Hyderabad Suburban Train To Jangaon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the
Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...
of
Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
and the ''
de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...
'' capital of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. It occupies on the
Deccan Plateau The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...
along the banks of the
Musi River Musi may refer to: * Musi River (Indonesia) * Musi River (India), Telangana * Moosy River, Andhra Pradesh, India * Musi language, a Malay language spoken in Indonesia * Angelo Musi (1918–2009), American basketball player * Agostino de' Musi, real ...
, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much of Hyderabad is situated on hilly terrain around
artificial lakes A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
, including the
Hussain Sagar Hussain Sagar (alternatively referred to as Tank Bund; ) is a heart-shaped lake in Hyderabad, Telangana, built by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah in 1563. It is spread across an area of and is fed by the River Musi. A large monolithic statue of the Gau ...
lake, predating the city's founding, in the north of the city centre. According to the
2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...
, Hyderabad is the fourth-most populous city in India with a population of residents within the city limits, and has a population of residents in the
metropolitan region A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
, making it the sixth-most populous metropolitan area in India. With an output of 74 billion, Hyderabad has the fifth-largest urban economy in India.
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (4 April 156511 January 1612) was the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golkonda and founded the city of Hyderabad, in South-central India and built its architectural centerpiece, the Charminar. He was an able admi ...
established Hyderabad in 1591 to extend the capital beyond the fortified Golconda. In 1687, the city was annexed by the
Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
. In 1724,
Asaf Jah I Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi (11 August 16711 June 1748) also known as Chin Qilich qamaruddin Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah and Nizam I, was the 1st Nizam of Hyderabad. He was married to the daughter of a Syed nobleman of Gulbarga. He ...
, the Mughal viceroy, declared his sovereignty and founded the
Asaf Jahi dynasty The Asaf Jahi was a Muslim dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Hyderabad. The family came to India in the late 17th century and became employees of the Mughal Empire. They were great patrons of Persian culture, language, and literature, the famil ...
, also known as the
Nizams The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, M ...
. Hyderabad served as the imperial capital of the Asaf Jahi's from 1769 to 1948. As capital of the princely state of Hyderabad, the city housed the
British Residency The British Residency (), also known as the Government Guest House or Residency Bungalow, is a two-storeyed palace situated at Asramam in the city of Kollam in the Indian state of Kerala. It lies close to the site of the old Kollam Airport situa ...
and
cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British India, colonial-era). In military of the United States, United Stat ...
until Indian independence in 1947. Hyderabad was annexed by the
Indian Union Union of India or Indian Union may refer to: * The country of India * Dominion of India (1947–1950) * The Government of India, whose legal name is "Union of India" as per Article 300 of the Indian constitution * Political integration of India ...
in 1948 and continued as a capital of
Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...
from 1948 to 1956. After the introduction of the
States Reorganisation Act of 1956 The States Reorganisation act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have been made since 1956, the States ...
, Hyderabad was made the capital of the newly formed Andhra Pradesh. In 2014, Andhra Pradesh was split to form the state of Telangana, and Hyderabad became the joint capital of the two states with a transitional arrangement scheduled to end in 2024. Since 1956, the city has housed the
Rashtrapati Nilayam Rashtrapati Nilayam (literally the "President's House") formerly known as Residency House is the official retreat of the President of India located in Hyderabad, Telangana, where the President stays for at least two weeks during winter and condu ...
, the winter office of the
president of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
. Relics of the Qutb Shahi and Nizam eras remain visible today; the
Charminar The Charminar () is a mosque and monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana The Charminar's long history includes the existe ...
has come to symbolise the city. By the end of the early modern era, the Mughal Empire had declined in the Deccan, and the Nizam's patronage attracted men of letters from various parts of the world. A distinctive culture arose from the amalgamation of local and migrated artisans, with
Painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
,
handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
,
jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...
,
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
,
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
and
clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
are prominent still today. Through its cuisine, the city is listed as a creative city of gastronomy by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
. The
Telugu film industry Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...
based in the city was the country's second-largest producer of motion pictures . Until the Hyderabad was known for the pearl industry and was nicknamed the "City of Pearls", and was the only trading centre for Golconda diamonds in the world. Many of the city's historical and traditional
bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...
s remain open. Hyderabad's central location between the
Deccan Plateau The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...
and the Western Ghats, and industrialisation throughout the attracted major Indian research, manufacturing, educational and financial institutions. Since the 1990s, the city has emerged as an Indian hub of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. The formation of the
special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
s of Hardware Park and
HITEC City The Hyderabad Information Technology and Engineering Consultancy City, abbreviated as HITEC City, is an Indian information technology, engineering, health informatics, and bioinformatics, financial business district located in Hyderabad, Tel ...
, dedicated to information technology, has encouraged leading multinationals to set up operations in Hyderabad.


History


Toponymy

The name ''Hyderabad'' means "Haydar's city" or "lion city", from ''
haydar Haydar ( ar, حيدر), also spelt Hajdar, Hayder, Heidar, Haider, Heydar, and other variants, is an Arabic male given name, also used as a surname, meaning "lion". In Islamic tradition, the name is primarily associated with Ali ibn Abi Talib ( ...
'' 'lion' and '' ābād'' 'city', after
Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
Ali Ibn Abi Talib ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
, also known as Haydar because of his lion-like valour in battle. The city was originally called ''Baghnagar'' "city of gardens", and later acquired the name ''Hyderabad''. The European travellers von Poser and Thévenot found both names in use in the 17th century. One popular legend suggests that the founder of the city,
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (4 April 156511 January 1612) was the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golkonda and founded the city of Hyderabad, in South-central India and built its architectural centerpiece, the Charminar. He was an able admi ...
, named it ''Bhagya-nagar'' after
Bhagmati Bhagamati (Hyder Mahal) was a queen of Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, in whose honor Hyderabad was supposedly named. She is also known by the name Bhagyawati There exists debate among scholars about whether there existed any Bhagamati at all an ...
, a local
nautch The nautch (; meaning "dance" or "dancing")Scott A. Kugle, 2016When Sun Meets Moon: Gender, Eros, and Ecstasy in Urdu Poetry p.230. was a popular court dance performed by girls (known as "nautch girls") in India. The culture of the performing ...
(dancing) girl whom he married. She converted to
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and adopted the title ''Hyder Mahal''. The city would have been named ''Hyderabad'' in her honour. * * * *


Early and medieval history

The discovery of
Megalithic A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...
burial sites and cairn circles in the
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
s of Hyderabad, in 1851 by
Philip Meadows Taylor Colonel Philip Meadows Taylor, (25 September 1808 – 13 May 1876), an administrator in British India and a novelist, made notable contributions to public knowledge of South India. Though largely self-taught, he was a polymath, working alternat ...
, a
polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
in the service of the Nizam, had provided evidence that the region in which the city stands has been inhabited from the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
. Archaeologists excavating near the city have unearthed
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
sites that may date from 500 
BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
. The region comprising modern Hyderabad and its surroundings was ruled by the
Chalukya dynasty The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynast ...
from 624  CE to 1075 CE. Following the dissolution of the Chalukya empire into four parts in the 11th century, Golconda—now part of Hyderabad—came under the control of the
Kakatiya dynasty The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. Th ...
from 1158, whose seat of power was at
Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 704,570 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal ser ...
— northeast of modern Hyderabad. The Kakatiya ruler
Ganapatideva Ganapati-deva (r. c. 1199-1262) was the longest reigning monarch of the Kakatiya dynasty of southern India. He brought most of the Telugu-speaking region in present-day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana under the Kakatiya influence by war or diplomacy. ...
1199–1262 built a hilltop outpost—later known as
Golconda Fort Fort (Telugu: గోల్కొండ, romanized: ''Gōlkōnḍa'') is a historic fortress and ruined city located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was originally called Mankal. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparud ...
—to defend their western region. The Kakatiya dynasty was reduced to a vassal of the
Khalji dynasty The Khalji or Khilji (Pashto: ; Persian: ) dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty which ruled the Delhi sultanate, covering large parts of the Indian subcontinent for nearly three decades between 1290 and 1320.Alauddin Khalji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over lar ...
of the
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
. This lasted until 1321, when the Kakatiya dynasty was annexed by
Malik Kafur Malik Kafur (died 1316), also known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent slave-general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan during the 1299 invasion of Gujarat, and rose to promi ...
, Allaudin Khalji's general. During this period, Alauddin Khalji took the ''
Koh-i-Noor The Koh-i-Noor ( ; from ), also spelled Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing . It is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The diamond is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Q ...
'' diamond, which is said to have been mined from the
Kollur Mine Kollur Mine was a series of gravel-clay pits on the south bank of the Krishna River in the Golconda Sultanate of India. It currently falls within the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is thought to have produced many large diamonds, known as Golcon ...
s of Golconda, to Delhi.
Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (1290 – 20 March 1351) was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from February 1325 until his death in 1351. The sultan was the eldest son of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, founder of the Tughlaq dynasty. In 1321, the youn ...
succeeded to the Delhi sultanate in 1325, bringing Warangal under the rule of the
Tughlaq dynasty The Tughlaq dynasty ( fa, ), also referred to as Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty, was a Muslim dynasty of Indo- Turkic origin which ruled over the Delhi sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the ...
,
Malik Maqbul Tilangani Malik Maqbul (Mala Yugandharudu ) , also referred to as Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul Tilangani< ...
was appointed its governor. In 1336 the regional chieftains
Musunuri Nayakas The Musunuri Nayakas were warrior kings of 14th-century South India who were briefly significant in the region of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Musunuri Kapaya Nayaka is said to have taken a leadership role among the Andhra chieftains and driv ...
—who revolted against the Delhi sultanate in 1333—took Warangal under their direct control and declared it as their capital. In 1347 when
Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah Ala-ud-Din Hasan Bahman Shah (; died 10 February 1358) whose original name was Zafar Khan, was the founder of the Bahmani Sultanate. His original name was Zafar Khan titled with "Alauddin Bahman Shah Sultan – Founder of the Bahmani Dynasty" ...
, a governor under bin Tughluq, rebelled against Delhi and established the
Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan,
in the
Deccan Plateau The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...
, with
Gulbarga Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kalaburagi district and is the largest city in the region of North Karnataka (Kalyana-Karnataka). Kalaburagi is 6 ...
— west of Hyderabad—as its capital, both the neighboring rulers Musunuri Nayakas of Warangal and Bahmani Sultans of Gulbarga engaged in many wars until 1364–65 when a peace treaty was signed and the Musunuri Nayakas ceded Golconda Fort to the Bahmani Sultan. The Bahmani Sultans ruled the region until 1518 and were the first independent Muslim rulers of the Deccan. In 1496 Sultan Quli was appointed as a Bahmani governor of Telangana, he rebuilt, expanded and
fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
the old mud-fort of Golconda and named the city "Muhammad nagar". In 1518, he revolted against the Bahmani Sultanate and established the
Qutb Shahi dynasty The Qutb Shahi dynasty also called as Golconda Sultanate (Persian: ''Qutb Shāhiyān'' or ''Sultanat-e Golkonde'') was a Persianate Shia Islam dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the coll ...
. The fifth Qutb Shahi sultan,
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (4 April 156511 January 1612) was the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golkonda and founded the city of Hyderabad, in South-central India and built its architectural centerpiece, the Charminar. He was an able admi ...
, established Hyderabad on the banks of the Musi River in 1591, to avoid water shortages experienced at Golconda. During his rule, he had the
Charminar The Charminar () is a mosque and monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana The Charminar's long history includes the existe ...
and
Mecca Masjid Makkah Masjid or Mecca Masjid, is a congregational mosque in Hyderabad, India. It is one of the largest mosques in India with a capacity of 10,000 people. The mosque was built during the 17th century, and is a state-protected monument. It se ...
built in the city. Mir Momin Astarabadi, the prime minister in the Qutub Shahi period, developed the plan of the city of Hyderabad, including the location of the Charminar and
Char Kaman Char Kaman (literally "meaning four gates") are four historical structures in Hyderabad, India. It is located near Charminar. After the completion of Charminar, at about 75m feet to its north, four lofty arches known as Charkaman were built in 1 ...
. On 21 September 1687, the Golconda Sultanate came under the rule of the Mughal emperor
Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
after a year-long siege of the Golconda Fort. The annexed city "Hyderabad" was renamed ''Darul Jihad'' (House of War), whereas its state "Golconda" was renamed ''Deccan Suba'' (Deccan province) and the capital was moved from Golconda to
Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is th ...
, about northwest of Hyderabad. *


