The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Friday requested the government to include the Armed Struggle (Telangana rebellion or peasant uprising against the feudal system) that had taken place during 1946-51 in the history of Telangana and also celebrate the merger of Hyderabad State in the Union of India.
Raising the matter in the Assembly on Friday, the lone member of CPI K. Sambasiva Rao stated that over 4,500 to 5,000 persons who had fought against then Nizam government and the landlords seeking distribution of land among peasants were martyred in that movement, which he said had laid the foundation for the separate State of Telangana and lateral movements for the cause.
He requested the government to recognise the history of armed struggle since it was not against any religion or community but was for the rights of peasants. It was on September 11, 1946, the historical day, that a call for the armed struggle against the then government and landlords was made, Mr. Rao said, adding that leaders such as Ravi Narayan Reddy, Maqdoom Mohiuddin and Baddam Yella Reddy were among those who had given the call.
Mr. Sambasiva Rao said the previous TRS/BRS government had also failed to recognise, perhaps fearing that it might be treated as a Hindu-Muslim issue. He made it clear that it was not a Hindu-Muslim issue as feared but those who supported the armed struggle and killed, included Bandagi and Shoebullah Khan, who were Muslims. It was a struggle between landlords and the peasants, not religions, he said.
Whether it be a liberation day, merger day or integration day, it should be celebrated/observed officially as was being done in parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra which were part of the then princely State of Hyderabad, and the future generations must be aware of the history that laid the foundation for separate State of Telangana.
