When the British rule ended in 1947, the map of the Indian subcontinent was far from settled. Hundreds of princely states had to decide their political future, and most of them eventually joined India or Pakistan, except the princely states of Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Junagadh. Hyderabad remained defiant for more than a year While Jammu and Kashmir and Junagadh were integrated into India within the following months.
Later that afternoon, Nizam’s Prime Minister Mir Laik Ali announced a ceasefire and the resignation of his cabinet on All India Radio.
He also expressed his desire to begin a “new chapter of friendliness” with India and said he wanted his people to live in “integrated harmony” with the people of India.
Atrocities in the police action
However, the Indian government was increasingly concerned that an independent Hyderabad in the heart of India could threaten the country’s unity. A three-member Congress delegation comprising Pandit Sunderlal, Kazi Abdul Ghaffar and Maulana Misri visited Hyderabad for several weeks in December 1948 and produced a report on the violence. On September 17, 1948, Hyderabad’s forces, under the command of Syed Ahmed El-Edroos, surrendered to the Indian government.
