THE Telangana Peasants Armed Struggle anniversary was successfully observed throughout the state from September 10 to 17. Rallies were organised from martyrs' stupas in some districts. CPI(M) Polit Bureau members Brinda Karat and BV Raghavulu, state secretary T Veerabhadram and other secretariat and state committee members addressed meetings at various places in the state on the occasion.

In the meeting held at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram, Hyderabad, Brinda Karat asserted that no one can tarnish the history of the Telangana armed struggle and criticised the central BJP government for spreading lies, distortions and provocative speeches on the issue. Brinda lambasted these forces who had nothing to do with the struggle but went on making statements. She later took part in the rally held after that.

Noted advocate Vidyasagar inaugurated the Aiylamma Art Gallery.

BV Raghavulu addressed the meetings held at Sangareddy and Medchal districts. He reiterated that the successors of the Telangana armed struggle are only Communists. He said the centre talks of simultaneous polls to install an autocratic regime and asserted that opposition unity would help defeat the BJP communal rule. Protecting sanatana dharma implies continuance of the caste system, he said.

At Palakurty in Jangaon district, T Veerabhadram garlanded the Telangana struggle icon, Aiylamma’s statue and took part in the rally and meeting held subsequently. He also addressed meetings held at Siddipet, Khammam, and Bhadradi districts. He criticised the BJP for trying to distort the history. He expressed that Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhara Rao is mulling over joining the BJP bandwagon. He asserted that the Party will join the forces against the BJP.

On September 17, union home minister visited Hyderabad and addressed a meeting in the name of Telangana Liberation Day. He reiterated the distorted concept that the Telangana armed struggle was that of Hindus against the Muslim king, thereby attempting to mislead the people.

Why is September 17 significant? Why are so many parties reacting to the Telangana peasant struggle which is a communist heritage? Particularly, why is the BJP-RSS distorting history? The new generations have to be made aware of facts and distortions. 

The last ruler of the Asaf Jahi dynasty was Mir Usman Ali Khan. The Hyderabad dynasty was a region comprising Telangana and partly Kannada, Marathi and Urdu-speaking people, and it was one of the largest princely states when India gained independence. The region was controlled by large zamindars and landlords who had held thousands of acres of land. They had resorted to severe repression of peasants and artisans and the utmost exploitation of their labour. Nizam's rule was based on these landlords.

The landlords made sure that the peasants first cultivated the lands of the landlords for free, and only then could they attend to their own fields. This practice led to economic deprivation of the peasants. The peasants had to borrow from the landlords for survival and for payment of taxes. Unable to repay the loans, they were enslaved to the landlords for life. The artisans had to give their products to the landlords for free. Every family had to send a member daily to work for landlords and officials for free. Such was the extortion. Not only that, women were forced to give themselves to the masters whenever they were called upon, and any refusal would invite brutal consequences. They were even stripped off and harassed. People were unable to face the brutal attacks of the landlords. Nizam rulers and the Razakars fully backed these landlords.

In this background, the Visnoor Deshmukh, Ramachandra Reddy sent his goons to snatch the harvest of Chityala Ailamma, who refused to part away her hard-worked produce. The dalam led by Bhimireddy Narasimha Reddy and Andhra Mahasabha strongly stood by Ailamma, and the goons had to face a retreat. The news of Ailamma's success spread to all the villages. The peasants happily celebrated this achievement.

Encouraged by this turn of events, a demonstration was held at Kadivendla. The landlords and Nizam police attacked this. As a result, Doddi Komaraiah, who was at the forefront of the agitation, succumbed to injuries. Angered by this, the peasants used all available means, from rods to stones, to rebuff the attack. Going by this mood of the peasantry and people, the Communist Party called for armed struggle as the only way to fight the repression. Thus began the historic Telangana armed struggle, which lasted until October 1951. This paved the way for the Hyderabad princely state to merge into the Indian Union. The land issue became an important agenda of the country. The union government was forced to initiate the Protective Tenancy Act.