Modern history

In 1713, Mughal emperor
Farrukhsiyar Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily sw ...
appointed
Mubariz Khan Mubariz Khan was the Mughal governor of Gujarat and Hyderabad state. He was the governor of Golconda from 1713 to 1724 until he was killed during the Battle of Shakar Kheda where he fought against Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I. His is known to have ...
as Governor of Hyderabad. During his tenure, he fortified the city and controlled the internal and neighbouring threats. In 1714
Farrukhsiyar Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily sw ...
appointed
Asaf Jah I Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi (11 August 16711 June 1748) also known as Chin Qilich qamaruddin Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah and Nizam I, was the 1st Nizam of Hyderabad. He was married to the daughter of a Syed nobleman of Gulbarga. He ...
as
Viceroy of the Deccan Viceroy of the Deccan was the representative of the Mughal emperors in Deccan, Deccan consisted of six Mughal governorates (Subah): Khandesh, Bijapur, Berar, Aurangabad, Hyderabad and Bidar. Carnatic region was sub-Subah administered partly by gov ...
—(administrator of six Mughal governorates) with the title ''Nizam-ul-Mulk'' (Administrator of the Realm). In 1721, he was appointed as Prime Minister of the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
. * His differences with the court nobles led him to resign from all the imperial responsibilities in 1723 and leave for Deccan. Under the influence of Asaf Jah I's opponents, Mughal Emperor
Muhammad Shah Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the 13th Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the ...
issued a decree to
Mubariz Khan Mubariz Khan was the Mughal governor of Gujarat and Hyderabad state. He was the governor of Golconda from 1713 to 1724 until he was killed during the Battle of Shakar Kheda where he fought against Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I. His is known to have ...
, to stop Asaf Jah I which resulted in the
Battle of Shakar Kheda The Battle of Sakhar kherda took place on 11 October 1724 at Sakhar Kherda (Sakhar Kherda or Sakhar Kherda) in Berar, 80 miles from Aurangabad between Nizam-ul-Mulk and Mubariz Khan, Subedar of Deccan. Prelude In 1714, Mughal emperor Farru ...
. In 1724, Asaf Jah I defeated Mubariz Khan to establish autonomy over the ''
Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in South India, southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bou ...
'', named the region ''
Hyderabad Deccan Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...
'', and started what came to be known as the
Asaf Jahi dynasty The Asaf Jahi was a Muslim dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Hyderabad. The family came to India in the late 17th century and became employees of the Mughal Empire. They were great patrons of Persian culture, language, and literature, the famil ...
. Subsequent rulers retained the title ''Nizam ul-Mulk'' and were referred to as Asaf Jahi Nizams, or
Nizams of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, M ...
. The death of Asaf Jah I in 1748 resulted in a period of political unrest as his sons and grandson—
Nasir Jung Mir Ahmed Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi, Nasir Jung, was the son of Nizam-ul-Mulk by his wife Saeed-un-nisa Begum. He was born 26 February 1712. He succeeded his father as the Nizam of Hyderabad State in 1748. He had taken up a title of ''Humay ...
(1748–1750),
Muzaffar Jang Muhyi ad-Din Muzaffar Jang Hidayat (died 13 February 1751) was the ruler of Hyderabad State, Hyderabad from 1750 until his death in 1751. His official name was ''Nawab Hidayat Muhi ud-din Sa'adu'llah Khan Bahadur, Muzaffar Jang, Nawab Subadar o ...
(1750-1751) and
Salabat Jung Salabat Jung, born as Mir Sa'id Muhammad Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi on 24 November 1718, was the 3rd son of Nizam-ul-Mulk. He was appointed as ''Naib Subahdar'' (Deputy Viceroy) to his elder brother, Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung II, the Prime M ...
(1751-1762)—contended for the throne backed by opportunistic neighbouring states and colonial foreign forces. The accession of
Asaf Jah II Mir Nizam Ali Khan Siddiqi, Asaf Jah II (7 March 1734 – 6 August 1803) was the 2nd Nizam of Hyderabad State in South India between 1762 and 1803. He was born on 7 March 1734 as fourth son to Asaf Jah I and Umda Begum. His official name is ''A ...
, who reigned from 1762 to 1803, ended the instability. In 1768 he signed the
Treaty of Masulipatam The Northern Circars (also spelt Sarkars) was a division of British India's Madras Presidency. It consisted of a narrow slip of territory lying along the western side of the Bay of Bengal from 15° 40′ to 20° 17′ north latitude, in the pre ...
—by which the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
in return for a fixed annual rent, got the right to control and collect the taxes at
Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an ...
. * * * In 1769 Hyderabad city became the formal capital of the Asaf Jahi Nizams. In response to regular threats from
Hyder Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...
(Dalwai of
Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
),
Baji Rao I Baji Rao I (18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740), born as Visaji, also known as Bajirao Ballal (Pronunciation: ad͡ʒiɾaːʋ bəlːaːɭ, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his 20-year tenure as a Peshwa, he defeated Nizam-ul-M ...
(
Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...
of the
Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...
), and Basalath Jung (Asaf Jah II's elder brother, who was supported by
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
General the
Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau Charles Joseph Patissier, Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau (8 February 1718 or 8 February 1720 – 7 January 1785) or Charles Joseph Patissier de Bussy was the Governor General of the French colony of Pondicherry from 1783 to 1785. He served with dis ...
), the Nizam signed a
subsidiary alliance A subsidiary alliance, in South Asian history, was a tributary alliance between a South Asian state and a European East India Company. Under this system, an Indian ruler who formed a treaty with the company in question would be provided wi ...
with the East India Company in 1798, allowing the
British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
to be stationed at
Bolarum Bolaram is a locality in Secunderabad Cantonment in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region. The distance from Bolaram to Secunderabad is 10 km. Demographics As per the Census 2001, Bolaram had a populati ...
(modern
Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...
) to protect the state's capital, for which the Nizams paid an annual maintenance to the British. Until 1874 there were no modern industries in Hyderabad. With the introduction of railways in the 1880s, four factories were built to the south and east of
Hussain Sagar Hussain Sagar (alternatively referred to as Tank Bund; ) is a heart-shaped lake in Hyderabad, Telangana, built by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah in 1563. It is spread across an area of and is fed by the River Musi. A large monolithic statue of the Gau ...
lake, and during the early 20th century, Hyderabad was transformed into a modern city with the establishment of transport services, underground drainage, running water,
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
, telecommunications, universities, industries, and
Begumpet Airport Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad, also known as Hyderabad Old Airport, is a civil enclave located in Begumpet. The airport is home to the Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy (RGAA), the Telangana State Aviation Academy and the Begumpet Air Force Statio ...
. The
Nizams The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, M ...
ruled the
princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...
of
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
during the
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
.


Post-Independence

After India gained independence, the Nizam declared his intention to remain independent rather than become part of the
Indian Union Union of India or Indian Union may refer to: * The country of India * Dominion of India (1947–1950) * The Government of India, whose legal name is "Union of India" as per Article 300 of the Indian constitution * Political integration of India ...
or newly formed
Dominion of Pakistan Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of I ...
. The Hyderabad State Congress, with the support of the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
and the
Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...
, began agitating against
Nizam VII Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 — 24 February 1967), was the last Nizam (ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of ...
in 1948. On 17 September that year, the
Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
took control of Hyderabad State after an invasion codenamed
Operation Polo Operation Polo was the code name of the Hyderabad "police action" in September 1948, by the then newly independent Dominion of India against Hyderabad State. It was a military operation in which the Indian Armed Forces invaded the Nizam-rule ...
. With the defeat of his forces, Nizam VII capitulated to the Indian Union by signing an Instrument of Accession, which made him the ''
Rajpramukh Rajpramukh was an administrative title in India which existed from India's independence in 1947 until 1956. Rajpramukhs were the appointed governors of certain Indian provinces and states. Background The British Indian Empire, which includ ...
'' (Princely Governor) of the state until it was abolished on 31 October 1956. Between 1946 and 1951, the Communist Party of India fomented the
Telangana uprising The Telangana Rebellion popularly known as Telangana Sayuda Poratam (Telugu : తెలంగాణ సాయుధ పోరాటం) of 1946–51 was a communist-led insurrection of peasants against the princely state of Hyderabad in the r ...
against the
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
lords of the
Telangana region Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35, ...
. The
Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
, which became effective on 26 January 1950, made Hyderabad State one of the part B states of India, with Hyderabad city continuing to be the capital. In his 1955 report ''Thoughts on Linguistic States'',
B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...
, then chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution, proposed designating the city of Hyderabad as the
second capital Some countries have multiple capitals. In some cases, one city is the capital for some purposes, and one or more others are capital for other purposes, without any being considered an official capital in preference to the others. There are also ...
of India because of its amenities and strategic central location. On 1 November 1956 the states of India were reorganised by language. Hyderabad state was split into three parts, which were merged with neighbouring states to form
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
,
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
and
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. The nine
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
- and
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''
Andhra State Andhra State (IAST: ; ) was a Administrative divisions of India#States and union territories, state in India created in 1953 from the Telugu language, Telugu-speaking northern List of districts in India, districts of Madras State. The state was ...
to create Andhra Pradesh, with Hyderabad as its capital. Several protests, known collectively as the
Telangana movement The Telangana movement refers to a movement for the creation of a separate state, Telangana, from the pre-existing state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The new state corresponds to the Telugu-speaking portions of the erstwhile princely state of Hy ...
, attempted to invalidate the merger and demanded the creation of a new Telangana state. Major actions took place in 1969 and 1972, and a third began in 2010. The city suffered several explosions: one at
Dilsukhnagar Dilsukhnagar is one of the largest commercial and residential centers in Hyderabad. It was once part of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, but later merged with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. History The name "Dilsukhnagar" ...
in 2002 claimed two lives; terrorist bombs in
May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...
and
August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...
2007 caused communal tension and riots; and two bombs exploded in February 2013. On 30 July 2013 the government of India declared that part of Andhra Pradesh would be split off to form a new Telangana state and that Hyderabad city would be the capital city and part of Telangana, while the city would also remain the capital of Andhra Pradesh for no more than ten years. On 3 October 2013 the Union Cabinet approved the proposal, and in February 2014 both houses of
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
passed the Telangana Bill. With the final assent of the President of India, Telangana state was formed on 2 June 2014.


Geography

Hyderabad is south of
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, southeast of
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, and north of
Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
by road. It is situated in the southern part of Telangana in southeastern India, along the banks of the
Musi River Musi may refer to: * Musi River (Indonesia) * Musi River (India), Telangana * Moosy River, Andhra Pradesh, India * Musi language, a Malay language spoken in Indonesia * Angelo Musi (1918–2009), American basketball player * Agostino de' Musi, real ...
, a tributary of Krishna River located on the
Deccan Plateau The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...
in the northern part of
South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
. Greater Hyderabad covers , making it one of the largest metropolitan areas in India. With an average altitude of , Hyderabad lies on predominantly sloping terrain of grey and pink
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
, dotted with small hills, the highest being
Banjara Hills Banjara Hills is an urban commercial centre and one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. This is an upmarket locality close to Jubilee Hills. This area was a hilly forest and was least inhabited in the past. Only f ...
at . The city has numerous lakes sometime referred to as ''sagar'', meaning "sea". Examples include artificial lakes created by dams on the Musi, such as Hussain Sagar (built in 1562 near the city centre),
Osman Sagar Osman Sagar is a reservoir in the Indian city of Hyderabad. The lake is around 46 km², and the reservoir is around 29 km², with total level of 1,790 feet and a capacity of 3.9 tmc ft. History Osman Sagar was created by damming the M ...
and
Himayat Sagar Himayat Sagar is an artificial lake about from Hyderabad in Telangana, India. It lies parallel to a larger artificial lake Osman Sagar. The storage capacity of the reservoir is 2.9 tmc ft. History The construction of reservoirs on the Esi, a ...
. , the city had 140 lakes and 834 water tanks (ponds).


Climate

Hyderabad has a
tropical wet and dry climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Aw'') bordering on a hot
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(Köppen ''BSh''). The annual mean temperature is ; monthly mean temperatures are . Summers (March–June) are hot and humid, with average highs in the mid-to-high 30s Celsius; maximum temperatures often exceed between April and June. The coolest temperatures occur in December and January, when the lowest temperature occasionally dips to . May is the hottest month, when daily temperatures range from ; December, the coldest, has temperatures varying from . Heavy rain from the south-west summer monsoon falls between June and October, supplying Hyderabad with most of its mean annual rainfall. Since records began in November 1891, the heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24-hour period was on 24 August 2000. The highest temperature ever recorded was on 2 June 1966, and the lowest was on 8 January 1946. The city receives 2,731 hours of sunshine per year; maximum daily sunlight exposure occurs in February.


Conservation

Hyderabad's lakes and the sloping terrain of its low-lying hills provide habitat for an assortment of flora and fauna. , the tree cover is 1.7% of the total city area, a decrease from 2.7% in 1996. The forest region in and around the city encompasses areas of ecological and biological importance, which are preserved in the form of
national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
s,
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...
s, mini-zoos and a
wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
.
Nehru Zoological Park Nehru Zoological Park (also known as YouTube Zoo or Zoo Park) is a zoo located near Mir Alam Tank in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is one of the most visited destinations in Hyderabad. History Nehru Zoological Park's construction was started ...
, the city's one large zoo, is the first in India to have a lion and tiger
safari park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari park ...
. Hyderabad has three national parks (
Mrugavani National Park Mrugavani National Park is a national park located in Hyderabad, Telangana State, India. It is situated at Chilkur in Moinabad mandal, 20 km from MGBS and covers an area of or 1211 acres. It is home to a 600 different types of plant li ...
,
Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park is a deer national park located in Vanasthalipuram , Saheb Nagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is spread over 3605 acres. It is the largest green lung space in the city of Hyderabad. History The park ...
and
Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park is a national park located in Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The park has an approximate area of . The palace complex was given to Prince Mukarram Jah on his coronation by h ...
), and the
Manjira Wildlife Sanctuary Manjira wildlife sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary and reservoir located in the Sangareddy district of Telangana State, India. Originally a crocodile sanctuary developed to protect the vulnerable species mugger crocodile, today it is home to more ...
is about from the city. Hyderabad's other environmental reserves are: Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy Botanical Gardens,
Ameenpur Lake Ameenpur is a small lake in Sangareddy District in the Indian state of Telangana and on the edge of the city of Hyderabad. It is the first body of water in India to be recognized as a Biodiversity Heritage Site and is the first biodiversity site t ...
,
Shamirpet Lake Prateek was the main architect of the lake. Shamirpet Lake is an artificial lake near Hyderabad, India, it is about 24 kilometers north of Secunderabad. History It was built during the Nizam reign. Information The lake attracts many birds ...
,
Hussain Sagar Hussain Sagar (alternatively referred to as Tank Bund; ) is a heart-shaped lake in Hyderabad, Telangana, built by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah in 1563. It is spread across an area of and is fed by the River Musi. A large monolithic statue of the Gau ...
,
Fox Sagar Lake Fox Sagar Lake, also Jeedimetla Cheruvu or Kolla Cheruvu, is a manmade lake and was the largest waterbody in Secunderabad. It was once spread over an area of . As of 2014, due to encroachment, it only occupied a surface area of . The lake which ...
,
Mir Alam Tank Mir Alam Tank is a reservoir in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is located to the south of Musi river. It was the primary source of drinking water to Hyderabad before Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar were built. It is connected to National Highway ...
and Patancheru Lake, which is home to regional birds and attracts seasonal
migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...
from different parts of the world. * * * * * Organisations engaged in environmental and wildlife preservation include the Telangana Forest Department,
Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) is an autonomous organisation or governmental agency under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Headquartered in Dehradun, its functions are to conduct fore ...
, the
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is an international organization which conducts agricultural research for rural development, headquartered in Patancheru (Hyderabad, Telangana, India) with several r ...
(ICRISAT), the
Animal Welfare Board of India The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), headquartered at Ballabhgarh in Haryana state, is a statutory advisory body advising the Government of India's Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying(Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy ...
, the
Blue Cross of Hyderabad The Blue Cross of Hyderabad is an animal welfare Society founded in 1992 by Indian film actors Nagarjuna, Amala Akkineni and animal friendly citizens. Blue Cross of Hyderabad was later registered as a society in 1993 and is recognized by Animal W ...
and the
University of Hyderabad The University of Hyderabad (IAST: ''Hydarāvād visvavidyālayamu'') is a top ranking public central research university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Founded in 1974, this mostly residential campus has more than 5,000 students a ...
.


Administration


Common capital status

According to the
Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, commonly known as the Telangana Act, is an Act of Indian Parliament that bifurcated the state of Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and the residuary Andhra Pradesh state, as an outcome of the Telanga ...
part 2 Section 5: "(1) On and from the appointed day, Hyderabad in the existing State of Andhra Pradesh, shall be the common capital of the State of Telangana and the State of Andhra Pradesh for such period not exceeding ten years. (2) After the expiry of the period referred to in sub-section (1), Hyderabad shall be the capital of the State of Telangana and there shall be a new capital for the State of Andhra Pradesh." The same sections also define that the common capital includes the existing area designated as the
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, commonly known as the GHMC is the civic body that oversees Hyderabad, the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the local government for the cities of Hyderabad and Secund ...
under the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955. As stipulated in sections 3 and 18(1) of the Reorganisation Act, city MLAs are members of the Telangana state assembly.


