Brutalities of Razakars recounted

Bhairanpalli (Warangal): A citadel standing in the centre of the village is a witness of the spirit of defiance of the people here and of the tyranny of Razakars, the private army of Nizams. So is a nonagenarian called Nandanaboina Mallaiah, who escaped death at the hands of Nizams’ army but has lost his hand in the firing. “A bullet passed through the elbow and it lost its strength,” he said showing his left that was wilted.

‘They were in large numbers and armed with guns. We were few and do not have access to fire arms. The Razakars made us stand in a line and killed two to three persons at a time with single round of firing to save bullets,’ he said. He informed that on August 27, 1948 about 70 villagers were killed by the Razakars who raided the village. ‘They made me stand with two of my friends in a line and fired, I jumped off but the bullet hit my elbow,’ Mr. Mallaiah explained.

The incident has made Bhairanpalli village to assume a significant place in the history of Telangana Liberation. According to the village elders and the historians, 118 persons in all died in the village during the raids by Razakars on August 27 and preceding days.

A memorial now stands on the outskirts of the village with the names of those killed engraved on it. Bhairanpalli Freedom Fighters Association president Emmadi Agam Reddy said that the Razakars who were on their way to Karimnagar demanded Rs 5000 tax to be paid by the villagers and wanted a safe passage. The villages could only generate Rs 2000 and rejected passage to the army that angered them.

After two or three attempts, the Razakars succeeded with the help of Nizam’s military. The villagers taking shelter in the fortress in the village to fight back and killed some of the Razakars. Angered at that Kasim Rizvi sent the army, said another eye-witness D Pullaiah and Gorre Gattaiah.

‘Armed men looted the village and ill-treated women, took away sheep and killed men rendering the women in the village widows,’ said Kummari Rajavva who lost her uncle Kummari Ellaiah in the firing. The fortress in the village now serves as a memorial of the martyrs and people offers homage on every occasion of national importance and on festivals.

The family members of the martyrs and the villagers want the history of Bhairanpalli and the August 27 incident included in the school textbooks. ‘The incident should be a part of the syllabus so that the future generations could learn about the sacrifices made by their elders,’ said a villager Naradasu Ramesh.