1

Andhra Pradesh : Prospect and Retrospect History and Historiography

a. HYDERABAD STATE AND TELANGANA

By Prof. (Retd.) V. Ramakrishna Reddy*

Hyderabad State as such, with Hyderabad city as its

capital, and with the two natural divisions of Telangana and

Marathwada, came into being in October, 1724 A.D.

Mir Kamaruddin Chin Qilich Khan, Mughal Subedar or Viceroy

of the Deccan, taking advantage of the weak Mughal

successors after the death of Aurangazeb, the last great

Mughal Emperor, established his independent rule, under the

ti t le, Nizam -ul-Mulk AsafJah. His dynasty, taking its name as

‘Asafjahis’ from his ti t le, ruled the State upto 18 t h September,

1948, i .e. , for a long period of around 225 years. Having

served in the Mughal administration as a high-ranking official,

Nizam -ul-Mulk Asafjah, the founder of the dynasty, tr ied to

introduce in Hyderabad State, features of Mughal

administration, such as the division of his territory into four

Subahs1 ---- those of Medak, Warangal in Telangana and

Aurangabad and Gulbarga in Marathwada ---- and the system

of allotting Jagirs or f iefs of terri tory to nobles, high officials,

royal bodyguard, religious institutions, men of excellence in

l i terature, arts, etc. It is really a point of much significance

and interest that, whereas people speaking one language are

not able to l ive happily together in the present State of Andhra

________________

* Former Professor of History & Dean, Faculty of Socia l Sciences, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open Universi ty, Hyderabad – 33 – A.P.

1 Subah consisted of three or four d istr icts.

2

Pradesh, in contrast, people who spoke four different

languages of Telugu, Marathi, Kannada and Urdu in the former

Hyderabad State could throughout the period of more than two

centuries, excepting in the days of polit ical and economic

turmoil of 1946 to 1948, l ived l ike brethren without any

feelings of i l l-wil l , hatred or animosity towards one another.

Further, the latter took part, as one man or with one voice, in

the different popular movements that were witnessed during

this period, such as the annual conferences of Andhra

Mahabsabha2 Maharastra Parishad3 , Karnataka Parishad4 ,

Library Movement5, Civi l Liberties Movement6 , Vandemataram

Movement7, Congress Satyagraha8 etc.

1. Political Conditions

The kingdom of the first Nizam has extended over a wide

area in the Deccan. It spread from Tapati r iver which lay to

the West of Aurangabad, Ahmednagar and Bijapur, leaving out

small area that belonged to the Marathas, and going along

Mysore and Karnataka, i t extended upto Tiruchinapalli and

Madura in the South9 . On the Eastern coast, the local chiefs

----------------------

2 I t has run i ts act ivi t ies among Telugu people in Telangana distr icts for their consciousness about their upl i f tment in pol i t ical , socia l , economic and cul tural f ie lds, f rom 1930 onwards.

3 I t took up simi lar act ivi t ies as that of Andhra Mahasabha in Marathi – speaking areas.

4 Carr ied out s imi lar act ivi t ies as those of Andhra Mahasabha in Kannada – speaking areas.

5 I t st r ived al l over the State s ince 1901 for promot ing l i terary development.

6 Brought out in 1938 for f ight ing against the suppression of Civ i l L ibert ies by the Government machinery.

7 I t was resorted to 1938, essent ia l ly by the hostel inmates of Osmania Universi ty against the ban that was imposed on the singing of ‘Vandemataram’ as a prayer song.

8 The Satyagraha was stated in October, 1938, for the revocat ion of the ban that was imposed on the Congress Party in the State.

9 J.D.B. Gribble, History of the Deccan, Rupa & Co, 2002, P. 2 (contained Vols 1 & 2).

3

of the area from Srikakulam to the Southern point, had

acknowledged the suzerainty of Nizam -ul-Mulk Asafjah as a

mark of which, they agreed to pay annual tr ibute to the

former10 . To make his administration over the newly

established Kingdom safe and secure, he has entrusted

mili tary duties among his Muslim followers whom he brought

along with him from Malwa, and non-mil itary duties of the

administration among his Hindu fol lowers and confidants who

were brought along with him. These were allotted Jagirs or

f iefs of terri tory for their upkeep and maintenance 11. Besides

the native Rajas or the Zamindars of the Eastern coast who

paid tr ibute to the first Nizam , some of the Hindu chiefs,

otherwise known as ‘Samasthandars’12 , such as those of

Gadwal, Wanparti, Amarchinta, Palwancha, Domakonda etc. ,

in the Telangana region of the State, have also paid fixed

tribute or ‘Peshkash’ to the Nizam and carried on their

independent administration in their areas. Thus, the State

had broadly, from the administrative as well as economic

points of view, three divisions i .e. , Jagir area, Sarf-i-Khas

or the areas that were kept apart and spread over different

districts for the personal enjoyment of the ruler and his

household, otherwise known as crown property, and the third

division happened to be that of Diwani13 or Government

lands, revenue from which was uti l ised for Governmental

expenditure.

------------------------------

10 J.D.B. Gribble, History of the Deccan, Op.Cit . , P. 2.

11 J.D.B. Gribble, History of the Deccan, Vol. I , London, 1896, P. 377 (Refers to only Vol. I ) .

12 These refer to Hindu Rajas or chiefs of nat ive States.

13 This is der ived f rom Diwan or the Prime Minister of the State.

4

In his foreign policy or maintaining relations with other or

neighbouring powers, Nizam -ul-Mulk had exhibited lot of tact

and diplomacy with the sole object of saving the Hyderabad

State from any kind of damage or territorial loss. Init ial ly, he

was made to enter into confl ict with the Marathas in 1727 and

1729 regarding the collection of Chauth14 , and

Sardeshmukhi15, from his territories. Though only partial

success was obtained in these encounters, the Nizam could

tactful ly turn the Maratha raids under Peshwa Baji Rao on

the Mughal Emperor, Mohammad Shah from 1734 to 1738,

and the latter was made to conclude treaty with the former,

thereby acknowledging Peshwa’s sovereign authority over

Malwa and the area between Narmada and Chambal rivers 16.

After his relations getting settled with the Marathas, the first

Nizam was made to turn his attention to the developments in

the Karnataka. Here, the French and the English East India

Trading Companies, trying to gain polit ical foothold in the

area, started interfering in the local power polit ics. As part of

this game, when the French army in 1746 under Labourdane

attacked Madras and occupied it, Anwaruddin, the Nawab of

the Karnataka resisted it, and in the fight that took place at

St. Thome, the latter’s army was routed 17. This proved that

Indian soldiers trained under Europeans are better than the

native sepoys in f ighting battles. This French attack and

-----------------------

14 I t refers to a k ind of levy that was col lected by the Marathas f rom the neighbouring areas @ 25% of yearly income of a State, for not resort ing to ra ids on the lat ter.

15 I t was also a k ind of levy that was extracted by the Marathas f rom the neighbouring or cont iguous areas @ 10% of yearly income of a State, for not ra id ing on the lat ter.

16 J.D.B. Gribble, History of the Deccan, Op.Cit . , pp. 9 & 10.

17 Ib id. , P. 14

5

victory forced the Kanatak Nawab to seek English

Company’s help. Thus, Ango-French rivalry for supremacy in

the South and the Deccan, has commenced. Nizam -ul-Mulk,

however, in this Karnatak polit ics, stood on the side of Nawab

Anwaruddin and the English East India Company who offered

rich and desired presents to the former in 1743 for seeking his

hand of fr iendship18 .

Nizam -ul-Mulk, the first Nizam , nearly becoming 100

years old, breathed his last in 1748, few months after the

death of the Mughal Emperor, Mohammad Shah. He has

shone as an able general, sound administrator and a clever

diplomat or strategist in cultivating relations with other and

neighbouring powers. Above all these, he takes his rank as

one of the great empire-builders that we come across in the

history of India.

The death of Nizam -ul-Mulk led to war of succession

among his six sons and also a grandson, or the son of one of

his daughters. As already observed, the English and the

French Trading Companies which have already, for gaining

polit ical influence and authority, began interfering from 1746

in the internal matters of the Karnatak 19 , now extended their

scene of operations to the Hyderabad State or the Deccan.

Rival claimants fought for occupying the seats of the Nizam

of Hyderabad State and the Nawab of Arcot or Karnatak.

Whereas Nasir Jung, the second son20 of Nizam-ul-Mulk, and

----------------------

18 J.D.B. Gribble, History of the Deccan, Op.Cit . , pp. 12 & 13.

19 Refer to the earl ier para in th is chapter.

20 First son was Ghazi-ud-din who had no wish to come to Hyderabad as he was in h igh of f ice in the Mughal Court at Delhi – J.D.B. Gribble, History of the Deccan, Op.Cit . , P. 15.

6

Anwaruddin were supported by the English Company for the

respective thrones of Hyderabad and Arcot, their r ival

claimants of Muzaffar Jung, grandson of the first Nizam and

Chanda Saheb were supported by the French Company for the

respective seats of power. As fortunes of this f ight changed

from one side to another during 1750 and 1751, both the

claimants to the Hyderabad throne got kil led by the disgruntled

Nawabs of Kurnool, Cuddapah and Savanur21, and as a

result, the third son of Nizam -ul-Mulk, Salabat Jung, was

made the Nizam in March, 1751, under the protection of the

French army under the command of Bussy22 . Mohammad Ali,

the second son of Anwaruddin, ult imately in June, 1752, with

the English army under the headship of Robert Clive

defeating the French army under the command of General

Law at Tiruchinapalli , could succeed to the throne of

Karnatak or Arcot in the South. Thus ended the first bout of

succession23 war.

The fight for the Hyderabad throne continued. Though

Bussy, the French mili tary commander, was ably protecting

Salabat Jung against the attempts of his rival brothers,

Ghaziuddin, the eldest one and Nizam Ali , the youngest one,

to dethrone the former, certain tactical blunders of the French

East India Company, totally reversed the situation. The

recall of Dupleix, the able French Governor, the recall of

Bussy with his French army from Hyderabad to Madras for

attacking the latter which was under the English Company

and the defeat of the French army at Visakhapatnam and

------------------------

21 J.D.B. Gribble, Op.Cit . , pp. 26 & 29.

22 Ib id. , P. 29

23 Ib id. , P. 31

7

Machilipatnam in March and April , 1759, and the final and

crushing defeat of the latter at the hands of the English at

Wandiwash in the South on 21 s t January, 1761, sealed the

fate of French power in India, and paved the way for the

English mastery, both in Karnatak and at Hyderabad 24.

When Salabat Jung moved to the Northern Circars to help

the French against the English attack, and thereby left the

capital Hyderabad, his brother Nizam Ali seized the

opportunity by occupying the throne and putting the former in

prison. His other surviving brother, Basalat Jung was given

additional areas of Guntur and Cuddapah, besides his

Adoni Jagir , and was thus pacified 25. Thus ended the

war of succession for the Hyderabad throne.

