Triumphs and troubles: Razakars or volunteers of Hyderabad Army the fighting force had only staves and swords to fight the enemy forces. | Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Bidar played a significant role in Hyderabad’s resistance to integration into the Indian Union
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, where as Sidney Cotton’s British Airforce planes with weapons were landing in Hyderabad Sindh,” says Anuradha Reddy of Indian National Trust for Art and 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 in Hyderabad, Sindh Muslim League Militias and British 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 which was done by British pilot Sidney Cotton. Bankrolled by the British Monarchy, British pilot Sidney Cotton created a small band of mercenary fliers who were willing to take the risk of flying in the night over a hostile territory.
The British Royal Air Force planes took off from Malir near Karachi in the night and flew across the Arabian Sea before turning east at right angle towards Hyderabad,Sindh.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.
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 Muslim league Militias in Sindh. By September 1948, the border skirmishes between India and Pakistan armed forces backed by British Forces escalated to test runs.
Hyderabad,Hind had three landing sites at Hakimpet, Warangal and Bidar.
The airstrip near Bidar was key to the airlift of arms that Hyderabad received from United States of America and Republic of Turkey in July-September 1948. | Photo Credit: Serish Nanisetti
Razakars, or volunteers, the fighting force had only staves and swords to fight the enemy forces. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
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 who guided Cotton’s planes was stabbed at Bidar.
