The Congress government in Telangana has decided to celebrate 17 September, the day the erstwhile state of Hyderabad had joined the Union of India in 1948 as the Praja Palana Dinotsavam (people’s governance day).

The Centre has already announced that the day would be celebrated as Hyderabad Liberation Day.

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The state government on Wednesday announced that on the day Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy would hoist the national flag and take the salute at the state capital, Hyderabad. It also came out with a list of names including ministers and government advisors, Speakers of the Legislative Assembly and Council who will unfurl the tricolour in each of the 32 districts.

Although on 17 September 1948, the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, had signed the instrument of accession to join the Union of India after Operation Polo saw Indian tanks rolling in without any resistance, various political parties in the state still do not see eye to eye on the issue. The BJP has accused other political parties of appeasing the AIMIM and refusing to celebrate the occasion.

The Central government recently came out with an order proclaiming it as the ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’. In the last two years, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made it a point to be present at the Secunderabad Parade Ground to take the salute from central armed police forces along with representatives of Karnataka and Maharashtra parts of which had formed the territory of the erstwhile State of Hyderabad.

While the BRS was in power it had celebrated 17 September as National Integration Day to mark the merger of the erstwhile princely state in the Union of India. The AIMIM had agreed to celebrate it as Integration Day.

The Congress government, which prides itself as a people’s government to set itself apart from the “autocratic” BRS regime under K Chandrasekhar Rao, has now come up with Praja Palana Dinotsavam to mark the same occasion. It had already dubbed itself as “Praja Palana” while implementing its poll promises.

Its interpretation seems to indicate that on 17 September, the state of Hyderabad had ditched the monarchy under the Nizams and opted for a democratic set up. However, the celebrations are mostly restricted to official functions and political wrangling with the common people seldom displaying enough enthusiasm to mark the occasion with spontaneity.