Early history Hyderabad State was founded by
Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan who was the governor of Deccan under the
Mughals from 1713 to 1721. In 1724, following the
Battle of Shakar Kheda, he resumed rule from the Mughal provincial capital of Aurangabad, under the title of
Asaf Jah (granted by Mughal Emperor
Muhammad Shah). His other title,
Nizam ul-Mulk (Order of the Realm), became the title of his position "Nizam of Hyderabad". By the end of his rule, the Nizam had become independent from the Mughals, and had founded the
Asaf Jahi dynasty. Following the decline of the Mughal power, the region of Deccan saw the rise of the
Maratha Empire. The Nizam himself saw many invasions by the Marathas in the 1720s, which resulted in the Nizam paying a regular
Chauth (tax) to the Marathas. The major battles fought between the Marathas and the Nizam include
Palkhed, Rakshasbhuvan, and
Kharda, all which the Nizam lost. Following the conquest of Deccan by
Bajirao I and the imposition of
Chauth by him, Nizam remained a tributary of the Marathas for all intent and purposes. In 1763, the Nizam shifted the capital to the city of
Hyderabad. ceding the
Northern Circars to British. Later in 1779, the Nizams along with Marathas and Hyder Ali Mysore came together and formed an alliance against the British. This resulted in British defeating the alliance and subsequently Nizam in 1788 had to cede
Guntur to British. Subsequently the Nizams had to sign various treaties, the most important of this was the signing of Treaty of Subsidiary Alliance under which Nizams had ceded most of the power to the British. Gradually the entire coastal areas were lost to the British and Hyderabad became a landlocked kingdom. In 1798,
Nizam ʿĀlī Khan (Asaf ) was forced to enter into an agreement that put Hyderabad under British protection. He was the first Indian prince to sign such an agreement. (Consequently, the ruler of Hyderabad rated a 23-gun
salute during the period of
British India.) The Crown retained the right to intervene in case of misrule. The British Residency at
Koti was also built during his reign by the then British Resident
James Achilles Kirkpatrick. Sikander Jah was succeeded by
Asaf Jah IV, who ruled from 1829 to 1857 and was succeeded by his son
Asaf Jah V.
Asaf Jah V Asaf Jah V's reign from 1857 to 1869 was marked by reforms by his
Prime Minister Salar Jung I. Before this time, there was no regular or systematic form of administration, and the duties were in the hands of the
Diwan (Prime Minister), and corruption was thus widespread. In 1867, the State was divided into five divisions and seventeen districts, and subedars (governors) were appointed for the five Divisions and
talukdars and
tehsildars for the districts. The judicial, public works, medical, educational, municipal, and police departments were re-organised. In 1868,
sadr-i-mahrams (Assistant Ministers) were appointed for the Judicial, Revenue, Police, and Miscellaneous Departments. Later on, Asaf Jah VI succeeded the position.
Asaf Jah VI Asaf Jah VI Mir Mahbub Ali Khan became the Nizam at the age of three years. His
regents were
Salar Jung I and Shams-ul-Umra III and later on
Asman Jah and
Viqar-ul-Umra. He assumed full rule at the age of 17 and ruled until he died in 1911. His reign saw the official language of Hyderabad State shift from Persian to Urdu, a change implemented in the 1880s during the short tenure of Prime Minister
Salar Jung II. The
Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway was established during his reign to connect Hyderabad State to the rest of
British India. It was headquartered at
Secunderabad Railway Station. The
railway marked the beginning of industry in Hyderabad, and factories were built in Hyderabad city. During his rule, the
Great Musi Flood of 1908 struck the city of Hyderabad, which killed an estimated 50,000 people. The Nizam opened all his palaces for public asylum. He also abolished
Sati where women used to jump into their husband's burning pyre, by issuing a royal
firman.
