HYDERABAD: Castigating those not celebrating September 17 as Telangana Liberation Day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday exhorted them to remove the fear of the Razakars --- an indirect reference to the AIMIM -- from their minds. Stating that 75 years after Independence, Razakars could no longer influence the decisions of the State, Shah stated: “Those who are ashamed of celebrating September 17 as Liberation Day will remain traitors...to the cause of Telangana, for which thousands laid down their lives.”
The Union Home Minister was addressing a public meeting marking the 74th anniversary of the merger of Hyderabad State’s merger with the Indian Union at the Parade Grounds here. While the BJP-led Union government is marking the event as Liberation Day as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the TRS government in the State is celebrating it as Telangana National Integration Day while the Congress terms it Independence Day.
Stating that it was unfortunate that for the past 74 years, political parties “lacked the spine to celebrate the occasion”, Shah urged the people not to forget those standing against the Liberation Day.
“Though they (referring to TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao) had promised during the Telangana movement to celebrate the day as Liberation Day, they took a U-turn after coming to power fearing the Razakars (MIM). I’m not surprised, but happy that after Modiji declared it an official event, everybody decided to join the celebrations,” Shah claimed.
He went on to say that had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel not ordered Operation Polo in 1948, Hyderabad would not have been liberated for many more years. “Sardar Patel knew that the dream of ‘Akhand Bharat’ couldn’t be realised if Hyderabad was not part of the country,” Shah opined.He felt there was a need to inculcate the spirit of patriotism by remembering those who had made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of liberating Hyderabad State.
Shah suggests liberation struggle study
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday suggested that research be undertaken in universities on the liberation struggle and the atrocities perpetrated by Razakars be documented. He reminded the people of the contributions of Turrebaz Khan, Moulvi Alauddin, Bhagya Reddy Varma, Pandit Narendra Arya, Vandemataram Ramachandra Rao, Shoaibullah Khan, Doddi Komaraiah, Chakli Ilamma, Narayan Rao Pawar, Jagdish Arya, Komaram Bheem, Ramji Gond, Swami Ramanand Tirtha, PV Narasimha Rao, Shaik Bandagi, Vidyadhar Guru and Pandit Keshavrao Koratkar, Anabheri Prabhakari Rao, Baddam Yella Reddy, Ravi Narayana Reddy, Burugula Ramakrishna Rao, Kaloji Narayana Rao and many others, who lit the flame of rebellion against the Nizam.
“Be it the ‘Bhagyanagar Satyagraha’ of the Hindu Mahasabha, the Arya Samaj, the Vande Mataram movement launched in the Osmania University, or the patriots who were arrested by the Nizam’s Army on August 15, 1947 for hoisting the national flag at Osmania University, many contributed to the struggle,” Shah said.
He paid rich tributes to the martyred police forces at the Martyrs Memorial in Secunderabad. After hoisting the national flag at the Parade Grounds, the Union Home Minister received the Guard of Honour from 12 contingents of the Central Reserve Police Forces and the Central Industrial Security Forces.
A special attraction on the occasion was the parade of 1,300 cultural artistes from Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra, whose musical and dance performances enthralled the audience. Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde and Transport Minister of Karnataka B Sriramulu were special guests at the event, which was hosted by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy.