Hyderabad: As Telangana marked 78 years of Hyderabad’s merger with the Indian Union, Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan on Thursday said the integration achieved through Operation Polo was a historic milestone, but stressed that lasting national unity could be achieved only when every citizen enjoyed equal rights, opportunities and dignity.Addressing the Hyderabad Liberation Day celebrations at the Secunderabad Parade Grounds, Radhakrishnan said the Centre had been officially observing the day since 2022 to honour those who fought for Hyderabad’s liberation and to ensure that their sacrifices were remembered by future generations.Recalling the turbulent period following Independence, he said India attained freedom on Aug 15, 1947, but the status of several princely states remained unresolved. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took up the challenge of integrating these territories with the Indian Union and played a decisive role in preventing the country from remaining fragmented, he said.Radhakrishnan said the Nizam’s refusal to accede to India ultimately led to Operation Polo. The military action culminated in the surrender of the Nizam’s forces and the integration of Hyderabad State with India on Sept 17, 1948.He described Patel’s contribution to national integration as comparable in significance to the roles played by Mahatma Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose in India’s freedom struggle.Paying tribute to those who participated in the liberation movement, the Vice-President remembered students, ordinary citizens and freedom fighters who laid down their lives, including Ramji Gond, Komaram Bheem and Turrebaz Khan.Radhakrishnan said India’s strength lay in its diversity, where people spoke different languages, worshipped different faiths and held varying opinions, yet enjoyed equal treatment under the Constitution.Equal rights, opportunities and dignity for all citizens were essential to strengthening national unity, he said. The Vice-President also highlighted the role played by central forces during the integration of the princely states and in maintaining peace and security in the years that followed.Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the country, he said the goal was to build a developed India by 2047. He said the decline of Naxalism had contributed to development and employment generation, particularly in states such as Chhattisgarh.Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla paid homage to the martyrs and freedom fighters of the Hyderabad Liberation struggle, saying their courage and sacrifices would continue to inspire generations. Liberation Day, he said, was an occasion to reaffirm the commitment to national unity, integrity and democratic values.Union tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said Hyderabad and Jodhpur shared a deep historical bond shaped by the struggle against Nizam’s rule and the movement for integration with India.The Union minister said he had come to Hyderabad as a representative of Jodhpur and recalled the sacrifices of numerous warriors and freedom fighters who worked to ensure that Telangana became part of the Indian Union.
