STANDSTILL AGREEMENT
The Government of India, after Independence, insisted for accession, ‘involving full and overt control of the three subjects of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Communications, but offering Hyderabad autonomy in other matters’. The Nizam’s contention was that in the absence of the British, he is supreme and was contemplating to acquire the title of ‘His Majesty’. Thus, he wanted treaty between equals, with regard to the three subjects, and offered any form of association, except accession. Both the Nizam and the Government of India were adamant on their respective positions and settlement could not be reached. India realised that this situation may drift Hyderabad slowly towards separatism.
Under the circumstances, an alternative arrangement was devised in the form of ‘Standstill Agreement’, and negotiations were undertaken. The Nizam sent several delegations to Delhi to negotiate terms and conditions. On the repeated advice of Lord Mountbatten and Nizam’s Constitutional advisor Sir Walter Monckton, he was compelled to sign a Standstill Agreement with the Dominion of India for a period of one year.
It was signed by the Nizam and Lord Mountbatten, Governor-General of India on 29th November 1947. The Nizam, in his letter dated 29th November, 1947 to the Governor-General, wrote:
“By executing this Standstill Agreement I am in no way permanently prejudicing my rights as an independent sovereign, but I am, of course, conscious that I am in some important respects suspending the exercise of certain of those rights during the currency of the Agreement”.
The text of the Agreement reads as follows:
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‘Until new agreements in the behalf are made, all arrangements and administrative arrangements as to the matters of common concern, including External Affairs, Defence and Communications, which were existing between the Crown and the Nizam immediately before the 15th August, 1947, shall in so far as may be appropriate, continue as between the Dominion of India (or any part thereof) and the Nizam’.
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‘The Government of India and the Nizam agreed for the better execution of the purpose of this Agreement to appoint Agents in Hyderabad and Delhi respectively, and to give facility to them for the discharge of their functions’.
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(i) ‘Nothing herein contained shall include or introduce paramountcy functions to create any paramountcy relationship*.*
(ii) ‘Nothing herein contained and nothing done in pursuance hereof shall be deemed to create in favour of either party any right continuing after the date of termination of this Agreement…’
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‘Any dispute arising out of this Agreement… shall be referred to the arbitration of two arbitrators…’
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‘This agreement shall come into force at once and shall remain in force for a period of one year’.*
In confirmation, the Nizam and the Governor-General appended their signatures on 29th November, 1947. The Nizam first signed it, accompanied by a detailed letter, and the Governor-General later on with a reply. After signing, on 30th November, 1947, the Nizam through Farman appealed to the people to maintain peace and refrain from communal strife.
Violations of the Agreement
The Standstill Agreement, unfortunately, did not fulfill the hopes raised by its conclusion. India and Hyderabad exchanged charges and counter-charges on various issues, including:
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India’s breach of its commitment to supply army, weapons and ammunitions.
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Imposition of a severe economic blockade instead of trade facilities.
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In Hyderabad city, huge demonstrations by Razakars led by Syed Qasim Razvi, against the Agreement.
Although the Indian Government offered a Standstill Agreement assuring status quo and no military action for a year, Hyderabad violated all clauses of the Agreement:
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In external affairs and defence, by building a large semi-private army.
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In communications, by interfering with border traffic and Indian Railways.
According to Taylor C. Sherman:
“India claimed that the Government of Hyderabad was edging towards independence by divesting Indian securities, banning Indian currency, halting export of groundnuts, illegal gun-running from Pakistan, and *recruiting for the Razakars.”The Nizam sent Ahmed Sayyed and E.L. Edroos to England to collect arms and ammunition through Sidney Cotton and Henry Lashviz, and made deals with T.T. Moor for gunpowder. He also imposed regulations on the usage of Indian Rupee in export-import.Against international norms, the Nizam gave twenty crore rupees to Pakistan as a loan from Indian securities.The administration – army, police, and civil service – dominated by Muslim middle classes, tacitly supported the Razakars’ activities and atrocities. The Hyderabad Radio and Press launched propaganda against the Union of India
The atrocities of Razakars peaked:
- Looting, arson, and frequent skirmishes at borders.
- Trains looted, Hindu lives and property unsaf
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the then Minister of Home, declared in the Constituent Assembly:“Hyderabad had become an ulcer in the heart of India and this had to be operated on.”Realising the gravity, Mir Laik Ali, the then Prime Minister of Hyderabad, held discussions with V.P. Menon, resulting in a fresh proposal titled ‘Heads of Agreement’, an eleven-point programme. But even this attempt did not yield positive results.
