that the establishment of a Communist state in Hyderabad would be a threat to the country.<ref>((Cite web|date=2018-09-15|title=Delhi felt Razakars, communists a threat to India|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/150918/delhi-felt-razakars-communists-a-threat-to-india.html|access-date=2021-02-04|website=Deccan Chronicle|language=en))</ref><ref>((Cite book|last1=Ernst|first1=Waltraud|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9eKbW3ukh9oC&dq=azad+hyderabad&pg=PA212|title=India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism|last2=Pati|first2=Biswamoy|date=2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-11988-2|language=en))</ref> Nizam's power had weakened because of the [[Telangana Rebellion]] and the rise of a radical militia known as the [[Razakars (Hyderabad)|Razakars]] whom he could not put down. On 7 September, [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] gave ultimatum to Nizam, demanding ban on the Razakars and return of Indian troops to [[Secunderabad Cantonment Board|Secunderabad]].<ref name="Siddiqi 1960 p. ">((cite book | last=Siddiqi | first=A. | title=Pakistan Seeks Security | publisher=Longmans, Green, Pakistan Branch | year=1960 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EsM9AAAAMAAJ | page=21))</ref><ref name="Benichou 2000">((cite book | last=Benichou | first=L.D. | title=From Autocracy to Integration: Political Developments in Hyderabad State, 1938-1948 | publisher=Orient Longman | year=2000 | isbn=978-81-250-1847-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Loiq3YrFy40C&pg=PA231 | page=231))</ref><ref name="Desai 1990 p. ">((cite book | last=Desai | first=V.H. | title=Vande Mataram to Jana Gana Mana: Saga of Hyderabad Freedom Struggle | publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan | year=1990 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZBuAAAAMAAJ| page=142))</ref> [[Dominion of India|India]] invaded the state by 13 September 1948, following a crippling economic blockade, and multiple attempts at destabilizing the state through railway disruptions, the bombing of government buildings, and raids on border villages.<ref name="SP">((cite journal |author1=Sunil Purushotham |title=Internal Violence: The "Police Action" in Hyderabad |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |date=20 March 2015 |volume=57 |issue=2 |page=439 |doi=10.1017/S0010417515000092 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43908352 |access-date=13 July 2022 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|jstor=43908352 |s2cid=145147551 ))</ref><ref>((Cite web|title=New book on Hyderabad's Invasion, 1948's Police Action|url=https://www.milligazette.com/news/13-books/15587-new-book-on-hyderabad-s-invasion-1948-s-police-action/|access-date=2021-02-04|website=The Milli Gazette – Indian Muslims Leading News Source|language=en))</ref><ref name=ShermanLSE/> After the defeat of Razakars, the Nizam signed an instrument of accession, joining India.((sfn|Chandra|Mukherjee|Mukherjee|2008|p=96))<ref>((cite web | last=Apparasu | first=Srinivasa Rao | title=How Hyd merger with Union unfolded | website=Hindustan Times | date=2022-09-16 | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/how-hyd-merger-with-union-unfolded-101663352521085.html))</ref>

The operation led to [[Hyderabad massacres|massive violence on communal lines]], at times perpetrated by the Indian Army.<ref name="BBC Hyderabad 1948"/> The Sunderlal Committee, appointed by Indian prime minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], concluded that between 30,000–40,000 people had died in total in the state, in a report which was not released until 2013.<ref name=Sunderlal>((harvnb|Noorani|2014|loc=Appendix 15: Confidential notes attached to the Sunderlal Committee Report, pp.&nbsp;372–373))</ref> Other responsible observers estimated the number of deaths to be 200,000 or higher.((sfn|Smith|1950|p=46))<section end=Lead />

== Background ==

After the [[Siege of Golconda]] by the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Aurangzeb]] in 1687, the region was renamed as ''Deccan [[Subah (country subdivision)|Subah]]'' (due to its geographical proximity in the [[Deccan Plateau]]) and in 1713 [[Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asaf Jah I|Qamar-ud-din Khan]] (later known as ''Asaf Jah I'' or ''Nizam I'') was appointed its [[Subahdar]] and bestowed with the title of ''Nizam-ul-Mulk'' by the Mughal Emperor [[Farrukhsiyar]]. Hyderabad's nominal independence is dated to 1724 when the Nizam won a military victory over a rival military appointee.<ref>((cite journal|last1=Leonard|first1=Karen|title=The Hyderabad Political System and its Participants|journal=Journal of Asian Studies|date=May 1971|volume=XXX|issue=3|pages=569–570|url=http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~kbleonar/bio/Karen%20Hyderabad%20Political%20System%20and%20its%20Participants.pdf|doi=10.2307/2052461|jstor=2052461|s2cid=162185903 ))</ref> In 1798, Hyderabad became the first Indian [[princely state]] to accede to British protection under the policy of [[Subsidiary Alliance]] instituted by [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley]], and was thus named as the [[State of Hyderabad]].

The State of Hyderabad under the leadership of its 7th [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Nizam]], ''[[Mir (title)|Mir]]'' [[Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII|Sir Osman Ali Khan]], was the largest and most prosperous of all the princely states in India. With annual revenues of over Rs. 9 [[crore]],<ref name="scale">((cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.282202/page/n39/mode/2up?view=theater |title=The India Office and Burma Office List: 1945 |publisher=Harrison & Sons, Ltd. |year=1945 |pages=33–37))</ref> it covered ((convert|82698|sqmi|km2)) of fairly homogenous territory and comprised a population of roughly 16.34 million people (as per the 1941 census) of which a majority (85%) was Hindu. The state had its own army, airline, telecommunication system, railway network, postal system, currency and radio broadcasting service.<ref name=mohanGuruswamy/> Hyderabad was a multi-lingual state consisting of people speaking [[Telugu language|Telugu]] (48.2%), [[Marathi language|Marathi]] (26.4%), [[Kannada]] (12.3%) and [[Urdu]] (10.3%). Despite the overwhelming Hindu majority, Hindus were severely under-represented in government, police and the military. Of 1765 officers in the State Army, 1268 were Muslims, 421 were Hindus, and 121 others were Christians, Parsis and Sikhs. Of the officials drawing a salary between Rs. 600 and 1200 per month, 59 were Muslims, 5 were Hindus and 38 were of other religions. The Nizam and his nobles, who were mostly Muslims, owned 40% of the total land in the state.((sfn|Benichou, From Autocracy to Integration|2000|p=13))<ref name=mohanGuruswamy>((cite web|url=http://www.india-seminar.com/2008/585/585_mohan_guruswamy.htm |title=There once was a Hyderabad! |author=Guruswamy, Mohan|work=Seminar Magazine|date=May 2008|access-date=3 August 2010))</ref>

