Syed Ahmed El Edroos

Syed Ahmed Muhdar Al-Aydarus (3 March 1899 – 20 July 1962) was an Indo-Yemeni army officer who was the commander-in-chief of the Hyderabad State Forces of the British Raj Army until 1947 and later of the independent Hyderabad State at the time of the annexation of Hyderabad State by India in 1948.

Birth and descent

Syed Ahmed Al-Aydarus was born as a scion of the Al-Aydarus clan, a branch of the Ba 'Alawi sada, a Husaynid tribe that had been settled in Hadhramaut, and descended from the famed luminary of Tarim, Imam Abdullah al-Aydarus ibn Abu Bakr al-Sakran Ba 'Alawi. His grandfather and father had immigrated from Mukalla in Yemen to Hyderabad in 1887, with Al-Aydarus being born upon Indian soil in 1899, making him a first generation Indian.

In September 1948, Al-Aydarus held the rank of Major-General and Commander of the State Army of Hyderabad. This numbered 6,000 men and consisted of three armoured regiments, a horse cavalry regiment, 11 infantry battalions and artillery. It was supported by 18,000 poorly armed and trained irregulars. In the course of Operation Polo, the Indian Army was able to scatter this mixed force in five days of fighting. General Al-Aydarus, who had advised the Nizam against opposing the entry of Indian forces, surrendered on 17 September. In 1950, General Al-Aydarus was arrested on the allegation of helping Mir Laiq Ali to escape to Pakistan. After two months he was released after an enquiry did not find any evidence against him. He left Hyderabad and settled in Bangalore. His children emigrated to Pakistan.

Autobiography His autobiography Hyderabad of the Seven Loaves was published in April 1994 and presented a historical account of the Asaf Jahi dynasty with an autobiographical sketch of the author, covering the events of Hyderabad's merger with the Indian Union. It narrates several anecdotes and facts about the city during the Nizami reign. The book also contains some rare pictures of the royal and aristocratic events that took place at the time.