Marathwada is a region of Maharashtra state, which corresponds to Maharashtra's Aurangabad Division. The term Marathwada is derived from the word Bara-hatti-vada (Bar-hat-vada) meaning country of Dhangars. Marathwada was a part of the former Hyderabad state of India until November 1, 1956, when it was transferred to Bombay state, which in 1960 was divided into Maharashtra and Gujarat. India became Independent on 15th August, 1947 but Marathwada joined independent India on 17th September 1948.On this day, the Indian Army liberated the Hyderabad state from Nizam's rule in a military operation referred as Operation Polo, also popularly known as Police Action.