Fall of the last Muslim kingdom of India

Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On September 17, 1948 AD, the last Muslim kingdom of India came to its end with the surrender of Haiderabad-Deccan to the Indian invasion forces after some six days of resistance by its ruler, Osman Ali Khan Nizam ol-Molk Asef Jah VII that ended 224 glorious years of the rule of his house.
On September 13, 1948, India’s hardline Deputy Premier, Vallabhbhai Patel, ordered the invasion of the Muslim kingdom of Haiderabad-Deccan to forcibly annex it to India, despite the fact that following the British withdrawal from the subcontinent in August 1947 and the birth of independent India and Pakistan, the landlocked kingdom, which was the size of France, had chosen to remain independent, and had even sent a representative to the UN for membership.
Britain also betrayed the ruler, Osman Ali Khan Nizam ol-Mulk Asef Jah VII, conveniently forgetting the tens of millions of pound-sterling given by him as aid during the First and Second World Wars, as well as the pacts and treaties with his ancestors at the start of colonial rule.
The Indian army invaded from four points and after five days of resistance, Asif Jah, sensing the situation hopeless, negotiated surrender to avoid any further bloodshed of Muslims, thereby ending 224 glorious years of the rule of his dynasty. The military invasion was codenamed "Operation Polo" since Haiderabad-Deccan had the most number of polo grounds in India – 17 in all.
This Muslim state in south India was still the size of France, despite decades of occupation of its territories by British colonialists, and had decided to remain independent following the partition of the Subcontinent into India and Pakistan, a year earlier in August 1947.
The Islamic culture of the Deccan in contrast to Hindustan (Northern India), evolved independently through direct contacts with Iran via the sea route, and the Persian language was once widespread in Haiderabad and other cities. It is worth noting that the Deccan, which throughout pre-Islamic history, had remained independent except for very brief periods of domination by the North, had declared its independence from the Turkic Muslim Tughlaq Dynasty of Hindustan in 1347 under the leadership of the general of Iranian origin, Ala od-Din Hassan Bahman Shah, who founded the Bahmani Kingdom.
This dynasty split up into five independent sultanates in the early 16th century, of which the three major powers were the Nizam Shahis of Ahmadnagar, the Adel Shahis of Bijapur, and the Qotb Shahis of Haiderabad-Golconda – all of whom were Shi'ite Muslims, who considered the Safavid Shahs of Iran as their emperors, rather than the Mughals of Hindustan.
The Adel Shahis and the Qotb Shahis were in fact of Turkic Iranian origin, and their realms were annexed in 1686 and 1687 respectively by the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb.
In 1724 the Deccan again become independent under the astute general, Qamar od-Din Khan Nizam ol-Molk Asaf Jah I (an accomplished Persian poet) who was present in Delhi during the invasion of Nader Shah, and had been offered by the Iranian conqueror the rule of all India, which he politely declined out of respect for the defeated Mughal Emperor, Mohammad Shah, whose salt he said he had eaten.

Qamar od-Din Nizam ol-Mulk Asef Jah I, the founder of the kingdom of Hyderabad-Deccan (South India)
Qamar od-Din Nizam ol-Mulk Asef Jah I, the founder of the kingdom of Hyderabad-Deccan (South India), passed away at the age of 77 years, and was buried in the city of Aurangabad. He was a descendent of the Iranian Sufi scholar Suhrawardi and his grandfather had migrated to Hindustan from Bukhara in Central Asia. He was one of the ablest generals and statesmen of the late Mughal period. Disillusioned with the sorry state of affairs in Delhi he decided to concentrate on his viceroyalty of the Deccan where in 1924, he declared his independence.
During the invasion of North India by Nader Shah, he was recalled to Delhi by the inefficient Mughal Emperor, Mohammad Shah. He so impressed the Iranian king in the negotiations that he was offered the rule of all India, but politely refused. He was an accomplished poet in Persian and used the pennames “Asefâ€‌ and “Shakerâ€‌ in his two Divans. The dynasty which he founded ruled for 224 years until its forced merger through military action in the Indian Union in 1948, a year after end of British rule.

The 6th ruler of the Asaf-Jahi dynasty of Deccan, south India, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Nizam ol-Mulk
On August 17, 1866 AD, the 6th ruler of the Asaf-Jahi dynasty of Deccan, south India, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Nizam ol-Mulk, was born in Hyderabad. In 1889, at the age of three years, on the death of father, Afzal od-Dowla, he was crowned as the ruler by the able Prime Minister, Turab Ali Khan Salaar Jung. Besides his native Urdu, he was well versed in Persian, Arabic and English. He founded schools and libraries, even though he led a lavish life, with his extensive wardrobe being the largest in the world along with his collection of Jewels.