Local government

The
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, commonly known as the GHMC is the civic body that oversees Hyderabad, the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the local government for the cities of Hyderabad and Secund ...
(GHMC) oversees the civic infrastructure of the city, there are six administrative zones of GHMC: South Zone–(
Charminar The Charminar () is a mosque and monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana The Charminar's long history includes the existe ...
), East Zone–(
L. B. Nagar Lal Bahadur Nagar, commonly known as L. B. Nagar, is a commercial and residential hub in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was once a Municipality in Ranga Reddy district. Demographics India census, L.B. Nagar had a population of 261,987. Males ...
), West Zone–(
Serilingampally Serilingampally, also known as Lingampally, is a major suburb located in the north western part of Hyderabad City. It is the headquarters of the Serilingamapally mandal in the Ranga Reddy district of the Indian state of Telangana It is administe ...
), North Zone–(
Kukatpally Kukatpally is a suburb located in north western part of Hyderabad in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of Balanagar mandal in Malkajgiri revenue division of Medchal-Malkajgiri district. It was a municipality prior to its mer ...
), Northeast Zone–(
Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...
) and Central Zone–(
Khairatabad Khairatabad is a neigbbourhood in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is a mandal in the Secunderabad Revenue division of Hyderabad District. This is a Zone in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. There are five circles in this zone namely M ...
); these zones consist of 30 "circles", which together encompass 150 municipal wards. Each ward is represented by a
corporator A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
, elected by popular vote, the city has 7,400,000 voters of which 3,850,000 are male and 3,500,000 are female. The corporators elect the
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
, who is the
titular head A titular ruler, or titular head, is a person in an official position of leadership who possesses few, if any, actual powers. Sometimes a person may inhabit a position of titular leadership and yet exercise more power than would normally be expecte ...
of GHMC; executive powers rest with the Municipal Commissioner, appointed by the state government. The GHMC carries out the city's infrastructural work such as building and maintenance of roads and drains, town planning including construction regulation, maintenance of municipal markets and parks, solid waste management, the issuing of birth and death certificates, the issuing of trade licenses, collection of property tax, and community welfare services such as mother and child healthcare, and pre-school and non-formal education. The GHMC was formed in April 2007 by merging the
Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, commonly known as the GHMC is the civic body that oversees Hyderabad, the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the local government for the cities of Hyderabad and Secund ...
(MCH) with 12 municipalities of the
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
,
Ranga Reddy Ranga Reddy district ( R. R. district) is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. The district headquarters is located at Lakdikapool, Hyderabad. The district was named after the former deputy chief minister of the United Andhra Pradesh, K ...
and
Medak Medak is a town in Medak district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Medak mandal in Medak revenue division. And There is a river named srujan which is big in length. Etymology and History Medak w ...
districts covering a total area of . The
Secunderabad Cantonment Board Secunderabad Cantonment Board is the civic administrative agency of Secunderabad cantonment area. Geographically, it lies in the twin cities of Hyderabad-Secunderabad. Secunderabad Cantonment Board is India’s second largest cantonment board, af ...
is a civic administration agency overseeing an area of , where there are several military camps. The
Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. It ...
campus is administered independently by the university authority. Appointed in February 2021,
Gadwal Vijayalakshmi Gadwal Vijayalakshmi is an Indian-born politician serving as the current mayor of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) since 11 February 2021. A former American citizen, she emigrated back to India to join politics and went on to beco ...
of
Telangana Rashtra Samithi Bharat Rashtra Samithi ( ; BRS), formerly known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi ( TRS), is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in the state of Telangana. It was founded on 27 April 2001 as by K. Chandrashekar Rao, with a singl ...
(TRS) is serving as the Mayor of GHMC. In Hyderabad
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
jurisdiction is divided into three commissionerates:
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
(established in 1847 AD, an oldest police commissionerate in India ),
Cyberabad The Hyderabad Information Technology and Engineering Consultancy City, abbreviated as HITEC City, is an Indian information technology, engineering, health informatics, and bioinformatics, financial business district located in Hyderabad, Tel ...
, and
Rachakonda Rachakonda Fort is a historic fort located in Rachakonda, Yadadri Bhongir district of Telangana, India. It was built by the Recherla Nayaka king Anapotanayaka in the 14th century AD. Till that time the Recherla Nayakas had their capital at Anu ...
, each headed by a commissioner of police, who are
Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...
(IPS) officers. The Hyderabad police is a division of the
Telangana Police The Telangana State Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the state of Telangana in India. It has jurisdiction concurrent with the 33 revenue districts of the state. The police force was created from the remnants of the Andhra Pra ...
, under the state Home Ministry. The jurisdictions of the city's administrative agencies are, in ascending order of size: the Hyderabad Police area, Hyderabad district, the GHMC area ("Hyderabad city"), and the area under the
Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) is the urban planning agency of Hyderabad in the Indian state of Telangana. The HMDA administers the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region, spread over an area of and covers the districts of Hyde ...
(HMDA). The HMDA is an apolitical urban planning agency that covers the GHMC and its suburbs, extending to 54 ''
mandals A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
'' in five districts encircling the city. It coordinates the development activities of GHMC and suburban municipalities and manages the administration of bodies such as the
Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) was established on 1 November 1989, in Hyderabad, India. It looks for the supply of water to the household and sewerage Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that co ...
(HMWSSB). Hyderabad is the seat of the
Government of Telangana The Government of Telangana also known as Telangana Government, is the governing authority of the state of Telangana in India. It consists of an executive, a judiciary and a legislative. The state government is headed by the Governor of Telan ...
,
Government of Andhra Pradesh Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as, GOAP, or, Andhra Government, is the Subnational administrative division, subnational government for the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is an elected government with 175 Member of the Legislative ...
and the President of India's winter retreat
Rashtrapati Nilayam Rashtrapati Nilayam (literally the "President's House") formerly known as Residency House is the official retreat of the President of India located in Hyderabad, Telangana, where the President stays for at least two weeks during winter and condu ...
, as well as the
Telangana High Court The Telangana High Court is the High Court for the Indian state of Telangana. Founded by the 7th Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, initially, it was set up as High Court of Hyderabad for the then Princely State of Hyderabad Deccan and later renamed ...
and various local government agencies. The Lower City Civil Court and the Metropolitan Criminal Court are under the jurisdiction of the High Court. The GHMC area contains 24 State Legislative Assembly constituencies, which form five constituencies of the
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
(the
lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
of the Parliament of India).


Utility services

The HMWSSB (Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewage Board) regulates
rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir w ...
, sewerage services, and water supply. In 2005, the HMWSSB started operating a water supply pipeline from
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is a masonry dam across the Krishna River at Nagarjuna Sagar which straddles the border between Nalgonda district in Telangana and Palnadu district in Andhra Pradesh. The dam provides irrigation water to the Nalgonda, Surya ...
to meet increasing demand. The Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSPDCL) manages electricity supply. , there were 15
fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...
s in the city, operated by the Telangana State Disaster and Fire Response Department. The government-owned
India Post India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ha ...
has five head post offices and many sub-post offices in Hyderabad, which are complemented by private courier services.


Pollution control

Hyderabad produces around 4,500 
tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States ...
of solid waste daily, which is transported from collection units in
Imlibun The Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS), also known as the Imlibun Bus Station (Imlibun means "grove of tamarind trees"), is a bus station on the Musi River in the Imlibun area of southern Hyderabad, India. It is owned by the Telangana State Roa ...
,
Yousufguda Yousufguda ( te, యూసఫ్ గూడ) is a neighbourhood in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is a major residential suburb. Due to its proximity to the IT hub near Madhapur, it has become a more affordable alternative to other areas in the ...
and Lower Tank Bund to the dumpsite in Jawaharnagar. Disposal is managed by the Integrated Solid Waste Management project which was started by the GHMC in 2010. Rapid urbanisation and increased economic activity has led to increased
industrial waste Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and ...
,
air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
,
noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...
and
water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...
, which is regulated by the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TPCB). The contribution of different sources to air pollution in 2006 was: 20–50% from vehicles, 40–70% from a combination of vehicle discharge and road dust, 10–30% from industrial discharges and 3–10% from the burning of household rubbish. Deaths resulting from
atmospheric particulate matter Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...
are estimated at 1,700–3,000 each year. * * The city's "VIP areas", the Assembly building, Secretariat, and Telangana chief minister's office, have particularly low
air quality index An air quality index (AQI) is used by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. AQI information is obtained by averaging readings from an air quality sensor, whi ...
ratings, suffering from high levels of
PM2.5 Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...
's.
Ground water Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...
around Hyderabad, which has a
hardness In materials science, hardness (antonym: softness) is a measure of the resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by either mechanical indentation or abrasion. In general, different materials differ in their hardness; for example hard ...
of up to 1000 ppm, around three times higher than is desirable, is the main source of drinking water but the increasing population and consequent increase in demand has led to a decline in not only ground water but also river and lake levels. This shortage is further exacerbated by inadequately treated
effluent Effluent is wastewater from sewers or industrial outfalls that flows directly into surface waters either untreated or after being treated at a facility. The term has slightly different meanings in certain contexts, and may contain various pollut ...
discharged from industrial treatment plants polluting the water sources of the city.


Healthcare

The Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare is responsible for planning, implementation and monitoring of all facilities related to health and preventive services. –11, the city had 50 government hospitals, 300 private and charity hospitals and 194 nursing homes providing around 12,000 hospital beds, fewer than half the required 25,000. For every 10,000 people in the city, there are 17.6 hospital beds,, the census city population was 6,809,970 and there were 12,000 available hospital beds, giving the derived rate. 9 specialist doctors, 14 nurses and 6 physicians. The city has about 4,000 individual clinics. Private clinics are preferred by many residents because of the distance to, poor quality of care at and long waiting times in government facilities, The cities surveyed were
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
,
Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...
,
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
,
Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...
,
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...
,
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and Hyderabad.
despite the high proportion of the city's residents being covered by government health insurance: 24% according to a National Family Health Survey in 2005. , many new private hospitals of various sizes were opened or being built. Hyderabad has outpatient and inpatient facilities that use
Unani Unani or Yunani medicine (Urdu: ''tibb yūnānī'') is Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as practiced in Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific. The Indian Medical Association describes U ...
,
homoeopathic Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...
and
Ayurvedic Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...
treatments. In the 2005 National Family Health Survey, it was reported that the city's
total fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if: # she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime # she were t ...
is 1.8, which is below the
replacement rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if: # she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime # she were t ...
. Only 61% of children had been provided with all basic
vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...
s ( BCG,
measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
and full courses of
polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
and
DPT DPT may refer to: Science and medicine * Dpt (unit) (dioptre/diopter), most commonly a unit measuring refraction and power in a lens or curved mirror *Dermatopontin, a human extracellular matrix protein *Dipropyltryptamine, a psychedelic tryptamin ...
), fewer than in all other surveyed cities except
Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...
. The infant
mortality rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of de ...
was 35 per 1,000 live births, and the mortality rate for children under five was 41 per 1,000 live births. The survey also reported that a third of women and a quarter of men are overweight or obese, 49% of children below 5 years are
anaemic Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...
, and up to 20% of children are underweight, while more than 2% of women and 3% of men suffer from
diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
.