From Nizam Ali Khan (1762 – 1803) onwards, al l the

rulers of Hyderabad State --- Sikander Jah (1803 – 1829),

Nasiruddaulah (1829 – 1857), Afzaluddaulah (1857 – 1869),

Mahaboob Ali Khan (1869 – 1911) and Mir Osman Ali Khan

(1911 – 1948) --– who began to call themselves as ‘Nizams’,

fully came under the control l ing influence of the Brit ish

Resident at Hyderabad and the Company’s and the Crown’s

Government at Calcutta and later at Delhi. Appointments to

higher posts in the State, such as Diwan26 , Peshkar27 , etc. ,

foreign policy of the State, and key Departments of Home,

Finance and Revenue, have all come to be made, conducted

and run only with the clear approval, consent and personnel of

the English Company and Brit ish Indian Government. As

---------------------------

24 J.D.B. Gribble, Op.Cit . , pp. 38 – 63.

25 Ib id. , P. 60

26 I t referred to the of f ice of the Prime Minister of the State.

27 I t referred to the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

8

years rolled by, even the private matters of the Nizam ’s

household, such as the education and marriages of the

princes and princesses, have also come under the purview

and scrutiny of the English, and were f inally decided only

with the latter’s approval and nod 28 .

Mil i tary danger from the Marathas and their raids on the

contiguous Nizam ’s terri tories for the forcible collection of

‘Chauth’ and ‘Sardeshmukhi’ , have, in a way, prompted the

Nizams to seek the help of English army 29. This was also

sought for containing or suppressing the rebellions of the

princes of the royal family against the throne 30 . Further,

when Nizam Ali Khan, the second Nizam , entered into

Subsidiary All iance with the English Company in 1798,

mili tary units of the former, such as the Rohil las, were

allowed to remain without any control or work, and

consequently, they added to the forces of lawlessness and

disorder31. Northern Circars of Rajahmundry, Eluru,

Mustafanagar or Kondapall i , Murtuzanagar or Guntur and

Chikakol or Srikakulam in 1766 32 ; Ceded Districts of

Bellary, Anantapuram, Cuddapah and Kurnool which the

Nizams received as gains for their participation in the

Anglo-Mysore Wars in 180033 ; and Berar, Osmanabad and

-----------------------

28 T. Uma, ‘ the Bri t ish Residency in Hyderabad’ in Hyderabad – 400 Saga of a City by the Associat ion of Br i t ish Counci l Scholars, Andhra Pradesh, Chapter, Hyderabad, 1993, Edited by K.S.S. Seshan, P. 30.

29 See para No. 3 in th is chapter.

30 The rebel l ion of Al i Jah, the eldest son of Nizam Al i against h is aging father in June, 1795, forced the Nizam to seek Engl ish al l iance and support - -- J.D.B. Gribble, Op.Cit . , pp. 96 – 97.

31 Ib id. , P. 121.

32 Ib id. , pp. 115 & 116

9

33 Ib id. , P. 120

Raichur Districts in 185334 , have all been surrendered to the

English Company, in l ieu of the payment for the

maintenance of the English Subsidiary Force, excepting

the last-named ones which were given away in l ieu of the

uncleared debt of 32 lakhs of rupees to the English 34. Huge

expenditure that was incurred in maintaining, besides the

Subsidiary Army, Russel Brigade or Hyderabad Contingent,

forcing Sikandar Jah after 1811, to contract loans from a

Commercial Company formed by the English men, and going

by the name of Palmer & Company at the abnormal interest

rate of 25%35 and financial mal-adminis- tration that prevailed

in the State before 1853, with dominant features of tax-

farming, no land surveys which made the cultivators give up

cultivation and desert their vi l lages 36 , had forced the Nizams

to seek huge debts from the English Company as well as

private agencies, restricting their freedom or discretion in

running the administration of the State.

A si lver l ining in the chequered administrative history of

Hyderabad State was witnessed with Salar Jung I (1853 –

1883) assuming charge as Diwan in 1853. Abolit ion of tax-

farming, introduction of land survey, establishment of Central

Treasury, Board of Revenue, reorganisation of districts

(Zil labandi), abolit ion of private mints and introduction of a

new coinage, known as “Hali sicca ”, reorganisation of

----------------------

34 J.D.B. Gribble, Op.Cit . , P. 224

35 Raza Al i Khan, Hyderabad 400 Years (1591 – 1991) , Secunderabad, 1990, P. 94.

36 Saroj in i Regani, Nizam – Bri t ish Relat ions, 1724 – 1857, Hyderabad, 1963, P. 237.

10

various Departments, including Forest, Revenue, Customs,

Postal administration and Mint, have all been witnessed

under his stewardship37 . As a result of these measures, the

economy was put on sound footing. The total revenue of the

State increased from Rs.6.8 mil l ion in 1853 to Rs.29.6

mill ion in 186538. During the later decades also, especially,

during the reign period of the seventh and last Nizam ,

Mir Osman Ali Khan, certain beneficial measures, such as the

creation of the Departments of Agriculture and Industries and

Commerce, construction of irr igation projects such as the

Nizamsagar Project, evolving of improved seeds and manures,

etc. , have been taken up.

But, these well- intentioned measures fai led to yield

desired or satisfactory results. The reasons are not far to

seek. There was huge gulf or unbridgeable distance between

the rulers and the ruled. Only the microscopic and urban-

based minority who could know Urdu or English, could have

access to the Governmental machinery at al l levels.

Regarding the ruler or the Nizam , i t was aptly remarked that

he was ‘unseeable, unapproachable and unknowable’ 39 .

Further, glaring inequalit ies in the possession of land in

respect of peasants and tenants, paltry wages for labourers,

non-availabil i ty of easy credit and rawmaterial to the artisans

or craftsmen, had depressing effect on their l iving condition

and also on agricultural and industrial production. Landlords

who had thousands and even lakhs of Acres of land, never

-------------------------

37 Hyderabad 400 years, Op.Cit . , P. 121.

38 Ib id. ,

39 Rajendra Prasad, Asaf jahis of Hyderabad, Their Rise and

11

Decl ine , Vikas Publ ishing House, Delhi , 1984, P. 294.

cultivated them personally, and peasants and tenants who day

in and day out spent their t ime on cultivation, never had

adequate lands or no lands at al l . Added to these gross

inequalit ies, al l these toi l ing masses groaned under the

weight of heavy exploitation of services from the above.

Neither representation nor dissent was allowed against these

centuries-old inequality, exploitation and injustice. The

suppressed balloon got burst violently during 1946 – 51,

breaking old barriers and paving the way for a Government

that the people at large desired.

2. Administration at a glance

The administration of the former Hyderabad State was

presided over by the ruler or the Nizam . He was assisted by

an Executive Council which was headed by a President and

consisted of seven members, holding the portfol ios or heading

the Departments, such as Finance, Law, Mil i tary, Revenue,

Public Works and Polit ical Affairs40 . There was also a

Legislative Council, but i t was constituted on the basis of

nomination. It concerned itself chiefly in framing laws and

bye-laws which were first examined by the Executive Council

and forwarded to the Nizam with i ts opinions. No Bill could be

passed without the ruler’s sanction 41. But, as was observed42

earl ier, the Nizams were so fully under the control and

influence of the Brit ish that the key portfol ios of Finance,

Revenue and Police or Home were held by the English men,

-----------------------

40 K. Krishnaswamy Mudira j , Pictor ia l Hyderabad, Vol. I , 1929, Chandrakant Press, Hyderabad – Dn, P. 5.

41 Ib id. ,

12

42 See the f .n. No. 28 in th is Chapter.

and even the matters of education and marriages of the

members or the princes of the Nizam ’s family have come to be

decided and dictated by the Brit ish Resident at Hyderabad.

The Brit ish would never favour the introduction of a real

democratic Government either in Brit ish India or in the Indian

States43 .

At the middle and lower levels of the administrative

set-up also, power and responsibi l i ty were centered and

concentrated in the hands of different graded officials rather

than in the hands of popular and representative elements. The

impact of this kind of system has been that the administration

of the State never moved closer to the common people who up

to 88% , resided in far and distant vi l lages 44. The latter had

no participation nor representation in the governing bodies or

the Legislature, al l of which have been fi l led by the officials

and nominated non-officials. As these elements owed their

position and promotion to the patronage of the Nizam , they

never raised their voice against any measure of the

Government, even if the interests of the people at large are

affected. Further, the Taluk and District Local Fund

Committees which catered to the sanitation, health, transport,

water and educational needs of the people, have also been

fi l led with official and nominated members, with the result that,

these Committees which were located at headquarter towns,

always strived and spent 90% of the funds at their disposal for

the civic reads of the urban areas who formed less than 15%

of the total population, thereby totally

------------------------

43 Vasant K. Bawa, ‘ Const i tut ional and Administrat ive Structure of Hyderabad State and some speculat ions on i ts demise’ in Hyderabad – 400 Saga of A City. , Op.Cit . , P. 30.

13

44 Y. Vaikuntham, State, Economy and Socia l Transformat ion in Hyderabad State, 1724 – 1948 , Manohar Publ icat ions, Delhi 2002, P. 24.

neglecting the needs of the overwhelming rural people 45.

This kind of neglect and deliberate disregarding of the

interests of the people at large or the base, went on

unchecked ti l l the end of regime and the installation of the

popular government46.

On the other hand, the regime patronised and propped

up the middle layer of Jagirdars47, Samasthandars48,

Inamdars49, Deshmukhs50, Deshpandyas51 , Patels52 , and

Patwaris53, who happened to be hereditary feudal elements,

and acted as a reactionary force, and big stumbling blocks

between the Government and the people. The strict

censorship that was imposed over the press and the

holding of public meetings through the most-hated Ghasti54

No. 53, has further widened the gulf between the ruler and

the ruled. Further, the poor and the most unsatisfactory

condition of transport and communications in

------------------------------

45 A Peep into Hyderabad (Deccan) – A survey of the Administrat ion of the Nizams Dominions , 25 t h September, 1938, pp. 9 – 10.

46 Rule of the Nizams came to an end on 18 t h September, 1948, through Pol ice Act ion of the Indian Government and popular Ministry assumed authori ty af ter the General Elect ions in 1952.

47 Holders of assigned lands.

48 Chiefs of areas who paid t r ibute or Peshkash to the Nizam .

49 Those who received Inams or land gi f ts, e i ther for f ixed service or in recognit ion of service or meri t .

50 Local landlord chiefs with vast inf luence in Government c irc les.

51 Big landlords with Accountant background.

52 Vil lage of f ic ia ls with huge landed power, and discharging the dut ies of maintain ing law and order.

53 Vil lage of f ic ia ls with vast lands and discharging the dut ies of land tax col lect ion and maintain ing the detai ls of land ownership.

14

54 Government c ircular which imposed restr ict ions on the f reedom of the press, speech and assembly.

the countryside has further prevented the frequent movement

of the people of different areas within a District, Suba and

the State. Added to these factors, even though Telugu

happened to be the mother-tongue of the people in Telangana,

and Marathi and Kannada in Marathwada, the fact that Urdu

continued to be the medium in Government Offices,

communications, Courts and schools made the people at

large feel as strangers residing and moving in a foreign

land.