When the British departed from the Indian subcontinent in 1947, they offered the various princely states in the subcontinent the option of acceding to either India or Pakistan or staying on as an independent state.<ref name=Mehotra /> As stated by [[Sardar Patel]] at a press conference in January 1948, "As you are all aware, on the lapse of Paramountcy every Indian State became a separate independent entity."<ref>R. P. Bhargava, ''The Chamber of Princes'' (Northern Book Centre, 1991) [https://books.google.com/books?id=BAQgNE1uSEgC&pg=PA313 p. 313]</ref> In India, a small number of states, including Hyderabad, [[Political integration of India#The accession process|declined to join]] the new dominion.<ref>((cite news|title=Five states that refused to join India after Independence|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/research/five-states-that-refused-to-join-india-after-independence/|last=Roychowdhury|first=Adrija|newspaper=Indian Express|date=17 August 2017|access-date=17 January 2018))</ref><ref>((cite news|title=C.P. and independent Travancore|url=http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2013/stories/20030704000807800.htm|last=Noorani|first=AG|newspaper=Frontline|volume=20|date=21 June 2003|access-date=17 January 2018))</ref> In the case of Pakistan, accession happened far more slowly.<ref>Yaqoob Khan Bangash, ''A Princely Affair: The Accession and Integration of the Princely States of Pakistan, 1947–1955'' (Oxford University Press, 2015), pp. 7–12</ref> Hyderabad had been part of the calculations of all-India political parties since the 1930s.<ref>Copland, (("'))Communalism' in Princely India", Roosa, 'Quadary of the Qaum' cited in Sherman, "Integration of Princely States" (2007)</ref> The leaders of the new [[Dominion of India]] were wary of a [[Balkanization]] of India if Hyderabad was left independent.<ref name=MetcalfMetcalf2006/>((rp|223))((failed verification|date=December 2017))

Hyderabad state has been steadily becoming more theocratic since the beginning of the 20th century. In 1926, Mahmud Nawazkhan, a retired Hyderabad official, founded the [[Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen]] (also known as Ittehad or MIM). Its objectives were to unite the Muslims in the State in support of Nizam and to reduce the Hindu majority by large-scale conversion to Islam.<ref name="Kate, P. V. 1948, p.73">Kate, P. V., [https://books.google.com/books?id=tjndiykddsIC&pg=PA73 ''Marathwada Under the Nizams, 1724–1948''], Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1987, p. 73</ref> The MIM became a powerful communal organisation, with the principal focus to marginalise the political aspirations of the Hindus and moderate Muslims.<ref name="Kate, P. V. 1948, p.73"/>

==Events preceding hostilities==
((Main|Political integration of India|Partition of India))

===Political and diplomatic negotiations===
''[[Mir (title)|Mir]]'' [[Osman Ali Khan|Sir Osman Ali Khan]], [[Nizam of Hyderabad]], initially approached the British government with a request to take on the status of an independent constitutional monarchy within the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. This request was, however, rejected by the last [[Viceroy of India]], [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|The 1st Viscount Mountbatten of Burma]].<ref name="Krishna1998">((cite book|author=Ashok Krishna|title=India's Armed Forces: Fifty Years of War and Peace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wGIkXCsgT2UC|year=1998|publisher=Lancer Publishers|isbn=978-1-897829-47-9|page=6))</ref>

At the time of the British withdrawal from India, the Nizam announced that he did not intend to join either new dominion,<ref>E. W. R. Lumby, ''[[iarchive:in.gov.ignca.2624/page/n237/mode/2up|The Transfer of Power in India, 1945–1947]]'' (1954), p. 232</ref> and proceeded to appoint trade representatives in European countries and to begin negotiations with the Portuguese, seeking to lease or buy [[Goa]] to provide his state with access to the sea.<ref>((Cite journal |last=Morris-Jones |first=W. H. |date=Autumn 1983 |title=Thirty-Six Years Later: The Mixed Legacies of Mountbatten's Transfer of Power |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2619473 |journal=International Affairs |volume=59 |issue=4 |pages=624–625 |doi=10.2307/2619473 |jstor=2619473 |access-date=15 January 2023 |quote="Sir Walter Monckton, Mountbatten's self-styled 'dear friend', at that time Constitutional Adviser to the Nizam of Hyderabad, managed to involve Lord Templewood in a conspiracy to persuade the Portuguese government to cooperate in supplying a rail link to the sea at Goa for the use of Hyderabad." |via=JSTOR))</ref><ref>((Cite book |last=Moore |first=R. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zOqAAAAAIAAJ |title=Endgames of Empire; Studies of Britain's Indian Problem |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1988 |location=Delhi |pages=193 |chapter=India in 1947: The Limits of Unity |isbn=978-0-19-562143-3 |quote="Since late in 1945, landlocked Hyderabad had been seeking access to a port. In April 1947 Monckton was in touch with Templewood about the acquisition of port facilities at Mormugao, in Portuguese Goa, with a rail link to be built from the state to the sea. The businessman Sir Alexander Roger was employed as an intermediary, but Monckton himself seems to have visited Portugal in April." |access-date=15 January 2023))</ref><ref>((Cite book |last=Liddell |first=Guy |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C13200348 |title=Diary of Guy Liddell, Deputy Director General of the Security Service, 1948 |year=1948 |location=London |pages=16 |author-link=Guy Liddell |access-date=15 January 2023))</ref><ref>((Cite book |last=Mhamai |first=S K |url=https://irgu.unigoa.ac.in/drs/bitstream/handle/unigoa/4134/Goa_in_the_Indian_Subcontinent_2001_133-148.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |title=Goa in the Indian Sub-Continent |publisher=Directorate of Archaeology and Archives |year=2001 |location=Panaji |chapter=The Geostrategic and Geopolitical Importance of Goa in the Indian Sub-Continent |access-date=15 January 2023))</ref><ref>((Cite book |last=Bègue |first=Sandrine |url=https://www.academia.edu/9314906 |title=La Fin de Goa et de Estado da Índia : Décolonisation et Guerre Froide dans le Sous-Continent Indien (1945-1962) |publisher=Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Instituto diplomático |year=2007 |isbn=9789729245558 |volume=1 |location=Lisbon |pages=234–242 |language=French |chapter=Les Origines du Conflit Luso-Indien (1947-1950) |oclc=493408796 |access-date=15 January 2023))</ref>

