at the time of the independence movement of india, the state of hyderabad was the largest of all princely states in india. the nizam ruled over lands extending to cover 82,698 mi² (214,190 km²) of fairly homogenous territory and was bigger than belarus but was smaller than the guyana. the nizam ruled over a cosmopolitan comprised of a population of roughly 16.34 million people (as per the 1941 census) of which a majority (83%) was hindu. these advantages persuaded the nizam to attempt an independent existence when the british withdrew from the sub-continent in 1947. he blatantly refused to succumb to be subdued to any pressure whatsoever to reluctantly join either india or pakistan, preferring to form a separate kingdom of its own within the british commonwealth of nations. hyderabad state had its own army, airline, telecommunication system, railway network, postal system, currency and radio broadcasting service.