3. Economic Development : Salient Features

Natural, mineral and human resources that are essential

for the agricultural and industrial development of former

Hyderabad State, have been adequate or considerable in a

larger measure. Hill ranges in the area afforded the

construction of forts, such as at Bhongir, Rachakonda and

Devarkonda, al l in Nalgonda District, and also the

formation of big lakes such as at Pakhal in Warangal

District55, and also river projects. Big rivers of Godavari

and Krishna, and their tr ibutaries of Penganga, Pranahita,

Manjeera, Musi, Dindi, Palair, Wyra, Maner, Muner, etc. ,

f low for hundreds of miles in this State, serving as

sources of irrigation. Besides these river sources, there

are large tanks, smaller tanks or kuntas and wells ; the

latter two constructed by the individual farmers and the

first ones have been so huge that they could provide water

for two crops56 , have also served as sources of irr igation,

-------------------

55 Abdul Qayyam Khan, ‘ I r r igat ion in Hyderabad State’ in Hyderabad Government Bul let in on Economic Af fairs , Vol . I , No. 9,

15

(December, 1948), P. 1068.56 Tanks, such as Ramappa, Pakhal and Laknavaram, al l in

Warangal Distr ict , had such a water storage capacity that they could provide water for two crops.

running cumulatively in thousands in every district 57,

particularly in Telangana area. Black soils, chalka soils,

laterite soils, pinkish and grey sandy loams are spread over

in the State, with the first one predominating in Marathwada

region and others in the Telangana area, enabling the

cultivation of cotton, sugarcane and turmeric in the former, and

rice, jawar , bajra , groundnut, chil l ies, tobacco, pulses, etc. , in

the latter, principally as irrigated crops, and some as rain-fed

ones. Besides timber from the forests, minerals or industrial,

rawmaterial, such as coal, iron ore, clay deposits, graphite,

mica, corundum crystals, l imestone of different colours, quartz,

granite, felspars, etc., have been found in different parts of the

State and in varying quantit ies, which could be uti l ised for the

starting of different industries, both of large-scale or medium

scale. Coal resources have been estimated to be of the order

of 1000 mill ion tons58 under the charge of Singareni Coll ieries

Company Limited and cottage industries, such as handloom

weaving of cotton, si lk and woollen fabrics which provided

employment, next to agriculture, to 3 to 4% of the total

population of the State59, carpet and durri-making, brass

fi l igree works, toy- making carpentry and blacksmithy works,

basket-making, poultry, milch cattle got spread in most of the

districts, more

--------------------------

57 For instance, Nalgonda Distr ict of Medak Suba had in 1943 – 44 (1352 Fasl i ) 1,083 tanks, 2,844 Kuntas and 19,817 other sources that included wel ls, tota l l ing 23,744 sources -- - Fi le No. 3 of 1352 Fasl i (1943 – 44) & R.No. 446 of Subedari Gulshanabad, Medak.

58 H.E.H. the Nizam ’s Government, Stat ist ical Year Book, 1941 – 42 to 1944 – 45 , P. 1125.

59 H.E.H. the Nizam ’s Government, Industr ia l Stat ist ics

16

(Quinquennial) f rom 1345 to 1349 Fasl i (1935 – 36 to 1939 – 40) and f rom 1350 to 1354 Fasl i (1940 – 41 to 1944 – 45), Hyderabad – Dn, Government Press, 1948, P. 154.

particularly in Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Nalgonda

and Mahaboobnagar Districts. Labour, both for agriculture as

well as industries, was never in short supply in the State.

But, all the same, the economic development of the State

was not in commensuration with its plentiful resources. A fair

number of people in the rural areas seldom got two square

meals a day60 . Economic enquiries held as late as 1949 – 51

revealed that the monthly per capita income worked at Rs.15-

11-0, whereas per capita expenditure stood at Rs.14-7-0,

thus giving a bare margin of Rs.1-4-0 61. Compared to

adjacent States, the standard of l i fe in Hyderabad State was

decidedly lower62. The reasons for this poor and

unsatisfactory economic development of the former

Hyderabad State could be analysed, basing on the Subedari ,

State Government Records, newspapers, Reports,

Investigations and the secondary sources that are available.

3.1 : AGRICULTURE : Revealing Scenario

(i) Among the factors that affected agricultural develop-

ment in the former Hyderabad State, i ts division into

Diwani63, and non-Diwani vi l lages, stands prominent.

----------------------------

60 A.I . Qureshi, The Economic Development of Hyderabad, Vol. I , (The Orient Longman’s Ltd. , Madras, 1941), P. 34.

61 S. Kesava Iyengar, Rural Economic Enquir ies in Hyderabad State, 1949 – 51, Op Cit . ,pp. 382 & 588.

62 Ib id. ,

17

63 I t was derived f rom ‘Diwan ’ or Pr ime Minister, referr ing to areas direct ly administered by the State.

The former happened to be those under the direct

administration of the Government and the latter

turned out to be assigned lands, either with l i tt le control

of the Government over some of them, and complete

independent authority in respect of others. The former

referred to Sarf-i-Khas or crown lands64, and non-

exempted Jagirs, and the latter comprised Paigah or

Zamiat Jagirs65 , and exempted Jagirdars. Out of the

total number of 22,457 vi l lages in the State, Diwani

vil lages numbered 13,961 or 61.9% 66. Among non-

Diwani vi l lages, Sarf-i-Khas vil lages numbered 1,961 or

8.7% and the Jagir vi l lages numbered 6,535 or 29.5%

of the total number of vi l lages in the State 67 . As

Governmental control over these assigned lands was

almost nil or non-existent, the tenure-holders indulged in

al l kinds of anti- ryot and anti-people measures, such as

not conducting land survey68 ; not regarding the

pattedari r ights of the farmers of long standing and

consequently evicting them from their lands 69; collecting

unjustly heavy land tax of Rs.150/- per Acre

-------------------------

64 Refers to lands meant for personal and family expenses of the Crown.

65 These were bestowed by the second Nizam , Nizam Al i (1761 – 1803) on close conf idants of the royal family to provide for the maintenance of Household Troops which was aimed to serve as counter–balancing mi l i tary force between himself and his t roops.

66 S. Kesava Iyengar, Rural Economic Enquir ies in the Hyderabad State, 1949 – 51, Op.Cit . , P. 20

67 Ib id. ,

68 Administrat ive Report for 1349 Fasl i (06-10-1939 to 06-10-1940 ) ,

18

Hyderabad, 1942, P. 18.69 Golkonda Patr ika (Bi-weekly), 29-06-1939.

as against Rs.10/- in the neighbouring areas 70 ; not

extending remission and suspension of land revenue to

the extent that i t was sanctioned in the Diwani areas71 ;

collecting i l legal and unjust cesses, such as ‘Shadi-

Patti72 (marriage cess) ‘Ghar-Patti ’ (house tax) ;

Mohtarfa (tax on handlooms) grazing tax73 etc. ,

numbering in toto as many as 35 74 ; and extracting vetti

or forced and mostly free labour from all the sections of

the local population, including all the farmers 75. As

against these excesses and negative measures, these

tenure-holders took no measures or spent nothing of

their incomes on the development of education, public

health, water supply, veterinary and agricultural

sectors76 . Hence, agricultural development in as

many as 8,496 villages or 38.1% of the total villages

in the State, stood in a depressingly rock-bottom

level.

----------------------------------

70 A.V. Raman Rao, Andhra Pradesh Economy since Independence (1947 – 1992), Kalyani Publ ishers, Hyderabad, 1993, pp. 13 – 14.

71 V. Venkatraman, Land Reform in India with Specia l reference to Hyderabad , unpubl ished Ph.D. thesis, (Osmania Universi ty, 1957), P. 71.

72 H.E.H. the Nizam ’s Government, Report of the Tenancy Commit tee, 1940, P. 15.

73 Golkonda Patr ika (Bi-weekly), 29-08-1939 & 03-07-1939 ; Meezan , 11-10-1945.

74 Patt i in local par lance referred to compulsory cess.

75 S. Kesava Iyengar, Economic Invest igat ions in Hyderabad State, Vol. I , 1929 – 30, Hyderabad – Dn, 1931, P. 13.

76 Jagir Administrat ion Report , Vol. I , 1952, pp 15 – 16 ; Golkonda Patr ika , (Bi-weekly), 10-04-1939 ; Report of the Royal

19

Commission on Jagir Administrat ion and Reforms , H.E.H. the Nizam ’s Govt . 1356 Fasl i (1947 ) , Bangalore, pp. 79 – 80.

(i i) As against this unhappy situation that obtained in the

assigned areas, the conditions that prevailed in the

Diwani area did not also augur well for agricultural

development in the State. The pattern of land

distribution that was then in vogue resulted in grave

inequalities which became a potent factor for the

outbreak of the Peasants Movement of 1946 – 51.

These could be glanced at from the Table No. I which

could be seen on the next page.

From Table No. I , i t could be observed that, on one

hand, small pattedars with meagre holdings of 5 Acres

and 5 to 10 Acres, accounted for more than one-third of

the total number of pattedars in the State, but could

possess only less than 6% of the total land that was

available ; as against this, big pattedars who owned

holdings of the sizes of 25 to 50 Acres, 50 to 100 Acres

and 100 to 150 Acres, even though they accounted for

less than 30% of the total number of pattedars , were in

possession of more than 50% of the total land that was

available in the State. It was a glaring case of

utter scarcity and starvation in the case of majority

of smaller peasants who did take up personal

cultivation, as against huge monopolisation and

concentration of land in the case of big farmers

who were in lesser number and resorted to absentee

landlordism . This resembled the condition of pre-

20

Table No. I : Number of Pattedars and the size of their

Holdings in 1354 Fasli (1945) in the Hyderabad State.

S.No.Size of the

HoldingNumber of Pattedars

Their percentage (%) out of the total No.

of Pattedars

Extent of the Acreage of land held (maximum

size of the holding was

taken for

computation)*

Percentage (%) of the Acreage of land held out

of the total cultivated and uncultivated land of

1934 – 35 i.e.,

3,89,35,251 Acres*

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

1. 5 acres 2,13,515 22.87

36.

10% 10,67,575 2.74

5.93

%

2. 5 to 10 acres 1,24,481 13.33 12,44,810 3.19

3. 10 to 15 acres 1,07,036 10.14 16,05,540 4.12

4. 15 to 20 acres 96,543 10.03 19,30,860 4.95

5. 20 to 25 acres 84,101 9.00 21,02,525 5.40

6. 25 to 50 acres 1,61,646 17.31

29.4

7% 78,52,341¥ 20.16

54

.23%

7. 50 to 100 acres 89,029 9.05 89,02,900 22.86

8. 100 to 150 acres 29,113 3.11 43,66,950 11.21

9. 150 to 200 acres 13,100 1.40 26,20,000 6.72

10. 200 to 250 acres 8,011 0.85 20,02,750 5.14

11. 250 to 500 acres 4,974 0.53 24,87,000 6.38

12. 500 to 1000 acres

1,509 0.16 15,09,000 3.87

13. 1000 to 2000 acres

444 0.04 8,88,000 2.28

14. 2000 to 5000 acres

49 0.005 2,45,000 0.62

15. Above 5000 + acres

11 0.001 1,10,000 0.28

* Own calculations. + Maximum size of 10,000 acres is taken.

¥ Out of the maximum computed f igure 2,29,959 acres have been deducted to br ing the tota l acreage f igure to the level of 1934 – 35 A.D.

Compiled from : H.E.H. the Nizam’s Govt . Agricul tural Stat ist ics (Quinquennial) f rom 11350 to 1354 Fasl i (1940 – 41 to 1944 – 45 A.D . , )

1949, P. 395.

