Marathwada Liberation Day | |
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Side View of Marathwada Martyr Monnument, Parbhani
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Official name | मराठवाडा मुक्ती संग्राम दिन |
Observed by | Parbhani, Maharashtra, India |
Significance | Marathwada became part of India |
Celebrations |
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Date | 17 September |
Frequency | annual |
Related to | Marathwada |
Marathwada Mukti Sangram Din is celebrated in Maharashtra on 17 September annually. It marks the anniversary of Marathwada's integration with India when the Indian military, with help of local rebels, annexed the State of Hyderabad, overthrew the Nizam and merged Hyderabad into the Indian Union on 17 September 1948, 13 months after Indian independence.
India gained independence from British on 15 August 1947. After the partition, princely states were given the option to join either India or Pakistan. The Muslim ruler of Hindu majority state of Hyderabad, Osman Ali Khan, decided to remain independent. He also appealed to the United Nations that his princely state, which included current Marathwada and Telangana regions, be granted statehood. This sparked a rebellion in the State. During the revolt Marathwada saw major uprisings against the Razakars of Nizam. The main leaders of the revolt were Swami Ramanand Tirth, Govindbhai Shroff, Vijayendra Kabra, Ramanbhai Parikh and P H Patwardhan. The Indian government appeared anxious to avoid what it termed a "Balkanization" of the new country and was determined to integrate Hyderabad into the newly formed Indian Union. Amidst the unrest the Indian government launched a military operation named Operation Polo which it termed a "police action". The operation itself took five days, in which the Razakars were defeated and Hyderabad was annexed.