"I have resided in Delhi, Bhopal and Hyderabad (Deccan) for many years. In all these places I could hardly locate any temples left of the medieval period. Hindu learning was dependent on schools and Brahman teachers, and both were attached to temples mostly in urban areas. And all the three - schools, teachers and temples - were systematically destroyed."

"Through out its 420-year-old history, Hyderabad has been irresistible for those who coveted it, and they ended up either taking the city by force or fighting till end for control. The "city of pearls" is now going through yet another challenge that has ended up as a new chapter in its chequered history."

"It was in 1769 that Hyderabad got preeminence after Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah-II, the second ruler of the dynasty, made it the capital of his kingdom instead of Aurangabad. By then, two bloody battles had been fought for Hyderabad."

"In India got independence on August 15, 1947, the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, refused to merge with India, opting instead to remain independent or merge with Pakistan. Home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel got Indian Army to take control of Hyderabad. With the Indian Army having reached Secunderabad, the Nizam saw it prudent to sign the instrument of accession."

"While Hyderabad was founded on love, Secunderabad was an offspring of coercive diplomacy. Hyderabad was a quintessential Oriental city renowned for its planning; Secunderabad was a cantonment which grew into a replica of an English town."

"From the defence point of view it would give safety to the Central Government. It is equidistant from all parts of India. It would give satisfaction to the South Indian people that their Government is sometimes with them. The Government may remain in Delhi during winter months and during other months it can stay in Hyderabad. Hyderabad has all the amenities which Delhi has and it is a far better City than Delhi. It has all the grandeur which Delhi has. Buildings are going cheap and they are really beautiful buildings, far superior to those in Delhi. They are all on sale. The only thing that is wanting is a Parliament House which the Government of India can easily build. It is a place in which Parliament can sit all the year round and work, which it cannot do in Delhi. I do not see what objection there can be in making Hyderabad a second capital of India. It should be done right now while we are reorganising the States."

"On the capture of Golkonda, the Emperor appointed Abdur Rahim Khan as Censor of the city of Haiderabad with orders to put down infidel practices and (heretical) innovations and destroy the temples and build mosques on their sites."

"Presumably had Hyderabad been in a position to accede to Pakistan, a corridor would have been demanded for linking it up with Pakistan in the shape of an outlet to the sea. This has been the tempo, the character and the insatiably ambitious nature of the Pakistan Plan, conspiring for the conquest of Hindu India. Rioting and pillaging would be accounted only as minor rehearsary exercises in such a mighty and vast programme of action!"

"The plan was to wreck not only the streets but also the spirit of the city. The audacity of the attack left little to doubt that the country was facing an undeclared war and that the enemy had help from within our own boundaries."

"...400 years of Hyderabad’s history ...rich and diverse...is a young city...However, megalithic circle tombs and stone implements excavated near Secunderabad are evidence of an earlier civilization."

"Golconda from which Hyderabad sprang has no recorded history until king Ganapati, the Kakatiya King built a fort on the pick of the rocky mountains."

"Bhagmati was so overwhelmed by Mohammad Quli’s love that she immediately converted to Islam and assumed the Muslim name Hyder Mahal. Mohammad Quli, not to be outdone, renamed his city Hyderabad or the ‘city of Hyder’. During Qutub Shahi dynasty, the city witnessed its golden age of architecture over-shadowing the city of Golconda."

"Qutub Shahi dynasty declined...gave way to invading Mughals in 1687,...which marked the end of a great epoch in the history of South India....Chin Qilich Khan, one of Mughal’s ablest generals, ...appointed the Viceroy of the Deccan with the title “Nizam-ul-Mulk" (Regulator of the Realm).... He rebelled against the Mughals and was victorious on 16 January 1725... and with the city as the capital ruled his vast dominions."