Mamnoor
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Nizam-era airstrip
Rahul V Pisharody, April 7, 2025: The Indian Express
Sitting on a concrete bench in Mamnoor village in Telangana’s Warangal district, 88-year-old Patwari Janardhan Reddy reminisces about the days when planes soaring through the sky were a common sight and their village was a part of India’s aviation map.
Back in 1932, the Nizam of Hyderabad, in coordination with the British, established what was then one of India’s largest airfields — the Mamnoor airport. The airfield was used by the British in World War II, bombed by the Indian Air Force during Operation Polo, and played a strategically important role during the 1962 Indo-China War.
“Around 1900 acres of land was acquired from our village. Between 1952 and 1984, you could see a minimum of 40 aircraft here for training. From 1986, the agriculture department used it to store paddy for 7-8 years. Later, Hyderabad and Tirupati aircraft were operational from here. The airstrip was shut down in 1984,” recalls Patwari Janardhan Reddy.
Today, all that remains is a locked gate, overgrown grass, and a plaque that reads: “This was the biggest airfield in India during that time. It was built to cater to and catapult the paper industry business in the region.”
Operation Polo
The erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad comprised six present-day districts of the Marathwada region, three districts of the Kalyana-Karnataka region, and the Telugu-speaking regions of Telangana. As India gained Independence in 1947, the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, sought to remain independent. However, on September 13, 1948, the Indian government launched ‘Operation Polo’, a five-day military operation that led to the annexation of Hyderabad.
In the neighbouring village of Bollikunta, Patwari’s 91-year-old cousin Donthi Rami Reddy recalls the days when the Indian Air Force bombed the runway of the Mamnoor airstrip. “Around 27 people were arrested by the Nizam government and were lodged in the aerodrome’s buildings. I used to take food to those people as our home was just a stone’s throw away,” he says. “However, there was excitement, not fear, among people,” says Donthi, who was 11 years old at the time.
On being asked about the history of the airfield, Donthi Rami Reddy’s eyes light up like a young kid’s and his memory serves as sharp as ever. “For many years, large aeroplanes were a daily sight, often flying over our villages. One day, we witnessed a large plane being chased by two smaller aircraft. Eventually, the larger plane returned and landed. Following this incident, for three days, the smaller planes dropped numerous bombs, severely damaging the runway. The resulting craters were as large as wells, and the explosions shook the villages,” he says.
Hope for the future
Today, locals are optimistic about the revival of the airport, which was handed over to the Airports Authority of India in 1968.
Bollikunta Satheesh, a young auto driver from the nearby Bollikunta village, says they are hoping their business will pick up once the airport becomes operational, although concerns remain. “One key concern is the land acquisition for the airport. About 253 acres were required for further expansion of the runway. Not everyone is happy with the compensation offered, but at the end of it, everyone is happy about the revival of the airfield and Mamnoor’s return to the aviation map of the country,” he says.
The history of aviation in Hyderabad
P Anuradha Reddy, historian and author of Aviation in the Hyderabad Dominions, however, cautions against limiting the state’s aviation history to Operation Polo. Mamnoor was just one of the many airfields in the Nizam’s Hyderabad State, she says. “Present-day Air Force stations of Begumpet, Hakimpet, Bidar, and Dundigal Air Force Academy, and the Chikkalthana airport in Aurangabad and airfields at Adilabad and Nadergul were all important airfields of the Nizam era, aiding industry, trade, and travel. The Kamareddy airstrip at Patarajapet was an important landing and refuelling station for the British aircraft flying between Ceylon and Delhi back in the day,” she says.
In the early 1900s, Hyderabad had a coordinated system of air, road, and train services to ensure last-mile connectivity. This, she says, facilitated industrial development, trade, and transport across the region. “The British had their modern transport around Hyderabad and it was for their benefit that they suggested the Nizam to build a railway in the state as well. Thus, was born the Nizam State Railways in 1930, which later managed the aviation department as well.”
Deccan Airways, founded in 1945 by the Nizam of Hyderabad, was a pioneer in Indian aviation. The airline operated chartered flights to Quetta and Rangoon. In 1948, it became the first Indian airline to establish a dedicated Haj chartered fleet. “The Nizam 7th never set foot on a plane, and it was much later, as the Rajpramukh of Hyderabad, that he first boarded a plane. That was a trial flight for him before flying to Delhi for a meeting. He was so excited and anxious seeing his King Koti palace from the air that he imposed a no-fly zone over the palace,” says Reddy.
In January 1911, Hyderabad State witnessed the first air-military reconnaissance operation when Bristol Boxkite, an early British aircraft, flew over Aurangabad cantonment during a military-cavalry movement. “This was the first such air-military joint operation in the world, and such things happened only due to the support of the rulers back then, who despite being unaware of the latest technology, understood and recognised the same as the technology of the future,” she says.
The Hyderabad State Aero Club, formed in 1934, started operations from Begumpet Airport. “During World War II, the British ‘Hyderabad Squadron’ prominently displayed the inscription, ‘Presented by His Exalted Highness, the Nizam of Hyderabad,’ on all its aircraft,” Reddy notes.
