For many Hyderabadis, September 17 a chilling reminder of violence

HYDERABAD: Telangana state will observe Integration Day for the first time on September 17,2022. The Union Government, which has repeatedly criticised the TRS regime for not having celebrated this significant day until now, has also drawn up plans to celebrate the occasion on its own with just a customary invite to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. The Union Government's

Historians in Hyderabad assert that September 17 serves as a stark reminder of tragedies and how the people joined the Indian Union. According to city historians, residents of Hyderabad and surrounding areas will never forget the fear they were gripped by during that transition time.

Picture Credits: Legendary photographer Jack Birns/LIFE MAGAZINE/September 1948

There were reports of looting, mass murder, and rape of people in reprisals. The estimates state that between 27,000 and 40,000 people are believed to have been killed in the four days from September 13 to September 17, 1948.

According to Syed Inam-u- Rahman Ghayur, a senior historian from Hyderabad, the number of grave crimes committed by the Communists from the time of the Police Action in September 1948 until March 1951 was 2577. These crimes included 914 murders; 391 acts of loot and dacoity; and 238 assaults on the police and military.

Picture Credits: Legendary photographer Jack Birns/LIFE MAGAZINE/September 1948

Hoor Apa, a survivor from Hyderabad, recalled how they were unaware of their father's whereabouts for two months during the police action. For two months, they even believed he had passed away. She was at a loss of words when, after two months, someone knocked on the door, only to see her father outside the door, who was unrecognisable and his toe nails were missing. She also claimed that after her father returned, he felt ill, never fully recovered, and eventually passed away due to the trauma he had faced during those two months of turmoil.

Hoor Apa, who had just completed her primary education at the time, vividly remembers how the police activity ruined the Eid celebrations and how they were just stuck inside their home in total fear.

In order to avoid being killed because he was a zamindar, Hoor Apa, whose father was a "Qazi" at the time, was compelled to hide in "Bhori Sarai" during a police operation. People apparently used to provide information to those hiding in Bhori Sarai, while residents reportedly used to flee from one location to another.

All they could see were dead bodies and footwear all around when a lot of people were massacred.