Demographics

When the
GHMC The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, commonly known as the GHMC is the civic body that oversees Hyderabad, the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the local government for the cities of Hyderabad and Secund ...
was created in 2007, the area occupied by the municipality increased from to . Consequently, the population increased by 87%, from 3,637,483 census to 6,809,970 census, 24% of which are migrants from elsewhere in India, making Hyderabad the nation's fourth most populous city. * , the population density is and the Hyderabad urban agglomeration had a population of 7,749,334 making it the sixth most populous urban agglomeration in the country.
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, there are 3,500,802 male and 3,309,168 female citizens—a
sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species devia ...
of 945 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 926 per 1000. Among children aged years, 373,794 are boys and 352,022 are girls—a ratio of 942 per 1000. Literacy stands at 83% (male 86%; female 80%), higher than the national average of 74.04%. The socio-economic strata consist of 20%
upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
, 50%
middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
and 30%
working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
.


Ethnicity

Referred to as "Hyderabadi", the residents of Hyderabad are predominantly
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
and
Urdu speaking Native speakers of Urdu are spread across South Asia. The vast majority of them are Muslims of the Hindi–Urdu Belt of northern India, followed by the Deccani people of the Deccan plateau in south-central India (who speak Deccani Urdu) and the M ...
people, with minority
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, Sindhi,
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
,
Memon Memon may refer to: Ethnic group and language * Memon people, an ethnic group originating in the ancient Sindh (modern day Pakistan) * Memoni language, the language of Memon people historically associated with Kathiawar, Gujarat, India People wit ...
,
Nawayath The Nawayath (also spelled as Navayath and Nawayat and also called Nait, Naiti , Naithee and Naita) are an Indian community and a subgroup of Konkani Muslims. They speak the Nawayathi dialect of Konkani. The term, as described by Qanoon-e-Isl ...
i,
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
,
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
,
Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...
, Marwari,
Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...
,
Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
,
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...
and
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
i communities. * *
Hyderabadi Muslims Hyderabadi Muslims, also referred to as Hyderabadis are a community of Deccani people, who are part of a larger ethnic group of Urdu-speaking Muslims, from the area that used to be the princely state of Hyderabad in the regions of Marathwad ...
are a unique community who owe much of their history, language, cuisine, and culture to Hyderabad, and the various dynasties who previously ruled. Hadhrami Arabs,
African Arabs Afro-Arabs are Arabs of full or partial Black African descent. These include populations within mainly the Sudanese, Emiratis, Yemenis, Saudis, Omanis, Sahrawis, Mauritanians, Algerians, Egyptians and Moroccans, with considerably long esta ...
,
Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
, Abyssinians, Iranians,
Pathans Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
and
Turkish people The Turkish people, or simply the Turks ( tr, Türkler), are the world's largest Turkic ethnic group; they speak various dialects of the Turkish language and form a majority in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. In addition, centuries-old ethnic ...
are also present; these communities, of which the Hadhrami Arabs are the largest, declined after
Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...
became part of the Indian Union, as they lost the patronage of the Asaf Jahi Nizams.


Religion

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
are in the majority.
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
form a very large minority, and are present throughout the city and predominate in and around old Hyderabad. There are also Christian, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist and Parsi communities and iconic churches,
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s and
temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
. census, the religious make-up of Greater Hyderabad was: Hindus (64.9%), Muslims (30.1%), Christians (2.8%), Jains (0.3%), Sikhs (0.3%) and Buddhists (0.1%); 1.5% did not state any religion. ''On this page, select "Andhra Pradesh" from the download menu. Data for "GHMC (M Corp. + OG)" is at row 11 of the downloaded excel file.''


Languages

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
and
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''
Telangana Mandalika, and the Urdu spoken is called Deccani. English is a "Secondary official language" used monumentally in business and administration, and it is an important medium of instruction in education and publications. A significant minority speak other languages, including
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
,
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
,
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
,
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
,
Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
, Marwari,
Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...
and
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...
.


Slums

In the greater metropolitan area, 13% of the population live below the poverty line. According to a 2012 report submitted by GHMC to the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, Hyderabad has 1,476 slums with a total population of 1.7 million, of whom 66% live in 985 slums in the "core" of the city (the part that formed Hyderabad before the April 2007 expansion) and the remaining 34% live in 491 suburban tenements. About 22% of the slum-dwelling households had migrated from different parts of India in the last decade of the 20th century, and 63% claimed to have lived in the slums for more than 10 years. Overall literacy in the slums is and female literacy is . A third of the slums have basic service connections, and the remainder depends on general public services provided by the government. There are 405 government schools, 267 government-aided schools, 175 private schools, and 528 community halls in the slum areas. According to a 2008 survey by the Centre for Good Governance, 87.6% of the slum-dwelling households are
nuclear families A nuclear family, elementary family, cereal-packet family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larger ...
, 18% are very poor, with an income up to per annum, 73% live below the poverty line (a standard poverty line recognised by the Andhra Pradesh Government is per annum), 27% of the chief wage earners (CWE) are
casual labour Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private pr ...
and 38% of the CWE are illiterate. About 3.7% of the slum children aged 5–14 do not go to school and 3.2% work as
child labour Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
, of whom 64% are boys and 36% are girls. The largest employers of child labour are street shops and construction sites. Among the working children, 35% are engaged in hazardous jobs.