21

Revolutionary France of 1789 77. The number of small

pattedars who demonstrated land hunger, appeared

more, respectively in Warangal, Medak, Gulbarga and

Aurangabad Subas of the State78 . Accordingly, the

Peasants’ Movement of 1946 – 51 was more widely

and virulently prevalent in Telangana than in

Marathwada, and then, in Telangana, i t was more

intensive and strong in Warangal Suba than in Medak

Suba , excepting of course, Nalgonda District of the

latter . Jannareddy Pratap Reddy of Suryapet Taluk in

Nalgonda District, owning 1,50,000 Acres of land 79, and

Kallur Deshmukh in Madhira Taluk of Warangal District,

owning 1,00,000 Acres80 could be cited as two

individual cases of highest land monopolisation and

concentration.

This feature is also noticeable in the case of Exempted

Jagirdars who enjoyed vast landed, administrative,

judicial and Police powers over not one vi l lage, but

--------------------------------

77 V. Ramakrishna Reddy, Economic History of Hyderabad State (Warangal Suba ) , 1911 – 1950 , Delhi , 1987, P. 129.

78 Warangal Suba comprised the three Eastern Distr icts of Warangal, Karimnagar and Adi labad ; Medak Suba consisted of Medak, Mahaboobnagar, Nalgonda and Nizamabad Distr icts ; Gulbarga Suba consisted of Gulbarga, Bidar, Bi japur and Osmanabad Distr icts ; and Aurangabad Suba consisted of Aurangabad, Bhir , Nanded and Parbhani Distr icts.

79 P. Sundarayya, Veera Telangana Viplava Poratam – Gunapatalu, Vijayawada, 1973, P. 19.

80 Ib id. ,

22

several vi l lages that spread over several districts, of

the State. For instance, Raja Shivaraj Dharamvanth

Bahadur’s Jagir estate was spread over 12 districts of

the State, with a total number of 222 vi l lages and an

annual income of Rs.7,00,00081 . Further, the State

has been so much drained and got depleted of i ts tax

revenues that, merely 19 Jagirdars netted more than

rupees f ive crores in taxes, when the entire land

revenue of the State totalled up to no more than rupees

eight crores82 .

(i i i ) Besides the grave inequalit ies in the system of land

distribution, the pattern of land uti l isation that obtained

in the former Hyderabad State left much to be desired,

and did not at al l contribute for growth in agricultural

production . Table No. II that is furnished on the next

page, provides some interesting and useful details in this

regard.

--------------------------

81 Golkonda Patr ika (Bi-weekly), 13-08-1936.

23

82 Rajendra Prasad, Asaf jahis of Hyderabad, Their Rise and Decl ine, Op.Cit . , P. 295.

24

25

Though the data furnished in Table No. II is not adequate

in al l the respects, yet, the basic trends that obtained in the

State in respect of land uti l isation could be noticed. First of

al l , the State being primari ly agriculture – based, i t is

significant to note that the percentage of cultivated area to

total area, and in turn, that of irr igated area to total area

cultivated, throughout the 20 t h century, do not at al l seem

encouraging. The percentage of the former never rose above

56%, and that of the latter, never came up above 6% 83 ,

whereas the latter f igure for Part ‘A’ States in India stood three

times higher at above 18%84. Further, and more alarming

is the fact that the cultivated area went sl iding down

appreciably from 1937 – 41 to 1949 - 50 85 . The position

was equally bad, and even worse, with regard to irrigated

area. It started fall ing down steeply right from 1922 – 26,

and could never touch up the 6% mark throughout the rest of

the period86 .

It is equally interesting to notice from Table No. II that,

the per capita cultivated area and irrigated area, are abysmally

poor, sl iding and stationary . The former, which stood at 2.14

Acres during 1922 – 26, went on sl iding to 2.01 during 1932

– 36 and to 1.59 Acres during 1942 - 46 87.

----------------------------

83 Rural Economic Enquir ies in Hyderabad State, 1949 – 51, Op.Cit . , P. 23.

84 Ib id . ,

85 See i tem No. 2 in Table No. I I of th is wr i te-up.

86 Refer to I tem No. 7 in Table No. I I of th is wri te-up.

87 See i tem No. 8 in Table No. I I of th is wr i te-up.

26

per capita irr igated area, sti l l more pitiably and contrastingly,

stood stationery at 0.08 Acre from 1922 – 26 to 1942 - 46 88,

for which the figures are available. For a State whose forest

area formed only 11.6% of the total area, as against 15.5%

for Part ‘A’ States of India 89, and which was endowed with

varied and rich soils in abundance, and ever-ful l irr igational

projects, such as Ramappa, Pakhal, Laknavaram, Ghanpur,

Palair, Nizamsagar90, etc., these per capita poor and stunted

figures are highly amazing and perplexing.

The reasons or the underlying factors for the lack of

growth in cultivated area and irrigated area are not far to

seek. The increase in culturable waste from 22.05 lakh Acres

in 1912 – 13 to 35.75 lakh Acres during 1942 - 46 91 ; the rise

in porampoke or unassessed waste from 72.60 lakh Acres

in 1937 – 41 to 99.35 lakh Acres during 1942 -

4692, forming on an average not less than one-fi fth of the

Government or Diwani area in the State ; and the current

fallows during the quinquennial periods, ranging from 1927 –

31 to 1947 – 51, remaining not only on the

-----------------------------

88 Refer to i tem No. 9 in Table No. I I of th is wr i te-up.

89 Rural Economic Enquir ies in Hyderabad State, 1949 – 51, Op.Cit . , P. 23

90 Ramappa, Pakhal, Laknavaram and Ghanpur had been projects constructed over tanks that have been or iginal ly dug under the Kakat iyas, whereas Palair and Nizamsagar had been projects constructed during later t ime over the r ivers Palair and Manjeera. Al l these projects, except ing Nizamsagar, had been located in the then Warangal Distr ict , as against the lat ter being located in Nizamabad Distr ict .

91 See the i tem No. 15 in Table No. I I of th is wri te-up.

92 Refer to i tem No. 11 in Table No. I I of th is wri te-up.

27

constant rise, but getting i tself more than trebled during

this quarter century93 ; have cumulatively contributed for the

decrease in cultivated area in the State. Regarding the fal l

in irr igated area, notable presence of big pattedars with vast

estates of irr igable land under their absentee ownership 94 ;

insufficiency of water in the tanks brought about by the

lowering of F.T.L. (Full Tank Level) at the time of the

restoration of tanks ; inordinate delay in the construction of

f ield channels ; and the neglect and indifference with which

the tanks and canals were maintained 95 ; late release of water

; non-provision of water for sowing of seedlings for

transplantation ; unpredictabili ty regarding the release of water

; corruption in the release of water ; faulty f ixing of forecast

areas and also height of sluices of f lank channels ; delay

in conducting phodi96 of ayacut lands and grant of their

pattas ; forest and shikargah97 areas intervening cultivated

lands ; prevalence of malarial cl imate in the irr igated areas ;

and poor communication facil i t ies to majority of the vi l lages,

etc. , have been cumulatively responsible.

Further, i t needs to be noted in this connection that,

culturable waste or porampoke or unassesed waste lands

were allotted for development not to any of 3,28,000 small

-------------------------------

93 See the i tem No. 13 in Table No. I I of th is wri te-up.

94 Warangal Subedari (W .S.) Fi le No. 5 of 1340 Fasl i (1931) & Record No. (R.No.2458) of 1344 Fasl i (1935).

95 Agricul tur ists ’ Associat ion, Immediate Agrar ian Problems, Hyderabad State, Hyderabad – Dn, 1949, P. 65.

96 Demarcat ion of surveyed land for the grant of patta .

97 Area exclusively earmarked for royal hunt ing.

28

pattedars with meagre holdings of 5 Acres and 5 Acres

to 10 Acres98 , but to people l ike Sir Fazalbhoy, a Bombay

capitalist entrepreneur99 ; Sir Amin Jung, a high dignitary

in the Sarf-i-Khas Department100 ; Sifatul-Islam , a Muslim

service organisation101 ; and a host of War-returned

soldiers102; al l of whom stayed away from the lands in lakhs

and hundreds of Acres that have been al lotted to them, and

the net result of this exercise has been that the former two

have returned back the lands to the Nizam ’s Government at

higher rates than what they have paid earlier 103 ; and the

latter two have sold away their lands to local landlords at

name – sake rates and thereby contributed for further addition

to the land monopolisation of the latter 104.

-------------------------------

98 Refer to Sl. Nos. 1 & 2 in Table No. I of th is wr i te-up.

99 W.S. Fi le No. 48 of 1351 (1942) & R.No. 1827 of 1354 Fasl i (1945).

100 Ib id . ,

101 W.S. Fi le No. 4 of 1353 Fasl i ( I944) & R.No. 1827 of 1351 Fasl i (1942).

102 W.S. Fi le No. 3 of 1350 Fasl i (1941) & R.No. 1365 of 1351 Fasl i (1942).

103 W.S. Fi le No. 48 of 1351 Fasl i (1942) & R.No. 1827 of 1354 Fasl i (1945).

104 W.S. Fi les No. 87 of 1353 Fasl i (1944) & R.No. 441 of 1353 Fasl i ; 123 of 1354 Fasl i (1945) & R.No. 619 of 1355 Fasl i (1946) and 49 of 1355 Fasl i (1946) & R.No. 654 of 1355 Fasl i .

Last, but not the least, the least importance and

preference that the State Government has given for the

development of the nation-building Department of

29

Agriculture is amply demonstrated by the fact that it

spent on the latter, meagre and lowest amounts which

ranged from 0.05 lakhs in 1911 – 12 to 9.65 lakhs in

1943 - 44105 . Throughout this long period of 33 years,

Government spending on Agriculture Department never

touched the figure of 10 lakhs106 .

3.1.1 : Resultant Agricultural Production and Yields

Per Acre

(a) Higher yields and incomes from the cultivation of non-

food crops since 1934 - 35 107, and Governments’

introduction of Grain Levy system in October, 1943 108 ,

led to inadequate foodgrains production, especial ly

paddy, with the result that the State, on a minimum, had

to import 1,00,0000 tons of r ice per year from the

neighbouring areas of the Madras Presidency of the

Brit ish109. Even the cultivation of commercial crops l ike

groundnut, cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, chil l ies and

sesamum , has also been drastically affected by the

Governments’ Cash Crops Restriction Regulation of

-------------------------

105 Rao, R.V., A Review of Hyderabad Finance, 1951 , pp. 249 – 251.

106 Ib id . ,

107 Hyderabad Informat ion Vol. IV , No. 10 (Shahrewar , 1353 Fasl i (July, 1944).

108 Qureshi, A. I . , The Economic Development of Hyderabad, Vol. I , . Op.Cit . , P. 314.

109 Hyderabad Government Bul let in on Economic Af fa irs, Vol. I , No. 9, December, 1948, P. 1071.

1943 – 44 by imposing heavy penalty for the area in

excess of 1/3 of the total area of a cultivator 110.

30

(b) Equally important was the fact that the yield per Acre of

the cultivated land has also been, compared to adjacent

and even distant areas of the Brit ish Indian Government,

has been so low, that i t could form only 1/3 r d of the

latter111 . For instance, in respect of maize crop, the

yield per Acre that was set in respect of Warangal

Suba Districts where it was grown as an irr igated or wet

crop, was 450 lbs, as against 475 lbs in respect of the

State, 635 lbs in Madras Presidency and 933 lbs in All

India112. Even this lowest yield per Acre figure of 450

lbs has never been exceeded by any of the Suba

Districts during 1935 – 47 period113 .

