Turrebaz Khan

Turrebaz Khan was born in Begum Bazar in erstwhile Hyderabad district. He revolted against the British, despite opposition from the ruling Nizam (British).

A street is named after him in Begum Bazar.[3]

Turrebaz Khan was a heroic figure in Deccan history, known for his valour and courage. There is a slang in Hyderabad folklore, a positive one — “Turum Khan”. He was a revolutionary figure freedom fighter, who revolted against the British. He attacked the British residency, which now houses the women’s college in Koti in Hyderabad, to free his comrade who was detained on charges of treachery without a fair trial by the British. After a year in prison, he escaped, and was subsequently arrested in a forest near Toopran, in present-day Telegana. Qurban Ali Baig, the talukdar of Toopran was responsible for his arrest. Turrebaz Khan was kept in captivity, then shot, and then his body was hung in the centre of the city to prevent further rebellion.[4]

In the context of the Rebellion of 1857, the activities in Delhi, Meerut, Lucknow, Jhansi and Mysore, are well documented, but the activities in Hyderabad are not probably due to the fact that the Nizams were known allies of the British. With Turrebaz Khan, came a brief period when Hyderabad joined the Rebellion. Turrebaz Khan mobilized 6,000 people to attack the British Residency.[5]

Narrating the tale of the unsung ‘Hero of Hyderabad’ – Turrebaz Khan – and every minute detail of the First War of Independence from the neglected, but crucial, Southern Indian perspective, Dr. Devireddy Subramanyam Reddy, Prof. and Head of Department (Retd.) at S.V University in Tirupati, has authored the ‘Uprising of 1857: A movement that defined India of August 15, 1947’.

Important day “Today is a very important day in the State’s history as, on July 17, 1857, Turrebaz Khan led a huge army of discontented masses in ‘British Andhra’ and ‘Nizam Andhra’ against colonialism,” said Dr. Reddy. While throwing light on the socio-political conditions during that period and oppressive policies of the British, the book secures Turrebaz Khan his rightful place in the nation’s history.[6]

“The revolt of 1857 belonged not just to Lucknow, Delhi, Allahabad, Kanpur and other parts of Central India. The Southern regions too rose up in arms against the exploitative colonial rule, and few know of it,” said Chennuru Anjaneya Reddy, former Director General of Police, releasing the book here on Tuesday.[7]

“Contributing to the ignored regional history of Andhra Pradesh, the book reveals how Telangana, Rayalseema and Coastal Andhra revolted against the British Raj,” he added.

Key link When the Nizam was in huge debts and was steadily losing all his power to the British, Turrebaz Khan along with ordinary Muslims in the city attacked the British and they were brutally killed in their attempt, explained Prof K.S.S Seshan, retired HoD of history, University of Hyderabad.

“Tracing the revolt as one by the common man – not by the nobility or the Nizam – the book is vital because our freedom will hold no meaning if posterity has no access to such regional histories,” he said.

• Ali, Moulvie Syed Mahdi (1883), Hyderabad Affairs (Volume 3), The Times of India Steam Press, Bombay

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/The-tale-of-Turram-Khan/article14515201.ece