The armed militia of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, led by Qasim Razvi, which opposed the merger of Hyderabad State with India in 1947-48, was called the:

The Razakars were an armed militia (paramilitary volunteer force) of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, led by Qasim Razvi, which supported the Nizam of Hyderabad and opposed the merger of Hyderabad State with India.

Background:

• Hyderabad was the largest and richest princely state in India, ruled by the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan.
• Most of its people were Hindus, but the ruler and the ruling elite were Muslims.
• At Independence, the Nizam wanted Hyderabad to remain independent, and did not join India.
• He signed a "Standstill Agreement" with India in November 1947, which maintained the existing arrangements for one year.

The Razakars:

• Under Qasim Razvi, the Razakars grew into a large armed force.
• They terrorised the people of Hyderabad, especially those who supported joining India.
• They attacked villages, looted property, and killed many people.
• They also attacked trains passing through Hyderabad and raided Indian territory near the border.

People's movement:

• The Hyderabad State Congress, led by Swami Ramananda Tirtha, demanded the merger of Hyderabad with India.
• In the Telangana region, the Communists led a peasant armed struggle against the Nizam's officials and the landlords.

Police action (September 1948):

• As the situation worsened, the Government of India sent the army into Hyderabad on 13 September 1948.
• The action, called a "police action", lasted only about four days.
• The Nizam's army and the Razakars surrendered on 17 September 1948.
• The Nizam then agreed to join India, and Hyderabad was integrated into the Indian Union.
• Qasim Razvi was arrested and imprisoned; he was later allowed to go to Pakistan.

After integration:

• The Nizam was made the Rajpramukh (governor) of Hyderabad State.
• In 1956, Hyderabad State was divided, and its Telugu-speaking areas became part of Andhra Pradesh.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Khudai Khidmatgars were the non-violent followers of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan; the Ahrars and the Khaksars were other Muslim organisations in Punjab.