(c) The reasons for this low crop yields in the State are self-

evident. First and foremost among these reasons has

been poor application of improved seeds, manures,

pesticides, and methods of cultivation by the farming

community in the State. The improved seed that was

developed by the Agriculture Department covered only

-------------------------

110 Department of Agricul ture, H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government, Fi le No. 32/8, S.No. 97 of 1357 Fasl i (1948), P. 9 ; The Deccan Chronic le , 8-5-1947.

111 Golkonda Patr ika (Bi-weekly), Editor ia l , 10-04-1939 ; The Hyderabad Informat ion, Vol. IV , No. 3, Bahman, 1353 Fasl i (December, 1944) ; H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government, Agricul tural Stat ist ics, 1940 – 41 to 1944 – 45 . , pp 2 – 11.

112 H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government, Agricul tural Stat ist ics (Quinquennial) , Notes and Est imates of area and yie ld of Pr incip les crops in Hyderabad State f rom 1345 to 1349 Fasl i (1935 – 36 to 1939 – 40 A.D.), Government Central Press, Hyderabad - Dn 1942, P. 86 ; Agricul tural Stat ist ics, 1940 – 41 to 1944 – 45 ; Op.Cit . , P. 189.

113 Ib id . ,

about 5% of the total cultivated area 114. The financial

resources of an ordinary cultivator remained very much

31

l imited, not leaving margin for investment on agricultural

inputs115.

(d) Meagre funds that had been allotted to the State

Agriculture Department and spent on irr igation

development had considerable bearing, the former

indirectly, and the latter directly, on low and poor

agricultural yields in the State. The percentage of

State’s expenditure on the Department of Agriculture to

the total State expenditure ranged from 0.94 in

1934 – 35 to 1.57 in 1950 - 51 116 . With such meagre

funds, the Department could neither effectively organise

demonstration, nor conduct research and propaganda

that are conducive for creating better awareness and

knowledge among the ryots . Similarly, on irrigation

development that is absolutely life-giving for crops

and nation-building for the State, the spending on it

by the Hyderabad State ranged in a miserable

manner, from 23.27 lakhs in 1911 – 12 to 30.17 lakhs

in 1948 - 49, an increase of 6.90 lakhs over a

period of 37 years, with, of course, wider falls in

between, amounting to 9.36 lakhs in 1934 – 35 and

8.01 lakhs in 1935 - 36117. What increase or

----------------------------

114 Director of Agricul ture, Hyderabad State ‘ A Note on Agricul tural condit ions in Hyderabad State in the year, 1947 – 48’ in Agricul ture Department, Seria l No. 103, Fi le No. 40/8 of 1357 Fasl i (1948).

115 Ib id . ,

116 Memoranda submit ted to the Taxat ion, Enquiry committee, 1953 , P. 189.

117 Rao, R.V., Op.Cit . , P. 251.

better yield per Acre in agriculture could be

expected in a State where such a mere pittance was

32

spent on the main or the basic ingredient of

irrigation facility or service ?

3.2 : Industrial Development : A glance

(i) Next to irr igation, industries, particularly cottage or home

industries, served as l ivelihood or employment sources

to the people at large in the former Hyderabad State.

This is evident from the fact that 4.77 lakh workers daily

earned their l ivel ihood through handloom weaving, and

the cloth woven by them met the clothing requirements of

half of the total population of the State 118. As such

cottage industries came to provide source of l ivel ihood

not only to artisans, but also to small farmers as part-

t ime occupations, the Government of the last Nizam

could take on 1 s t January, 1918, the measure of starting

a separate Department for looking after industrial

matters119. But, even though this was done, the

amounts that were allotted and spent on this nation-

building Department had been highly inadequate, meagre

and name-sake. Its expenditure ran from Rs.1.45 lakhs

in 1920 – 21 to 3.70 lakhs in 1930 – 31 ; 4.88 lakhs in

1945 – 46 and 13.45 lakhs in

---------------------------

118 H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government, Industr ia l Stat ist ics (Quinquennial) , Op.Cit . , P. 154.

119 Triennial Report on the Administrat ion of the Department of Industr ies and Commerce for the years 1918, 1919 & 1920 A.D., Hyderabad – Dn, 1922, P. 154.

1950 – 51, with of course, levels fal l ing down to 1 lakh in

1925 – 26 and 3.16 lakhs in 1940 - 41 120. Even these

33

meagre amounts were largely spent on the maintenance

and administration of this Department 121 . This

phenomenon gains further significance in view of the fact

that the State adopted a hostile policy against outside

capital and even prohibited non-mulkies122 establishing

industries123. To make matters worse, the local

enterprise was not resourceful and banking facil i t ies

stood meagre with the consequence that capital was in

short supply124 . Though Industrial Trust Fund was

created in 1928 – 29, i t has extended financial

assistance, by way of purchasing shares, only to few and

selected large-scale industries125.

(i i) Just as agriculture, so also industrial development in the

State got suffered and neglected. Large-scale,

industries, such as cotton mil ls, r ice mills, oi l mills, etc. ,

being predominantly agro-based, depended on highly

uncertain crop conditions which got alternated off and

on. Further, as these large-scale industries got located

in District or Taluk headquarter towns, needy

---------------------120 Dr. B.K. Narayan, Finances and Fiscal Pol icy of Hyderabad State,

1900 – 1956, Hyderabad, 1973, P. 51.121 Ib id . , P. 50.

122 Mulkies refer to nat ives of the State.

123 Dr. B.K. Narayan, Finances and Fiscal Pol icy of Hyderabad State, Op.Cit . , P. 50.

124 Ib id . ,

125 Ib id . ,

34

unemployed persons in the rural parts which counted for

86% of the total population, could get no succour or

assistance from them.

(i i i) Industrial production in the State was marked by low

productivity and under-utilisation of the resources or

the materials. To cite the instance of coal-mining which

served as the leading large-scale industry in the State,

the Singareni Coll ieries Company during 45 years ending

in 1944, could extract only about 33 mil l ion tons of coal

as against the estimated resources of 1000 mil l ion tons

of coal in the Dominions126 . In the same way, as against

an annual capacity of 20 lakhs tons of the two large coal

mines at Kothagudem and Tandur, only 10 lakh tons had

been extracted on an average, during the period 127 . Low

prices, rising costs of production, old and uneconomical

machinery, transport bottlenecks for export, shortage of

labour and its discontent, had all contributed, each in i ts

own way for low production 128. Another factor which

vital ly affected industrial development in the State

happened to be that rawmaterials have been more

exported than imported and manufactured items have

been, more imported than exported . For instance,

groundnut, castor seed, sesamum , hides and skins

etc. , have been largely

---------------------------

126 Stat ist ical Year Book, 1941 – 42 to 1944 – 45 , P. 1125.

127 Industr ia l Stat ist ics. , Op.Cit . , P. 310.

128 Trade Stat ist ics, H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government for 1352 Fasl i (1942 – 43), Government Central Press, Hyderabad – Dn, 1944, P. 10.

35

exported as raw products, and their f inished products –

groundnut oil , castor oil , gingelly oil and leather --- have

been imported to a considerable extent 129 .

(iv) Medium, small and cottage industries, on the other hand,

languished more due to dearth of f inance, and shortage

of rawmaterials rather than the supply of labour or the

managerial element. External competit ion and effects of

World War, trade cycles and price fluctuations had only

aggravated, their decaying condition. The decline of the

handloom weaving industry, especially of cotton, led to

considerable rural unemployment and the consequent

diversion of these elements for employment in factories.

(v) Labour discontent that grew out of poor wages and rising

prices, led to spoliation of industrial relations and

production. 80% of the male labourers received a wage

of Rs.18/- per month or ten annas per day and female

labourers and child workers received only Rs.5/- per

month and two to four annas per day respectively 130 .

These wages were hardly enough for two meals a day.

Though Trade Union activity in the State was started

very late in the forties, i t was suppressed in the bud with

an autocratic hand131.

-----------------------------

129 Industr ia l Stat ist ics Op.Cit . , P. 507.

130 Romesh Thapar, Storm over Hyderabad , Kutb Publ ishers, Bombay, 1947, P. 11.

131 AITUC Papers, Fi le No. 110, P. 15.

36

3.3 : Trade Development : Broad Trends

Regarding trade that considerably affected the fortunes

of the people, i t is significant to note that nearly three-fi fths of

total period, 1905 – 1950, was marked by more imports, less

exports, and hence, adverse trade balances. Besides

unfavourable crop or rainfal l conditions, impact of the World

Wars, World Economic Depression and Inflation, certain other

factors contributed for this unwelcome trend. First and major

one happened to be that, as observed earl ier 132, agricultural

products that were grown in record level in the State, such as

castor seed, groundnut, sesamum , l inseed and cotton, have

been exported as raw products mostly to the neighbouring

Brit ish Indian Provinces instead of manufacturing them into

oi ls, yarn or cloth, which in other words, were imported from

the latter, even through related oil mil ls, cotton-ginning,

pressing, spinning and weaving mills were there in the State.

Consequently, as raw exports fetched lesser price and

manufacture imports carried higher price, the State suffered

huge loss in i ts trade transactions.

Further, as hoarding and smuggling of foodgrains in the

1940s by the big landlords and merchants has taken place on

such a heavy scale that the State was forced to import the

foodgrains of r ice, jawar and jawar f lour on an unprecedented

scale which also contributed not a l i tt le for the unfavourable

balances of trade that were witnessed in the last decade of the

last Nizam ’s reign period133. In addition, the system of

-----------------------

132 See i tem No. ( i i i ) in the ‘Sect ion : Industr ia l Development :

A glance’ in th is wri te-up.133 Meezan , (Engl ish), Editor ia l , 26-08-1948 & 13-09-1944 (Telugu).

37

collecting customs duties on the goods at the Brit ish Indian

sea ports, and again on their entry into the Hyderabad State,

has also proved burdensome to the traders, as well as the

customers, by way of additional r ise in prices, and thus

affected trade development134.

4. Social Conditions : Character and Impact

Society of the former Hyderabad State was essentially

rural-based, as around 88% of the population resided in

vi l lages135. Poor l i teracy rate which stood at 70 li terates per

1000 persons in 1940 – 41 remaining lowest not only as

compared to Brit ish Indian Provinces, but even as compared to

some of the Native States, such as Travancore, Cochin,

Mysore Central Provinces and Berar136 and undeveloped

means of transport and communications affected internal and

external exchange and impact. Organisation of society

became essential ly based on the crafts or occupations that

were pursued by the different sections of the society. Castes,

such as Kapus, or cultivators, Kammari or blacksmith, Sale or

weaver, Golla or shepherd, Madigas or cobblers etc. , have

developed on their basis. But, i t is significant to realise that

agriculture and the castes that got engaged in i t, became the

focal point or the axis around which the vast rural social

organisation revolved. Brahmins who attended to the

performance of marriages, funeral r i tes and religious

-------------------------

134 Hyderabad Government Bul let in on Economic Af fairs, Vol. I , December, 1947, No. 2, P. 210.

135 Y. Vaikuntham, Op.Cit . , P. 24.

38

136 Meezan (Telugu), 20-02-1945.

ceremonies, patwaris or vi l lage Karnams or accountants who

looked after the preparation and maintenance of vi l lage land

records and revenue matters, and patels or vi l lage headmen

who looked after the maintenance of law and order in the

vi l lage, were all held in high esteem and regard by the

vi l lagers.

