Sep 17: Hyderabad merger continues to be a political hot potato for third year in a row
Hyderabad: This year Hyderabad Liberation Day coincides with the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. As the devotees are participating in the procession of Ganesh idols immersion in the picturesque Hussain Sagar lake, the Union Ministry of Culture is holding the Hyderabad Liberation Day celebrations at Parade Grounds in Secunderabad on Tuesday, September 17.
The central government event marks the merger of Hyderabad into India on September 17, 1948 following the military intervention initiated by the then Home Minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. The ‘police action’ was launched under Operation Polo to liberate the Deccan region from Nizam’s rule.
To commemorate the historical day, the national flag will be unfurled and later paramilitary forces and defence forces will conduct a parade at the Secunderabad Parade Grounds. Union minister G Kishan Reddy will attend the event as a chief guest. The Centre is organising the event to instil patriotism in the young generation. However, ruling Congress and opposition BRS have decided against participating in the official celebrations.
Hyderabad continued to remain under Nizam’s autocratic rule for 13 months even after India got Independence from Britishers on August 15, 1947 but India’s unification culminated after the merger of Hyderabad princely state into the Indian Union in 1948.
Decades later when the Central government decided to commemorate the day, differences cropped up between the State and Central governments due to political reasons. For the third consecutive year, the historical day is being celebrated with different names. The BJP-led Central government insisted on celebrating it as ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’ while the previous BRS government dubbed it as ‘Telangana National Integration Day’. Now, the Congress has renamed the September 17 celebrations as ‘Praja Palana Dinotsavam’.
As part of ‘Praja Palana Dinotsavam’ celebrations, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will unfurl the tricolour at Public Gardens, Nampally. Telangana BJP has accused the Congress and BRS parties of appeasing Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM. The saffron party has also criticised the leaders from both the parties for skipping the Parade Ground celebrations.
Revanth Reddy also came under fire from the opposition BRS over the renaming of September 17 which is the day of historical significance for the people of Telangana region. BRS leader and spokesperson Dasoju Sravan Kumar questioned the Telangana Chief Minister over the renaming of the day as ‘Praja Palana Dinotsavam’ and said by doing so whether he implied that Nizam’s rule was feudal and tyrannical? Regardless of the different nomenclatures, intellectuals feel that the important day should reflect the true aspirations of the people without attaching any agenda or political colour to it.
