Telangana

Telangana is one of the 29 states in India, located in southern India. Telangana has an area of 112,077 square kilometres (43,273 sq mi), and a population of 35,193,978 (2011 census). making it the twelfth largest state in India, and the twelfth most populated state in India. Its major cities include Hyderabad, Warangal, Nizamabad, Khammam , Karimnagar and Ramagundam. Telangana is bordered by the states of Maharashtra to the north and north west, Chhattisgarh to the north, Karnataka to the west and Andhra Pradesh to the east and south.

Telangana acquired its identity as the Telugu-speaking region of the princely state of Hyderabad, ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, joining the Union of India in 1948. In 1956, the Hyderabad state was dissolved as part of the linguistic reorganisation of states and Telangana was merged with former Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh. Following a movement for separation, it was awarded separate statehood on 2 June 2014. Hyderabad will continue to serve as the joint capital city for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for a period of not more than ten years.

Etymology

According to Kingshuk Nag who authored "Battleground Telangana" (2011); Etymology of Telangana is uncertain; it is believed that the word Telugu is derived from Telu in Gondi language-A dialact spoken by the triblas of Chhattisgarh—(in present day a state located in North of Telangana), and plural form of Telu is Telunga which means "white skinned people", and thus making the word Telangana.

According to Campbell, Alexander Duncan (1789-1857); who authored a book "A Grammar of the Teloogoo language" (1816) mentions that; A theory suggest that the name Telangana is derived from the word Trilinga (Sanskrit: त्रिलिङ्ग), as in the Trilinga Desa, which translates to "the country of the three lingas". According to a Hindu legend, Shiva descended in the lingam form on three mountains, Kaleshwaram, Srisailam and Draksharama, which marked the boundaries of the Trilingadesa (Sanskrit: त्रिलिङ्गदेश), later called Telinga, Telunga or Telugu.

The word "Telinga" changed over time to "Telangana" and the name "Telangana" was designated to distinguish the predominantly Telugu-speaking region of the erstwhile Hyderabad State from its predominantly Marathi-speaking one, Marathwada. After Asaf Jahis ceded the Seemandhra region to the British, the rest of the Telugu region retained the name Telingana and the other parts were called Madras Presidency's Circars and Ceded.

One of the earliest uses of a word similar to Telangana can also be seen in a name of Malik Maqbul (14th century CE), who was called the Tilangani, which implies that he was from Tilangana. He was the commander of the Warangal Fort (Kataka Pāludu).

History

Telangana was governed by many rulers, including the Satavahana dynasty (230 BCE to 220 CE), the Kakatiya Dynasty (1083–1323), the Musunuri Nayaks (1326–1356) the Delhi Sultanate, the Bahmani Sultanate (1347–1512), Qutb Shahi dynasty (1512–1687), Mughal Empire (1687–1724) and Asaf Jahi Dynasty (1724–1948).

Early history

The Satavahana dynasty (230 BCE to 220 CE) became the dominant power in this region. It originated from the lands between the Godavari and Krishna rivers and was based at Amaravathi and Dharanikota. After the decline of the Satavahanas, various dynasties, such as the Vakataka, Vishnukundina, Chalukya, Rashtrakuta and Western Chalukya, ruled the area.

Kakatiya Dynasty

The Telangana area experienced its golden age during the reign of the Kakatiya dynasty , which ruled most parts of the present day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from 1083 to 1323 CE. Rudrama Devi and Prataparudra II were prominent rulers from the Kakatiya dynasty. The dynasty weakened with the attack of Malik Kafur in 1309 and was dissolved after the defeat of Prataparudra by the forces of Muhammad bin Tughluq in 1323.

Qutb Shahi and Asaf Jahi's

The area came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century, followed by the Bahmani Sultanate. Quli Qutb Mulk, a governor of Golkonda, revolted against the Bahmani Sultanate and established the Qutb Shahi dynasty in 1518. On 21 September 1687, the Golkonda Sultanate came under the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after a year-long siege of the Golkonda fort.

In 1712, Qamar-ud-din Khan was appointed by emperor Farrukhsiyar as the viceroy of Deccan with the title Nizam-ul-Mulk (meaning "Administrator of the Realm"). He was later recalled to Delhi, with Mubariz Khan appointed as the viceroy. In 1724, Qamar-ud-din Khan defeated Mubariz Khan to reclaim the Deccan suba, establishing it as an autonomous province of the Mughal empire. He took the name Asif Jah, starting what came to be known as the Asif Jahi dynasty. He named the area Hyderabad Deccan. Subsequent rulers retained the title Nizam ul-Mulk and were called Asif Jahi nizams or nizams of Hyderabad. The Medak and Warangal divisions of Telangana were part of their realm.

When Asif Jah I died in 1748, there was political unrest due to contention for the throne among his sons, who were aided by opportunistic neighbouring states and colonial foreign forces. In 1769, Hyderabad city became the formal capital of the nizams. The nizam Nasir-ud-dawlah, Asaf Jah IV signed the Subsidiary Alliance with the British in 1799 and lost its control over the state's defence and foreign affairs. Hyderabad State became a princely state among the presidencies and provinces of British India.

Post-independence

When India became independent from the British Empire in 1947, the nizam of Hyderabad did not want to merge with the Indian Union and wanted to remain independent. The Government of India annexed Hyderabad State on 17 September 1948 after a military operation called Operation Polo. It 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 English-educated bureaucrats from the Madras and Bombay states, who were familiar with British systems of administration unlike the bureaucrats of Hyderabad state who used a completely different administrative system. The official language of the state was switched from Urdu to English.

