Turrebaz Khan

Turrebaz Khan is an Indian revolutionary who fought against the British in Hyderabad State during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Turrebaz Khan was born in Begum Bazar in erstwhile Hyderabad State. He revolted against the British, despite opposition from the ruling Nizam (British).

A street is named after him in Begum Bazar.

Turrebaz Khan was a heroic figure in Deccan history, known for his valour and courage. There is a slang in Hyderabad folklore, a positive one — “Turram Khan”. When you call someone that, you are calling him heroic. That comes from Turrebaz Khan’s name. He was a revolutionary figure freedom fighter, who revolted against the British. He attacked the British residency, which now houses the women’s college in Koti in Hyderabad, to free his comrade who was detained on charges of treachery without a fair trial by the British. He was caught and detained, but even the jail he was put in couldn’t hold him. After a year, he escaped, and then was caught in the forest of an area called Toopran, near Hyderabad. The man who caught him, Qurban Ali Baig, was the talukdar there. Turrebaz Khan was kept in captivity, then shot, and then his body was hanged in the centre of the city to prevent further rebellion. That is his story.

When you read about 1857, places like Delhi, Meerut, Lucknow, Jhansi and Mysore, all of them are mentioned, but Hyderabad isn’t. This is because the Nizams were allies of the British, and there was no reason to fight. But with Turrebaz Khan, there came a brief period when Hyderabad joined the struggle, the uprising.

155 years ago, an ordinary man from Begum Bazar in the city mobilized 6,000 people to attack the British Residency. He revolted at a time when even the Nizam was a mere prop of the British. A highly traversed road in the city is named after him. Yet, few speak of him or know about his historic exploits.

Narrating the tale of the unsung ‘Hero of Hyderabad’ – Turrebaz Khan – and every minute detail of the First War of Independence from the neglected, but crucial, Southern Indian perspective, Dr.Devireddy Subramanyam Reddy, Prof. and Head of Department (Retd.) at S.V University in Tirupati, has authored the ‘Uprising of 1857: A movement that defined India of August 15, 1947’.

Important day “Today is a very important day in the State’s history as, on July 17, 1857, Turrebaz Khan led a huge army of discontented masses in ‘British Andhra’ and ‘Nizam Andhra’ against colonialism,” said Dr. Reddy. While throwing light on the socio-political conditions during that period and oppressive policies of the British, the book secures Turrebaz Khan his rightful place in the nation’s history.

“The revolt of 1857 belonged not just to Lucknow, Delhi, Allahabad, Kanpur and other parts of Central India. The Southern regions too rose up in arms against the exploitative colonial rule, and few know of it,” said Chennuru Anjaneya Reddy, former Director General of Police, releasing the book here on Tuesday.

“Contributing to the ignored regional history of Andhra Pradesh, the book reveals how Telangana, Rayalseema and Coastal Andhra revolted against the British Raj,” he added.

Key link When the Nizam was in huge debts and was steadily losing all his power to the British, Turrebaz Khan along with ordinary Muslims in the city attacked the British and they were brutally killed in their attempt, explained Prof K.S.S Seshan, retired HoD of history, University of Hyderabad.

“Tracing the revolt as one by the common man – not by the nobility or the Nizam – the book is vital because our freedom will hold no meaning if posterity has no access to such regional histories,” he said.