The Nizam's last stand : Hyderabad's place in India's partition

Abstract

This work sets out to chronicle the predicament which the state of Hyderabad under Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan found itself as the British prepared to partition the Indian subcontinent in 1947. With the intent to understand fully the place of Hyderabad before the partition, it offers a glimpse into the Nizam’s relationship with the British Empire throughout its history, especially focusing on the period of Mir Oman’s reign, while also comparing Hyderabad to states, Travancore and Kashmir, which faced similar difficulties after partition. Although the Nizam had legal right to maintain Hyderabad’s independence in post-partition India, India never accepted the idea of a sovereign state in its center and with the onset of partition violence and subsequent issues with Pakistan involving Kashmir, increasingly prepared to bring Hyderabad into accession in whatever way needed. By tracing the negotiations which took place between the Nizam and India, as well as the situation on the ground both in and around Hyderabad during the 1946-1948, this work elucidates the issues which ultimately led to the downfall of the Nizam’s regime in Hyderabad while offering a view into the further effects which partition had on the princely states in India.