In 1952, Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was elected chief minister of the Hyderabad State in its first democratic election. During this time, there were violent agitations by some Telanganites to send the Madras state bureaucrats back and implement a rule by the natives (mulkis) of Hyderabad.

Telangana Rebellion

The Telangana Rebellion was a peasant revolt supported by the communists. It originated in the Telangana regions of the Hyderabad state between 1946 and 1951, led by the Communist Party of India (CPI).

The revolt began in the Nalgonda district against the feudal lords of Reddy and Velama castes. It 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 Nizam Osman Ali Khan. The violent phase of the movement ended after the Government of India's Operation Polo. Starting in 1951, the CPI shifted to a more moderate strategy of seeking to bring communism to India within the framework of Indian democracy.

States Reorganisation Commission

In December 1953, the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) was appointed to form states on a linguistic basis. An agreement was reached between Telangana leaders and Andhra leaders on 20 February 1956 to merge Telangana and Andhra with promises to safeguard Telangana's interests. After reorganisation in 1956, the region of Telangana was merged with Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh.

Following this Gentlemen's agreement, the central government established the unified state of Andhra Pradesh on 1 November 1956. G.O 553 of 1959 from the united Andhra Pradesh state moved two revenue divisions of Bhadrachalam from East Godavari and Aswaraopeta from West Godavari to Khammam for administrative convenience.

Telangana movement

There have been several movements to revoke the merger of Telangana and Andhra, major ones occurring in 1969, 1972, and 2009. The movement for a new state of Telangana gained a great momentum in the 21st century with the fast initiated by Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao the chief of Telangana Rashtra Samithi on November 29, 2009. On 9 December 2009 the Government of India announced the process of formation of the Telangana state. Violent protests led by people in the Coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions occurred immediately after the announcement, and the decision was put on hold on 23 December 2009.

The movement continued in Hyderabad and other districts of Telangana. There have been hundreds of claimed suicides, strikes, protests and disturbances to public life demanding separate statehood.

Formation of Telangana state in 2014

On 30 July 2013, the Congress Working Committee unanimously passed a resolution to recommend the formation of a separate Telangana state. After various stages the bill was placed in the Parliament of India in February 2014. In February 2014, Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 bill was passed by the Parliament of India for the formation of Telangana state comprising ten districts from north-western Andhra Pradesh. The bill received the assent of the President and published in the Gazette on 1 March 2014.

The state of Telangana was officially formed on 2 June 2014. Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao was elected as the first chief minister of Telangana, following elections in which the Telangana Rashtra Samithi party secured majority. Hyderabad will remain as the joint capital of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for a period of 10 years.

Geography

Telangana is situated on the Deccan Plateau, in the central stretch of the eastern seaboard of the Indian Peninsula. It covers 114,840 square kilometres (44,340 sq mi). The region is drained by two major rivers, with about 79% of the Godavari River catchment area and about 69% of the Krishna River catchment area, but most of the land is arid. Telangana is also drained by several minor rivers such as the Bhima, the Maner, the Manjira and the Musi.

The annual rainfall is between 900 and 1500 mm in northern Telangana and 700 to 900 mm in southern Telangana, from the southwest monsoons. Various soil types abound, including chalkas, red sandy soils, dubbas, deep red loamy soils, and very deep black cotton [clarification needed] soils that facilitate planting mangoes, oranges and flowers.

Culture

Kakatiya Kala Thoranam Kuntala Waterfalls in Adilabad

Telangana culture combines cultural customs from Persian traditions, embedded during rule of the region by the Moghuls, Qutub Shahis and Nizams, with prominent and predominantly south Indian traditions and customs. The State has a rich tradition in classical music, painting and folk arts such as Burra katha, shadow puppet show, and perini Shiva Tandavam, Gusadi Dance, Kolatam.

Monuments

Charminar, Golconda Fort, Qutb Shahi Tombs, Chowmahalla Palace, Falaknuma Palace, Birla Mandir and Bhongir Fort, Warangal Fort are some of the monuments in and around Hyderabad.

Religious destinations

There are religious worship centers of different religions in the state. These include Hindu worship destinations of Bhadrachalam Temple, Gnana Saraswati Temple, Yadagirigutta Temple, Ramappa Temple, Vemulawada Raja Rajeswara temple, the Thousand Pillar Temple

Christian worship centers include the Diocese of Dornakal of the Church of South India, Bahe Church of South India, and Medak Cathedral. There are also some Buddhist destinations, such as Nelakondapalli, Dhulikatta, Phanigiri and Kolanpaka.

Telugu cinema

Telugu cinema, also known by its sobriquet as Tollywood, is a part of Indian cinema producing films in the Telugu language, and is centered in the Hyderabad, Telangana neighbourhood of Film Nagar. In the early 1990s, the Telugu film industry had largely shifted from Chennai to Hyderabad. The Telugu film industry is the second-largest film industry in India next to Bollywood Film Industry. In the years 2005, 2006 and 2008 the Telugu film industry produced the largest number of films in India, exceeding the number of films produced in Bollywood. The industry holds the Guinness World Record for the largest film production facility in the world.

Waterfalls

Kuntala Waterfall [45 metres (148 ft)] located in Kuntala, Adilabad district, is the highest waterfall in the state.

Bogatha Waterfall is waterfall located in Koyaveerapuram G, Wazeedu Mandal, Khammam district, Telangana. It is located 120 km from Bhadrachalam, 140 km away from Warangal and 329 km from Hyderabad.

Savatula Gundam Waterfalls are one of the many waterfalls located in Adilabad district, Telangana, India. They are located 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Asifabad and 350 kilometres (220 mi) from Hyderabad, the state capital.

Gowri Gundaala waterfalls at sabitham village near Ramagundam in Peddapalli district.