Nalgonda is a city and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

. It is the headquarters of the

Nalgonda district Nalgonda district is a district in the Telangana state of India. Nalgonda district has the highest number of mandals in the state with 31 mandals. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet district, Suryapet, Rangareddy, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, ...

, as well as the headquarters of the Nalgonda

mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...

in the Nalgonda

revenue division A sub-division is an administrative division of a List of districts in India, district in India. In some states (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala) they are called Revenue Divisions. It is headed by a sub-divisional magistrate (also ...

. It is located about from the state capital

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Etymology

In the past, Nalgonda was referred to as ''Nilagiri''. During the medieval

Bahamani kingdom The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellion o ...

, it was renamed Nalgunda. The name was changed to "Nalgonda" for official uses during the rule of the later

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

kings.

History

Paleolithic Age

There is archaeological evidence that

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

people lived in the area that is now Nalgonda, fashioning tools and weapons out of stone. Some of these implements have been found in the Nalgonda area, similar to those discovered at the

Sloan archaeological site Sloan may refer to: *Sloan (surname) *MIT Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States *Sloan (band), a Canadian rock band *Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a major astronomical survey **Sloan Great Wall, a galac ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Neolithic Age

Traces of

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

culture were found at Chota Yelupu, where sling stones and other contemporary objects were excavated. Evidence of

Megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...

culture was also found via the discovery of innumerable burials at various places around Nalgonda.

The Mauryas and Satavahanas (230 BC – 218 BC)

The political history of the Nalgonda district commences with the

Mauryas The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary source ...

. During the reign of

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

the Great, the Mauryas maintained control over the Nalgonda region. Later, the

Satavahanas The Satavahanas (; ''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras (also ''Andhra-bhṛtyas'' or ''Andhra-jatiyas'') in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavaha ...

, who ruled between 230 BC and 218 BC, took control of the area. During this period, the region established trade contacts with the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Ikshvakus (227 AD – 306 AD)

In 227 AD, the

Ikshvaku dynasty The Solar dynasty or (; ), also called the Ikshvaku dynasty, is a legendary Indian dynasty said to have been founded by Ikshvaku. In Hindu literature, it ruled the Kosala Kingdom, with its capital at Ayodhya, and later at Shravasti. They ...

took control of the region. During this period, members of various

Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...

tribes migrated to the area.

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

flourished during this time.

Invasion of Samudragupta

After the Ikshvakus, the

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of South India, the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The ...

s and

Yadavas The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Satvatas, Andhakas, Bho ...

fought for supremacy over the region. However, after

Samudragupta Samudragupta (Gupta script: ''Sa-mu-dra-gu-pta'', ( 335–375 CE) was the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India. A military genius and a patron of arts, he is regarded among the greatest rulers in Indian history. As a son of th ...

(c. 335 AD – c. 375 AD) invaded and conquered most of India, the area fell under the control of his

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

. The Empire fell in the 6th century.

The Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas

Starting in the 6th century, the

Chalukya dynasty The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of south India, southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The ear ...

ruled the modern-day Nalgonda region, as well as much of southern and central India. A major portion of the Nalgonda area appears to have passed from the Chalukyas of

Badami Badami, formerly known as Vātāpi (Sanskrit: from ''āpi'', ‘friend, ally’; ‘having the wind (vāta) as an ally’; Kannada script: ವಾತಾಪಿ), is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district o ...

to the

Rashtrakuta The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from Manapu ...

s. However, the Rashtrakutas fell in 973, and power shifted to the Chalukyas of

Kalyani Kalyani may refer to: Film and television * ''Kalyani'' (1940 film), a Hindi film * ''Kalyani'' (1952 film), a Tamil film * ''Kalyani'' (1971 film), a Kannada film * ''Kalyani'' (1979 film), a Telugu film * ''Kalyani'' (1983 film), an Oriya ...

. The Chalukyas continued to rule the area until the end of the 12th century.