[[B. R. Ambedkar]], the Law Minister in the first independent Indian government considered the state of Hyderabad to be "a new problem which may turn out to be worse than the Hindu-Muslim problem as it is sure to result in the further Balkanisation of India".<ref name="SP"/> According to the writer [[A. G. Noorani]], Indian Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Nehru]]'s concern was to defeat what he called Hyderabad's "secessionist venture", but he favoured talks and considered military option as a last resort. In Nehru's observation, the state of Hyderabad was "full of dangerous possibilities".<ref name="SP" /> [[Vallabhbhai Patel|Sardar Patel]] of the [[Indian National Congress]], however, took a hard line, and had no patience with talks.((sfn|Noorani|2014|pp=213–4))<ref>((cite journal|last1=VENKATESHWARLU|first1=K.|title=Destructive merger|journal=Frontline|issue=19 September 2014|url=http://www.frontline.in/books/destructive-merger/article6365005.ece?homepage=true))</ref>

Accordingly, the Indian government offered Hyderabad a [[Standstill agreement (India)|standstill agreement]] which made an assurance that the status quo would be maintained and no military action would be taken for one year. According to this agreement, India would handle Hyderabad's foreign affairs, but Indian Army troops stationed in Secunderabad would be removed.<ref name=ShermanLSE/> In Hyderabad city there was a huge demonstration by Razakars led by Syed Qasim Razvi in October 1947, against the administration's decision to sign the Standstill Agreement. This demonstration in front of the houses of the main negotiators, the Prime Minister, [[Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan Chhatari|the Nawab of Chattari]], Sir [[Walter Monckton]], advisor to the Nizam, and Minister Nawab Ali Nawaz Jung, forced them to call off their Delhi visit to sign the agreement at that time.<ref>((Cite news |first=K. |last=Venkateshwarlu |url=http://www.thehindu.com/books/how-the-nizam-lost-hyderabad-in-1948/article3765710.ece|title=How the Nizam lost Hyderabad in 1948|date=14 August 2012|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=20 June 2018))</ref>

Hyderabad violated all clauses of the agreement: in external affairs, by carrying out intrigues with Pakistan, to which it secretly loaned 15 million pounds; in defence, by building up a large semi-private army; in communications, by interfering with the traffic at the borders and the through traffic of Indian railways.((sfnp|Hodson, The Great Divide|1969|pp=480–481)) India was also accused of violating the agreement by imposing an economic blockade. It turned out that the state of [[Bombay State|Bombay]] was interfering with supplies to Hyderabad without the knowledge of Delhi. The Government promised to take up the matter with the provincial governments, but scholar Lucien Benichou states that it was never done. There were also delays in arms shipments to Hyderabad from India.<ref>((harvp|Hodson, The Great Divide|1969|pp=480–481)); ((harvp|Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India|2010|p=77)); ((harvp|Benichou, From Autocracy to Integration|2000|pp=214–215))</ref>

Jawaharlal Nehru in a reception to the Bombay Union of Journalists on 26 April 1948 laid out his government's position:

<blockquote>"If the safety of the people in Hyderabad was endangered by the activities of Razakars, the Government would intervene in Hyderabad State. The time 
had arrived when this hostility must cease. If the Hyderabad  Government could not stop it, other measures would be adopted."<ref name="Munshi 1957 p. ">((cite book | last=Munshi | first=K.M. | title=The End of an Era; Hyderabad Memories | publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan | year=1957 | isbn=978-0-8426-0032-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5zfRAAAAMAAJ | page=320))</ref></blockquote>

[[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] reportedly warned the then Viceroy Lord Mountbatten, "If Congress attempted to exert any pressure on Hyderabad, every Muslim throughout the whole of India, yes, all the hundred million Muslims, would rise as one man to defend the oldest Muslim dynasty in India."<ref name="SP" /> According to Taylor C. Sherman, "India claimed that the government of Hyderabad was edging towards independence by divesting itself of its Indian securities, banning the Indian currency, halting the export of ground nuts, organising illegal gun-running from Pakistan, and inviting recruits to its army and its irregular forces, the Razakars." The Hyderabadi envoys accused India of setting up armed barricades on all land routes and of attempting to economically isolate their nation.<ref name=ShermanLSE/>

In the summer of 1948, Indian officials, especially Patel, signalled an intention to invade; Britain encouraged India to resolve the issue without the use of force but refused Nizam's requests to help.<ref name=ShermanLSE />

The Nizam also made unsuccessful attempts to seek the intervention of the United Nations.<ref>((cite web|title=The Hyderabad Question|url=https://www.un.org/en/sc/repertoire/46-51/Chapter%208/46-51_08-19-The%20Hyderabad%20question.pdf|website=United Nations|access-date=23 September 2014))</ref>

===Telangana Rebellion===
((Main|Telangana Rebellion))
In late 1945, there started a peasant uprising in the [[Telangana]] area, led by communists. The communists drew their support from various quarters. Among the poor peasants, there were grievances against the [[jagirdari]] system, which covered 43% of land holding. Initially, they also drew support from wealthier peasants who also fought under the communist banner, but by 1948, the coalition had disintegrated.<ref name=ShermanLSE/> According to the Indian Intelligence Bureau Deputy Director, the social and economic programs of the communists were "positive and in some cases great...The communists redistributed land and livestock, reduced rates, ended forced labour and increased wages by one hundred per cent. They inoculated the population and built public latrines; they encouraged women's organisations, discouraged sectarian sentiment and sought to abolish untouchability."<ref name=ShermanLSE/>

Initially, in 1945, the communists targeted [[zamindars]] and even the Hindu [[deshmukh]]s, but soon they launched a full-fledged revolt against the Nizam. Starting in mid-1946, the conflict between the Razakars and the [[Communism in India|Communist]]s became increasingly [[violent]], with both sides resorting to increasingly brutal methods.  According to an Indian government pamphlet, the communists had killed about 2,000 people by 1948.<ref name=ShermanLSE/>