Jawar , bajra , r ice, wheat, ragulu or taidulu formed the

chief food articles of the people 137. Besides these, maize

also formed another important foodgrain. Regarding dress,

sherwani and trousers became the common dress of al l the

communities very much imitating the rulers or the governing

class138. At the same time, as there was Brit ish rule in the

provinces surrounding the former Hyderabad State and also

overriding influence and control over the latter, there was the

influence of the Brit ish on the dress style of some sections of

the people. But, however, as times progressed, Western

influence has increased over the dress and other habits of the

people, such as hair dressing and close shaving. Regarding

women of course, wearing of sari became the common dress,

irrespective of communities. But, the way of wearing a sari

turned out to be different in respect of various communities,

such as the Parsis, Marathas, etc.

Construction of houses varied in the form of huts,

‘penkuti l lu’139 and buildings with spacious rooms and even

---------------------------

137 Sastrula Raghurama Sharma (ed), Medak Seema Vijnana Sarvasvam , Hyderabad, 2001, P. 13.

138 Census of India, 1941, Vol. XXI, H.E.H. the Nizam’s Dominions, (Hyderabad State), Part - I – Report , Government Central Press, Hyderabad – Dn, 1945, P. 231.

39

139 Roofed by br icks.

two floors140 , depending respectively on the poor, middle level

and rich economic status of the people. There was the usual

hunger of women for gold and si lver ornaments. Their tastes

have, however, become more refined and simpler. People

were amused and entertained by a wide variety of traditional

plays and amusements.

Lambadi or Banjaras, Erkalas , Chenchus , Gonds, Koyas

and Hil l Reddis , formed the important tr ibesmen that inhabited

in the former Hyderabad State. Starting as wandering bullock-

carrier merchants, the Banjaras, when transport and

communications began to develop, resorted to settled li fe,

getting engaged in cattle – breeding and also agriculture 141.

Within no time, out of hunger for land, they fel l upon the lands

of the aboriginal tr ibes, such as the Chenchus , Koyas, Gonds

etc., and turned out to be their exploiters and ex-

proporiators142. On the other hand, Erkala men worked as

basket and mat-makers day labourers and musicians, while the

women wandered from vil lage to vi l lage as fortune-tel lers and

tatooers143. But, they never turned nor took up agriculture.

Chenchus are an aboriginal tr ibe found mainly in

Mahaboobnagar District144. They speak Telugu, the local

language. They inhabit in the Amrabad and Farahabad

plateau of Mahaboobnagar District. This was made as the

-------------------------

140 Medak Seema Vi jnana Sarvasvam, OP.Cit . , P. 11.

141 Christoph Von Furer Haimendorf , Tr ibal , Hyderabad , Four Reports , publ ished by the Revenue Department, Government of H.E.H. the Nizam , Hyderabad, 1945, P. 8.

142 Ib id . ,

40

143 Siraju l Hassan, The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam’s Dominions, Madras, 1989, P. 185.

144 Tribal Hyderabad, Four Reports, Op.Cit . , P. 5.

“Chenchu Reserve” in 1942, granting several facil i t ies and

concessions for giving special protection to these aboriginals

from the exploitation and incursions of the marauders from the

plains145. Simultaneously, a Rural Reconstruction Scheme

was also launched for promoting the education, health,

employment and other developmental needs of the

Chenchus146. But, inspite of these Governmental measures

to bring about a change in the economic and social

organisation of these Chenchus , there was l i tt le or negligible

change in this regard. Even though land for agriculture was

there in the “Chenchu Reserve” and bullocks were provided

for t i l l ing, these were not uti l ised, and instead, they continued

their primitive habit of going on hunting and search and

collect the available forest and animal produce. These

vi l lage chenchus have, however, been greatly influenced by

the local Hindu population, with whom they l ive in symbiosis

and on whom they are, for the most part, economically

dependent.

Gonds and Koyas, forming important tr ibes in the

Dominions after the Banjaras , took up podu147 or shift ing

type of agriculture. Both had their own languages or

dialects. But, they indulged in excessive drinking which

consumed their earnings or savings and made them.

Prone to fal l into the debts to money- lenders. Added to

------------------------------

145 Syed Khaja Abdul Gaf foor, The Socia l and Tribal Welfare , Hyderabad - Dn., 1951, P. 40.

146 Ib id . ,

41

147 In th is type of cul t ivat ion, the t r ibals chose virgin land every year which would be fu l l of fert i l i ty and af ter one year’s cul t ivat ion, they shi f t to another virg in land, in another area. This a lso made them escape f rom the payment of land revenue.

this, the Forest Department’s indiscriminate extension of the

limits or the boundaries of the Reserved Forest areas, and

more important, the speedy dispossession of their lands

by the non-aboriginal Watandars148, forest contractors and

immigrants from the plains, have totally worsened their

condition.

Adi-Hindus or the Scheduled Castes, as per 1921

Census, numbered about 19 lakhs in the State. This was

nearly 20% of the Hindu population and 18% of the total

population of the State149 . They consisted of 34 sub-castes,

such as Mala and Madigas in Telangana, and Dhed , Mang

and Mahar in Marathwada150. The occupation of the Adi-

Hindus in the vi l lages was field labour and domestic service in

European and Muslim households in Hyderabad city and

Secunderabad town151. There were also leather workers,

scavengers and masons among them152 . These Adi-Hindus

adopted all Hindu customs in their auspicious ceremonies and

consequently al l the evils of Hindu society were imitated and

they even observed untouchabil i ty among the sub-castes 153 .

The greatest evil which sapped the very vitals of their

economic structure was the evil of drink which was consumed

-------------------------------

148 These referred to feudal and hereditary landlords and vi l lage or d istr ict of f ic ia ls, such as Patels , Patrwaris , Deshmukhs , Deshpandyas , etc.,

149 K. Chandraiah, Hyderabad 400 Glor ious Years , Hyderabad, 1996, P. 199.

150 Ib id . ,

42

151 Ib id . ,

152 Ib id . ,

153 Ib id . ,

on rel igious and social ceremonies 154 . As these Scheduled

castes were subjected to forced labour at the hands of big

landlords, patels and patwaris , pioneers of several

organisations fought relentlessly against this inhuman labour

without wages155.

When such was the condition of Scheduled Castes in the

former Hyderabad State, three reformist personalit ies –-----

M.V. Bhagya Reddy Varma, B.S. Venkat Rao and Arige

Ramaswamy ----– strived hard for awakening them, educating

them and fighting for their r ights 156. These leaders go down

in the history of the Scheduled Castes of Hyderabad, as the

“Great Trinity” of the movement 157 . It was through their

untir ing service, they uplifted the downtrodden out of the

rut of caste untouchabili ty and social bondage 158.

Regarding social customs, i t so happened that whereas

child marriages and polygamy remained, very much in vogue,

divorce and widow marriage have not received approval and

social sanction. Seclusion of women or purdah159- keeping

was prevalent during the period among the Muslim famil ies

and also among the nobles, feudal lords and vi l lage officers.

The social evi l of taking of dowry from the bride’s father in the

form of cash, gold, land, house or providing a secure job has

been very much prevalent, as a kind of social exploitation and

--------------------------

154 K. Chandraiah, Hyderabad 400 Glor ious Years , Hyderabad, 1996, Op.Cit . , P. 199.

155 Ib id . ,

156 Ib id. , .

43

157 Ib id . ,

158 Ib id. ,

159 Ladies keeping a vei l over their face and body.

turning the sacred marriage into a kind of commercial

transaction. Common or general festivals were celebrated in

communal amity and brotherhood. Only since the second half

of 1940s, relations got strained due to the Muslim

fundamentalists gaining upper hand over the Nizam and in

the administration.

But, all the same, it is sad and unfortunate that

education and health, being the two welfare areas that

formed the basis for the all-round development of the people in

the State, have been very much neglected, and least and

paltry amounts of the State budget have been spent on them,

with a result that even Primary Schools, Middle Schools and

High Schools, let alone colleges and universit ies, and

dispensaries with beds in them, have been woefully deficient,

thereby leaving more than 95% of the people il l i terate and

devoid of even minimum medical faci l i t ies or support. For

instance, as late as 1931 and 1936, 4 Taluks in Medak

District ; 5 Taluks in Nizamabad District ; 5 Taluks in

Mahaboobnagar District and 6 Taluks in Nalgonda

District had no High School at all . These 20 Taluks had as

many as 2,424 Khalsa or Diwani vi l lages160 . Sti l l worse

was the fact that, on an average, 75% of the total number of

vi l lages in a Taluk were deprived of even the benefit of

Primary School for their children 161 . In respect of medical

facil i t ies, on an average, a Taluk, consisting of 73 to 172

vi l lages, had one dispensary, which again, was located at

Taluk headquarters which could, in no way, meet even the

minimum medical and health needs of the people coming under

its care162 . As far as education was concerned, 85%

160 V. Ramakrishna Reddy, Socia l and Economic Dynamics of Medak

44

Suba of former Hyderabad State, 1905 – 1950 A.D., unpubl ished ICHR Project Report , Hyderabad, 2012, P. 70.

161 Ib id . , P. 72.

162 Ib id . , P. 79

of the people or non-Muslims could not have instruction

through their mother-tongue, nor individuals or organisations

related to them, were permitted to establish vernacular

schools. This trend could be reversed to the happiness of the

majority of the people only after the integration of the State

with the Indian Union in September, 1948, and the instal lation

of a popular and duly elected Government in 1952.

5. Cultural Conditions : A glimpse

Former Hyderabad State is very well noted for i ts

composite or cosmopolitan culture. People speaking Persian,

Urdu, Telugu, Marathi and Kannada languages l ived together

as members of one community. Persian remained as official

language upto 1893, and from this year upto the end of the

regime in 1948, Urdu occupied the official language status 163 .

Besides these, Hindi and English are also spoken, but not as

primary languages164. Because of the cosmopolitan nature of

Hyderabad city, people from all parts of India and foreign

lands flocked to it, and lived harmoniously and peacefully,

though professing different rel igions 165 . Telugu li terature got

enriched during the rule of the Qutbshahis, the il lustrious

predecessors of the Asafjahis166 . Addanki

-------------------------

163 Prof . A.R. Kulkarni (ed), History of Modern Deccan, 1724 – 1948, Vol. I I , Hyderabad, 2009, P. 373.

164 Ib id . ,

165 Ib id . ,

45

166 Dr. Zareena Parveen ‘The Eff lorescence of Hyderabad Composite Culture’ in Hyderabad State : Society, Economy and Pol i t ics, 1724 to 1956, a Pre -Seminar Volume of Internat ional Seminar held at Osmania Universi ty, Hyderabad, 17 t h to 19 t h December, 2010, P. 95.

Gangadhara Kavi of 16 t h century and a native of

Golconda, dedicated his work ‘Swayamvaropakhyanam’ to

Ibrahim Qutbshah167 . Saranga Tammayya, a Karnam167 (a)

of Golconda at the time of Quli Qutbshah, wrote ‘ Vaijayanti

Vilasam’168.

If Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah was the founder of

Hyderabad city, Nawab Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh

Nizam ’ can be called the maker of modern Hyderabad in a

variety of ways. The buildings constructed during his reign

are impressive and represent a rich variety of architecture,

such as the magnificent Osmania University, synthesising

the modern, medieval and the ancient styles of architecture ;

the sprawling Osmania General Hospital in the Mughal style ;

the lofty High Court in Indo-Saracenic style ; the Assembly

building in Saracenic – Rajasthani style, symbolising his

desire to build modern and majestic Hyderabad 169. The

engineers or the architects and craftsmen of the period

deserve to be congratulated for their talent and skil l .

Hindu influence is i l lustrated in the motifs of decoration170.

The architectural forms and artistic designs are generally

Persian in character171 . The Osmania University Arts College

reflects the perfect blending of culture trends in Hyderabad for

------------------------167 Dr. Zareena Parveen., Op.Cit . , P. 95.

167(a) Another name for Patwari who maintained vi l lage land and land revenue detai ls.

168 Dr. Zareena Parveen, Op.Cit . , P. 95.

169 Tahseen Bi lgrami, ‘Cultural Synthesis in the Deccan, Hyderabad’ in History of Modern Deccan, Vol. I I , 1724 – 1948 (ed) by Prof . A.R. Kulkarni and others, Op. Cit . , P. 173.

46

170 Dr. Zareena Parveen., Op.Cit . , P. 96.

171 Ib id . ,

a span of four centuries172.

The paintings of 17 t h century Hyderabad are noted for

their bril l iant colours, exquisite gold decorated in the

background, f ine arabesque flowering trees, gorgeous

costumes, sweeping postures, etc.173 The most remarkable

feature of Qutub school was the production of large-size

painting on cotton cloth, typically Deccan 174 .

Hyderabad also offers a glimpse into the amazing

spectrum of performing arts. Kuchipudi , the classical dance

form of the State presents vignettes from the great Hindu

mythological tales through fascinating dance - dramas 175.

Shadow puppetry is another famous art performed with leather

puppets and bamboo sticks, depicting mythological characters

from the Epics, against a bri l l iant lamp l i t in the background.

This is performed along with lyrical narration 176. Their cultural

repertoire is a profusion of dances, folk songs and religious

celebrations177 .

Different rel igious groups in Hyderabad practiced their

own ways and manners of social etiquette without interference

in their religious178 principles. Court culture was, however,

adopted by the Hindus equally with their Muslim brothers 179.

----------------------------

172 Dr. Zareena Parveen., Op.Cit . , P. 96.

173 Ib id . ,

174 Ib id . ,

47

175 Tahseen Bi lgrami, Op.Cit . , P. 376.

176 Ib id . ,

177 Ib id . ,

178 Ib id. , P. 375.

179 Ib id . ,

The Akkanna and Madanna temple stands as an outstanding

example of religious toleration. Sri Khaja Bolda had donated

his land for the renovation of the temple 180. Similarly,

Mrs. Irayatullah Khan came forward and donated the adjacent

land for the ritual purpose181. In the same vein, Nizam VII

issued a farman182, dated 29 t h September, 1912, sanctioning

Rs.3,000/- to Roman Catholic Church and Rs.900/- to

Methodist Church in Hyderabad for making lighting

arrangements and install ing electrical fans, thereby indicating

the former’s broad catholic composite spiri t 183. Important

festivals are celebrated by one and al l , without any

communal t inge or preference. Thus, Tavernier, the foreign

traveller has observed that, Muharram at Golconda was

celebrated very devotedly and Hindus participated in the

celebrations with great enthusiasm 184 . Socio-rel igious reform

Movements aiming at rel igious reformation and social

amelioration had also been witnessed in the former Hyderabad

State. Arya Samaj and Adi-Hindu Movements 185 stand as

prominent instances in this regard.

6. EPILOGUE

It would be clear from what has happened that the

foundations of the Asafjahi State or rule were based on

------------------------

180 Dr. Zareena Parveen, Op.Cit . , P. 95.

48

181 Ib id . ,

182 Royal Order

183 Dr. Zareena Parveen, Op.Cit . , P. 97

184 Ib id . , P. 95

185 See the last but one para in the ‘Sect ion : Socia l Condit ions : Character and Impact ’ in th is wri te-up.

military, diplomatic and even administrative support of the

Brit ish Government of India, and then on the loyalty of the

nobil i ty in the form of Jagirdars, Watandars , Police and

administrative staff. But, the people at large in the form of

peasants, tenants, agricultural and industrial labour, artisans

craftsmen, merchants, etc. , had no voice at any level of the

administration, either directly or indirectly for the redressal of

their grievances. Even if they want to make a formal

representation, they have to trek long distances to Taluk

headquarters, as the road transport remained very much

scanty and scarce. Added to this, they were not in a position

to directly communicate with the office staff as the medium

happened to be Urdu which only a microscopic educated

section could learn. As a result, the vi l lagers have to seek the

help of middle men who exploited them in the shape of mamuls

to the office staff, other sundry payments and their own

charges. Inordinate delay running to years also took place in

deciding of the matters presented. Consequently, the former,

in majority of the cases, were forced to decide to stay at their

own habitations and make whatever customary or forcible

payments that have been demanded either by the

administrative officers, Jagirdars , Watandars, Maqtedars,

Inamdars185(a) etc.

This helpless condition of the rural population who

formed 86% of the total population in the State, was exploited

49

to their advantage by the vested and feudal elements referred

to above. This took shape in varied forms, such as meagre

------------------------------

185(a) See the f .n. Nos. 47 to 53 in th is wri te-up

and highly inadequate land holdings in the hands of 75% of the

peasantry and huge concentration of land in the hands of few

landlords running even to the extent of thousands and lakhs of

Acres ; high degree of absentee landlordism of the latter

leading to rack-renting and frequent eviction of tenants from

the lands that they have been cultivating ; high land revenue

assessments ; collection of 35 il legal cesses or patties by the

fief-holders and Watandars ; extraction of vetti or forced and

free labour from all the sections of the community by the

latter ; collection of forcible levy grain from the small and

middle farmers to the exclusion of the rich landlords,

Deshmukhs , Patels, and Patwaris ; introduction of Controls

and Rationing since 1943 – 44, leading to large-scale hoarding

and black-marketing of foodgrains and even items such as

yarn for weavers, iron for agricultural implements, thread for

tailors, etc. , which could not be had in required quantit ies and

at the rates which the latter could afford etc. Hunger for land of

the peasants and the tenants, and the cry of the agricultural

and industrial labourers for at least mini-mum wages and

freedom from bonded slavery or ‘Baghela’186 situation, have

remained long and unfulfi l led desires of these poorer sections

of the population. Distribution of land for development, in

thousands and hundreds of Acres was made to non-cultivating

capitalist elements and mili tary soldiers 187, rather than to

needy farmers and Kowldars ; and all efforts for

50

------------------------

186 Agricul tural labourers of bonded type are known as ‘ Bhagelas ’ , very much prevalent in Warangal Distr ict . These labourers, having fai led to get f reed f rom the hereditary debt burden that they owed to their masters, are forced to accept wages f ixed by their landlords – S.M. Bharucha, Agricul tural Indebtedness in the Nizam’s Dominions , Hyderabad, 1937, pp. 50 & 51.

187 W.S. Fi le No. 48 of 1351 Fasl i (1942), & R.No. 1827 of 1354 Fasl i (1945) ; W.S. Fi le No. 4 of 1353 Fasl i (1944) & R.No. 1946 of 1355 Fasl i (1946).

increase in labourer wages were suppressed with an iron

hand, so much so that no trade union activity could be there

unti l 1945 in the State188 .

Under such conditions that prevailed in the former

Hyderabad State, the common people at large got convinced

that they could expect a change in their l iving condition only

when the existing Government gets changed and replaced by

another one in which they could have a say or voice. Luckily

for them, the Communist Party of coastal Andhra or Krishna

District, started efforts after 1934 – 35 to come closer to the

hearts, minds and desires of the land-hungry peasants and

tenants, and better wages-prone agricultural and industrial

labourers. P. Sundaraiah, functioning as Secretary of the

Communist Party of Vijayawada 189 and R. Sathyanarayana,

editor of ‘Praja Sakti’ which served as the Party’s

mouthpiece190, took active part in guiding the party’s activit ies

in Suryapet, Huzurnagar, Madhira, Khammam and Warangal

Taluks of Telangana that bordered Krishna District of Madras

Presidency. As the Party’s influence over the masses began

to grow, other local leaders of the party, such as Ravi

Narayana Reddy, Arutla Lakshminarasimha Reddy, Arutla

Ramachandra Reddy, Bhimreddi Narasimha Reddy and

Mallu Swarajyam from Nalgonda District ; Baddam Yella

51

Reddy from Karimnagar District and Devulapall i

Venkateswara Rao, Nallamala Giriprasad,

-----------------------------------

188 The Deccan Chronic le , 10-12-1948 & 4-6-1949.

189 He, as an important Lef t ist leader, took an act ive part in guid ing the post – 1948, Telangana Struggle.

190 Hyderabad Residency Records, Fortn ight ly Report for the fortn ight ending on 15 t h Apri l , 1945, in the Fi le No. 6 (7) p/45, contained in Micro Fi lm, Reel No. 1 Acc. No. 44 .

S. Ramanadham, Chirravuri Lakshminarasaiah, D. Seshagiri

Rao and P. Chalapati Rao from Warangal District, came on to

the centre stage191.

Thus, when the people were seething with discontent and

disaffection against the regime, and when the Communists got

ready to offer leadership for any action of the former, popular

suffering that resulted from the extraction of levy grain and

introduction of Rationing, frequent eviction of tenants from the

lands that they have been cultivating, led to the outbreak of

the Peoples’ Struggle in or around November, 1946. Last

Nizam ’s refusal to accede to the Indian Union and the people

al l over the State resorting to Join Indian Union Movement

since, July, 1947, and the resultant massacre and bloodshed,

turning every vi l lage into a scene of f ighting with the

Government’s Police, Mil i tary and their-supported Razakars or

the armed band of Ittehadul Muslimeen Party192 , brought

matters to such a crisis that the Indian Government has to

intervene and conduct Police Action which brought the 225

year rule of the Asafjahis to an end. This Peasants’ Struggle,

though redistribution of agricultural land was l imited to only

Nalgonda District and Madhira Taluk of Warangal

-----------------------

52

191 The Deccan Chronic le 19-03-1949 ; P. Sundaraiah, Veera Telangana Viplava Poortam – Gunapatalu, Op.Cit . , P. .89 ; Meezan 23-04-1946 (Telugu edit ion) ; Conf ident ia l Report of Warangal Distr ict for the f i rst fortn ight of Amardad , 1356 Fasl i (June, 1946 – 47) f rom First Taluqdar of Warangal to Subedar , Warangal, contained in W.S. Fi le No. 15 of 1356 Fasl i and R.No. 14 of 1356 Fasl i .

192 Started in 1927 and began assert ing by 1940s that the Nizam and the ‘Crown’ were the embodiment of the pol i t ical and cul tural sovereignty of the Musl ims of the Deccan – Fortn ight ly Report of the Hyderabad Resident to the Viceroy for the period ending 31 s t

March, 1944, in Reel No. 2, Accession No. 45, Crown Representat ive Reports (Micro Fi lms avai lable in Nat ional Archives, Delhi) .

District193, i t had the far-reaching and beneficial effects of

Jagirs abolit ion on 15 t h August, 1949, also of the abolit ion of

Sarf-i-khas194 on 5 t h February, 1949, and the passing of the

Protected Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act in June, 1950

which ensured protection to the tenants and fixation of the size

of minimum and maximum holdings. A new chapter in the

history of the former Hyderabad State has begun.

