Kasim Razvi

Kasim Razvi
Born 1902
Latur,[1] Hyderabad State
Died 15 January 1970
Karachi, Pakistan
Occupation Chief, Razakars

Syed Kasim Razvi also Qasim Razvi was a Muslim politician who headed the Razakars militia in the princely state of Hyderabad.[2] Razvi supported the Nizam of Hyderabad's resistance to acceding to India and ordered the Razakars to fight against the Indian forces during Operation Polo, on behalf of the Nizam.[3] He died in obscurity in Pakistan.

Career

The princely state of Hyderabad was ruled by a Muslim Nizam as an absolute monarchy, even though the population of the state was mostly Hindu. Mr.Kasim Razvi was a high court advocate who rose to prominence in the Razakars and became its leader soon after the death of Bahadur Yar Jang. He was a close ally of the prime minister of the state, Mir Laiq Ali, and soon became an influential adviser to the Nizam.

The Razakars were Muslim separatists who advocated the continuation of Muslim rule in Hyderabad by either making it a part of the newly created Muslim state of Pakistan or by remaining independent of Hindu-majority India. After accession to Pakistan proved impossible owing to the Hindu-majority population and the distance of Hyderabad from Pakistan, Razvi encouraged the Nizam to take a hardline stance and ordered the Razakars to intimidate and attack Hindus. Razvi even traveled to Delhi and had a stormy meeting with Indian leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He was one of the founders of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, a political party intended for the uplift of Muslims. He is quoted to have said "Death with the sword in hand, is always preferable to execution by a mere stroke of the pen", prompting the Indian government to call him the "Nizam's Frankenstein monster".[3] Razvi was a religious fanatic as he "insisted on the right of Muslims to enslave the Hindu".[4] He was also implicated in the murder of patriotic Muslims such as Shoebullah Khan who condemned Razvi's Razakars and advocated merger with India.[5] Razvi launched criminal attacks on the Hindu population through a Razakar campaign of rape, arson, murder, and looting, leading to the Police Action by India.[4]

After Operation Polo, in which the Indian Army defeated the Razakars and annexed Hyderabad into India, Razvi was placed under house arrest and tried under Indian laws on seditious activities and inciting communal violence. He was jailed from 1948 to 1957. He agreed to migrate to Pakistan as a condition of his release from prison, where he died in obscurity in 1970. His family had been residing there since 1949.

References

  1. ↑ "Kasim Razvi who founded the Razakars hailed from Latur in Marathwada". DNA India. 20 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "Hidden history of the Owaisis: What MIM doesn't want you to know".
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Robert Lubar "Hyderabad: The Holdout" Time 30 August 1948
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kate, P. V., Marathwada Under the Nizams, 1724-1948, Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1987, p.75
  5. ↑ Rao, P.R., History and Culture of Andhra Pradesh: From the Earliest Times to 1991, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 2012. p.284

Further reading

External links