===Communal violence before the operation===
<section begin=prior />
In the [[1937 Indian provincial elections|1936–37 Indian elections]], the Muslim League under [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] had sought to harness Muslim aspirations and had won the adherence of MIM leader [[Bahadur Yar Jung|Nawab Bahadur Yar Jung]], who campaigned for an Islamic State centred on the Nizam as the Sultan dismissing all claims for democracy. The [[Arya Samaj]], a Hindu revivalist movement, had been demanding greater access to power for the Hindu majority since the late 1930s and was curbed by the Nizam in 1938. The Hyderabad State Congress joined forces with the Arya Samaj as well as the [[Hindu Mahasabha]] in the State.((sfn|Noorani|2014|pp=51–61))<!-- <ref name=NooraniMurali>((cite book |first=A. G. |last=Noorani |title=The Destruction of Hyderabad |publisher=Hurst & Co |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-84904-439-4 )) cited in ((harvtxt|Muralidharan|2014))</ref>((rp|52–56)) -->

Noorani regards the MIM under Nawab Bahadur Yar Jung as explicitly committed to safeguarding the rights of religious and linguistic minorities. However, this changed with the ascent of Qasim Razvi after the Nawab died in 1944.((sfn|Muralidharan|2014|pp=128–129))

Even as India and Hyderabad negotiated, most of the sub-continent had been thrown into chaos as a result of communal Hindu-Muslim riots pending the imminent partition of India. Fearing a Hindu civil uprising in his kingdom, the Nizam allowed Razvi to set up a voluntary militia of Muslims called the 'Razakars'. The Razakars – who numbered up to 200,000 at the height of the conflict – swore to uphold Islamic domination in Hyderabad and the Deccan plateau<ref name=ShermanLSE />((rp|8)) in the face of growing public opinion amongst the majority Hindu population favouring the accession of Hyderabad into the Indian Union.

According to an account by Mohammed Hyder, a civil servant in Osmanabad district, a variety of armed militant groups, including ''Razakars'' and ''Deendars'' and ethnic militias of [[Pathans]] and [[Arabs]] claimed to be defending the Islamic faith and made claims on the land. "From the beginning of 1948, the [[Razakars (Hyderabad)|Razakars]] had extended their activities from Hyderabad city into the towns and rural areas, murdering Hindus, abducting women, pillaging houses and fields, and looting non-Muslim property in a widespread reign of terror."<ref>By Frank Moraes, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mumbai: Jaico.2007, p.394</ref><ref name="Kate, P. V. 1948, p.84">Kate, P. V., Marathwada Under the Nizams, 1724–1948, Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1987, p.84</ref> "Some women became victims of rape and kidnapping by Razakars. Thousands went to jail and braved the cruelties perpetuated by the oppressive administration. Due to the activities of the Razakars, thousands of Hindus had to flee from the state and take shelter in various camps".<ref name="Kate, P. V. 1948, p.84"/> Precise numbers are not known, but 40,000 refugees were received by the [[Central Provinces]].<ref name=ShermanLSE />((rp|8)) This led to terrorising of the Hindu community, some of whom went across the border into independent India and organised raids into Nizam's territory, which further escalated the violence. Many of these raiders were controlled by the Congress leadership in India and had links with extremist religious elements in the [[Hindutva]] fold.((sfn|Muralidharan|2014|p=132)) In all, more than 150 villages (of which 70 were in Indian territory outside Hyderabad State) were pushed into violence.

Hyder mediated some efforts to minimise the influence of the Razakars.((Citation needed|date=April 2017)) Razvi, while generally receptive, vetoed the option of disarming them, saying that with the Hyderabad state army ineffective, the Razakars were the only means of self-defence available. By the end of August 1948, a full-blown invasion by India was imminent.((sfn|Muralidharan|2014|p=134))

===Hyderabadi military preparations===
The Nizam was in a weak position as his army numbered only 24,000 men, of whom only some 6,000 were fully trained and equipped.((sfn|Benichou, From Autocracy to Integration|2000|p=229)) These included [[Arab]]s, [[Rohilla]]s, North Indian Muslims and [[Pathan]]s. The State Army consisted of three armoured regiments, a horse cavalry regiment, 11 infantry battalions and artillery. These were supplemented by irregular units with horse cavalry, four infantry battalions (termed as the Saraf-e-khas, paigah, Arab and Refugee) and a garrison battalion.((citation needed|date=September 2014)) This army was commanded by [[General El Edroos|Major General El Edroos]], an Arab.<ref name="bharat-rakshak.com">((cite web|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE2-3/lns.html|title=Bharat Rakshak-MONITOR|publisher=Bharat-rakshak.com|access-date=12 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051127054521/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE2-3/lns.html|archive-date=27 November 2005|df=dmy-all))</ref> 55 per cent of the Hyderabadi army was composed of Muslims, with 1,268 Muslims in a total of 1,765 officers as of 1941.<ref name=mohanGuruswamy/><ref name="indianofficer.com">[http://www.indianofficer.com/forums/history-wiki/899-operation-polo-liberation-hyderabad.html] ((webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926163441/http://www.indianofficer.com/forums/history-wiki/899-operation-polo-liberation-hyderabad.html|date=26 September 2008))</ref>

In addition to these, there were about 200,000 irregular militia called the Razakars under the command of a civilian leader [[Kasim Razvi]]. A quarter of these were armed with modern small firearms, while the rest were predominantly armed with muzzle-loaders and swords.<ref name="bharat-rakshak.com"/>

===Skirmish at Kodad===
On 6 September an Indian police post near Chillakallu village came under heavy fire from [[Razakars (Hyderabad)|Razakar]] units. The Indian Army command sent a squadron of [[The Poona Horse]] led by [[Abhey Singh]] and a company of [[5th Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force)|2/5 Gurkha Rifles]] to investigate who was also fired upon by the Razakars. The tanks of the Poona Horse then chased the Razakars to Kodad, in Hyderabad territory. Here they were opposed by the armoured cars of 1 Hyderabad Lancers. In a brief action, the Poona Horse destroyed one armoured car and forced the surrender of the state garrison at Kodad.

===Indian military preparations===
On receiving directions from the government to seize and annex Hyderabad,<ref name="Department of History, Osmania University 2006 p. ">((cite book | title=Osmania Journal of Historical Research | publisher=Department of History, Osmania University | issue=v. 7 | year=2006 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vT-18sQEK8YC | page=82))</ref> the Indian army came up with the ''Goddard Plan'' (laid out by [[Eric Goddard|Lt. Gen. E. N. Goddard]], the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Command). The plan envisaged two main thrusts – from [[Vijayawada]] in the East and [[Solapur]] in the West – while smaller units pinned down the Hyderabadi army along the border. Overall command was placed in the hands of Lt. Gen. Rajendrasinghji, DSO.

