HYDERABAD:Every Hyderabadi must have heard the term ‘Turum Khan’, at least once in his lifetime. This unique term refers to bravery and fearless attitude of a person it is used for. But have you ever wondered, how did this word originate? Interestingly, some historians say, ‘Turum Khan’ came from the name of ‘Turrebaz Khan’, a Hyderabadi freedom fighter.
Exactly 158 years ago on this day, unsung heroes like Turrebaz Khan and Raja Mahipati mobilised around 6,000 people and fought against the British.
Turrebaz Khan was highly inspired by the famous Sepoy Mutiny in 1857. But these extraordinary revolts by common men have hardly earned any space in our history books.
Now Turrebaz Khan’s legacy lies only in couple of books by scholars and a memorial, which was constructed near Koti Women’s college in 1959.
The then government also named the road in front of Osmania Medical College after him. Yet, few know about it or about his historic exploits.
M Krishna Prasad, convener of a group ‘Friends of Telangana, New Delhi’ who was one of the very few people to visit the memorial on Friday, said “The only men who put Hyderabad’s name on the map of India’s first freedom fight have been completely ignored by the government.”
He appealed to the state government to honour these unsung freedom fighters in an appropriate manner. He demanded the state government to honor Turrebaz Khan with the title ‘Sher-e-Hyderabadi’.