Did the Nizam have a secret deal before Hyderabad’s accession in September 1948?

Secret cables between U.S. and U.K. diplomats show the Nizam and GOI played the endgame of the Asaf Jahi empire

As Indian forces surrounded Hyderabad and moved in on five fronts in September 1948, the United States and British diplomats suspected that the Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan and the Government of India had choreographed the operation.

“Embassy feels, although it has no definite evidence in support its conclusion that whole military campaign and consequent capitulation (of) Nizam was to (a) certain degree (a) prearranged plan between Nizam and El-Edroos (Maj. Gen. Syed El Edroos commander of Hyderabad forces) on one hand and GOI officials on other,” was the secret telegram sent to U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall by Charge in India Howard Donovan during those crucial days.

While Indian Independence on August 15, 1947, was a heady affair for the rest of the country, Hyderabad under the Nizam Osman Ali Khan hedged his bets. Hyderabad had to deal with a fog of war for 13 months before the ‘Police Action’ began on September 13, 1948. ‘What will the Muslim ruler with a majority Hindu population do in the heart of India?’, was the big question. The Nizam’s Dominion sprawled over 82,698 square miles an area bigger than Scotland and England put together.