HYDERABAD: Stating that political parties have been avoiding celebrating September 13, the day the Indian Armed Forces entered the princely state of Hyderabad to integrate it into the Indian Union in 1948, fear of alienating the AIMIM, state BJP chief N Ramchander Rao on Sunday called for inclusion of Operation Polo and the sacrifices of soldiers in the school curriculum.
Participating in an event organised to commemorate Operation Polo on Tank Bund under the auspices of the Telangana State Liberation Festival Committee, he paid rich tributes to the martyrs and also felicitated ex-servicemen.
“If not for the firm resolve of iron man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the initiative of KM Munshi, and the Operation Polo military action, it is terrifying even to imagine what the condition of Hyderabad would have been today. On September 13, 1948, Patel initiated Operation Polo to eliminate anti-national forces that posed an obstacle to the country’s integrity,” he said.
He recalled that during this four-day struggle, many soldiers sacrificed their lives to liberate the Hyderabad state by September 17.
Rajya Sabha member K Laxman hailed September 13, 1948 as a day worthy of being inscribed in golden letters in the history of India. Laxman emphasised the need for the current generation to learn about the heroic struggle at Bairanpally — often referred to as the ‘Jallianwala Bagh of Telangana’ — and the history of the martyrs in Nirmal, where a thousand people were killed.