Anticipating an inevitable defeat, the Nizam announced a ceasefire on 17th September. Despite their initial bravado, the Nizam, his commander Al-Edroos and the Razakar chief Qasim Razvi and virtually the entire Hyderabad army finally surrendered within five days. K.M. Munshi, who was placed under house arrest, was freed.
On 17th September 1948, more than one year after India secured independence from the British, the state of Hyderabad got its independence from Nizam’s rule. Maj Gen Chaudhuri was made the Governor. The liberation of Hyderabad was possible due to the swift and timely action by the first Minister of Home Affairs of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel under Operation Polo.
In the morning of the 18th of September, when the Indian army marched into the city of Hyderabad and the cantonment of Secunderabad, they were welcomed by hundreds of thousands of people who had lined the route waving the Indian tricolour.
Visiting Hyderabad in February 1949, a pleasantly surprised Sardar Patel saw that the Nizam was waiting to welcome him on the tarmac. He remarked to his secretary Vidya Shankar:
“Oh! So, His Exalted Highness has descended to the ground.”
When the Nizam humbly greeted him with folded hands, the Sardar magnanimously proclaimed:
Qasim Razvi was tried and jailed for seven years for numerous crimes and murder of journalist Shoebullah Khan. Razvi later migrated to Pakistan. Prime Minister Laiq Ali escaped and landed in Pakistan. Several thousands of Razakars were jailed.