Highlights
- T'gana CMO said state will celebrate 'Telangana National Integration Day' starting September 16-18
- The mark of 75 years of 'Hyderabad State Liberation' with Home Minister Amit Shah as chief guest
- The State of Hyderabad which was under the Nizam's Rule was annexed into the Union of India
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's office on Saturday said that the state government has decided to celebrate 'Telangana National Integration Day' starting September 16th till 18th. The decision to call the celebration this instead of the Central government-proposed 'National Integration Day' comes after AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi demanded the State and Centre to celebrate Sept 17 as 'National Integration Day'
Recalling Hyderabad's revolutionary fighters Turrebaz Khan and Maulvi Alauddin's sacrifices against British rulers, Owaisi said the common Hindus and Muslims of erstwhile Hyderabad state were advocates of united India under a democratic secular and republican government.
"It must be noted that the accession and merger of various princely states were not only about liberating the territories from autocratic rulers. More importantly, the nationalist movement rightly saw the people of these territories as an integral part of independent India. Therefore, the phrase 'National Integration Day' may be more apposite, rather than mere liberation," the Hyderabad MP said in the letter.
The struggles of the people of the erstwhile Hyderabad state against colonialism, feudalism and autocracy are a symbol of national integration rather than merely a case of "liberation" of a piece of land, he added.
A year-long celebration
As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Centre said it will be commemorating 'Hyderabad Liberation Day' on September 17 with year-long celebrations. Union Minister for Culture G Kishan Reddy wrote to the chief ministers of Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka inviting them for the September 17 celebrations.
The programme will showcase the lives and sacrifices of people who fought against the atrocities of the Nizam and the Razakars, Reddy said.
The celebrations will be a fitting tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and all others who contributed during the liberation struggle, he further said.
In a separate letter to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, the Hyderabad MP said the state government needs to mark September 17 as 'National Integration Day'.
"This day must be a celebration of the struggles of people of erstwhile Hyderabad against both British colonialism as well as the feudal autocratic rule of Nizams," he said. According to him such celebrations must be a recognition that the people of these lands had long struggled against (indirect) British rule.
Read More | 75 yrs of Hyderabad liberation: Centre plans year-long commemoration from September 17
