Telangana, India

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 35,193,978 residents as per 2011 census. On 2 June 2014, the area was separated from the northwestern part of Andhra Pradesh as the newly formed state with Hyderabad as its capital. Its other major cities include Warangal, Nizamabad, Khammam, Karimnagar and Ramagundam. Telangana is bordered by the states of Maharashtra to the north, Chhattisgarh to the northeast, Karnataka to the west, and Andhra Pradesh to the east and south. The terrain of Telangana consists mostly of the Deccan Plateau with dense forests covering an area of . As of 2019, the state of Telangana is divided into 33 districts.

Throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages, the region now known as Telangana was ruled by multiple major Indian powers such as the Mauryans, Satavahanas, Vishnukundinas, Chalukyas, Cholas, Rashtrakutas, Kakatiyas, Delhi Sultanate, Bahmani Sultanate, Golconda Sultanate. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the region was ruled by the Mughals of India. The region is known for its ''Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb'' culture. During the 18th century and the British Raj, Telangana was ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad. In 1823, the Nizams lost control over Northern Circars (Coastal Andhra) and Ceded Districts (Rayalseema), which were handed over to the East India Company. The annexation by the British of the Northern Circars deprived Hyderabad State, the Nizam's dominion, of the considerable coastline it formerly had, to that of a landlocked princely state with territories in the central Deccan, bounded on all sides by British India. Thereafter, the Northern Circars were governed as part of Madras Presidency until India's independence in 1947, after which the presidency became India's Madras state.

The Hyderabad state joined the Union of India in 1948 after a police action. In 1956, the Hyderabad State was dissolved as part of the linguistic reorganization of states and Telangana was merged with the Telugu-speaking Andhra State (part of the Madras Presidency during the British Raj) to form Andhra Pradesh. A peasant-driven movement began to advocate for separation from Andhra Pradesh starting in the early 1950s, and continued until Telangana was granted statehood on 2 June 2014 under the leadership of K. Chandrashekar Rao.

The economy of Telangana is the seventh-largest in India, with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of and has the country's 6th-highest GSDP per capita of . Telangana ranks 22nd among Indian states in human development index. The state has emerged as a major focus for robust IT software, industry and services sector. The state is also the main administrative Centre of many Indian defence aerospace and research labs like Bharat Dynamics Limited, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Defense Research and Development Organization and Defence Research and Development Laboratory.

Hyderabadi cuisine and Kakatiya architecture both from Telangana, are on the list of creativity UNESCO creative city of gastronomy and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The cultural centers of Telangana, Hyderabad and Warangal, are noted for their wealth and renowned historical structures – Ramappa Temple (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Charminar, Qutb Shahi Tombs, Falaknuma Palace, Chowmahalla Palace, Warangal Fort, Kakatiya Kala Thoranam, Thousand Pillar Temple and the Bhongir Fort in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district. The historic city Golconda in Hyderabad established itself as a diamond trading Centre and, until the end of the 19th century, the Golconda market was the primary source of the finest and largest diamonds in the world. Thus, the legendary name Golconda Diamonds became synonymous with Golconda itself. Religious edifices like the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, Makkah Masjid in Hyderabad, the ancient Bhadrakali Temple and Govinda Rajula Gutta in Warangal, Alampur Jogulamba Temple in Jogulamba Gadwal district and Medak Cathedral, Kondagattu Anjaneya Swamy Temple, Kondagattu Veerabhadra Swamy Temple, Lord Shiva temple in Vemula Wada of Rajanna-Sircilla district are several of its most famous places of worship. Buddhism also flourished in the region and many Aramams can be found.

Etymology

A popular etymology derives the word "Telangana" from '' Trilinga desa'' ("land of three lingas"), a region so-called because three important Shaivite shrines were located here: Kaleshwaram (in present day Telangana), Srisailam and Draksharama (in present day Andhra Pradesh). According to Jayadhir Thirumala Rao, a former director of Andhra Pradesh Oriental Manuscripts Library and Research Centre, the name Telangana is of Gondi origin. Rao asserts that it is derived from "Telangadh", which according to him, means "south" in Gondi and has been referred to in "Gond script dating back to about 2000 years".

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

A 16th-century travel writer, Firishta, recorded in his book:

During the just reign of Ibrahim Kootb Shah, ''Tulingana'', like Egypt, became the mart of the whole world. Merchants from Toorkistan, Arabia, and Persia resorted to it; and they met with such encouragement that they found in it inducements to return frequently. The greatest luxuries from foreign parts daily abounded at the king's hospitable board.

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

History

Telangana was governed by many rulers, including the:

* Maurya Empire (320 BCE–180 BCE)
* Satavahana dynasty (180 BCE–220 CE)
* Vakataka dynasty (250 CE–500 CE)
* Vishnukundina dynasty (420 CE–624 CE)
* Chalukya dynasty (543 CE–753 CE)
* Rashtrakuta dynasty (753 CE–982 CE)
* Kakatiya dynasty (1083 CE–1323 CE)
* Delhi Sultanate (1323 CE–1326 CE)
* Musunuri Nayaks (1326 CE–1356 CE)
* Recherla Nayaks (1356 CE–1424 CE)
* Bahmani Sultanate (1347 CE–1512 CE)
* Vijayanagara Empire (1336 CE–1646 CE)
* Qutb Shahi dynasty (1512 CE–1687 CE)
* Mughal Empire (1687 CE–1724 CE)
* Asaf Jahi Dynasty (1724 CE–1948 CE)

Early history

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

Kakatiya Dynasty

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

Qutab Shahi and Asaf Jahi's

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

During the early seventeenth century a strong cotton-weaving industry existed in Telangana. Large quantities of cotton were produced for domestic and exports consumption. High quality plain and patterned cloth made of muslin and calico was produced.

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

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

In 1787, heavy flooding killed over 20,000 causing a plague which killed about 10,656,000 Telugus again in Telangana.

Post-independence

When India became independent from the British Empire in 1947, the Nizam of Hyderabad did not want to merge with the Indian Union and wanted to remain independent. The Government of India annexed Hyderabad State on 17 September 1948 after a military operation called Operation Polo. It appointed a civil servant, M. K. Vellodi, as first chief minister of Hyderabad State on 26 January 1950. He administered the state with the help of English-educated bureaucrats from the Madras and Bombay states, who were familiar with British systems of administration unlike the bureaucrats of Hyderabad State who used a completely different administrative system. The official language of the state was switched from Urdu