2016-09-17 Sat

On 15th August 1947, India got independence from British Raj. But some parts were still under the rule of the Indian Princely States and that of the French and the Portuguese. Now the biggest question that lay before India, after gaining independence, was to unify and liberate these colonies and princely states. One such princely state was that of Hyderabad ruled by the 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan.

Hyderabad, the largest princely state at the time of Indian independence, insisted on being independent and accordingly in June 1947, the Nizam issued a firman declaring that on the transfer of power Hyderabad would be assuming independence and will stand on the same footing as that of India and Pakistan as an independent nation. He also was considering joining his Muslim elite state with the newly carved out nation of Pakistan.

But owing to the strategic location of Hyderabad, which lay in between the north and south of India, the Government of India rejected the firman. This decision of the Nizam also affected the national security of India. It was also pointed out that the "common interests" lay in the integration of the state into India.

After a lot of negotiations, violent raids, and military actions, Nizam finally declared to surrender on 17th September 1948. And after a full 13 months after Indian independence, it was decided that Hyderabad will be absorbed into the Indian Union.

Hyderabad as a state of India came into existence on 24th November 1949 and following the States Reorganisation Act, Hyderabad State was merged with Andhra State in 1956 and renamed Andhra Pradesh. Today the city of Hyderabad is the part of Telangana.

As the Nizam had accepted the suzerainty of the British Raj, the state of Hyderabad had it's own currency during the British rule and also after it’s amalgamation with the Indian Union. Hyderabad and other feudatory states also issued their own stamps.