Razakars (Hyderabad)

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Not to be confused with Razakars (Pakistan).

Razakars were a private militia organized by Qasim Razvi to support the rule of Nizam Usman Ali Khan and resist the Telangana armed peasant struggle. The Razakars unleashed a wave of terror in many parts of the state. The massive invasion of Hyderabad by the Indian Army popularly known as "the Police Action" and code named as Operation Polo was opposed by the Razakars who were poorly armed. Eventually, the Indian army routed the Razakars and the group was disbanded after India annexed the state. Qasim Razvi fled to Pakistan where he was granted asylum.

There are reports that Muslims were targeted in the violence that followed the Police Action. Some accounts of the retaliatory violence put the number of Muslims killed at 2 lakhs. The report of a government commission, that was constituted to study these incidents was not made public to this day.

The Communist Party of India, which was already waging a battle against the Nizam and Razakars, continued its fight even after the annexation of Hyderabad. And the Indian Army used brute force to crush this movement. The ghastly stories of atrocities of the Razakars are still in the minds of elder people of erstwhile Hyderabad state. Thousands of innocent people were butchered. Old people and freedom fighters still re-collect how villages in many parts of the state were burnt. Many people died, and many others disappeared