Parkala massacre
The Parkala Massacre was the killing of 22 people on September 2, 1947, by the Nizam of Hyderabad's police and the Razakars in the town of Parkala. The massacre suppressed the public movement to merge the Hyderabad State with India.[1][2]
History
India became independent from the British Raj on August 15, 1947. Immediately after, the people of Hyderabad State began a civil revolt, agitating for a merger with India and against the authoritarian rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Farmers in the town of Parkala also took part in the resistance. Upon receiving the news of Indian independence, the farmers decided to mark and celebrate the occasion by hoisting the national flag. However, their activities were suppressed by the Nizam's police and the armed Razakars, a private militia organized to support the Nizam.[1][3][4][5]
On September 2, 1947, the police prohibited all gatherings in Warangal, but more than 1,500 people from nearby villages ignored this diktat and came together to hoist the flag of India. According to eyewitnesses, the police and the Razakars fired indiscriminately, killing 22 people and seriously wounding over 150. The Razakars killed three people by tying them to a tree and shooting them. In the nearby village of Laxmipuram, they abused women, looted money, and set the huts ablaze.[1][4]
Legacy
Years later, Indian Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao called the Parkala Massacre the "Jallianwala Bagh of the south."[6][5] The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a major turning point for the Indian freedom struggle when a British General, Reginald Dyer, marched into Jallianwala Bagh and ordered his troops to fire on peaceful protesters, killing 379 and injuring 1,200.[7]
On September 17, 2003, Vidyasagar Rao, a politician from Telangana, built a memorial named the "Amaradhamam", paying tribute to the victims of the massacre. The memorial was inaugurated by the then Indian Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani. According to Rao, the massacre was an issue neglected by the government, and the memorial honored the people of Telangana in their struggle for the liberation of Hyderabad. The memorial has been used as a platform by the Bharatiya Janata Party to demand that the government recognize September 17 as "Liberation Day" of Telangana.[8][2][9][10]
References
- ^ a b c Rao, Gollapudi Srinivasa (3 September 2010). "Elders recount Parkal massacre". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ a b Edwin, James (2 September 2016). "Nizam's tyranny recalled". The Hans India. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ Guha, Ramachandra (2007). India After Gandhi. Pan Macmillan. pp. 52–43. ISBN 978-0-330-39610-3.
- ^ a b K. Aravind, Kumar (October 2017). "Parkala Massacre". Itihasa Samachar: 19.
- ^ a b Reddy, Krishna. "Politics Of Appeasement: Why Liberation Day Is Hushed Up In Telangana". swarajyamag.com.
- ^ "BJP to launch campaign against Seemandhra leaders' 'false propaganda'". The Hindu. 2 September 2013.
- ^ Dalrymple, William. "British Children Must Be Taught Imperial History". Pakistan Historical Society. Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society. 61 (4).
- ^ "RSS fought against Nizam's rule: BJP - Times of India". The Times of India.
- ^ "The Hindu : Advani to inaugurate Parkal memorial". The Hindu.
- ^ "BJP pushes for Liberation Day on September 17 in Telangana". www.deccanchronicle.com. 3 September 2017.