Visitors to the tombs of Ashtur near Bidar are surprised to see the grand tombs, their intricate inlay work, incised stucco work and the scale of the monuments. It is a wonder why much of the land around the monuments has not yet been occupied and overrun by human habitations like Hyderabad.
But the mystery lies a little beyond the Ashtur tombs. “The flat ground beyond Ashtur was used by the Deccan Airways for landing planes. And in 1948 before Hyderabad was absorbed into India, Sidney Cotton’s planes with weapons were landing there,” says Anuradha Reddy of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.
The airport at Bidar was one of the keys to the battle-readiness of Hyderabad. Not many know that for over a year between August 15, 1947 and September 17, 1948 Hyderabad existed as an independent state, ruled by Nizam who had a Standstill Agreement with India. During this period the Nizam and his armed forces tried to create a fighting force to resist the might of India. The only way weapons could be brought into the landlocked country was through air.
- Sidney Cotton is considered part of an amalgam of characters that Ian Fleming used to create his James Bond. Cotton’s tomb has the names of his three wives as well as well as four children. Besides flying, Cotton had the inquisitive mind of an inventor. He invented apple jelly from peels and cores, dehydrated vegetable soup, aerial reconnaissance, camouflage paint for planes among a host of other things.
The only man willing to do this was a Jewish Australian flying ace called Sidney Cotton. Bankrolled by the Nizam, he created a small band of mercenary fliers who were willing to take the risk of flying in the night over a hostile territory.
The planes took off from Malir near Karachi in the night and flew across the Arabian Sea before turning east at right angle towards Hyderabad. They were overflying Indian territory for perhaps 20 minutes at a speed of 250 miles per hour. Though circuitous, the air corridor bypassed Bombay and other centres in India where radar vigilance would be higher. Hyderabad had three landing sites at Hakimpet, Warangal and Bidar.
Triumphs and troubles: Razakars, or volunteers, the fighting force created by Itehadul Muslimeen leader Kasim Razvi had only staves and swords to fight the Indian forces.
The night landing was a complex operation without any radar help. Operating a radio beacon was one of the Sidney Cotton’s mercenaries: Fredrick Rowan. Rowan would sit listening and once he established contact with the incoming planes he would run out and light kerosene wick lamps at the unmarked airstrip. The landing sites were shuffled to confuse spies and keep Indian officials guessing.
After the first few flight that began in July 1948, Cotton became so cocky that he once sent a radio message meant for Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru: “Where are your Tempests?” The Hawker Tempests were India’s key to airpower and Cotton was challenging India’s might.
The massive arms that Cotton brought for the Nizam were of no use as the soldiers didn’t get to try them. By September 1948, the border skirmishes between India and Hyderabad armed forces escalated to test runs.
The airstrip near Bidar was key to the airlift of arms that Hyderabad received from Karachi in July-September 1948.
Couched as mundane ‘Police Action’, Indian forces began moving in on four fronts on September 13, 1948. A British mercenary tasked with blowing up the bridge near Naldurg pass was caught with the dynamite in his vehicle and picked up. By 7 a.m. Naldurg was captured and the Indian army then looped around Bidar. They destroyed the airstrip rendering it unusable. By 5 p.m. Indian soldiers were being cheered as they raced on the Old Mumbai Highway.
The battle lasted 109 hours. Or rather Indian army took 109 hours to reach Hyderabad from the border of the kingdom to its capital. Fredrick Rowan, the radio beacon operator at Bidar who guided Cotton’s planes was stabbed while sitting near the tombs.
Silencing the last piece of puzzle of the secret air corridor for arms.
