Telangana is a region in the present state of Andhra Pradesh, India and
formerly was part of Hyderabad State which was ruled by the Nizams. It is
bordered by the states of Maharashtra to the north and north-west, Karnataka to
the west, Chattisgarh to the north-east and Orissa to the east. Andhra Pradesh
State has three main cultural regions of which Telengana is one; others include
Coastal Andhra region in the east and Rayalaseema region in the south. The
Telangana region has an area of 114,840 square kilometres (44,340 sq mi), and a
population of 35,286,757 (2011 census) which is 41.6% of Andhra Pradesh state
population.
The Telangana region comprises 10 districts: Hyderabad,
Adilabad, Khammam, Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad,
Rangareddy, and Warangal. The Musi River, Krishna and Godavari rivers flow
through the region from west to east.
Since Telangana was merged with Andhra state to form Andhra
Pradesh state in 1956, there were several agitations in Telangana to invalidate
the merger and to form Telangana state. On December 9, 2009, Government of
India announced process of formation of Telangana state. Due to objections
raised in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions immediately after the
announcement, and due to the agitation in those regions for 14 days, the
decision to form the new state was put on hold on December 23, 2009. Since
December 2009, Telangana movement intensified and it continued to dominate the
state politics and is the cause of instability in the region.
History
Telangana was the center of culture, learning, and power in
the Deccan and India for centuries. Telangana's long and rich history was
shaped by the great empires that have risen and fell in its area. After the
decline of the influential Mauryan Empire, the Satavahana dynasty (230 BCE to
220 CE), the first great Telugu empire, came to be the dominant power in the
region. It originated from the lands between the Godavari and Krishna Rivers.
Kotilingala in Karimnagar was their first capital, before moving to
Dharanikota. Excavations at Kotilingala revealed coinage of Simukha, the first
Satavahana emperor. The Satavahana Empire was important in repelling foreign
empires from India, such as the Kushans, Sakas and Greeks, thereby preserving
Indian culture.
After the decline of the Satavahanas, various dynasties
ruled the region such as the Vakatakas, Vishnukundinas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas
and Western Chalukyas.
The region experienced its golden age during the reign of
the Kakatiya dynasty, a Telugu dynasty from Warangal that ruled most parts of
what is now Andhra Pradesh from 1083 to 1323 AD. Ganapatideva was known as the
greatest of the Kakatiyas, and the first after the Satavahanas to bring the
entire Telugu area under one rule. He put an end to the rule of the Cholas, who
accepted his suzerainty in the year 1210. He established order in his vast
dominion that stretched from the Godavari delta in the east to Raichur (in
modern day Karnataka) in the west and from Karimnagar and Bastar (in modern day
Chattisgarh) in the north to Srisailam and Tripurantakam, near Ongole, in the
south. It was during his reign that the Golkonda fort was constructed. Rudrama
Devi and Prataparudra were prominent rulers from the Kakatiya dynasty.
The great Vijayanagara Empire of South India may have had
its origins in the Telugu Kakatiyas of Warangal. The Telugu origin of the
dynasty proposes that first kings of the empires, brothers Bukka Raya I and
Harihara I, were generals in the Kakatiya army. After defeat of the army by
Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the brothers were taken prisoner and forced to convert to
Islam. However, they managed escape, reconfirm their Hindu faith, and establish
the Vijayanagara Empire.
The region came under the Muslim rule of the Delhi Sultanate
in the 14th century, followed by Bahmanis, Qutb Shahis, and the Mughals.
Post-independence
When India became independent from the British Empire in 1947, the Nizam of Hyderabad did not want to merge with Indian Union and wanted to remain independent under the special provisions given to princely states. He even asked for a corridor, a passage from India. Rebellion had started throughout the state against the Nizam's rule and his army, known as the Razakars. The Government of India annexed Hyderabad State on 17 September 1948, in an operation by the Indian Army called Operation Polo which government called Police action. When India became independent, Telugu-speaking people were distributed in about 22 districts, 9 of them in the former Nizam's dominions of the princely state of Hyderabad, 12 in the Madras Presidency (Northern Circars), and one in French-controlled Yanam.
