Umar remembered, ‘When I was in the eighth grade, my father was taught to master the reading of Quranic Arabic. He did so with such zeal because he realized that he was so backward in terms of his own education. He felt that he was not “civilized”. In order to better himself, he knew that he needed to learn those languages.’ It was around this time

Although the language is common, there are instances that there is no love lost between the Telugus in both the states. The classical example of this mutual dislike can be found in the attitude of Andhra officers during the Razakar agitation and immediately after the accession of Hyderabad. While they say the Marathi, Kannada and other officers

Sometime in 1920–21, for the first time, an organization was established in Hyderabad by the name ‘Jana Sangham’. The term ‘Andhra’ used here at that time represented symbolically an awareness of one’s own language, for example Telugu. You see Telugu, Telangana and Andhra—these distinctions are so prominent today. They are at the forefront. But the

In one of his interviews, well-known communist activist Burgula Narsing Rao provided historical and present-day context to the term ‘Andhra’. Sometime in 1920–21, for the first time, an organization was established in Hyderabad by the name ‘Jana Sangham’. The term ‘Andhra’ used here at that time represented symbolically an awareness of one’s own

Urdu-related endeavours were hard to come by for Muslims. It is one of the main reasons that many of them began thinking seriously about a future in Pakistan. Khan and Jigar made it their mission to foster communal harmony, promote the Urdu language, and encourage Hyderabadi Muslims to remain in India. With those goals in mind, their publication

Not many know that Pakistan was an early outpost for Hyderabadis after Police Action. My paternal grandfather Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar (Chapter 3) came close to being a part of the post-1948 Muslim exodus from Hyderabad state as well. Unlike the now Canada-based Hyderabadi–Pakistani Ali Adil Khan’s father (Chapter 6), Dr Ghaffar ended up staying

The Telangana and Dakhani dialects deviate from the more conventional versions of Telugu and Urdu respectively.

The states’ reorganization in 1956 meant that the Marathi- and Kannada-speaking parts of the erstwhile Nizam’s dominions went to Maharashtra and Karnataka respectively. Telangana was merged with the Telugu-speaking regions that were once a part of the Madras Presidency to form the state of Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad became its capital city. But the

What followed before and after the annexation was one of independent India’s closely guarded secrets. According to the recently declassified Pandit Sunderlal Committee Report, 30,000–40,000 Muslims were massacred—sometimes on the mere claim that they were Razakars.6 At the time, Home Minister Sardar Patel dismissed these reports as ‘lacking balance