1948. It was a time when Hyderabad State was looking for all the military help it could get. Mir Laik Ali, the affluent Prime Minister of Hyderabad, had engaged the services of Australian mercenary Sidney Cotton to fly to Pakistan and secure a large cache of arms for the Hyderabad State Forces. It was around the same time that a lesser-known, but mysterious character, which the then Military Government of Hyderabad described as having “caused considerable havoc and worry to the State”, surfaced. The man was Capt. H.G. Reynolds, going by the alias Capt. Haroon Rashid Ghazi. What ensued were stories of attempts at espionage, gun-running, and even fears of the government dealing with an agent playing all sides.
Archival records show that it was following Operation Polo that the Military Government of Hyderabad found itself engaged in deliberations regarding the fate of the captain. Their discussions revolved around his background, how to detain him and his excesses whilst in service, both of which had become a source of concern, even as they sought to uncover his loyalties.
The captain was Anglo-Burmese but took on a Muslim name. “It has been established that this officer was a European by nationality and masquerading as a Muslim,” an official document shows, and proceeds to note that “he made several visits to Pakistan in connection with gun running. He carried on anti-Indian activities and other intrigues against States.”