The Central Government appointed a civil servant, M. K. Vellodi, as First Chief Minister of Hyderabad State on 26 January 1950. He administered the state with the help of bureaucrats from Madras State and Bombay State. In 1952, Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was elected Chief minister of Hyderabad State in the first democratic election. During this time there were violent agitations by some Telanganites to send back bureaucrats from Madras state, and to strictly implement rule by natives of Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, Telugu-speaking areas in the Northern Circars and Rayalaseema regions were carved out of the erstwhile Madras state on the fast unto death by Potti Sri Ramulu to create Andhra State in 1953, with Kurnool as its capital.
Telangana Rebellion
Main article: Telangana Rebellion
The Telangana Rebellion was a peasant revolt which was later
supported by the Communists. It took place in the former princely state of
Hyderabad between 1946 and 1951. This was led by the Communist Party of India.
The revolt began in the Nalgonda district and quickly spread
to the Warangal and Bidar districts. Peasant farmers and labourers revolted
against the local feudal landlords (jagirdars and deshmukhs) and later against
the Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII. The violent phase of the movement ended after
the central government sent in the army. Starting in 1951, the CPI shifted to a
more moderate strategy of seeking to bring communism to India within the
constraints of Indian democracy.
Post-independence
When India became independent from the British Empire in 1947, the Nizam of Hyderabad did not want to merge with Indian Union and wanted to remain independent under the special provisions given to princely states. He even asked for a corridor, a passage from India. Rebellion had started throughout the state against the Nizam's rule and his army, known as the Razakars. The Government of India annexed Hyderabad State on 17 September 1948, in an operation by the Indian Army called Operation Polo which government called Police action. When India became independent, Telugu-speaking people were distributed in about 22 districts, 9 of them in the former Nizam's dominions of the princely state of Hyderabad, 12 in the Madras Presidency (Northern Circars), and one in French-controlled Yanam.
The Central Government appointed a civil servant, M. K. Vellodi, as First Chief Minister of Hyderabad State on 26 January 1950. He administered the state with the help of bureaucrats from Madras State and Bombay State. In 1952, Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was elected Chief minister of Hyderabad State in the first democratic election. During this time there were violent agitations by some Telanganites to send back bureaucrats from Madras state, and to strictly implement rule by natives of Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, Telugu-speaking areas in the Northern Circars and Rayalaseema regions were carved out of the erstwhile Madras state on the fast unto death by Potti Sri Ramulu to create Andhra State in 1953, with Kurnool as its capital.
Separate Telangana state movement
Main article: Telangana movement
There have several movements to
invalidate the merger of Telangana and Andhra, major ones occurring in 1969,
1972 and 2000s onwards. The Telangana movement gained momentum over decades
becoming a widespread political demand of creating a new state from the
Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh.
On December 9, 2009, Government
of India announced process of formation of Telangana state. Due to objections
raised in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions immediately after the
announcement, and due to the agitation in those regions for 14 days, the
decision to form to new state was put on hold on December 23, 2009. The
movement continues in Hyderabad and other districts of Telangana.
Demography and language
According to the Backward Regions
Grant Fund 2009–10, 13 backward districts are located in Andhra Pradesh; 9
(Except Hyderabad) are from Telangana region and the rest are from other
regions.
Telangana has 86% Hindu, 12.4%
Muslim, and 1.2% Christian population. Hyderabad city(district) has 55.4%
Hindu, 41.2% Muslim, 2.4% Christian population. Other districts in Telangana
region (outside of Hyderabad district) have 8.4% of the Muslim population.
About 83% of Telangana people
speak Telugu.Rest of them speak Hyderabadi Urdu. After the formation of Andhra
Pradesh,the usage of Urdu in Hyderabad has come down, with the influx of people
from Coastal and Rayalaseema parts of the state, who are predominantly Telugu
speaking.
