Ghazalan tum to waqif ho, kaho Majnoon ke marney ki Diwana mar gaya aakhir ko, weerane pe kya guzri (Oh gazelles! You certainly know – tell us of the death of Majnoon. The frenzied lover died at last, but what befell the wilderness?) Raja Ram Narain Mauzun’s couplet, quoted by A. G. Noorani in The Destruction of Hyderabad (2013) (http://www.amazon.com/TheDestructionHyderabadAGNoorani/ dp/1849044392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397533210&sr=81& keywords=ag+noorani+the+destruction+of+hyderabad), fully embodies the spirit of the book. While Mauzun lamented the tragedy of the Battle of Plassey (1757), Noorani relates the couplet to the Sepoy Mutiny (1857), the tragedy of Partition (1947), and, also, to the 1948 military invasion of Hyderabad. The book is an addition to the already existing body of scholarship on historical dialogues between the newly Independent India and the Princely State of Hyderabad; more specifically on the latter’s accession by the former. Noorani, an advocate by profession and a prolific writer, has previously written on various other political issues. This book is part of a trilogy consisting of Jinnah and Tilak: Comrades in the Freedom Struggle (2010) and The Kashmir Dispute: 1947-2012 (2013).
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In this Extended Essay, the 1948 ‘hidden’ massacre of Hyderabad State was explored with the research question: Bloodless Revolution or a Bloody Massacre, What really happened in Hyderabad in 1948? Details of the annexation of Hyderabad State to the Union of India had been concealed until 2013 when the Sunderlal Committee Report was released to the public. The report indicated that a vast number of Muslims had been killed during and after the takeover, more than previously believed; tens of thousands more civilians died than troops in the small-scale war that annexed Hyderabad. The most prevalent information available was that during the Indian Army’s assault, Muslim denizens were caught in the crossfire. The main doubt concerning the research question was: what exactly happened and who was responsible for this undocumented, rumoured mayhem that occurred before, during and after the integration of the Princely State of Hyderabad. Along with the Sunderlal Report the event was investigated by collating a large number of literary sources, from online articles and historians’ books. With perseverance, a primary source was found who was willing to give an interview, providing a personal account. After reviewing over 100 sources including the Sunderlal Report, much was deduced about what actually occurred. All angles were considered and evaluated: political issues, social unrest, communism and the Partition of India-Pakistan. Thus the conclusion reached, in accordance with the Sunderlal Report, was that Hyderabad’s incorporation into the Union of India was not bloodless at all, not a massacre, but the civil war, which followed saw loss on both sides as power shifted. Actions taken in the judicial system were not as fair as they were necessary, in order to maintain peace in the subcontinent at the time. Furthermore, the concealment of the report was ethically wrong but a necessary evil.
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