Though India had gained independence on August 15, 1947, Hyderabad State was still under the rule of the Nizam. After independence, people across the region came out and agitated for the merging of Hyderabad State with the Indian union. They wanted an end to the Nizam's tyrannical regime. However, the Nizam's police and the armed Razakars tried to suppress the people's movement.
On 2 September 1947, the police prohibited all gatherings in Warangal, but people from surrounding villages, in large numbers ignored this diktat and came together to hoist the flag of India. According to eyewitnesses, the police and the Razakars fired indiscriminately, killing and seriously wounding many of these innocent people.
This massacre is often compared to the indiscriminate firing by General Dyer in Amritsar and is also sometimes referred to as the "Jallianwala Bagh of the South India".