Accession of Hyderabad | 109 hours of battle of wits and weapons

September 17, 2021 10:57 am | Updated 11:16 am IST - Hyderabad

A map of the erstwhile Hyderabad State 

A map of the erstwhile Hyderabad State 

Sept 13, 4 a.m.: “The Government of Hyderabad having declined to accede to the Government of India’s request to disband the Razakars and to facilitate the return of Indian troops to Secunderabad for the restoration of law and order in the state, Indian troops crossed the State border at 4 a.m. today.”

Sept 13, 5 a.m.: Bidar and Warangal airfields bombed. Gulbarga straffed from air. Simultaneously, Indian Army entered Hyderabad state from Sholapur in the west, Bezwada (older name of Vijayawada) in the east, subsidiary advances were made from north-west on Aurangabad and in the north-east from Chanda (older name of Chandrapur).

Sept 13, 8 a.m.: Lt. T.T. Moore an ex- British Army commando in service of Hyderabad forces is captured with a Jeep loaded with dynamite while on his way to the Naldurg bridge, the key bridgehead over the Bori river.

Sept 13, 1.15 p.m.: Indian forces advance into Aurangabad Division in the north from Vijaypur, Waghrul and Bhamwadi. Aided by tanks and artillery they capture Kanergaon in Parbhani district.

Sept 13, 4.30 p.m.: India’s Agent-General in Hyderabad, K. M. Munshi is moved to Greenlands Guest House under armed guard from the Bollarum Residency which he had renamed Dakshina Sadan. Later he was shifted to Lake View Guest House.

Sept 13, 5.30 p.m.: Hyderabad snaps the single trunk line connecting the city with Vijayawada isolating the city. The Bombay-Hyderabad link was snapped at 11 a.m.

Sept 13, 6 p.m.: Indian troops advance into Wyra in Khammam district.

Sept 13, 6.30 p.m.: 21 Hyderabad soldiers are killed and nine injured while defending Waghrul.

Sept 14, 10 a.m.: All India Radio broadcasts the capture of Osmanabad by Indian forces.

Sept 14, 12 p.m.: Local officials of Daulatabad contact the Indian Army Commander and ask them to take charge of the town. Electricity is disrupted in Aurangabad for five hours after the staff fled. The staff return and restore electricity.

Sept 14, 1.30 p.m.: The Junction of Jalna is captured by the Indian Army. The troops advanced from the north and entered Parbhani and Adilabad district.

Sept 15, 12 p.m: Indian forces held up on the eastern and western fronts by the Hyderabad forces, according to reports in Hyderabad.

Sept 15, 1 p.m: All India Radio, Delhi broadcasts news about Indian forces reaching Bidar and sighting the towers and minarets of the historical city which has an important airbase. The Indian forces bypassed the fortified Latur-Bidar causeway surprising the Hyderabad forces.

Sept 16, 1 p.m.: Zaheerabad, an important railway station located 63 miles from Secunderabad, is captured by Indian forces.

Sept 16, 7.30 p.m.: UN Security Council meets in Paris. Tsiang Tingfu, the Chinese (Republic of China now known as Taiwan) representative, wants the adoption of ‘Hyderabad’s case’ postponed to Monday as the Foreign Minister will reach on Monday. The Council agrees to adjourn and meet on Monday, September 20, 1948 at 3 p.m.

Sept 17, 2 a.m.: Hyderabad Prime Minister Laiq Ali asks an Army commander to head to the western front to see the progress of the defence.

Sept 17, 5 a.m. Indian Army reaches Bibinagar Railway Station about 30 miles from Hyderabad as the forces drive on the main road to the capital.

Sept 17, 1 p.m. Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan prays at the royal mosque inside the Public Gardens as was his normal practice.

Sept 17: 1.30 p.m.: Lt. Gen. Rajendra Sinhji, G.O.C-in-Chief, Southern Command sends an ultimatum to Gen. El Edroos, Commander of the Hyderabad Army: “Further resistance by your troops can only result in heavy and unnecessary loss of life.”

Sept 17, 3 p.m. K.M. Munshi, the Indian resident in Hyderabad returns from Greenland Guest House where he was kept under armed protection.

Sept 17, 3.30 p.m.: Third battalion of 11 Gurkha Rifles reached Patancheru.

Sept 17, 4.18 p.m.: Prime Minister Mir Laik Ali broadcasts the ceasefire announcement on Radio Deccan. He announces the order of the Nizam to ceasefire at 5 p.m.

Sept 17, 6.42 p.m. First batch of Indian soldiers arrive at Bolarum under Major Pandaley.

Sept 18: 4.30 p.m. Hyderabad Army surrenders. A tank column marching from Zahirabad to Secunderabad suddenly halted and a jeep flying the divisional commander’s pennant drove past tanks and stopped ahead of the column. A staff car coming from the opposite direction halted thirty yards in front of the jeep.

“I have to ask you for the surrender of the Hyderabad Army,” said Maj.- Gen. Chaudhry.

“I give you surrender of Hyderabad army” replied Maj.-Gen. El Edroos.

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