Cityscape


Neighbourhoods

The historic city established by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah on the southern side of the Musi River forms the heritage region of Hyderabad called the '' Purana Shahar'' (Old City), while the "New City" encompasses the urbanised area on the northern banks. The two are connected by many bridges across the river, the oldest of which is Purana Pul—("old bridge") built in 1578 AD. Hyderabad is twinned with neighbouring
Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...
, to which it is connected by
Hussain Sagar Hussain Sagar (alternatively referred to as Tank Bund; ) is a heart-shaped lake in Hyderabad, Telangana, built by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah in 1563. It is spread across an area of and is fed by the River Musi. A large monolithic statue of the Gau ...
. Many historic and heritage sites lie in south central Hyderabad, such as the Charminar, Mecca Masjid,
Salar Jung Museum The Salar Jung Museum is an art museum located at Dar-ul-Shifa, on the southern bank of the Musi River, India, Musi River in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is one of the List of museums in India, notable National Museums of India. ...
,
Nizam Museum Nizam's Museum or H.E.H Nizam's Museum is a museum located in Hyderabad at Purani Haveli, a palace of the erstwhile Nizams. This museum showcases the gifts that the last Nizam of Hyderabad State, Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII received on his silve ...
,
Telangana High Court The Telangana High Court is the High Court for the Indian state of Telangana. Founded by the 7th Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, initially, it was set up as High Court of Hyderabad for the then Princely State of Hyderabad Deccan and later renamed ...
,
Falaknuma Palace Falaknuma is a palace in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It originally belonged to the Paigah family, and was later owned by the Nizam of Hyderabad. It is on a hillock and covers a area in Falaknuma, from Charminar. It was built by Nawab Sir V ...
,
Chowmahalla Palace Chowmahalla Palace or Chowmahallat (from ''chār mahallāt'', in Dakhini Urdu) is the palace of the Nizams of Hyderabad State in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty and was the official residence of the Niz ...
and the traditional retail corridor comprising the Pearl Market,
Laad Bazaar Laad Bazaar or Choodi Bazaar is a market located in Hyderabad, India. It is located on one of the four main roads that branch out from the Charminar. ''Laad'' meaning lacquer, is used to make bangles, on which artificial diamonds are studde ...
and Madina Circle. North of the river are hospitals, colleges, major railway stations and business areas such as
Begum Bazaar Begum Bazaar is the biggest commercial market in Hyderabad, India. It was established during the Qutb Shahi rule. Begum Bazar is located about a half of a kilometer from the Naya Pul bridge in the Old City. It is an old retail and wholesale mark ...
, Koti,
Abids Abids is a major commercial center in Hyderabad, India. Abids is well known as the oldest and most famous business area in Hyderabad. The state government building (TSFC), and the President Plaza, Badshah palace are located here. A variety of bu ...
,
Sultan Bazar Sultan Bazaar is an old commercial market in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It lies between the commercial areas of Abids and Koti. It was previously known as the residency bazaar. Later it was named after the nawab of that area, Syed Sultanuddin ...
and
Moazzam Jahi Market Moazzam Jahi Market is a fruit market in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Named after Moazzam Jah- the second son of Mir Osman Ali Khan History It was constructed in 1935 during the reign of the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. It was named after ...
, along with administrative and recreational establishments such as the
Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for ...
, the
Telangana Secretariat Telangana Secretariat situated at Hyderabad, is the administrative office of the employees of the Government of Telangana in India. The Telangana government on 15 September 2022 has decided to name the new Secretariat complex as Dr. B. R. Ambed ...
, the
India Government Mint The India Government Mint operates four mints in the country for the production of coins: * Mumbai, Maharashtra * Kolkata, West Bengal * Hyderabad, Telangana * Noida, Uttar Pradesh History Under The Coinage Act, 1906, the Government of Indi ...
, the
Telangana Legislature The Telangana Legislature is the state legislature of Telangana. State legislature The Telangana Legislature is currently bicameral. # The lower house is called the Telangana Legislative Assembly. At present the Legislative Assembly consists o ...
, the
Public Gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...
,
Shahi Masjid The Shahi Masjid, also known as ''masjid awan e shahi'' , ''Public garden Mosque'' and ''Bagh E Aam ke Masjid'', is a mosque within the Public Gardens, Hyderabad adjacent to Telangana Legislative Assembly, Hyderabad, India. In 1924 the Nizam o ...
, the
Nizam Club The Nizam Club is located in Saifabad, Hyderabad, India. the club location is considered as heart of the Hyderabad city, which is exactly opposite to Telangana Legislative Assembly Hall. Surrounded in 4 acres land. History The club was establishe ...
, the
Ravindra Bharathi Ravindra Bharathi is an auditorium located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was named after Rabindranath Tagore. History On 23 March 1960, the then Governor of Uttar Pradesh and a former Chief minister of Andhra State, Bezawada Gopala Re ...
, the State Museum, the
Birla Temple Birla Mandir (Birla Temple) refers to different Hindu temples or Mandirs built by the Birla family, in different cities across India. All these temples are magnificently built, some of them in white marble or in sandstone. The temples are ge ...
and the
Birla Planetarium Birla may refer to: * Birla family * Members of the Birla family: ** Aditya Vikram Birla ** Ananya Birla ** Basant Kumar Birla ** G. D. Birla ** K. K. Birla ** C. K. Birla ** Kumar Mangalam Birla See also * Burla (disambiguation) Burla may refer t ...
. * * North of central Hyderabad lie Hussain Sagar,
Tank Bund Road The Tank Bund Road is a road in Secunderabad, Hyderabad, India. The Tank Bund dams Hussain Sagar lake on the eastern side and connects the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. It has become an attraction with 33 statues of famous people from ...
,
Rani Gunj ''Rani'' in Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, sometimes spelled ''Ranee'', is a Hindu/Sanskrit feminine given name. The term is the female form of the term for princely rulers in South and Southeast Asia and applies equally to the wife of a ...
and the
Secunderabad railway station Secunderabad Junction (station code: SC) is a major intercity junction railway station and a commuter rail hub in the Hyderabad urban area. In the city centre, the station is in the South Central Railway zone of Indian Railways. Built in 1874 b ...
. Most of the city's parks and recreational centres, such as
Sanjeevaiah Park Sanjeevaiah Park is a public greenspace and park in the heart of Hyderabad, India. Built on along the banks of Hussain Sagar lake, the park is named after Damodaram Sanjivayya, an erstwhile Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The park is manag ...
,
Indira Park Indira Park is a public greenspace and park in the heart of Hyderabad, India. The foundation stone for the Indira Park was laid during September 1975 by Late Faqruddin Ahmed, the then president of India and it was open for the people in the yea ...
,
Lumbini Park Lumbini Park, officially T. Anjaiah Lumbini Park, is a small public, urban park of adjacent to Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad, India, Hyderabad, India. Since it is located in the centre of the city and is in close proximity to other tourist attrac ...
,
NTR Gardens NTR Gardens is a small public, urban park of adjacent to Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad, India, Hyderabad, India. It is named after the former Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao. Constructed in several phases since 1999, the area ...
, the
Buddha statue Much Buddhist art uses depictions of the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, which are known as Buddharūpa (literally, "Form of the Awakened One") in Sanskrit and Pali. These may be statues or other images such as paintings. The main figure in ...
and Tankbund Park are located here. * In the northwest part of the city there are upscale residential and commercial areas such as Banjara Hills,
Jubilee Hills Jubilee Hills is an affluent suburban neighbourhood in Western part of Hyderabad, Telangana. It is one of the most expensive commercial and residential locations in India with prime land prices fetching up to 300,000 ($4015) per square yard. A t ...
,
Begumpet Begumpet ("Begum's Place") is a part of Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Begumpet is named after the daughter of the sixth Nizam (Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI), Basheer Unnisa Begum, who received it as part of her wedding dowry when ...
,
Khairtabad Khairatabad is a neigbbourhood in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is a mandal in the Secunderabad Revenue division of Hyderabad District. This is a Zone in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. There are five circles in this zone namely ...
,
Tolichowki Toli chowki is a neighbourhood in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The name Tolichowki comes from the Urdu word 'Toli', meaning 'troupe', and 'Chowki', meaning 'post'. It is close to the IT corridor like Gachibowli, Madhapur, Manikonda and Kondapu ...
,
Jagannath Temple The Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu - one of the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism. Puri is in the state of Odisha, on the eastern coast of India. The present temple was rebuilt f ...
and
Miyapur Miyapur ( ), located northwest of Hyderabad, is part of Greater Hyderabad and administered by GHMC and developed by HMDA. Transportation is managed by UMTA. Miyapur has many lakes, and upscale residential apartments. The Jawaharlal Nehru Tec ...
. The northern end contains industrial areas such as
Kukatpally Kukatpally is a suburb located in north western part of Hyderabad in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of Balanagar mandal in Malkajgiri revenue division of Medchal-Malkajgiri district. It was a municipality prior to its mer ...
,
Sanathnagar Sanathnagar is an industrial and residential area in Hyderabad City, Telangana, India, and one of the most densely populated suburbs in India. In the past, a part of it served as a residential area for officers and workers in the industries lo ...
,
Moosapet Moosapet is a neighbourhood in Hyderabad, India, And also a part of Greater Hyderabad. The suburb is from KPHB Colony and from Madhapur. Kukatpally Y junction is located in this area. It is administered as Ward No. 117 of the Greater Hyderabad ...
, Balanagar,
Patancheru Patancheru is located in the north western end of Hyderabad. It is an industrial zone located about 32 km from the city centre on the Hyderabad-Solapur highway, and around 18 km from HITEC City. Earlier, it was the headquarters of Bi ...
and Chanda Nagar. The northeast end is dotted with residential areas such as Malkajgiri, Neredmet, A. S. Rao Nagar and Uppal Kalan, Uppal. In the eastern part of the city lie List of defence research centers in Hyderabad, many defence research centres and Ramoji Film City. The "Cyberabad" area in the southwest and west of the city, consisting of Madhapur and Gachibowli has grown rapidly since the 1990s. It is home to information technology and bio-pharmaceutical companies and to landmarks such as Hyderabad Airport,
Osman Sagar Osman Sagar is a reservoir in the Indian city of Hyderabad. The lake is around 46 km², and the reservoir is around 29 km², with total level of 1,790 feet and a capacity of 3.9 tmc ft. History Osman Sagar was created by damming the M ...
, Himayat Sagar, Himayath Sagar and
Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park is a national park located in Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The park has an approximate area of . The palace complex was given to Prince Mukarram Jah on his coronation by h ...
.


Landmarks

Heritage structures in Hyderabad, India, Heritage buildings constructed during the Qutb Shahi and Asaf Jahi dynasty, Nizam eras showcase Indo-Islamic architecture influenced by Medieval architecture, Medieval, Mughal architecture, Mughal and Art of Europe, European styles. After the 1908 Great Musi Flood of 1908, flooding of the Musi River, the city was expanded and civic monuments constructed, particularly during the rule of Mir Osman Ali Khan (the VIIth Nizam of Hyderabad, Nizam), whose patronage of architecture led to him being referred to as the maker of modern Hyderabad. In 2012, the government of India declared Hyderabad the first "Best heritage city of India". Qutb Shahi architecture of the 16th and early 17th centuries followed classical Iranian architecture, Persian architecture featuring domes and colossal arches. * The oldest surviving Qutb Shahi structure in Hyderabad is the ruins of the Golconda Fort built in the 16th century. Most of the historical bazaars that still exist were constructed on the street north of
Charminar The Charminar () is a mosque and monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana The Charminar's long history includes the existe ...
towards the fort. The Charminar has become an icon of the city; located in the centre of old Hyderabad, it is a square structure with sides long and four grand arches each facing a road. At each corner stands a -high minaret. The Charminar, Golconda Fort and the Qutb Shahi tombs are considered to be Monuments of National Importance of India, monuments of national importance in India; in 2010 the Indian government proposed that the sites be listed for World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage status. Among the oldest surviving examples of Nizam architecture in Hyderabad is the
Chowmahalla Palace Chowmahalla Palace or Chowmahallat (from ''chār mahallāt'', in Dakhini Urdu) is the palace of the Nizams of Hyderabad State in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty and was the official residence of the Niz ...
, which was the Durbar Hall#Durbar Hall – Khilawat Mubarak, Hyderabad, seat of royal power. It showcases a diverse array of architectural styles, from the Baroque Harem to its Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical royal court. The other palaces include
Falaknuma Palace Falaknuma is a palace in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It originally belonged to the Paigah family, and was later owned by the Nizam of Hyderabad. It is on a hillock and covers a area in Falaknuma, from Charminar. It was built by Nawab Sir V ...
(inspired by the style of Andrea Palladio), Purani Haveli, King Kothi Palace and Bella Vista, Hyderabad, Bella Vista Palace all of which were built at the peak of Nizam rule in the 19th century. During Mir Osman Ali Khan's rule, European styles, along with Indo-Islamic, became prominent. These styles are reflected in the Indo-Saracenic architecture, Indo-Saracenic style of architecture seen in many civic monuments such as the Telangana High Court, Hyderabad High Court, Osmania General Hospital, Osmania Hospital, City College Hyderabad, City College and the Kacheguda railway station, all designed by Vincent Esch. Other landmark structures of the city constructed during his regin are the State Central Library, Hyderabad, State Central Library, the Telangana Legislature, the Telangana State Archaeology Museum, State Archaeology Museum, Jubilee Hall, Hyderabad, Jubilee Hall, and Hyderabad Deccan railway station, Hyderabad railway station. Other landmarks of note are Paigah Palace, Asman Garh Palace, Basheer Bagh Palace, Errum Manzil and the Spanish Mosque, all constructed by the Paigah family.


