'My speech cancelled the boy's death sentence': Veteran recalls fight against Nizam

Mohammad Khaza Moinuddin (94), a native of Mangolu in the Siddipet district, the grandson of Abidunnisa Begum and Sheikh Abdullah said his family came and settled in Hyderabad when he was a child. He said he dropped out in intermediate and later joined the Communist Party to fight against the Nizam's army and the Rajakars.

Siddipet (Telangana): On the occasion of Telangana National Integration Day, a veteran who fought against the Nizam's Army and the British has recalled his fight for Hyderabad's integration with the country. Mohammad Khaza Moinuddin (94), a native of Mangolu in the Siddipet district, the grandson of Abidunnisa Begum and Sheikh Abdullah said his family came and settled in Hyderabad when he was a child.

He said he dropped out in intermediate and later joined the Communist Party to fight against the Nizam's army and the Rajakars. Moinuddin said in 1945, he worked as a student leader and secretary of the All Hyderabad Student Union and started the secret struggle. “I could not bear to see Nizam Nawab joining hands with the British while Tipu Sultan was fighting against the British.

I immediately joined the Communist Party,” he said. Moinuddin got married to Zahirunnisa Begum, whom he met in the party. “We used to look after the responsibilities of publishing and distributing revolutionary literature, and weapons required for armed struggle,” he recalled. “We used to visit the villages at night and sensitize the youth.

We were well-off then. With this, the party entrusted us with the responsibility of collecting funds as well,” he said. Moinuddin said he had a revolver and two guns and worked with Rajbahudur Goud, KL Mahendra, and CH Rajeshwar Rao. He claimed that in early 1948, an eleven-year-old boy Ram Reddy was sentenced to death by the Nizam's army for having entertained the troops.

“I mentioned this at the Communist Party meeting held in Kolkata. As my speech became a sensation, Nizam cancelled the sentence,” he said. Moinuddin said after Hyderabad merged with India, his wife Zahirunnisa won as the first president of the village in the elections held in her hometown Mangolu. “I also served as president twice and worked for 24 years as Medak District Communist Party Secretary," he added.