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HT This Day: October 11, 1947 -- Final talks on Hyderabad’s accession
The Hyderabad Delegation met today Lord Mountbatten and Mr V. P. Menon, Secretary, States Ministry, for the final round of talks on the question of the Nizam’s attitude towards the State’s accession to the Indian Dominion. The talks will be continued tomorrow.
The Hyderabad Delegation met today Lord Mountbatten and Mr V. P. Menon, Secretary, States Ministry, for the final round of talks on the question of the Nizam’s attitude towards the State’s accession to the Indian Dominion. The talks will be continued tomorrow.
Lord Mountbatten is not acting in his personal capacity but as the constitutional head and spokesman of the Government of India. Since he began the negotiations on the subject before the Indian Dominion was established, it was considered best to let him resume the thread.
The Delegation presumably made it clear today that the Nizam realizes that he cannot accede to the Pakistan Dominion, but that he wishes to retain as much of ‘independence’ as he can.
This is partly because of his own feelings and also because he has raised a Frankenstein in the Ittihad-i-Mussalmin and now finds it difficult to curb the communalists. The Nizam, it is said, realizes that he has to be associated with the Indian Union.
Irrespective of how the new relationship between the Indian Union and Hyderabad is described, the Union Government must have complete control, both legislative and administrative, in respect of Defence, foreign Affairs and Communications, and in the manner prescribed in the Instrument of Accession signed by other Rulers.
The Government of India is willing to agree to Hyderabad appointing its own trade commissioners abroad provided that such commissioners are selected subject to the approval of the Dominion Government, that they form part of the Indian embassies abroad, that they concern themselves with questions relating to trade and commerce and do not in any way engage in diplomatic and other activities and that the volume of business of the State justifies the appointment of such a trade commissioner.
Playing For Time
Meanwhile, considerable interest has been aroused in New Delhi by a statement made by Nawab Mir Nawab Jung, Hyderabad’s Agent General in London, on the stand taken by the Nizam vis-a-vis the Indian Dominion. The Agent-General is reported to have said that he anticipated “shock tactics” on the part of the Indian Government in the event of Hyderabad standing firm on its decision to remain independent. The Agent-General is also reported to have threatened that the Nizam would “resist any attempt at coercion even to the extent of armed resistance by Hyderabad’s strong and well-equipped army.”
Political circles in New Delhi feel that by making this statement, the Nizam’s Agent-General in London has only confirmed the popular suspicion that Hyderabad had intentionally prolonged the negotiations with the Dominion Government simply to gain time for strengthening its armed forces and for openly arming the civilian Muslim population of the State.
