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Mahesh

12/10/23 05:42 AM IST

Operation Polo

In News
  • Operation Polo, the military action launched by the Indian Army on September 13, 1948, to integrate the princely state of Hyderabad.
Background
  • The Nizam of Hyderabad state, Mir Osman Ali Shah, had the intention of keeping his state as an independent entity and did not join India or Pakistan after Independence.
  • The Nizam took advantage of the fact that the Indian government got preoccupied with the Kashmir war soon after Independence and all focus and resources were diverted toward tackling the Pakistani threat to Jammu and Kashmir.
  • The Nizam signed a standstill agreement with India in November 1947.
  • This essentially meant that a status quo would be maintained between the Indian dominion and the Hyderabad state till a solution was found to the imbroglio.
  • The agreement was signed for a period of one year during which the Indian government would not exercise any authority over Hyderabad and all conditions prevalent at the time of signing the agreement would continue.
Why operation Polo?
  • Situated in the Deccan, Hyderabad was one of the most populous and richest states and had 17 districts including Aurangabad (now in Maharashtra) and Gulbarga (now in Karnataka).
  • The landlocked state had a majority Hindu population with the state administration almost entirely run by its Muslim rulers.
  • There was no common border with Pakistan but the Nizam had every intention to have fraternal relations with that country.
  • The Nizam’s administration in Hyderabad had taken advantage of the standstill agreement signed with India and the lull which followed to increase the number of its irregular force called Razakars which was led by Maj Gen SA El Edroos, the Arab commander in chief of the Hyderabad state forces.
  • The excesses of the Razakars on the predominantly Hindu population of the state, their belligerence along the state borders through cross-border raids, the overtures being made to Pakistan and the intention to establish an independent country in the heart of India were the reasons why the Indian government decided to act against Hyderabad and remove the threat of secession.
Source- The Hindu

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