The attack from Solapur was led by Major General [[Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri]] and was composed of four task forces:
# Strike Force comprising a mix of fast-moving infantry, cavalry and light artillery,
# Smash Force consisting of predominantly armoured units and artillery,
# Kill Force composed of infantry and engineering units,
# Vir Force which comprised infantry, anti-tank and engineering units.
The attack from [[Vijaywada|Vijayawada]] was led by Major General [[Ajit Rudra]] and comprised the 2/5 Gurkha Rifles, one squadron of the [[The Poona Horse|17th (Poona) Horse]], and a troop from the [[19th Field Battery]] along with engineering and ancillary units. In addition, four infantry battalions were to neutralise and protect lines of communication. Two squadrons of [[Hawker Tempest]] aircraft were prepared for air support from the [[Pune]] base.

Nehru, in a letter to [[V. K. Krishna Menon]] dated to 29 August 1948, wrote that "I am convinced that it is impossible to arrive at any solution of the Hyderabad problem by settlement or peaceful negotiation. Military action becomes essential, we call it as you have called it Police Action."<ref name="Hangloo Murali 2007 p. ">((cite book | last=Hangloo | first=Rattan Lal | last2=Murali | first2=A. | title=New Themes in Indian History: Art, Politics, Gender, Environment, and Culture | publisher=Black & White | year=2007 | isbn=978-81-89320-15-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwVuAAAAMAAJ | pages=240-241))</ref><ref name="Joseph 2006 p. ">((cite book | last=Joseph | first=T.U. | title=Accession of Hyderabad: The Inside Story | publisher=Sundeep Prakashan | year=2006 | isbn=978-81-7574-171-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=421uAAAAMAAJ | page=176))</ref> It was also believed that there could be a possible military response by Pakistan.<ref name="Nayar 2012 p. 146">((cite book | last=Nayar | first=K. | title=Beyond The Lines: An Autobiography | publisher=Roli Books | year=2012 | isbn=978-81-7436-821-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p85bBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT146| page=146))</ref><ref name=ShermanLSE /> The ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine pointed out that if India invaded Hyderabad, Razakars would massacre Hindus, which would lead to retaliatory massacres of Muslims across India.<ref>((cite magazine |last=Lubar |first=Robert |date=30 August 1948 |title=Hyderabad: The Holdout |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,799076-2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930213901/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,799076-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 September 2007 |magazine=Time |page=26 |quote=If the Indian army invaded Hyderabad, Razvi's Razakars would kill Hyderabad Hindus. Throughout India, Hindus would retaliate against Muslims. |access-date=20 May 2010))</ref><section end=prior /> On September 7, [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] gave ultimatum to Nizam, demanding ban on the Razakars and return of Indian troops to [[Secunderabad Cantonment Board|Secunderabad]].<ref name="Benichou 2000"/><ref name="Siddiqi 1960 p. "/> Pakistan foreign minister [[Muhammad Zafarullah Khan]] warned India against this ultimatum.<ref name="Best 2003 p. 224">((cite book | last=Best | first=A. | title=British Documents on Foreign Affairs: Reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print. From 1946 through 1950. Asia 1949. Burma, India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Indonesia, The Philippines and South-East Asia and the Far East (general), january 1949- december 1949 | publisher=Univ. Publ. of America | series=Asia / ed. Anthony Best | issue=pt. 4, v. 9 | year=2003 | isbn=978-1-55655-768-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aTyk_neEmg0C&pg=PA224 | page=224))</ref> Nehru then launched the invasion on 13 September, after the death of Jinnah on 11 September.<ref name="Hangloo Murali 2007 p. "/><ref name="Pakistan Institute">((cite journal | title=Vol. 17, No. 2, Second Quarter, 1964 | journal=Pakistan Horizon | publisher=Pakistan Institute of International Affairs | volume=17 | issue=2 | year=1964 | issn=0030-980X | jstor=41392796 | page=169 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41392796 | access-date=2023-08-25))</ref>

==Commencement of hostilities==
((more citations needed section|date = February 2012))
[[File:Operation Polo 1948.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Indian Army movements during the Operation Polo]]

===Day 1, 13 September===
Indian forces entered the state at 4 a.m.<ref>((cite web|title=Press Note|url=http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1948-JULY-DEC-MIN-OF-DEFENCE/PDF/DEF-1948-09-13_170.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India – Archive|date=13 September 1948|access-date=16 February 2020))</ref> The first battle was fought at [[Naldurg]] Fort on the Solapur Secunderabad Highway between a defending force of the [[Hyderabad Infantry, Indian State Forces|1st Hyderabad Infantry]] and the attacking force of the 7th Brigade. Using speed and surprise, the 7th Brigade managed to secure a vital bridge on the Bori River intact, following which an assault was made on the Hyderabadi positions at Naldurg by the 2nd Sikh Infantry. The bridge and road secured, an armoured column of the 1st Armoured Brigade – part of the Smash force – moved into the town of [[Jalkot]], 8&nbsp;km from Naldurg, at 0900 hours, paving the way for the Strike Force units under Lt. Col Ram Singh Commandant of [[Dogra Regiment|9 Dogra]] (a motorised battalion) to pass through. This armoured column reached the town of [[Umarga]], 61&nbsp;km inside Hyderabad by 1515 hours, where it quickly overpowered resistance from Razakar units defending the town.
Meanwhile, another column consisting of a squadron of [[3rd Cavalry (India)|3rd Cavalry]], a troop from [[18th King Edward's Own Cavalry]], a troop from 9 Para Field Regiment, 10 Field Company Engineers, [[2nd Punjab Regiment|3/2 Punjab Regiment]], [[1 Gorkha Rifles|2/1 Gurkha Rifles]], 1 [[Mewar]] Infantry, and ancillary units attacked the town of [[Tuljapur]], about 34&nbsp;km north-west of Naldurg. They reached Tuljapur at dawn, where they encountered resistance from a unit of the 1st Hyderabad Infantry and about 200 Razakars who fought for two hours before surrendering. Further advance towards the town of [[Lohara, Osmanabad|Lohara]] was stalled as the river had swollen. The first day on the Western Front ended with the Indians inflicting heavy casualties on the Hyderabadis and capturing large tracts of territory. Amongst the captured defenders was a British mercenary who had been tasked with blowing up the bridge near [[Naldurg]].

