Operation Polo: The five-day-long police action that integrated Hyderabad

Hyderabad was under the rule of the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. The Nizam delayed acceding to India, and as violence spread across the state, the Indian Army marched in

From September 17, Hyderabad will celebrate its 75 years of liberation in a year-long celebration. The celebrations will mark the 75 years of "Operation Polo" that integrated and merged the earlier princely state with India.

What was the "Operation Polo"?

Before 1947, all the princely states in India were governed by their rulers, but they were under a subsidiary alliance system with the Britishers. The Britishers controlled the external affairs of the princely states.

During the independence of India in 1947, the British signed the Indian Independence Act 1947, abandoning the subsidiary alliances and leaving the princely states