Operation Polo code name for The Hyderabad Police Action was a military operation in September 1948 in which the Indian Armed Forces invaded the State of Hyderabad and ended the rule of Nizam, annexing the state into the Indian Union.
The conflict began after Nizam Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII decided not to join the princely State of Hyderabad to either India or Pakistan after the partition of India. The Nizam's defiance was backed by Qasim Razvi's armed militias, known as Razakars and had the moral support of Pakistan. After a stalemate in negotiations between the Nizam and India, and wary of a hostile independent state in the centre of India, Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Patel decided to annex the state of Hyderabad. He sent the Indian Army and the Hyderabad State Forces were defeated within five days.
The operation was called "Operation Polo" because at that time, Hyderabad state had some 17 polo grounds, the largest number in India.
Read more about Operation Polo: Background, Commencement of Hostilities
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