In the East, forces led by Lt. Gen A.A. Rudra met with fierce resistance from two armoured car cavalry units of the [[Hyderabad State Forces]], equipped with [[Humber armoured car]]s and [[T17E1 Staghound|Staghounds]], namely the 2nd and 4th Hyderabad Lancers,<ref name="Prasad1972">((cite book|last=Prasad|first=S. N.|title=Operation Polo: The Police Action Against Hyderabad, 1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JlQdAAAAMAAJ|year=1972|publisher=Historical Section, Ministry of Defence, Government of India; distributors: Manager of Publications, Government of India, Delhi|page=75))</ref> but managed to reach the town of [[Kodad|Kodar]] by 0830 hours. Pressing on, the force reached [[Munagala]] by the afternoon.

There were further incidents in [[Hospet]] – where the [[1st Mysore]] assaulted and secured a [[Sugar refinery|sugar factory]] from units of Razakars and [[Pashtun people|Pathans]] – and at [[Tungabhadra]] – where the [[5 Gorkha Rifles|5/5 Gurkha]] attacked and secured a vital bridge from the Hyderabadi army.

===Day 2, 14 September===
The force that had camped at Umarga proceeded to the town of [[Rajeshwar]], 48&nbsp;km east. As aerial reconnaissance had shown well-entrenched ambush positions set up along the way, the air strikes from squadrons of [[Hawker Tempest|Tempests]] were called in. These air strikes effectively cleared the route and allowed the land forces to reach and secure Rajeshwar by the afternoon.

The assault force from the East was meanwhile slowed by an anti-tank ditch and later came under heavy fire from hillside positions of the [[1st Duke of York's Own Lancers (Skinner's Horse)|1st Lancers]] and [[5th Mahratta Light Infantry|5th Infantry]] 6&nbsp;km from Suryapet. The positions were assaulted by the 2/5 Gurkha – veterans of the [[Burma Campaign]] – and were neutralised, with the Hyderabadis taking severe casualties.

At the same time, the [[11 Gorkha Rifles|3/11 Gurkha Rifles]] and a squadron of 8th Cavalry attacked [[Osmanabad]] and took the town after heavy street combat with the Razakars who determinedly resisted the Indians.<ref name="hindu">((cite news| url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/14/stories/2005091405050200.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504053202/http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/14/stories/2005091405050200.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=4 May 2009 | location=Chennai, India | work=[[The Hindu]] | title=When the Indian Army liberated thousands | date=14 September 2005))</ref>

A force under the command of Maj. Gen. D.S. Brar was tasked with capturing the city of [[Aurangabad, Maharashtra|Aurangabad]]. The city was attacked by six columns of infantry and cavalry, resulting in the civil administration emerging in the afternoon and offering a surrender to the Indians.

There were further incidents in [[Jalna (city)|Jalna]] where 3 Sikhs, a company of 2 Jodhpur infantry and some tanks from 18 Cavalry faced stubborn resistance from Hyderabadi forces.

===Day 3, 15 September===
Leaving a company of 3/11 Gurkhas to occupy the town of [[Jalna (city)|Jalna]], the remainder of the force moved to [[Latur]], and later to [[Ambajogai|Mominabad]] where they faced action against the 3 Golconda Lancers who gave token resistance before surrendering.

At the town of [[Suryapet]], air strikes cleared most of the Hyderabadi defences, although some Razakar units still gave resistance to the 2/5 Gurkhas who occupied the town. The retreating Hyderabadi forces destroyed the bridge at Musi to delay the Indians but failed to offer covering fire, allowing the bridge to be quickly repaired. Another incident occurred at [[Narketpally|Narkatpalli]] where a Razakar unit was decimated by the Indians.

===Day 4, 16 September===
The task force under Lt. Col. Ram Singh moved towards [[Zahirabad]] at dawn but was slowed by a minefield, which had to be cleared. On reaching the junction of the Bidar road with the Solapur-[[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad City]] Highway, the forces encountered gunfire from ambush positions. However, leaving some of the units to handle the ambush, the bulk of the force moved on to reach 15 kilometres beyond Zahirabad by nightfall despite sporadic resistance along the way. Most of the resistance was from Razakar units who ambushed the Indians as they passed through urban areas. The Razakars were able to use the terrain to their advantage until the Indians brought in their 75&nbsp;mm guns.

===Day 5, 17 September===
In the early hours of 17 September, the Indian army entered [[Bidar]]. Meanwhile, forces led by the 1st Armoured regiment were at the town of [[Chityal, Nalgonda district|Chityal]] about 60&nbsp;km from [[Hyderabad]], while another column took over the town of [[Hingoli]]. By the morning of the 5th day of hostilities, it had become clear that the Hyderabad army and the Razakars had been routed on all fronts and with extremely heavy casualties. At 5 pm on 17 September, the Nizam announced a ceasefire, thus ending the armed action.<ref name="hindu"/>

==Capitulation and surrender==

===Consultations with Indian envoy===
On 16 September, faced with imminent defeat, [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Nizam]] ''[[Mir (title)|Mir]]'' [[Osman Ali Khan|Sir Osman Ali Khan]] summoned his Prime Minister, ''[[Mir (title)|Mir]]'' [[Mir Laiq Ali|Laiq Ali]], and requested his resignation by the morning of the following day. The resignation was delivered along with the resignations of the entire cabinet.

On the noon of 17 September, a messenger brought a personal note from the Nizam to India's [[Agent General]] to Hyderabad, [[Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi|K. M. Munshi]], summoning him to the Nizam's office at 1600 hours. At the meeting, the Nizam stated "The vultures have resigned. I don't know what to do". Munshi advised the Nizam to secure the safety of the citizens of Hyderabad by issuing appropriate orders to the Commander of the Hyderabad State Army, [[Major-General]] [[Syed Ahmed El Edroos|El Edroos]]. This was immediately done.

