How the Asaf Jahi Nizams ruled Hyderabad State, and how that rule ended in 1948.
The Asaf Jahi dynasty, founded by Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah I in 1724 (initially a Mughal governor who established effective independence as Mughal central authority declined), ruled Hyderabad State — one of the largest and wealthiest princely states in British India — for over two centuries, until 1948.
Hyderabad State operated under a system of indirect British paramountcy — the Nizam retained internal administrative autonomy while British "Residents" oversaw external affairs and defence matters, distinct from directly administered British India (which included most of what became Andhra Pradesh's coastal and Rayalaseema regions).
Following independence, Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan initially resisted acceding to India. The Indian government launched a military action — "Operation Polo" (also called the "Police Action") — in September 1948, leading to Hyderabad State's integration into the Indian Union.
Parallel to these political developments, the Telangana Peasant Armed Struggle (1946-51), led by Communist-affiliated peasant movements, challenged both the Nizam's feudal land system and, later, the new Indian administration, fighting against exploitative landlordism (the jagirdari and deshmukh systems) in rural Telangana.
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