Write about the role of ‘Hyderabad State Congress’ in bringing about political awareness in Hyderabad State?

 

 

Q2: Write about the role of ‘Hyderabad State Congress’ in bringing about political awareness in Hyderabad State?

 

Ans: Hyderabad state congress was established on 29 January 1938.

Swami Ramananda Theertha, Madapati Hanumantha Rao, Boorgula Ramakrishna Rao, G. Ramachari, Mandumula Narsing Rao and others were the founder of HSC.  Swami Ramananda Theeratha played crucial role in the foundation and organizing of HSC. That is why Swami Ramananda Theertha is considered as the real founder of HSC.

Hyderabad Political Conference was inspiration for HSC. Totally 4 Hyderabad Political Conferences were held. All these four conferences were held outside Hyderabad State.

	Year	Place	President
1	1923	Kakinada	Madhavarao Anai
2	1926	Bombay	Y.M. Kale
3	1928	Pune	N.C. Kelkar
4	1931	Akola	Ramachandra Nayak

 

Background for the foundation of HSC

Kannadigas founded ‘Kannada Parishad’ and Marathas founded ‘Maratha Parishad’ in 1937. Kannada Parishad and Maratha Parishad were political organisation as well as worked for the development of Kannadigas and Marathas. In 1938, all the princely State with in India, were declared as the integral part of India by the INC 1938 session and all these State urged to give way for the formation of Democratic form of Governments.  Inspired by the resolution of 1938 - Haripura Congress Session, Telugu people of Hyderabad State wanted to form a party. For this purpose Madapati Hanumantha Rao convened a meeting in January 1938. In this meeting Madapati Hanumantha Rao announced the foundation of Hyderabad State Congress.  Only a formal announcement was made regarding the foundation of HSC in this meeting, administrative body was not selected. Membership also was not started immediately.

After this meeting, Swami Ramananda Theertha reorganized HSC and joined 1200 members. Ramanantha Theertha fixed 9 September 1938 as the date for next meeting of HSC.

 

Ban on HSC

Indian National Congress demanded that a democratic government should be established in Hyderabad under the leadership of Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan. HSC also had same plan. In 1938, HSC was planning to elect if office bearers. On 8 September 1938, Akbar Hydari, the then Prime Minster of Hyderabad State called G. Ramchari, one of the leaders of HSC and discussed about HSC. Akbar Hyderi was against the name Hyderabad State Congress and demanded for the change of name. Ramachari did not accept for that. As a result Nizam Government passed Public Safety Act on 6^th September 1938 and declared HSC as unlawful. Thus Nizam imposed ban on HSC. Due to this the leaders of HSC had to postpone the date of HSC meeting and started negotiating for the lift of ban on HSC. .              www.osmanian.com

 

Efforts of Mandumula Narsing Rao

For the first time in Hyderabad State, communal riots took place between Hindus and Muslims.  This incident was famous as ‘Dhool Pet Case’. HSC urged the people to shed the mutual distrust and join with HSC to form a responsible government under the aegis of Nizam.

The Indian National Congress did not show its solidarity to HSC’s activities in Hyderabad State. There are so many reasons for this.

·         Haripura Congress Session was a compromise between Moderates and Extremists.

·         Gandi did not want to involve directly in the matters of the princely states.

·         Padmaja Naidu’s report declared that the HSC activity as communal in nature and there was no unity among the leaders of HSC. HSC movement was supported by the Hyderabad branches of Hindu Mahasabha and Arya Samaj. Their intension was to end the rule of a Muslim ruler.

On 24 December, the Hyderabad State Congress suspended the agitation after the arrest of 300 activists by the Nizam State.

Hyderabad State Congress 1^st Grand Meeting

After the ban was lifted Hyderabad State Congress convened its first meeting in May 1947. Swami Ramananda Theertha was the president of 1^st meeting of HSC. Two important resolutions were made in this meeting.

1. People should not pay taxes to Nizam Government.

2. To face the atrocities of Razakars, a plan of action should be designed.

 Telangana Sardar, Jamalapuram Keshavarao designed this plan of action.

 

The Arya Samaj-Hindu Mahasabha combine continued their agitation and intensified it in March 1949. Inevitably this turned communal. However, the response from the state's Hindus was lackluster. Eventually, the Nizam government reached a compromise with the Hindu organisations, setting up a Religious Affairs Committee and announcing constitutional reforms by 20 July. Subsequently, the Hindu organisations suspended their campaigns and all the imprisoned activists were released. However, the Hyderabad State Congress continued to be banned till 1946 and its jailed activists remained behind bars.

.              www.osmanian.com

Activity in 1940s

In 1942, the leaders of the Hyderabad Congress launched a non-violent campaign of civil disobedience, a satyagraha, for civil rights, representative democracy alongside the Quit India movement led by the Indian National Congress.

The Nizam's government finally ended the ban on the State Congress in April, 1946 after the end of the Quit India struggle in British India and the beginning of the process of granting independence to India from British rule.

Union with India

The Hyderabad State Congress began actively campaigning for the state of Hyderabad to join the Union of India upon independence, which the Nizam was resisting. The State Congress called for 7 August 1947 to be observed as "Join Indian Union" Day. Protests, strikes and flag-hoisting broke out across the state, and the Nizam's government banned the Congress again and conducted mass arrests. The Razakars in turn threatened to mass pogrammes against Hindu civilians in Hyderabad and provoke violence across India. The crisis continued until September, 1948 when the Indian government authorized the Indian Army to annex Hyderabad State.