Operation Polo : India annexed Hyderabad from the Nizam !

 

 

Operation Polo was the name used to refer to the Hyderabad Police Action which was essentially a military operation under which the Indian armed forces encroached the State of Hyderabad and defeated the Nizam, obtaining the state of Hyderabad for the Indian Union. In 1947, Home Minister Sardar Patel requested Osman Ali Khan Asaf Jah VII, the last Nizam of the princely state of Hyderabad, to join India, but he refused. Instead, he declared Hyderabad as an independent nation on August 15, 1947. After that, On 13th September 1948, the Indian Army launched an attack on Hyderabad; this operation was named ‘Operation Polo’. The Indian Army, in a 5-day battle, annexed Hyderabad from the Nizam and integrated it into the territory of India.Despite the Indian Army having only 35,000 soldiers dispatched for this operation, it suffered only 35 casualties whereas the Hyderabad State suffered 5,738 casualties despite having an army of 2,20,000 soldiers. The Indian Army had a sweeping victory over the Nizam and annexed the state.After the embarrassing defeat, the Nizam of Hyderabad surrendered to the Indian Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and agreed to accede Hyderabad to India.