Asaf Jah VII The last
Nizam of Hyderabad Mir Osman Ali Khan ruled the state from 1911 until 1948. He was given the title "Faithful Ally of the British Empire". The
Begumpet Airport was established in the 1930s with formation of
Hyderabad Aero Club by the Nizam. Initially, it was used as a domestic and international airport for Nizam's
Deccan Airways, the earliest airline in British India. The terminal building was created in 1937. To prevent another
great flood, the Nizam also constructed two lakes, namely the
Osman Sagar and
Himayath Sagar. The
Osmania General Hospital,
Jubilee Hall,
State Library (then known as
Asifia Kutubkhana) and
Public Gardens (then known as
Bagh e Aam) were constructed during this period.
After Indian Independence (1947–1948) In 1947
India gained independence and
Pakistan came into existence. The British left the local rulers of the
princely states the choice of whether to join one or the other or to remain independent. On 11 June 1947, the Nizam issued a declaration to the effect that he had decided not to participate in the Constituent Assembly of either Pakistan or India. However, the Nizams were Muslim ruling over a predominantly Hindu population. The Nizam was in a weak position as his army numbered only 24,000 men, of whom only some 6,000 were fully trained and equipped. On 21 August 1948, the Secretary-General of the Hyderabad Department of External Affairs requested the President of the United Nations Security Council, under Article 35(2) of the
United Nations Charter, to consider the "grave dispute, which, unless settled by
international law and justice, is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security". On 4 September the Prime Minister of Hyderabad
Mir Laiq Ali announced to the Hyderabad Assembly that a delegation was about to leave for
Lake Success, headed by
Moin Nawaz Jung. The Nizam also appealed, without success, to the British
Labour Government and to
the King for assistance, to fulfil their obligations and promises to Hyderabad by "immediate intervention". Hyderabad only had the support of
Winston Churchill and the British
Conservatives. ,
Nizam VII and army chief
Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri after Hyderabad's accession to India in 1956 (in yellowish-green). After the reorganisation in 1956, Regions of the state west of Red and Blue lines merged with
Bombay and
Mysore states respectively and the rest of the state (
Telangana) was merged with
Andhra State to form the state of
Andhra Pradesh. At 4 a.m. on 13 September 1948, India's Hyderabad Campaign, code-named "
Operation Polo" by the
Indian Army, began. Indian troops invaded Hyderabad from all points of the compass. On 13 September 1948, the Secretary-General of the Hyderabad Department of External Affairs in a cablegram informed the United Nations Security Council that Hyderabad was being invaded by Indian forces and that hostilities had broken out. The Security Council took notice of it on 16 September in Paris. The representative of Hyderabad called for immediate action by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. The Hyderabad representative responded to India's excuse for the intervention by pointing out that the Stand-still Agreement between the two countries had expressly provided that nothing in it should give India the right to send in troops to assist in the maintenance of internal order. At 5 p.m. on 17 September, the Nizam's army surrendered. The Government of Hyderabad resigned, and military
governors and chief ministers were appointed by the Nizam at India's direction. The new military government was headed by
Major General J. N. Chaudhuri who had led Operation Polo. A
firman issued by the Nizam on 24 November 1949, accepted that the Indian Constitution applied to the State of Hyderabad. The Nizam signed an
Instrument of Accession to India on 25 January 1950. The next day, India became a
Republic, and the Nizam was given the new title of
Rajpramukh. India formally incorporated the state of Hyderabad into the Union of India and ended the rule of the Nizams.
Hyderabad State (1948–1956) After the incorporation of Hyderabad State into India,
M. K. Vellodi was appointed as Chief Minister of the state. The Rajpramukh now had little power and the administration of the state was with the help of bureaucrats from
Madras state and
Bombay state. In the
1952 Legislative Assembly election,
Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was elected Chief Minister of Hyderabad State. During this time there were violent agitations by some
Telanganites to send back bureaucrats from Madras state, and to strictly implement 'Mulki-rules' (local jobs for locals only), which was part of Hyderabad state law since 1919.
Dissolution In 1956 during the
reorganisation of the Indian States based along linguistic lines, the state of Hyderabad was split up among
Andhra Pradesh and
Bombay state (later
Maharashtra) and
Karnataka. On 2 June 2014, the state of
Telangana was formed splitting from the rest of
Andhra Pradesh state and formed the 29th state of India, with
Hyderabad as its capital. ==Government and politics==