Qasim Razvi
Encyclopedia
Syed Kasim Razvi also Qasim Razvi was the Razakars
chief of Hyderabad State
, a local Muslim militia
. They blocked accession into post-partition
India
of the predominantly Hindu region of Hyderabad
. He fought against the Indian forces during Operation Polo
, on behalf of the Nizam.
. He was politically powerful and a close advisor of the Nizam, whom he encouraged to defy the Indian government, and block the accession of Hyderabad into India. At the height of the crisis, Razvi had placed his allies in influential posts, and was virtually dictating the Nizam's policy on the issue. Razvi even traveled to Delhi
and had a stormy meeting with Indian leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
. 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".
After Operation Polo
, Razvi was placed under house arrest and tried under Indian laws on seditious activities and inciting communal violence. He was jailed 1948-1957. He agreed to migrate to Pakistan
as a condition of his release from prison. His family had been residing there since 1949.
Razakars (Hyderabad)
Razakars were a private militia organized by Qasim Razvi to support the rule of Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII and resist the integration of Hyderabad State in India....
chief of Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
, a local Muslim militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
. They blocked accession into post-partition
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
of the predominantly Hindu region of Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
. He fought against the Indian forces during Operation Polo
Operation Polo
Operation Polo code name for The Hyderabad Police Action was a military operation in September 1948 in which the Indian Armed Forces engaged those of the State of Hyderabad and ended the rule of Nizam, annexing the state into the Indian Union....
, on behalf of the Nizam.
Career
Kasim Razvi was a high court advocate. He was appointed as Chief of Razakars by the then Prime Minister of Hyderabad State, Mir Laiq AliMir Laiq Ali
Mir Laiq Ali was the last Prime Minister of Hyderabad State under the rule of the Nizams. His official title was "President of the Executive Council of the Nizam of Hyderabad".-Career:Laiq Ali was an engineer and an industrialist...
. He was politically powerful and a close advisor of the Nizam, whom he encouraged to defy the Indian government, and block the accession of Hyderabad into India. At the height of the crisis, Razvi had placed his allies in influential posts, and was virtually dictating the Nizam's policy on the issue. Razvi even traveled to Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and had a stormy meeting with Indian leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was an Indian barrister and statesman, one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress and one of the founding fathers of India...
. 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
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
monster".
After Operation Polo
Operation Polo
Operation Polo code name for The Hyderabad Police Action was a military operation in September 1948 in which the Indian Armed Forces engaged those of the State of Hyderabad and ended the rule of Nizam, annexing the state into the Indian Union....
, Razvi was placed under house arrest and tried under Indian laws on seditious activities and inciting communal violence. He was jailed 1948-1957. He agreed to migrate to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
as a condition of his release from prison. His family had been residing there since 1949.