Economy

Recent estimates of the economy of Hyderabad's metropolitan area have ranged from 40-74 billion (Purchasing power parity, PPP Gross domestic product, GDP), and have ranked it either List of cities by GDP, fifth- or sixth- most productive metro area of India. * * Hyderabad is the largest contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP), tax and other revenues, of Telangana, and the sixth largest deposit centre and fourth largest credit centre nationwide, as ranked by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in June 2012. Its per capita annual income in 2011 was . , the largest employers in the city were the state government (113,098 employees) and central government (85,155). According to a 2005 survey, 77% of males and 19% of females in the city were employed. The service industry remains dominant in the city, and 90% of the employed workforce is engaged in this sector. Hyderabad's role in the pearl trade has given it the name "Hyderabad Pearls, City of Pearls" and up until the 18th century, the city was the only global trading centre for diamonds known as Golconda Diamonds. * Industrialisation began under the Nizams in the late 19th century, helped by railway expansion that connected the city with major ports. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Indian enterprises, such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), Bharat Electronics (BEL), Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) and Andhra Bank (AB) were established in the city. The city is home to Hyderabad Stock Exchange, Hyderabad Securities formerly known as Hyderabad Stock Exchange (HSE), and houses the regional office of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). In 2013, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) facility in Hyderabad was forecast to provide operations and transactions services to BSE-
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
by the end of 2014. The growth of the financial services sector has helped Hyderabad evolve from a traditional manufacturing city to a cosmopolitan industrial service centre. Since the 1990s, the growth of information technology (IT), IT-enabled services (ITES), insurance and financial institutions has expanded the service sector, and these primary economic activities have boosted the ancillary sectors of trade and commerce, transport, storage, communication, real estate and retail. , the IT exports from Hyderabad were 1,45,522 crore (19.66 billion), the city houses 1500 IT and ITES companies that provide 628,615 jobs. Hyderabad's commercial markets are divided into four sectors: central business districts, * sub-central business centres, neighbourhood business centres and local business centres. Many traditional and historic
bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...
s are located throughout the city, Laad Bazaar being the prominent among all is popular for selling a variety of traditional and cultural antique wares, along with gems and pearls. * The establishment of Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL), a public sector undertaking, in 1961 was followed over the decades by many national and global companies opening manufacturing and research facilities in the city. * , the city manufactured one third of India's bulk drugs and 16% of biotechnology products, contributing to its reputation as "India's pharmaceutical capital" and the "Genome Valley of India". * * Hyderabad is a global centre of information technology, for which it is known as ''Cyberabad'' (Cyber City). , it contributed 15% of India's and 98% of Andhra Pradesh's exports in IT and ITES sectors and 22% of NASSCOM's total membership is from the city. The development of
HITEC City The Hyderabad Information Technology and Engineering Consultancy City, abbreviated as HITEC City, is an Indian information technology, engineering, health informatics, and bioinformatics, financial business district located in Hyderabad, Tel ...
, a township with extensive technological infrastructure, prompted multinational companies to establish facilities in Hyderabad. The city is home to more than 1300 IT and ITES firms that provide employment for 407,000 individuals; the global conglomerates include Microsoft, Apple Inc., Apple, Amazon (company), Amazon, Google, IBM, Yahoo!, Oracle Corporation, Dell, Facebook, CISCO,* * * and major Indian firms including Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Polaris, Cyient and Wipro. In 2009 the World Bank Group ranked the city as the Ease of doing business index, second best Indian city for doing business. The city and its suburbs contain the highest number of
special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
s of any Indian city. The Automotive industry in Hyderabad is also emerging and making it an automobile hub. Automobile companies including as Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai, Hyderabad Allwyn, Praga Tools, HMT (company), HMT Bearings, Ordnance Factory Medak, Deccan Auto and Mahindra & Mahindra have units in the Hyderabad economic zone. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Maruti Suzuki and Triton Energy will invest in Hyderabad. Like the rest of India, Hyderabad has a large informal economy that employs 30% of the labour force. According to a survey published in 2007, it had 40–50,000 Hawker (trade), street vendors, and their numbers were increasing. Among the street vendors, 84% are male and 16% female, and four fifths are "stationary vendors" operating from a fixed pitch, often with their own Market stall, stall. Most are financed through personal savings; only 8% borrow from moneylenders. Vendor earnings vary from to per day. Other unorganised economic sectors include dairy, poultry farming, brick manufacturing, casual labour and domestic help. Those involved in the informal economy constitute a major portion of urban poor.


Culture

Hyderabad emerged as the foremost centre of culture in India with the decline of the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
. After the Siege of Delhi, fall of Delhi in 1857, the migration of performing artists to the city particularly from the north and west of the Indian subcontinent, under the patronage of the Nizam, enriched the cultural milieu. This migration resulted in a mingling of North and South Indian languages, cultures and religions, which has since led to a Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, co-existence of Hindu and Muslim traditions, for which the city has become noted. * A further consequence of this north–south mix is that both
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
and
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''
Traditional Hyderabadi garb reveals a mix of Muslim and Hindu influences with men wearing ''sherwani'' and ''kurta–paijama'' and women wearing ''khara dupatta'' and ''salwar kameez''. Most Muslim women wear ''burqa'' and ''hijab'' outdoors. In addition to the traditional Hindu and Muslim garments, increasing exposure to western cultures has led to a rise in the wearing of western clothing, western style clothing among youths.


Literature

In the past, Qutb Shahi rulers and Asaf Jahi dynasty, Asaf Jahi Nizams attracted artists, architects, and men of letters from different parts of the world through patronage. The resulting ethnic mix popularised cultural events such as ''mushairas'' (poetic symposia), ''Qawwali'' (devotional songs) and ''Dholak ke Geet'' (traditional folk songs). The Qutb Shahi dynasty particularly encouraged the growth of Deccani literature leading to works such as the ''Deccani Masnavi'' and ''Diwan (poetry), Diwan poetry'', which are among the earliest available manuscripts in Urdu. ''Lazzat Un Nisa'', a book compiled in the 15th century at Qutb Shahi courts, contains erotic paintings with diagrams for secret medicines and stimulants in the eastern form of ancient sexual arts. The reign of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, Asaf Jahi Nizams saw many literary reforms and the introduction of Urdu as a language of court, administration and education. In 1824, a collection of Urdu ''Ghazal'' poetry, named ''Gulzar-e-Mahlaqa'', authored by Mah Laqa Bai—the first female Urdu poet to produce a Diwan—was published in Hyderabad. Hyderabad has continued with these traditions in its annual Hyderabad Literary Festival, held since 2010, showcasing the city's literary and cultural creativity. Organisations engaged in the advancement of literature include the Sahitya Akademi, the Urdu Academy, the Telugu Academy, the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, the Comparative Literature Association of India, and the Andhra Saraswata Parishad. Literary development is further aided by state institutions such as the State Central Library, the largest public library in the state which was established in 1891, and other major libraries including the Sri Krishna Devaraya Andhra Bhasha Nilayam, the British Library, Hyderabad, British Library and the Sundarayya Vignana Kendram. *


Music and films

South Indian music and dances such as the Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam styles are popular in the Deccan region. As a result of their culture policies, North Indian music and dance gained popularity during the rule of the Mughals and Nizams, and it was also during their reign that it became a tradition among the nobility to associate themselves with tawaif (courtesans). These courtesans were revered as the epitome of etiquette and culture, and were appointed to teach singing, poetry, and classical dance to many children of the aristocracy. This gave rise to certain styles of court music, dance and poetry. Besides Western culture, western and Indian popular music genres such as filmi music, the residents of Hyderabad play city-based ''marfa music'', ''Dholak ke Geet'' (household songs based on local folklore), and qawwali, especially at weddings, festivals and other celebratory events. The state government organises the Golconda Music and Dance Festival, the Taramati Music Festival and the Premavathi Dance Festival to further encourage the development of music. * Although the city is not particularly noted for theatre and drama, the state government promotes theatre with multiple programmes and festivals in such venues as the Ravindra Bharati, Shilpakala Vedika, Lalithakala Thoranam and Lamakaan. Although not a purely music oriented event, Numaish, a popular annual exhibition of local and national consumer products, does feature some musical performances. The city is home to the Telugu film industry, popularly known as Telugu cinema, Tollywood. In the 1970s, Deccani language realist films by globally acclaimed Shyam Benegal started a movement of coming of age art films in India, which came to be known as parallel cinema. * * * The Deccani film industry ("Dollywood") produces films in the local Hyderabadi dialect, which have gained regional popularity since 2005. The city has hosted international film festivals such as the The Golden Elephant, International Children's Film Festival and the Hyderabad International Film Festival. * In 2005, ''Guinness World Records'' declared Ramoji Film City to be the world's largest film studio.


Art and handicrafts

The region is well known for its Golconda and Hyderabad painting styles which are branches of Deccan painting. Developed during the 16th century, the Golconda style is a native style blending foreign techniques and bears some similarity to the Mysore painting, Vijayanagara paintings of neighbouring Mysore. A significant use of luminous gold and white colours is generally found in the Golconda style. * The Hyderabad style originated in the 17th century under the Nizams. Highly influenced by Mughal painting, this style makes use of bright colours and mostly depicts regional landscape, culture, costumes, and jewellery. Although not a centre for handicrafts itself, the patronage of the arts by the Mughals and Nizams attracted artisans from the region to Hyderabad. Such crafts include: Wootz steel, Silver Filigree of Karimnagar, Filigree work, Bidriware, a metalwork handicraft from neighbouring
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, which was popularised during the 18th century and has since been granted a Geographical Indication Registry (India)#Geographical Indications tags, Geographical Indication (GI) tag under the auspices of the WTO act; and Zari and Zardozi, embroidery works on textile that involve making elaborate designs using gold, silver and other metal threads. Chintz—a glazed calico textiles was originated in Golconda in 16th century. and another example of a handicraft drawn to Hyderabad is Kalamkari, a hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile that comes from cities in Andhra Pradesh. This craft is distinguished in having both a Hindu style, known as Srikalahasti and entirely done by hand, and an Islamic style, known as Machilipatnam which uses both hand and block techniques. Examples of Hyderabad's arts and crafts are housed in various museums including the Salar Jung Museum (housing "one of the largest one-man-collections in the world"), the Telangana State Archaeology Museum, the
Nizam Museum Nizam's Museum or H.E.H Nizam's Museum is a museum located in Hyderabad at Purani Haveli, a palace of the erstwhile Nizams. This museum showcases the gifts that the last Nizam of Hyderabad State, Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII received on his silve ...
, the City Museum, Hyderabad, City Museum and the Birla Science Museum.