7. HISTORIOGRAPHY

I. Manuscript Records, in the form of Files , form the

Primary sources for studying the history of former

Hyderabad State. These are preserved, of course, in a

highly britt le and unsatisfactory condition, at two places

here in Hyderabad. Whereas Medak and Warangal

Subedari Records, Revenue Department Records and

Home Department Records, are preserved in the Interim

Repository, housed in ‘K’ Block of the State Secretariat

premises, records of the other Departments of the

Nizam ’s Government, such as Finance, Supply,

Agriculture, Industries and Commerce, Police, Judicial

etc. , are preserved in State Archives , Tarnaka. More

than 90% of all these Primary Records are in Persian

and Urdu with Table f igures in Arabic. Unfortunate thing

53

--------------------------------

193 P. Sundaraiah. , Op.Cit . , pp. 91 – 92 ; Devulapal l i Venkateswara Rao (Struggle organiser especia l ly af ter Pol ice Act ion in Nalgonda Distr ict ) interview, 1974, c i ted in Barry Pavier, The Telangana Armed Struggle, 1944 – 51 (Ph.D., Dissertat ion), P. 163.

194 The Report of the Agrar ian Reforms Commit tee, 1949, Hyderabad – Dn, P. 2.

about them is that, they contain good number of f ly

leaves195 and again, nearly 60% of them relate to

succession cases. If the present catalogues which are

in Urdu, are translated into English, i t would be of much

help to non-Urdu knowing Research scholars to pick up

the needy fi les for getting the details translated with the

help of a Urdu-knowing resource person.

II. Economic Investigations in 1929 – 30 by S. Kesava

Iyengar, Economic Adviser to the Nizam ’s Government,

relating to the State as a whole, as well as Warangal and

Nizamabad Districts ; Rural Economic Enquiries in 1949

– 51 by the same Kesava Iyengar ; Report on Agricultural

Indebtedness in 1937 by S.M. Bharucha, Additional

Secretary, Nizam’s Government ; Tenancy Committee

Report, 1940 ; Report of the Royal Commission on Jagir

Administration and Reforms, 1947 ; Report of the

Agrarian Reforms Committee, 1949 ; Jagir

Administration Reports, Vol. I & II ; etc., deserve to be

ranked as first-hand information sources.

III. Contemporary newspaper issues , such as those of

Golkonda Patrika (Daily, Bi-weekly & Weekly) ; Meezan

(Daily196 , published simultaneously in English, Telugu

and Urdu) ; The Deccan Chronicle (Daily) ; Andhra

54

Patrika (Daily, available in State Archives) ; Andhra

Prabha (Daily, available in Saraswathaniketan Library,

---------------------------

195 I t refers to s ingle sheet in the Fi le wi th only i ts t i t le and no other detai ls.

196 I t was publ ished simultaneously in Urdu, Telugu and Engl ish in the former Hyderabad State.

Vetapalem) ; and Journals, such as Hyderabad

Information (Monthly) ; The Hyderabad Bulletin (Monthly)

and the Hyderabad Government Bulletin on Economic

Affairs (Monthly) etc. , are also important Primary

Sources.

IV. Next comes the Census Reports of Hyderabad State ;

Administration Reports of the Departments of

Agriculture, Industries and Commerce ; Agricultural

Statistics, 1925 – 26 to 1944 – 45 ; Industrial Statistics

1935 – 45 ; Revenue Administration Report 1914 –

15 A.D. ; Statistical Year Books ; District Gazetteers,

Labour Census , etc., which provide lot of useful data, and

more so in English and printed form. These are

preserved in the Documentation Section of State

Archives, Tarnaka.

V. Last, but not the least, come a host of Secondary

sources which include works by Research scholars on

varied aspects relating to the former Hyderabad State ;

works by the Communist party leaders who were

associated with the popular movements and Peasants’

Armed Struggle, such as P. Sundaraiah, M. Basava

Punnaiah, Ravi Narayana Reddy, D. Venkateswara

Rao, and leaders of other parties, such as Ramananda

55

Tirtha, M. Narasinga Rao, D. Ramanuja Rao,

M. Hanumantha Rao, V. Manikya Rao, etc., and a

host of noted non-party writers, such as A.I. Qureshi

(Economic Development of Hyderabad, 2 Vol.s) ;

J.D.E. Gribble (History of the Deccan , 2 Vols) ;

A.M. Khusro (Economic and Social Effects of

Jagirdari Abolit ion and Land Reforms in Hyderabad ) ;

K. Krishna Swamy Mudiraj, (Pictorial Hyderabad ,

2 Vols) ; Christoph Von-furer Haimendorf (Tribal

Hyderabad ), Syed Khaja Abdul Gaffoor (Tribes and

Tribal Welfare in Hyderabad ) etc. ,

Only when Primary Manuscript sources, as

outl ined above, are brought within the reach of non-Urdu

knowing Research Scholars by the preparation of catalogues

in English, good and extensive research could take place in

respect of former Hyderabad State. These Records or Files

are in several thousands, but gathering dust at present.

State Archives has to seriously think about this vital

aspect.

56

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MANUSCRIPT PRIMARY SOURCES

• Warangal Subedari Records

• Medak Subedari Records

• Agriculture Department Files of H.E.H. the Nizam’s

Government.

• AITUC Papers, File No. 110 (Available at NMML, Delhi).

• Hyderabad Residency Records (Micro Films available at

National Archives, Delhi).

PRINTED PRIMARY SOURCES (GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS)

• Administrative Report for 1349 Fasli (6-10-1939 to

06-10-1940 ), Hyderabad 1942.

• H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government, Agricultural Statistics,

1335 to 1339 Fasli (1925 – 26 to 1934 – 35) & 1345

to 1349 Fasli (1935 – 36 to 1939 – 40) .

• H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government, Agricultural Statistics

(Quinquennial), 1350 to 1354 Fasli (1940 – 41 to 1944

- 45 ), 1949.

• H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government, Statistical Year Book,

1941 – 42 to 1944 – 45.

• H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government, Industrial Statistics

(Quinquennial) from 1345 to 1349 Fasli (1935 – 36 to

57

1939 – 40) and from 1350 to 1354 Fasli (1940 – 41 to

1944 – 45 ), Hyderabad – Dn, Government Press, 1948.

• Memoranda submitted to the Taxation Enquiry

Committee, 1953 .

• Trade Statistics, H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government for

1352 Fasli (1942 – 43), Government Central Press,

Hyderabad – Dn, 1944.

Reports, Investigations & Enquiries

• Census of India, 1941, Volume XXI, H.E.H. the Nizam’s

Dominions, (Hyderabad State), Part – I Report ,

Government Central Press, Hyderabad – Dn, 1945.

• H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government, Finance Department,

Decennial Report, 1912 – 1922 .

• Kesava Iyengar, S. Economic Investigations in

Hyderabad State, Vol. I, 1929 – 30 .

• Kesava Iyengar, S. Rural Economic Enquiries in

Hyderabad State, 1949 - 51 , Government Press,

Hyderabad, 1951.

• H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government, Report of the Tenancy Committee, 1940.

• Jagir Administration Report, Vol. I, 1952 .

• H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government, Report on the Working

of the Departments under the Secretary & Director –

General of Revenue, 1926 – 29.

• Report of the Agrarian Reforms Committee, 1949 ,

Hyderabad – Dn.

58

• Triennial Report on the Administration of the Department

of Industries and Commerce for the Years, 1918, 1919

& 1920 A.D ., Hyderabad – Dn, 1922.

Contemporary Newspapers

• Golkonda Patrika (Daily, Bi-weekly & Weekly).

• Meezan (Daily, published simultaneously in English,

Telugu and Urdu).

• The Deccan Chronicle (Daily)

Journals

• Hyderabad Government Bulletin on Economic Affairs

Hyderabad Information .

• Hyderabad State : Society, Economy and Polit ics, 1724

– 1956, a Pre -Seminar Volume of International Seminar

held at Osmania University, Hyderabad, 17 t h to 19 t h ,

December, 2010.

SECONDARY SOURCES

Thesis and Dissertations

• Pavier, Barry, The Telangana Armed Struggle, 1944 – 51

(Ph.D. Dissertation).

• Venkataraman, V. Land Reform in India with Special

Reference to Hyderabad , unpublished Ph.D. thesis,

Osmania University, 1957.

59

W R I T I N G S

• A Peep into Hyderabad (Deccan) – A Survey of the

Administration of the Nizam’s Dominions , 25 t h

September, 1938.

• Agriculturists’ Association, Immediate Agrarian

Problems, Hyderabad State , Hyderabad – Dn, 1949.

• Association of Brit ish Council Scholars, K.S.S. Seshan

(ed)., Hyderabad – 400 Saga of a City , Hyderabad, 1993.

• Chandraiah, K., Hyderabad – 400 Glorious Years ,

Hyderabad, 1996.

• Christoph Von Furer Haimendorf, Tribal Hyderabad,

Four Reports , H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government,

Hyderabad, 1945.

• Gaffoor, Syed Khaja, The Social and Tribal Welfare ,

Hyderabad – Dn, 1951.

• Gribble, J.D.B., History of the Deccan, Rupa & Co., 2002

• Hassan Sirajul, The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the

Nizam’s Dominions , Madras, 1989.

• Krishnaswamy Mudiraj, K., Pictorial Hyderabad, Vol. I ,

Chandrakant Press, Hyderabad – Dn, 1929.

• Kulkarni, A.R. Prof. (ed), History of Modern Deccan,

1724 – 1948, Vol. II , Hyderabad, 2009.

• Narayan, B.K. Dr., Finances and Fiscal Policy of

Hyderabad State, 1900 – 1956 , Hyderabad, 1973.

• Qureshi, A.I., The Economic Development of

Hyderabad, Vol. I , The Orient Longman’s Limited,

Madras, 1941.

60

• Raghurama Sharma, Sastrula, Medak Seema Vijnana

Sarvasvam , Hyderabad, 2001.

• Rajendra Prasad, Asafjahis of Hyderabad, Their Rise and

Decline , Vikas Publishing House, Delhi, 1984.

• Ramakrishna Reddy, V., Economic History of Hyderabad

State (Warangal Suba ) 1911 – 1950 , Delhi, 1987.

• Ramakrishna Reddy, V., Social and Economic Dynamics

of Medak Suba of Former Hyderabad State, 1905 – 1950

A.D., unpublished ICHR Project Report, Hyderabad,

2012.

• Raman Rao, A.V., Andhra Pradesh Economy since /

Independence (1947 – 1992 ), Kalyani Publishers,

Hyderabad, 1993.

• Rao, R.V., A Review of Hyderabad Finance , 1951.

• Raza Ali Khan, Hyderabad 400 Years (1591 – 1991),

Secunderabad, 1990.

• Sarojini Regani, Nizam – Brit ish Relations, 1724 – 1857,

Hyderabad, 1963.

• Sundaraiah .P, Veera Telangana Viplava Poratam –

Gunapatalu , Vijayawada, 1973.

• Thapar, Romesh, Storm over Hyderabad , Kutb

Publishers, Bombay, 1949.

• Vaikuntham, Y. State, Economy and Social

Transformation in Hyderabad State, 1724 – 1948 ,

Manohar Publications, Delhi, 2002.