Book Review: Hyderabad (The Partition Trilogy #2)

[I received an ARC of the book, but the views are unbiased and my own.]

When one thinks of Partition, one thinks of Punjab and perhaps of Bengal. The bloodshed on the both sides of the border. People uprooting themselves from the only home they knew. Trains pulling into stations with coachloads of slaughtered people. Refugee camps crammed with bewilderment, nostalgia and a determination to start afresh. The stories of Partition that we talk about are stories enabled by Radcliffe.

But, far away from the stories that dominate 1947, is the story of how Hyderabad came to be a part of India. It is a story that most Indians are not aware of- even many of us who live in Hyderabad do not realise that the city will officially celebrate 75 years of being a part of the Indian Union only in September 2023.

Manreet Sodhi Someshwar’s “Hyderabad (The Partition Trilogy #2)” looks at the many contradictory forces that were pushing against each other for months, before culminating in Operation Polo (or Police Action, depending on who you speak to) and the annexation of the state of Hyderabad into the Indian Union.

The comparison with her previous book, “Lahore (The Partition Trilogy # 1)” are inevitable. There are similarities and there are differences. Like “Lahore”, “Hyderabad” is told at two levels- the high level political negotiations between the people who history books talk about, and the stories of the common people who were being pulled apart by forces beyond their control but who never surrendered their agency in dealing with them.

“Hyderabad” has many tangled webs, because the story itself has many tangled webs.

Many of the characters we met in Lahore make a reappearance- Patel, Mountbatten, Nehru, Menon. But there is also a new set of equally memorable characters.

There is the Nizam, the richest man in the world, who seeks independence- “I have written to the Viceroy”, he thunders, “I should certainly be able to remain within the family of the British Commonwealth”. An almost tragic figure, he comes under the spell of the charismatic leader of the Razakars, and ends up losing everything he fought for, including his place in history as a visionary ruler.

El Edroos, the Commander in Chief of the Hyderabad Army who finds himself increasingly sidelined by the Razakar rabble rousers. Kasim Razvi, the head of the Razakars who uses bombastic words and pompous display to get the Nizam to commit to a course he cannot later escape from. Walter Monckton, the Nizam’s legal advisor, who does his best to negotiate a favourable treaty with Delhi, but is reigned in at every stage.

There are these people who are known, and there are the unknown who bear the brunt of the uncertainty. There are the Communists who fight against the tyranny of the feudal system. Men and women who risk everything to seek rights for the peasants. If one thinks of women as the submissive gender, there are women who display unexpected physical and moral courage to do what they think is right. Women who rebel against having to serve as concubines to their masters, but who take lovers of their own. Women who were forced to abort an illegitimate child, but who rose to being poison tester and then lady in waiting to the nobility.

Running through the entire book like a fine line of embroidery is Princess Nilofeur. The exquisitely beautiful niece of the Last Khalif, who was married to the Nizam’s younger son. Forever in the shadow of her cousin who was married to the older son, in this book, Nilofeur dazzles. Her grace, her concern for others, her empathy and even her sense of humour. Nilofeur who sits in the royal car while her lady-in-waiting gets her Osmania biscuits and Irani chai from a café frequented by Communist sympathisers. Nilofeur, fresh as a rose, in the dank and dusty King Koti where the Nizam’s family resides. It is worth reading the book just for her interaction with her best friend Emily, and her lady-in-waiting.

While the narrative dwells gently on the people, the events of the last few days of the Nizam’s rule, the entry of the Indian Army, and the subsequent surrender are delivered in quick paragraphs, almost like images from a black and white documentary shot in those times.

The book leaves you wanting more. Even though you know they are fictional characters, you want to know what happened to the common people who you grew to love through the book. You also want to read more on how Hyderabad came to be a part of the Indian Union.

If you are a Hyderabadi who is aware of the history of 1947-48, you will love the book for the descriptions of the city, its cuisine and its culture, as also for the powerful stories of people who lived in those times. If you do not know much about the history of the city, learning about it is an added bonus.