Amidst the recent furore over the comments made by Akbarudddin Owaisi in Hyderabad it once again brought to the fore the residual prejudice and hatred lingering under the surface of otherwise educated and modern people.

His boasting of ‘Muslim’ fighting prowess against the much hated Hindu ‘other’  before cheering crowds of his supporters and his subsequent brazen defiance of the law had made headlines across India and beyond.

But what great fighting ability is he talking about? What residue of the utterly discredited ‘martial race’ theory in which certain races were classified by the British as martial and others as non-martial was he relying upon?

The state of Hyderabad was formed at a time amidst the collapse of the Mughal Empire. The relentless 27 year struggle of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb against the Hindus and the Marathas in particular had absorbed the principal Mughal forces and grandees in the southern parts of India for decades at an appalling cost to human lives and property. The devastating attacks and raids of Maratha warriors sapped the strength of the Mughal armies who eventually retreated to the North in confusion and defeat.

The founder of the Hyderabad state was known as the Nizam who harboured dreams of creating his own empire. With a generous chunk of the Mughal treasury and army he established himself at the city of Hyderabad in the south, at first ostensibly a feudatory of the Mughals and then as an independent state. The rise of the warrior Maratha leader Baji Rao caused the Maratha forces to pour in an irresistible wave into north India and in great alarm the sly Nizam knowing that he was unable to fight with his Hindu adversaries clandestinely supported the Maratha northward expansion. Eventually however he was brought to bay by Baji Rao and suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Bhopal in 1738 following which he became a virtual tributary to the Maratha Empire.

Subsequent events also do not reflect favourably upon the Nizam and his descendant. Attempts to contend with his Maratha enemies led to further disgraceful defeats in the Battle of Udgir (1758)  – the Battle of Rakhsabavan (1763) and finally in a climactic defeat of the Battle of Kharda (1795)  – Unable to contend or to escape from his Hindu enemies the so called ‘martial’ warriors of the Mughals clung to the rising British forces for protection. As the climactic years of the 18^th century concluded amidst a long and protracted war between the British and the Marathas in 1803-1805 and then in 1818 the British emerged victorious and the Nizam for his cowardice and loyalty rewarded with his rule over Hyderabad confirmed.

And thus the Nizam was finally safe – to rule and tyrannise over his state under the protection of the British Empire as their oldest and most valued servant.

The dawn of independence saw the wave of freedom roll over the nation but leave the ‘martial’ Muslims of Hyderabad untouched. In an incredible display of stupidity he declared his ascension to Pakistan despite being located in the deep south of India. After decades of defeats at the hands of his Hindu neighbours and a hundred years of utter passiveness against the British he formed his armed forces to repress and kill the Hindu population of his state. He formed a radical and murderous militia known as the Razakars to terrorise and slaughter the unarmed Hindus who began to rise against his tyrannous state. Again the forerunners of Owaisi talked of their fighting prowess and devastating consequences to the Hindus if the struggle continued.

It is of course a matter of history that the intervention of the Indian army in 1948 and the collapse of the Hyderabad forces within 5 days after a tirade of rhetoric in line with the recent spewing of Mr Owaisi of dire consequences and the fighting abilities of the Muslims – it has become a laughing stock of military capitulation and humiliation

In line with the above we can understand that after making his disgusting speech Owaisi in line with his forerunners of the Hyderabad state fled to London for sanctuary – the long and humiliating history of the Hyderabad Nizams in which they failed to defeat a single significant enemy and yet still beat their chests boasting of their bravery could ask for no more.

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