Several other princely states agreed to merge into the Indian Union after watching the peasants armed struggle in Telangana.

The Telangana armed struggle was a great experience. During the period, 10 lakh acres of land was distributed among the poor. Gram swaraj (village self-rule) was established in 3,000 villages. Women were granted equal rights. They were made partners in decision-making. On the whole, 4,000 people lost their lives in the struggle, which centered around the land and against enslavement and repression of landlords.

The RSS and BJP are commemorating September 17 as a day when Hindus were liberated from the rule of a Muslim King. On the other hand, the Congress says that the Nizam ruler surrendered as a result of army action and then agreed to merge the region into the Indian Union.

As per the Mount Baton agreement, princely states were given the right to either merge into the Indian Union/Pakistan or remain independent. At the end of October 1947, the Nehru, Patel government reached an agreement with the king of Kashmir for the merger into the Indian Union. At the same time, in November end, an agreement was reached with Nizam Nawab for a status quo.

However, the situation in Hyderabad escalated, and the peasants armed struggle intensified in September 1948. Landlords left their villages and fled to Hyderabad. Nizam was losing power in Hyderabad. In anticipation of Communists establishing control over the region, the Nehru, Patel government sent the Indian Union army on September 13, 1948. Without any resistance, the Nizam surrendered on September 17, 1948 and agreed to merge the region into the Indian Union. 

The Telangana peasants welcomed the Indian army. But the real face of the army was exposed within a week. After the merger, the army swung into action against the peasantry. They started attacking the peasantry and sought to disable all the achievements won during the struggle. A lot of peasants were killed in the process. The struggle for land and in defence of their hard-won rights, the armed struggle continued till 1951. While 1,500 peasants lost their lives during the armed struggle during Nizam's rule, 2,500 fell victims at the hands of the Indian army. Instead of jailing Nizam, he was actually conferred the title of Raj Pramukh. Instead of imposing a harsh sentence on notorious Khasim Razvi, he was flown to Pakistan with full honours!

For filing a case against the landlord, the landlord killed a farmer named Bandagi. Bandagi was a Muslim, and the landlord was a Hindu. The king who stood by the landlord was a Muslim. Again, Visnoor Deshmukh Ramanchandra Reddy was a Hindu. Ailamma, who fought against him, was a Hindu.

Moreover, most of the landlords were Hindus. The king who sent an army to support them was a Muslim. The Razakars who attacked the peasants in support of the landlords were Muslims. Qasim Razvi was the president of the Razakar organisation. Its vice president was Ramachandra Reddy. No matter which village the Razakars went to, they stayed in the landlords' houses.

Moreover, Shoaibullah Khan, the journalist who rebelled against the Nizam's tyrannical rule, fell victim to an attack by the Razakars. Alam Khundmiri, Jawad Rizvi, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Raj Bahadur Gaur and others were the intellectuals who founded the Comrades Association and declared rebellion against the autocratic monarchy. Labour leaders Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Ali Akhtar, Satyanarayana Reddy and others fought a heroic struggle in the heart of Hyderabad. This is history.

There is no involvement of religion anywhere. It was a peasant struggle against feudal exploitation. BJP and RSS are playing the religious card to gain an advantage in the elections. The RSS, which has nothing to do with Telangana's armed struggle or India's freedom struggle, is now distorting history.

The people of the bordering Andhra region stood by this struggle. Funds were collected and donated to the fighting Telangana peasantry. The fighting dalams were given shelter. Activists from the Andhra region entered the Telangana region and directly took part in the heroic struggle. As a result, the Congress rulers dealt an iron hand on the people who extended solidarity.

The BRS government had declared September 17 as National Unity Day, which is welcome. But this struggle was over the feudal system. BRS is using Ailamma's name. She was a brave person who fought against feudalism. However, the BRS government supports the landlords. The chief minister turns a deaf ear to the issue of assigned lands for the poor, agricultural labourers and the tenant farmers.