History of the British Raj
The history of the British Raj refers to the period of British rule on the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The system of governance was instituted in 1858 when the rule of the East India Company was transferred to the Crown in the person of Queen Victoria (who in 1876 was proclaimed Empress of India). It lasted until 1947, when the British provinces of India were partitioned into two sovereign dominion states: the "Dominion of India" and the "Dominion of Pakistan", leaving the princely states to choose between them. The two new dominions later became the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (the eastern half of which, still later, became the People's Republic of Bangladesh). The province of Burma in the eastern region of the Indian Empire had been made a separate colony in 1937 and became independent in 1948.
Parkala Massacre
India became independent from the British Raj on August 15, 1947. Immediately after, the people of Hyderabad State began a civil revolt, agitating for a merger with India and against the authoritarian rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Farmers in the town of Parkala also took part in the resistance. Upon receiving the news of Indian independence, the farmers decided to celebrate the occasion by hoisting the national flag. They were prevented from doing so by the Nizam's police and the Razakars, a private militia organized to support the Nizam.