Chapter 18: The Peace of Hyderabad
After celebration, Raj took an massive army of 100,000 with guns, cannons and supplies to attack Berar to capture his half-brother Osman Ali Khan.
As he was moving toward Berar, he got news about massive revolts occurred in state following the attack on Hyderabad by the British, to annex his state to establish a puppet king to follow their demands. His state was in turmoil as he was besieged by his half-brothers, British and revolutionary who are there to cook their food in this burning state.
But thanks to Lord Ram his capital was out of this chaos. As his Father, Rahul and Salar are still there. Now that he had already left capital he can only send his messenger to -
1. His allies- in Mysore, Indore and Cochin kingdoms to form an allied army to attack Bombay presidency as their target as soon as possible,
2. Capital- to deal with ongoing situations, as had to deal with his half-brothers as soon as possible.
He reached there the second month, he sent the last peace envoy to Osman before starting the seize of the city, but to his surprise his brother Osman surrendered to him seeing massive fully prepared army, knowing the future result if he fought with his 15000 army. As Berar didn't even have a proper fort to defend, he resigned finally as he got his father's secret letter to surrender on the condition of forsaking his and his brother's life.
His brother Osman, the so called legitimate son of previous Nizam, one of his childhood bully and present enemy surrendered to him. To Raj's surprise, he not only surrenders himself he also surrendered with all his allies who went there to make further plans to attack him like:
- his brothers
- Shams-ul-Umra the ex-deputy prime minister
-Mirza Muhammad Ismail afghan religious scholar handling military service under his control.
-Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad Bahadur Yamin us-Sultanat a powerful minister handling finanace of Hyderabad that even became prime minister during Mir Osman Ali Khan in past life
- He also made two important mens from the British Empire surrender themself with him, who generally should have political immunity in Hyderabad.
As they all has surrendered he took all of them and their armies underthem to Hyderabad and held a trial of them in Hyderabad Royal Palace.
Raj the newly crowned Nizam of Hyderabad with his old and ill father sat in his throne room in the Chowmahalla Palace, surrounded by his courtiers and advisers. He looked at the three group men who stood before him, representing
1. the British Empire including governor of Bombay presidency George Curzon the 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston(Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for India from 1881-98, the future Viceroy of India) and master of this operation the commander-in-chief Sir Charles Naire of Bombay Presidency army,
2. Osman Ali Khan and his half-brothers and
3. His allies Kingdom of Mysore, Indore and Cochin. They had come to negotiate a peace treaty after a half-a-year that had devastated his state.
The war had started when His father the Previous Nizam went to Mysore to inform them about the British plot to annex Mysore.
As that plot failed the British used Osman and Raja Rao against him to make them rebel and then offer a helping hand to Hyderabad. Gaining his friendship and increase their control on Hyderabad against their help.
Use Hyderabad help to attack Mysore to annex it easily. The previous Nizam refused to join the British in their campaign against the ruler of Mysore.
He also went to Mysore to let them know about British scheme but to his despair he was tricked, then captured by Mysore King and is forced to abdicate his throne to Raj who are his allies.
As Raj is new Nizam had hoped to maintain his independence and neutrality for a while, but the British had other plans. They invaded Hyderabad from the south and the east, while the brothers attacked from the north. The Nizam's army, though well-equipped and trained, was outnumbered and outmatched by the combined forces of his enemies.
Raj asked his father the previous Nizam to seek help from his Muslim brethren in the north, the Nawab of Awadh and others, but they were too weak and divided to offer any assistance. He had also appealed to the French, who had promised to send tanks and supplies, but they were too busy fighting the British in Europe and elsewhere. The Nizam was left to fend for himself, with only his loyal durras (nobles) and razakars (volunteers) to support him.
The war had taken a heavy toll on Hyderabad. The British had plundered and burned many towns and villages, killing and raping the inhabitants. The Osman's army had looted and extorted money and goods from the people, imposing heavy taxes and fines. The Nizam's own soldiers had also committed atrocities, especially against the Muslim population, who were suspected of sympathizing with the British and the legitimate heirs. The people of Hyderabad had suffered from famine, disease, and oppression.
Raj had also faced a rebellion from within his own state. Some of his durras, who were unhappy with his rule and his alliance with the French, had joined the British and the Osman. They had formed a secret society called the Hyderabad State Congress, and had organized a revolt in the Telangana region, where the peasants had long been oppressed by the feudal system. The rebels had established gram rajyams (village republics), where they had redistributed the land and abolished the caste and gender hierarchies. They had also formed guerrilla squads, which had harassed and ambushed the Raj's forces.
Raj had tried to suppress the rebellion, but his efforts had been futile. He had sent his army and his police, but they had been defeated by the rebels, who had superior knowledge of the terrain and the support of the local people. He had also sent his razakars, but they had been massacred by the rebels, who had shown no mercy to the fanatical and brutal volunteers. The rebellion had spread like wildfire, and had soon engulfed the entire Telangana region, and parts of the Marathwada and Rayalaseema regions.
`````
The new Nizam Raj had realized that he had no choice, but he had to make the final struggle before surrendering.
He had to ask his father all the doubt that had been formed as he didn't tell of British scheme and his reluctance to fight British.
`````
I hope you enjoyed my story. 😊