Marathwada Liberation Day marks 1948 merger with India

September 17 is a special and proud day for the people of Marathwada. Every year on this date, Marathwada Mukti Din (Liberation Day) is observed. Its story goes back to 1947, when India became independent, but the Nizam of Hyderabad State refused to join independent India. Marathwada was part of that state, so its people remained under the Nizam's rule.

Under the Nizam's rule, the people of Marathwada faced considerable atrocities. People had been waiting for freedom for years. Eventually, the Indian Army carried out a military operation called "Operation Polo". As a result of this operation, Hyderabad State merged with India on September 17, 1948, giving the people of Marathwada the chance to become part of independent India. Since then, this day has been observed as Marathwada Mukti Din.

History records other events on this date too. The city of Boston was founded in 1630. In 1914, Andrew Fisher became prime minister of Australia for the third time. In 1957, Malaysia joined the United Nations. In 1965, the Battle of Chawinda was fought between India and Pakistan. In 1974, Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea-Bissau joined the United Nations. In 1976, NASA unveiled the space shuttle Enterprise to the world. In 1983, Vanessa Williams became the first Black Miss America. In 1988, the 24th Olympic Games began in Seoul, South Korea. In 1991, the first version, 0.01, of the Linux kernel was released on the internet. In 2001, the New York Stock Exchange reopened after the September 11 terror attacks.

The date is also significant for birthdays. Anant Pai, the creator of Amar Chitra Katha, was born on this day in 1929. Writer, poet and critic Dilip Purushottam Chitre was born in 1938. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was born in 1950. Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin was born in 1986. As for deaths, Hindi film lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri, born on April 15, 1922, died in 1999. Poet, orator and editor Vasant Bapat, born on July 25, 1922, died in 2002.