Culture and identity
Hyderabadi biryani
The Hyderabad's Deccani or
Dakkini culture is evolved on its own as a distinctive culture due to
confluence of different people who came from different places to serve under
the Golkonda rulers.
Festivals
Bonalu, Bathukamma, Diwali,
Vijayadashami, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Moharram, Milad un Nabi, Christmas,
Sri Rama Navami, Vinayaka Chaviti, Tholi ekadasi, Sammakka_Saralamma_Jatara,
Mahashivarathri, Varalaxmi Vratam, Nagula Panchami, Nagula Chavithi, Sri
Krishnastami, Sankranti and Ugadi are prominent festivals in Telangana. Other
festivals of Hindus and Muslims such as Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Eid-ul-Fitr and
Milad un Nabi are also celebrated with equal enthusiasm as in rest of India.
Bathukamma and Bonalu are regional festivals of Telangana.
Literature
See also: List of Telangana poets
Bammera Pothana, the poet who
composed the classic SriMadh Maha Bhagavatamu, a Telugu translation of Sri
Bhagavatham, authored by Veda Vyasa in Sanskrit, belongs to Telangana region.
Golkonda Nawab Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah had the distinction of being the first
Saheb-e-dewan Urdu poet and is credited with introducing a new sensibility into
prevailing genres of Persian/Urdu poetry . Other prominent poets of the Telangana
region in the early era include Kancherla Gopanna or Bhakta Ramadasu, Gona
Budda Reddy Palkuriki Somanatha, Mallinātha Sūri, Hulukki Bhaskara and in
modern era poets include Padma Vibhushan Kaloji Narayana Rao, Sahitya Akademy
award recipient Dasarathi Krishnamacharya, Vachaspathi Puraskar award recipient
Sribhashyam Vijayasarathi and Jnanpith award recipient Dr. C. Narayana Reddy,
Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao the 9th Prime Minister of India.Samala
Sadasiva has been selected for 'Kendra Sahitya Puraskaram'. His book
'Swaralayalu' on Hindustani music got selected for the award for the year 2011.
The Hyderabad's Deccani or Dakkini culture is evolved on its own as a distinctive culture due to confluence of different people who came from different places to serve under the Golkonda rulers.
Bonalu, Bathukamma, Diwali,
Vijayadashami, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Moharram, Milad un Nabi, Christmas,
Sri Rama Navami, Vinayaka Chaviti, Tholi ekadasi, Sammakka_Saralamma_Jatara,
Mahashivarathri, Varalaxmi Vratam, Nagula Panchami, Nagula Chavithi, Sri
Krishnastami, Sankranti and Ugadi are prominent festivals in Telangana. Other
festivals of Hindus and Muslims such as Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Eid-ul-Fitr and
Milad un Nabi are also celebrated with equal enthusiasm as in rest of India.
Bathukamma and Bonalu are regional festivals of Telangana.
Literature
See also: List of Telangana poets
Bammera Pothana, the poet who
composed the classic SriMadh Maha Bhagavatamu, a Telugu translation of Sri
Bhagavatham, authored by Veda Vyasa in Sanskrit, belongs to Telangana region.
Golkonda Nawab Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah had the distinction of being the first
Saheb-e-dewan Urdu poet and is credited with introducing a new sensibility into
prevailing genres of Persian/Urdu poetry . Other prominent poets of the Telangana
region in the early era include Kancherla Gopanna or Bhakta Ramadasu, Gona
Budda Reddy Palkuriki Somanatha, Mallinātha Sūri, Hulukki Bhaskara and in
modern era poets include Padma Vibhushan Kaloji Narayana Rao, Sahitya Akademy
award recipient Dasarathi Krishnamacharya, Vachaspathi Puraskar award recipient
Sribhashyam Vijayasarathi and Jnanpith award recipient Dr. C. Narayana Reddy,
Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao the 9th Prime Minister of India.Samala
Sadasiva has been selected for 'Kendra Sahitya Puraskaram'. His book
'Swaralayalu' on Hindustani music got selected for the award for the year 2011.