===Broadcast by Nehru===

On 18 September, Jawaharlal Nehru in his broadcast said on the military action:

<blockquote>"It is natural that we should rejoice at this swift termination of the action we undertook after prolonged and painful thought and each deliberation. As I have repeatedly said we are men of peace, hating war and the last thing we desire is to come into an armed conflict with anyone. Nevertheless, circumstances which you will know well, compelled us to take this action in Hyderabad. Fortunately, it was brief and we return with relief to the paths of peace again."<ref name="India. Bureau of p. ">((cite book | author=India. Bureau of Public Information | title=Indian Information Series | publisher=Bureau of the public information of the government of India. | issue=v. 23 | year=1948 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Zg7AQAAIAAJ | page=247))</ref></blockquote>

===Radio broadcast by the Nizam===
[[File:Op Polo Surrender.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Major General]] [[Syed Ahmed El Edroos]] (at right) offers his surrender of the Hyderabad State Forces to [[Major General]] (later [[General]] and [[Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Army Chief]]) [[Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri]] at [[Secunderabad]]]]
It was [[Nizam]] ''[[Mir (title)|Mir]]'' [[Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII|Sir Osman Ali Khan]]'s first visit to the radio station. The [[Nizam of Hyderabad]], in his radio speech on 23 September 1948, said "In November last [1947], a small group which had organized a quasi-military organization surrounded the homes of my Prime Minister, the [[Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan Chhatari|Nawab of Chhatari]], in whose wisdom I had complete confidence, and of [[Walter Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley|Sir Walter Monkton]], my constitutional Adviser, by duress compelled the Nawab and other trusted ministers to resign and forced the Laik Ali Ministry on me. This group headed by [[Kasim Razvi]] had no stake in the country or any record of service behind it. By methods reminiscent of Hitlerite Germany it took possession of the State, spread terror ... and rendered me completely helpless."((sfn|Benichou, From Autocracy to Integration|2000|p=237))

===The surrender ceremony===
According to the records maintained by the [[Indian Army]], General Chaudhari led an armoured column into Hyderabad at around 4 p.m. on 18 September and the Hyderabad army, led by Major General El Edroos, surrendered.<ref>((cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/14/stories/2005091405050200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504053202/http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/14/stories/2005091405050200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 May 2009|title=When the Indian Army liberated thousands  |newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=14 September 2005|access-date=19 September 2011))</ref>

== Communal violence during and after the operation ==
((Main|Hyderabad Massacre))
<section begin=communalLater />
There were reports of [[looting]], [[mass murder]] and [[War rape|rape]] of Muslims in reprisals by Hyderabadi Hindus.<ref name="BBC Hyderabad 1948"/><ref name="Kate, P. V. 1948, p.84"/> Jawaharlal Nehru appointed a mixed-faith committee led by Pandit [[Sunder Lal]] to investigate the situation. The findings of the report ('''Pandit Sunderlal Committee Report''') were not made public until 2013 when it was accessed from the [[Nehru Memorial Museum & Library|Nehru Memorial Museum and Library]] in [[New Delhi]].<ref name="BBC Hyderabad 1948"/><ref>((citation |title=Lessons to learn from Hyderabad's past |newspaper=The Times of India |date=16 December 2013 |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Lessons-to-learn-from-Hyderabads-past/articleshow/27390337.cms |id=((ProQuest|1468149022))))</ref>

The Committee concluded that while Muslim villagers were disarmed by the Indian Army, Hindus were often left with their weapons.<ref name="BBC Hyderabad 1948"/> The violence was carried out by Hindu residents, with the army sometimes indifferent, and sometimes participating in the atrocities.<ref name=ShermanLSE />((rp|11)) The Committee stated that large-scale violence against Muslims occurred in Marathwada and Telangana areas. It also concluded: "At several places, members of the armed forces brought out Muslim adult males from villages and towns and massacred them in cold blood."<ref name="BBC Hyderabad 1948"/> The Committee generally credited the military officers with good conduct but stated that soldiers acted out of bigotry.<ref name=ShermanLSE />((rp|11)) The official "very conservative estimate" was that 27,000 to 40,000 died "during and after the police action."<ref name="BBC Hyderabad 1948"/> Other scholars have put the figure at 200,000, or even higher.<ref name=NooraniUntold>((citation |last1=Noorani|first1=A.G. |title=Of a massacre untold |journal=Frontline|date=3–16 March 2001|volume= 18|issue= 5 |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30159646.ece |access-date=8 September 2014|quote=The lowest estimates, even those offered privately by apologists of the military government, came to at least ten times the number of murders with which previously the Razakars were officially accused...))</ref> Among Muslims some estimates were even higher and Smith says that the military government's private low estimates [of Muslim casualties] were at least ten times the number of murders with which the Razakars were officially accused.((sfn|Benichou, From Autocracy to Integration|2000|p=238))

Patel reacted angrily to the report and disowned its conclusions. He stated that the terms of reference were flawed because they only covered the part during and after the operation. He also cast aspersions on the motives and standing of the committee. These objections are regarded by Noorani as disingenuous because the commission was an official one, and it was critical of the Razakars as well.<ref name=NooraniUntold/>((sfn|Muralidharan|2014|p=136))

According to Mohammed Hyder, the tragic consequences of the Indian operation were largely preventable. He faulted the Indian army for neither restoring local administration nor setting up their military administration. As a result, the anarchy led to several thousand "thugs", from the camps set up across the border, filling the vacuum. He stated "Thousands of families were broken up, children separated from their parents and wives, from their husbands. Women and girls were hunted down and raped."((sfn|Muralidharan|2014|p=135))

== Hyderabad after integration ==
=== Detentions and release of people involved ===
[[File:OsmanNehruJN.jpg|thumb|(From left to right): [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Nizam]] ''[[Mir (title)|Mir]]'' [[Osman Ali Khan|Sir Osman Ali Khan]], and [[Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri]] after Hyderabad's accession to the [[Dominion of India]].]]
The Indian military detained thousands of people during the operation, including Razakars, Hindu militants, and communists. This was largely done based on local informants, who used this opportunity to settle scores. The estimated number of people detained was close to 18,000, which resulted in overcrowded jails and a paralysed criminal system.<ref name=ShermanLSE />((rp|11–12))

The Indian government set up Special Tribunals to prosecute these. These strongly resembled the colonial governments earlier, and there were many legal irregularities, including denial or inability to access lawyers and delayed trials – about which the Red Cross was pressuring Nehru.<ref name=ShermanLSE />((rp|13–14))

The viewpoint of the government was: "In political physics, Razakar action and Hindu reaction have been almost equal and opposite." A quiet decision was taken to release all Hindus and for a review of all Muslim cases, aiming to let many of them out. Regarding atrocities by Muslims, Nehru considered the actions during the operation as "madness" seizing "decent people", analogous to experience elsewhere during the [[Partition_of_India#Independence,_migration,_and_displacement|partition of India]]. Nehru was also concerned that disenfranchised Muslims would join the communists.<ref name=ShermanLSE />((rp|15–16))

