Introduction

Hyderabad was the largest State in terms of population, and the second-largest in terms of area, among the Princely States. It was a 21-Gun salute state, which had its own army, its own railway called the Nizam State Railway, its own currency and coinage and its own postal service. The Nizam, in fact, had seriously toyed with the idea of making Hyderabad a sovereign, independent State or ‘country' and had even approached the United Nations. He also wanted Hyderabad to be a member of the British Commonwealth. Hyderabad was integrated with the Union of India more than a year after Independence, in September 1948, following the police action. The capital of the Deccan Province of the Mughal Empire used to be Aurangabad, but after it became a separate entity, the capital was moved to Hyderabad; thus, subsequently, the Deccan Province of the Mughal Empire came to be known as Hyderabad State during its existence till 1948.