Ballads, Poets, Journalists Helped in Hyderabad’s Liberation
Old residents of the area recall the attack as part of the resistance against the Nizam's rule.
Hyderabad:On December 4, 1947, three youngsters — Narayan Rao Pawar, described as the mastermind, Jagdish Arya and Gandaiah Arya — attempted to assassinate Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh and last Nizam of Hyderabad, near All Saints School at Gunfoundry. The attempt failed, and the Nizam escaped unhurt.
Old residents of the area recall the attack as part of the resistance against the Nizam's rule. Historians and poets say songs, ballads and cultural music also inspired people who participated in movements against the regime.
Recalling what he had learnt from elders about the assassination attempt, C. Babu Rao, a senior citizen, said, “Our elders had told us that revolutionists were waiting near Boggulkunta when the Nizam’s car left the King Koti Palace. When the car came close, Pawar rushed forward and hurled a hand grenade at the vehicle. The grenade hit the car’s door. The attack left the car’s door heavily damaged, but the Nizam escaped completely unhurt. The attackers were imprisoned but when Hyderabad was liberated, they were released.”
As common people were mostly landless, songs and ballads prompted them to raise their voices against the Nizam, Paigahs, and feudal landlords like Doras, Deshmukhs, and Deshpandes. Bandi Yadigiri’s famous song, “Bandenaka bandi katti, padahru bandlu katti", generated anger among people against landlords.
Prof. Gade Lakshman, a retired professor of Osmania University, said literature played an important role during the movement. “Literature, songs and poems contributed immensely in liberating Hyderabad. When we ask what we gained out of this? We ended the more than 700 year old monarchy and got democracy.”
“During the Hyderabad freedom movement, local folk songs, ballads, and revolutionary music served to rally the people, and inspire courage among freedom fighters, and document the resistance against the Razakars and Nizam's rule,” he explained.
Poet and songwriter Srinavasulu Gajjala cited Makhdoom Mohiuddin and Daasarathi Krishnamacharyulu among the literary figures who influenced the movement.
“Makhdoom Mohiuddin is a legendary revolutionary Urdu poet. He spearheaded the progressive writers' movement in Hyderabad and went underground to mobilise peasants and labourers against the Nizam’s forces. Daasarathi Krishnamacharyulu (Dasaradhi) is one of the most monumental literary figures of the liberation era. He openly revolted against the Nizam’s feudal regime. He was arrested and incarcerated in Nizamabad and Gulbarga jails. But he wrote poems on the walls of his prison cell using charcoal.”
Speaking about journalist Shoebullah Khan and poet and political activist Kaloji Narayana Rao, Srinivasulu said, “Shoebullah Khan is an Urdu journalist and editor of the daily Imroz. His poetic critiques and fiery write-ups exposing the regime's atrocities were so potent that they cost him his life. He was assassinated by the Razakars in August 1948. Kaloji Narayana Rao (Kalanna) was a towering poet, freedom fighter, and political activist. He actively opposed the fascism and feudalism of the Asaf Jahi rule. He worked closely with the Hyderabad State Congress and progressive factions.”