Exactly on this day, 155 years ago, an ordinary man from Begum Bazar in the city mobilized 6,000 people to attack the British Residency. He revolted at a time when even the Nizam was a mere prop of the British. A highly traversed road in the city is named after him. Yet, few speak of him or know about his historic exploits.
Narrating the tale of the unsung ‘Hero of Hyderabad’ – Turrebaz Khan – and every minute detail of the First War of Independence from the neglected, but crucial, Southern Indian perspective, Dr.Devireddy Subramanyam Reddy, Prof. and Head of Department (Retd.) at S.V University in Tirupati, has authored the ‘Uprising of 1857: A movement that defined India of August 15, 1947’.
Important day
“Today is a very important day in the State’s history as, on July 17, 1857, Turrebaz Khan led a huge army of discontented masses in ‘British Andhra’ and ‘Nizam Andhra’ against colonialism,” said Dr. Reddy. While throwing light on the socio-political conditions during that period and oppressive policies of the British, the book secures Turrebaz Khan his rightful place in the nation’s history.
“The revolt of 1857 belonged not just to Lucknow, Delhi, Allahabad, Kanpur and other parts of Central India. The Southern regions too rose up in arms against the exploitative colonial rule, and few know of it,” said Chennuru Anjaneya Reddy, former Director General of Police, releasing the book here on Tuesday.
“Contributing to the ignored regional history of Andhra Pradesh, the book reveals how Telangana, Rayalseema and Coastal Andhra revolted against the British Raj,” he added.
Key link
When the Nizam was in huge debts and was steadily losing all his power to the British, Turrebaz Khan along with ordinary Muslims in the city attacked the British and they were brutally killed in their attempt, explained Prof K.S.S Seshan, retired HoD of history, University of Hyderabad.
“Tracing the revolt as one by the common man – not by the nobility or the Nizam – the book is vital because our freedom will hold no meaning if posterity has no access to such regional histories,” he said.
