Pakistan’s High Court triumph sheds light on Hyderabad’s overlooked history
The rejection of India’s plea to dismiss Pakistan’s claim over the hotly contested Hyderabad Funds by the UK High Court represents not only a milestone for the country but also a fascinating glimpse into the complex history of Partition.
Led by Khawar Qureshi QC, the Pakistan government’s legal team clearly demonstrated compelling evidence in support of Pakistan’s claim to the Funds which required full consideration at a trial.
Since 1948, the 1 million pounds transferred to Pakistan by the Nizam of Hyderabad has remained the subject of rancorous dispute. Held in a UK bank account, this amount has now reached 35 million when adjusted for inflation as Pakistan, India and two of the Nizam’s grandsons continue to lay claim to it.
This case not only uncovers Hyderabad’s largely forgotten history of invasion, massacre and capitulation, but also the ravaging effects of colonisation, Partition and intractable questions of identity which plague the subcontinent to this day. This was highlighted by leading counsel Khawar Qureshi, who observed that “very significant legal and historical issues relating to Partition and its aftermath” were raised by this case.
Throughout the subcontinent’s colonial history, Hyderabad had remained autonomous with its own unique identity. The state even had its own currency, railway network, postal department, judiciary and military and was a flourishing centre for culture and art.
Ruled by a hereditary Nizam from 1724 until 1948, Hyderabad became a princely state under the British East India Company’s dominion in 1798.
At the time of the partition of India, a retreating Britain gave India’s principalities the option of acceding to Pakistan or India or remaining as an independent state.
Although Hyderabad had opted for independent status in 1947, India sought to subjugate this princely state which enjoyed unparalleled prosperity.
Aware of the Indian government’s designs, in1948, Hyderabad’s ruler, Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII, transferred 1 million pounds to Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola, who was High Commissioner of the newly formed Pakistan to Britain.
The imposition of a blockade, halting the supply of food and medicines were just some of the tactics employed by the Indian government in its determination to absorb Hyderabad within the Indian Union.
Seeking assistance from Pakistan to counter the Indian assault, Pakistan had supported Hyderabad against the Indian government’s onslaught. The British government roundly condemned India’s assault on Hyderabad as attested in several articles published at the time.
Following the death of Jinnah in Pakistan, India invaded Hyderabad in 1948 overthrew the Nizam and took easy possession of the state – the largest and wealthiest of the 500 self-governing princely states.
Following India’s annexation of Hyderabad, the besieged Nizam suddenly asked for the Funds to be returned. However, it does not remain beyond the realm of possibility that the defeated Nizam was acting under pressure from the Indian government, an argument that was accepted by the High Court.
Although accounts of horrific violence were investigated by a government appointed commission with its findings published in the Sunder Lal Committee Report in 1949, the true extent of the carnage in Hyderabad has never fully come to light.
Termed as ‘Operation Polo’ and euphemised as a ‘police action’ rather than a full-scale military invasion, the untold story of this brutal period in Hyderabad’s history has suddenly come to the fore in the wake of Pakistan’s recent success at the UK High Court.
In realising lasting peace between the two nuclear neighbours, both countries must look to the future in crafting a new paradigm for diplomatic and economic relations, including a resolution of the long-standing Kashmir dispute.
However, perhaps a candid acknowledgment of the injustices of the past will go some way towards achieving a durable peace and addressing the politics of acrimony and revenge that continue to thwart meaningful dialogue between Pakistan and India.
