Hyderabad by Walk - Turehbaz Khan Memorial

A few hundred yards away from the Hashmath Gunj gate was what I heard was the Turehbaz Khan Memorial, right at the bus stop at Koti on the road leading to Osmania Medical College. If I am not mistaken this was where a proper bus stand was earlier with one Kamat Hotel. The road leading from the bus stop towards Jambagh is the Turehbaz Khan Road.

The memorial is built in an enclosure, thankfully, because the upkeep is so bad. It had a small gate that opened easily. Plastic bottles etc were strewn about and there was hardly any maintenance. Sewage water flowed by on the main road. I jumped across and entered the memorial. 

Memorial for the Fighters for Freedom, 17th July 1857

It is a white pillar with four elephant statues on all four sides and the national emblem on top. The plaque said at the bottom read 'In Memory of the Fighters for Freedom, 17th July 1857 AD'. It was written in Urdu, Hindi, Telugu and English.

The bus stop complex behind the memorial

Now to come to Turehbaz Khan, the central character of this piece in whose honour a plaque is placed at the entrance of the enclosure, to the right.

Plaque in honour of Turehbaz Khan

 

Hark back to 1857 when the Sepoy Mutiny broke out in Meerut and spread an anti-British sentiment across India. There was unrest in the Nizam's army and the Subsidiary troops of East India Company and a small section of the rebels from the Subsidiary troops, led by one Cheeda Khan with 15 of his associates broke away at Buldhana, to participate in the mutiny against the British in Hyderabad. Expecting support from the Nizam who was heavily under debt (and control) of the British, Cheeda Khan and his associates came to Hyderabad, only to be handed over to the British Resident by the Nizam and his Prime Minister Turab Ali Khan. Cheeda Khan and probably his associates were imprisoned in the British Residency.

Another view

Enter Turehbaz Khan, a Rohilla Pashtun soldier from Begum Bazar, who joined forces with Maulvi Allauddin and decided to attack the British Residency to free Cheeda Khan and overthrow the Resident hopefully. They mobilised 5000 Rohillas, Arabs, students and mutineers and took up positions on either side of the Residency. But news was leaked to the Resident about the rebel plans by the Nizam's court and when Turehbaz Khan and his men demolished the wall and entered the Residency, the British soldiers were waiting. Despite a gallant fight the rebels were no match to the better prepared army of the East India Company and the brave rebellion was crushed by 4 am. Many died. Turehbaz Khan escaped with plans of returning to fight again.

In Urdu

Turehbaz Khan was however caught soon after and was interrogated regarding the whereabouts of Maulvi Allauddin. When he did not reveal the information, he was sentenced to imprisonment at Andaman's famous Cellular Jail (Kaala Pani ka saza). Turehbaz Khan escaped again, before they could actually transport him to the Andamans, and once again, he was betrayed by some traitor and was shot dead near Toopran forest. Turehbaz Khan's body was hung naked from a tree near the British Residency as a warning to rebels. Maulvi Allauddin was captured and sentenced to life imprisonment at Andaman where he died later.

The actions of the Nizam and his Prime Minister earned them much praise from the British who conferred upon them many titles and citations as friends of the British without whose support the rebellion would not have been crushed. Prime Minister Turab Ali Khan, was given the title of Salar Jung. Of the rebels caught, some were hanged and one was shot from a cannon. 

Today fittingly, the roads adjacent to the British Residency on either side - the side on the Osmania Medical College side is named Turehbaz Khan Road and the road that is behind on the Musi side is named after Maulvi Allauddin. And most interestingly we have this memorial here, the Residency right next to it, and the Nizam's and Divan's palaces across the Musi.

In Hindi

January 24, 1959 is the death anniversary of Turehbaz Khan aka Turrum Khan. One has heard the phrase 'Kya Turrum Khan samajh re kya' in our younger days (roughly translates to 'you think you are Turrum Khan?' or rather 'Dude, only Turrum Khan can pull off something like that, not you')   

The Memorial to the martyrs was built in 1957. People meet at the Memorial every January 24 to honour the memory of a forgotten hero of Hyderabad according to some mews articles I have read. Next time in Koti, it's worth a look and send a prayer to the heroes.