Cuisine

Hyderabadi cuisine comprises a broad repertoire of rice, wheat and Lamb and mutton, meat dishes and the skilled use of various spices. Hyderabad is listed by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
as a creative city of gastronomy. The ''Hyderabadi biryani'' and ''Hyderabadi haleem'' with their blend of Mughlai cuisine, Mughlai and Arab cuisines, carry the national Geographical Indication Registry (India), Geographical Indications tag. Hyderabadi cuisine is influenced to some extent by French cuisine, French, but more by Arabic, Turkish cuisine, Turkish, Iranian cuisine, Iranian and native Telugu cuisine, Telugu and Marathwada cuisines. Popular native dishes include ''nihari'', ''chakna'', ''baghara baingan'' and the desserts ''qubani ka meetha'', ''double ka meetha'' and ''kaddu ki kheer'' (a sweet porridge made with sweet gourd).


Media

One of Hyderabad's earliest newspapers, ''The Deccan Times'', was established in the 1780s. Major Telugu dailies published in Hyderabad are ''Eenadu'', ''Sakshi (magazine), Sakshi'' and ''Namasthe Telangana'', while major English papers are ''The Times of India'', ''The Hindu'' and ''Deccan Chronicle''. The major Urdu papers include ''The Siasat Daily'', ''The Munsif Daily'' and ''Indian Etemaad, Etemaad''. The Secunderabad Cantonment Board established the first radio station in Hyderabad State around 1919. Deccan Radio (Nizam Radio 1932), Deccan Radio was the first radio public broadcast station in the city starting on 3 February 1935, with FM broadcasting beginning in 2000. The available channels in Hyderabad include All India Radio, Radio Mirchi, Radio City (Indian radio station), Radio City, Red FM 93.5, Red FM, BIG FM 92.7, Big FM and Fever 104 FM, Fever FM. Television broadcasting in Hyderabad began in 1974 with the launch of ''Doordarshan'', the government of India's Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster, which transmits two free-to-air terrestrial television channels and one satellite channel. Private satellite channels started in July 1992 with the launch of STAR (India), Star TV. Satellite TV channels are accessible via Cable television, cable subscription, direct-broadcast satellite services or IPTV, internet-based television. Hyderabad's first dial-up internet access became available in the early 1990s and was limited to software development companies. The first public internet access service began in 1995, with the first private sector internet service provider (ISP) starting operations in 1998. In 2015, high-speed public WiFi was introduced in parts of the city.


Education

Public and Public school (India), private schools in Hyderabad are governed by the Central Board of Secondary Education and follow a Education in India#10+2+3 pattern, "10+2+3" plan. About two-thirds of pupils attend privately run institutions. Languages of instruction include English, Hindi, Telugu and Urdu. Depending on the institution, students are required to sit the Secondary School Certificate or the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education. After completing secondary education, students enroll in schools or junior colleges with higher secondary facilities. Admission to professional graduation colleges in Hyderabad, many of which are affiliated with either Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTUH) or Osmania University (OU), is through the Engineering Agricultural and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAM-CET). There are 13 universities in Hyderabad: two private universities, two deemed universities, six state universities, and three Central University, India, central universities. The central universities are the
University of Hyderabad The University of Hyderabad (IAST: ''Hydarāvād visvavidyālayamu'') is a top ranking public central research university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Founded in 1974, this mostly residential campus has more than 5,000 students a ...
(Hyderabad Central University, HCU), Maulana Azad National Urdu University and the English and Foreign Languages University.
Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. It ...
, established in 1918, was the first university in Hyderabad and is India's second most popular institution for international students. The Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Open University, established in 1982, is the first distance-learning open university in India. Hyderabad is home to a number of centres specialising in particular fields such as biomedical sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, such as the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) and National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). Hyderabad has five major medical schools—Osmania Medical College, Gandhi Medical College, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Deccan College of Medical Sciences and Shadan Institute of Medical Sciences—and many affiliated teaching hospitals. An All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences has been sanctioned in the outskirts of Hyderabad. The Government Nizamia Tibbi College is a college of Unani medicine. Hyderabad is also the headquarters of the Indian Heart Association, a non-profit foundation for cardiovascular education. Institutes in Hyderabad include the National Institute of Rural Development, National Law Universities, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad (NLU), the Indian School of Business, the National Geophysical Research Institute, the Institute of Public Enterprise, the Administrative Staff College of India and the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy. Technical and engineering schools include the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH), Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani – Hyderabad (BITS Hyderabad), Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management Hyderabad Campus (GITAM Hyderabad Campus), and Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) as well as agricultural engineering institutes such as the
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is an international organization which conducts agricultural research for rural development, headquartered in Patancheru (Hyderabad, Telangana, India) with several r ...
(ICRISAT) and the Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University. Hyderabad also has schools of fashion design including Raffles Millennium International, NIFT Hyderabad and Wigan and Leigh College, India, Wigan and Leigh College. The National Institute of Design, Hyderabad (NID-H), will offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses from 2015.


Sports

At the professional level, the city has hosted national and international sports events such as the 2002 National Games of India, the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, the 2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open women's tennis tournament, the 2007 Military World Games, the 2009 World Badminton Championships and the 2009 IBSF World Snooker Championship. The city hosts a number of venues suitable for professional competition such as the Swarnandhra Pradesh Sports Complex for field hockey, the G. M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium, G. M. C. Balayogi Stadium in Gachibowli for athletics and football, and for cricket, the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium and Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, home ground of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. Hyderabad has hosted many international cricket matches, including matches in the 1987 and the 1996 ICC Cricket World Cups. The Hyderabad cricket team represents the city in the Ranji Trophy—a first-class cricket tournament among India's states and cities. Hyderabad is home to the Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad—previously Deccan Chargers—is the champion of 2009 Indian Premier League and 2016 Indian Premier League. The new professional Association football, football club of the city Hyderabad FC champions of 2021-22 Indian Super League. During British rule, Secunderabad became a well-known sporting centre and many race courses, parade grounds and polo fields were built. Many elite clubs formed by the Nizams and the British such as the Secunderabad Club, the
Nizam Club The Nizam Club is located in Saifabad, Hyderabad, India. the club location is considered as heart of the Hyderabad city, which is exactly opposite to Telangana Legislative Assembly Hall. Surrounded in 4 acres land. History The club was establishe ...
and the Hyderabad Race Club, which is known for its horse racing especially the annual Deccan derby, still exist. In more recent times, motorsports has become popular with the Andhra Pradesh Motor Sports Club organising popular events such as the Deccan Mile Drag, Regularity rally, TSD Rallies and 4x4 off-road rallying.


Transport

, the most commonly used forms of medium-distance transport in Hyderabad include government-owned services such as light railways and buses, as well as privately operated taxis and auto rickshaws. These altogether serve 3.5 million passengers daily. Bus services operate from the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station in the city centre with a fleet of 3800 buses serving 3.3 million passengers. Hyderabad Metro—(a light-rail rapid transit system) was inaugurated in November 2017. it is a 3 track network spread upon with 57 stations, it is the second-largest metro rail network in India. Hyderabad's Hyderabad Multi-Modal Transport System, Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS), is a three-line suburban rail service with 121 services carrying 180,000 passengers daily. Complementing these government services are minibus routes operated by Setwin (Society for Employment Promotion & Training in Twin Cities). Intercity rail services operate from Hyderabad; the main, and largest, station is Secunderabad Railway Station, Secunderabad railway station, which serves as Indian Railways' South Central Railway zone headquarters and a hub for both buses and MMTS light rail services connecting Secunderabad and Hyderabad. Other major railway stations in Hyderabad are , , , and . , there are over 5.3 million vehicles operating in the city, of which 4.3 million are two-wheelers and 1.04 million four-wheelers. The large number of vehicles coupled with relatively low road coverage—roads occupy only 9.5% of the total city area—has led to widespread traffic congestion especially since 80% of passengers and 60% of freight are transported by road. The Inner Ring Road, the Outer Ring Road, Hyderabad, Outer Ring Road, the Elevated Expressways in Hyderabad#P.V. Narasimha Rao Elevated Expressway, Hyderabad Elevated Expressway, the longest flyover in India, and various Interchange (road), interchanges, overpasses and underpasses were built to ease congestion. Maximum speed limits within the city are for two-wheelers and cars, for auto rickshaws and for light commercial vehicles and buses. Hyderabad sits at the junction of three National Highway (India), National Highways linking it to six other states: National Highway 44 (India), NH-44 runs from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, in the north to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, in the south; National Highway 65 (India), NH-65, runs east-west between Machilipatnam,
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
connects Hyderabad and Suryapet with Pune,
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
; National Highway 163 (India), NH-163 links Hyderabad and Bhopalpatnam, Chhattisgarh; National Highway 765 (India), NH-765 links Hyderabad to Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh. Five state highways, State Highway 1 (Telangana), SH-1 links Hyderabad, to Ramagundam, SH-2, SH-4, and SH-6, either start from, or pass through, Hyderabad. Air traffic was previously handled via
Begumpet Airport Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad, also known as Hyderabad Old Airport, is a civil enclave located in Begumpet. The airport is home to the Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy (RGAA), the Telangana State Aviation Academy and the Begumpet Air Force Statio ...
established in 1930, but this was replaced by Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in 2008, capable of handling 25 million passengers and 150,000 metric-tonnes of cargo per annum. In 2020, Airports Council International, an autonomous body representing the world's airports, judged RGIA the Best Airport in Environment and Ambience and the Best Airport by Size and Region in the passenger category. *


See also

* List of flyovers and under-passes in Hyderabad * List of people from Hyderabad * List of tallest buildings in Hyderabad * List of tourist attractions in Hyderabad


Explanatory notes


Citations


General and cited references

* *


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


A guide to Hyderabad
* {{Authority control Hyderabad, India, Cities and towns in Hyderabad district, India Cities in Telangana Indian capital cities High-technology business districts in India Metropolitan cities in India Historic districts Capitals of former nations Former national capitals Former capital cities in India Populated places established in 1591 1591 establishments in Asia 1590s establishments in India