The government was under pressure to not prosecute participants in communal violence, which often made communal relations worse. Patel had also died in 1950. Thus, by 1953 the Indian government released all but a few persons.<ref name=ShermanLSE />((rp|16))

=== Overhaul of bureaucracy ===

Junior officers from neighbouring Bombay, [[Central Provinces|CP]] and Madras regions were appointed to replace the vacancies. They were unable to speak the language and were unfamiliar with local conditions. Nehru objected to this "communal chauvinism" and called them "incompetent outsiders", and tried to impose Hyderabadi residency requirements: however, this was circumvented by using forged documents.<ref name=ShermanLSE />((rp|17–18))

==See also==
* [[Indian Armed Forces Tri-Service Commands|Indian Armed Forces]]
* [[Hyderabad State Forces|Hyderabad State Army]]

==References==
((reflist|30em|refs=
<section begin=SharedRef /> <!-- Needed for transclusion in [[Hyderabad State (1948–56)]] -->
<ref name="BBC Hyderabad 1948">((cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24159594 | title=Hyderabad 1948: India's hidden massacre | publisher=BBC | date=24 September 2013 | access-date=24 September 2013 | author=Thomson, Mike))</ref>
<ref name=ShermanLSE>((cite journal|last1=Sherman|first1=Taylor C.|title=The integration of the princely state of Hyderabad and the making of the postcolonial state in India, 1948 – 56|journal=Indian Economic & Social History Review|volume=44|issue=4|pages=489–516|url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/32805/1/Sherman_Integration_princely_state_2007.pdf|date=2007|doi=10.1177/001946460704400404|s2cid=145000228))</ref>
<section end=SharedRef />
))

==Bibliography==
((Refbegin))
<section begin=bibliography />
* ((citation |last=Benichou |first=Lucien D. |title=From Autocracy to Integration: Political Developments in Hyderabad State, 1938–1948 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Loiq3YrFy40C&pg=PA214 |year=2000 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-1847-6 |ref=((sfnref|Benichou, From Autocracy to Integration|2000)) ))
* ((citation |last1=Chandra |first1=Bipan |author-link=Bipan Chandra |last2=Mukherjee |first2=Aditya |last3=Mukherjee |first3=Mridula |title=India Since Independence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dE9qEg-NgHMC |year=2008 |orig-year=first published 1999 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-310409-4 ))
* ((citation |last=Hyder |first=Mohammed |title=October Coup, A Memoir of the Struggle for Hyderabad |publisher=Roli Books |year=2012 |isbn=978-8174368508 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xdumBAAAQBAJ ))
* ((citation |last=Hodson |first=H. V. |title=The Great Divide: Britain, India, Pakistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MC2UoAEACAAJ |year=1969 |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |isbn=978-0090971503 |ref=((sfnref|Hodson, The Great Divide|1969)) ))
* ((citation |first=V. P. |last=Menon |title=The Story of Integration of the Indian States |publisher=Orient Longman |year=1956 |url=https://hidf1.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/the-story-of-the-integration-of-the-indian-states-by-v-p-menon.pdf ))
* ((cite journal |first=Sukumar |last=Muralidharan |title=Alternate Histories: Hyderabad 1948 Compels a Fresh Evaluation of the Theology of India's Independence and Partition |journal=[[History and Sociology of South Asia]] |year=2014 |volume=8 |number=2 |pages=119–138 |doi=10.1177/2230807514524091 |s2cid=153722788 ))
* ((citation |first=A. G. |last=Noorani |author-link=A. G. Noorani |title=The Destruction of Hyderabad |publisher=Hurst & Co |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-84904-439-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzyKngEACAAJ ))
* ((citation |last=Raghavan |first=Srinath |title=War and Peace in Modern India |date=2010 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-137-00737-7 |ref=((sfnref|Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India|2010)) ))
* ((citation |first=Wilfred Cantwell |last=Smith |author-link=Wilfred Cantwell Smith |title=Hyderabad: Muslim Tragedy |journal=Middle East Journal |volume=4 |pages=27–51 |number=1 |date=January 1950 |jstor=4322137))
* ((citation |last=Zubrzycki |first=John |year= 2006 |title= The Last Nizam: An Indian Prince in the Australian Outback |publisher=Pan Macmillan |location=Australia |isbn=978-0-330-42321-2 ))
<section end=bibliography />
((Refend))

==External links==
* [https://countercurrents.org/2017/09/police-action-in-hyderabad-1948-september-13-18-operation-polo/ Police Action in&nbsp;Hyderabad, 1948 September 13–18 : Should We Celebrate It?]
* [http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl1805/18051140.htm From the Sundarlal Report], Frontline, 3–16 March 2001
* [http://www.deccanchronicle.com/131129/news-current-affairs/article/exclusive-sundarlal-report-police-action Exclusive Sundar Lal report on Hyderabad police action], Deccan Chronicle, 30 November 2013.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070630130336/http://ags.ou.edu/~bwallach/documents/In%20the%20Nizam.pdf In the Nizam's dominion], by Bret Wallach, University of Oklahoma
* [http://narendralutherarchives.blogspot.com/2006/12/nizam-and-radio.html A Blog by Narendra Luther on Operation Polo]
* [https://archive.today/20121209165321/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:pQ9_Olx6aCYJ:www.haftamag.com/index2.php?option%3Dcom_content%26do_pdf%3D1%26id%3D176+operation+polo&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us|The Armchair Historian – Operation Polo (Monday, 18 September 2006) – Contributed by Sidin Sunny Vadukut – Last Updated (Monday, 18 September 2006)]

((Military of India))
((Hyderabad topics))

[[Category:Conflicts in 1948|Hyderabad]]
[[Category:Wars involving India|Hyderabad, annexation of]]
[[Category:Political integration of India|Hyderabad]]
[[Category:1948 in India|Hyderabad]]
[[Category:Military history of Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]]
[[Category:Nehru administration|Hyderabad, annexation of]]
[[Category:History of Telangana]]
[[Category:History of Andhra Pradesh (1947–2014)]]
[[Category:Operations involving Indian special forces|Hyderabad]]
[[Category:Religiously motivated violence in India|Hyderabad]]
[[Category:Anti-Muslim violence in India|Hyderabad]]
[[Category:History of Marathwada]]
[[Category:Annexation|Hyderabad]]
[[Category:September 1948 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Invasions by India]]

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