Medieval period

During the medieval era, the

Kakatiya dynasty The Kakatiya dynasty (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kākatīya) was a Andhras, Telugu dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan Plateau, Deccan region in present-day India between 12th and 14th centuries. Their ter ...

took control of the region from the western Chalukyas. During the reign of

Prataparudra II Pratāparudra (r. c. 1289–1323) was the last monarch of the Kakatiya dynasty of India. He ruled the eastern part of Deccan, with his capital at Warangal. Prataparudra succeeded his grandmother Rudrama as the Kakatiya monarch. In the first ...

, in 1323, the kingdom was

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

to the

Tughluq The Tughlaq dynasty (also known as the Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty; ) was the third dynasty to rule over the Delhi Sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the throne under the title of Ghiyath a ...

Empire. When

Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, also named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, further known by his epithets, The Eccentric Prince, or The Mad Sultan, was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from 4 February 1 ...

ruled (around 1324–1351), Musunuri chief Kapayanayaka ceded a part of Nalgonda to Ala-ud-din Hasan Bahman Shah of the Bahmani Sultanate. He annexed the region to the Bahmani Kingdom. In 1455,

Jalal Khan Jalal Khan ( Balochi:) is a legendary figure in the history of the Baloch people who led 44 Baloch tribes from Persia to Makran, founding the first Baloch confederacy in the 12th century. He died in Kech, Makran, leaving behind four sons: '' ...

he declared himself king at Nalgonda, but this was short-lived. He was quickly defeated and the region brought back to the Bahmani Kingdom. During the time of the Bahmani Sultan Shihabud-din Mahmun, Sultan Quli was appointed as tarafdar of the

region (now the state of Telangana). Quli's son, Jamshid, took control of the region from his father. Later,

Qutub Shahi The Sultanate of Golconda (; ) was an early modern kingdom in southern India, ruled by the Persianate, Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty of Turkoman origin. After the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Sultanate of Golconda was established i ...

s took control of the region, and maintained it until 1687.

Modern period: Mughals and Asaf Jahis

Nizam-ul-Mulk (

Asaf Jah I Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqi (11 August 16711 June 1748) also known as Chin Qilich Qamaruddin Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah and Nizam I, was the first Nizam of Hyderabad. He began his career during the reign of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, w ...

) defeated Mubasiz Khan at Shaker Khere in

Berar Berar may refer to: *Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra, India, historically known as Berar * Berar Sultanate (1490–1596), one of the Deccan sultanates *Berar Subah (1596–1724), a subah (province) of the Mughal Empire *Berar Province ( ...

and ruled the

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

autonomously. This district, like the other districts of Telangana, was controlled by

Asaf Jahi The Asaf Jahi is a Muslim dynasty that ruled the Hyderabad State. The family came to India in the late 17th century and became employees of the Mughal Empire. They were great patrons of Indo-Persian culture, language, and literature, and the f ...

s, and remained under their rule for nearly two hundred and twenty-five years.

Geography

Nalgonda is located at . It has an average elevation of .

Climate

Nalgonda has been ranked 2nd best “National Clean Air City” under (Category 3 population under 3 lakhs cities) in India according to 'Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024 Results'

Demographics

census of India The decennial census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1872. Post 1949, it has been conducted by the R ...

, Nalgonda had a population of 135,744; of which 67,971 are male and 67,773 are female. An average of 86.83% city population were literate; where 92.91% of them were male and 80.78% were female literates.

Governance

The municipality of Nalgonda was categorized as a "Grade-III municipality" when it was first created in 1941. It is now a "Special Grade Municipality." Nalgonda's jurisdictional area is spread over . Its population is distributed over an area of , which includes residents of the municipality Nalgonda, the rural areas of Panagallu, Gollaguda, Cherlapalli, Arjalabhavi, Gandhamvarigudam, and Marriguda.

Economy

Nalgonda is being developed as part of KTR mantra of 3-D, Digitise, Decarbonize and Decentralize. As such it has an IT Tower.

Transport

The city is connected to major cities and towns by means of road and railways.

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and

state highways A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

that pass through the city are National Highway 565, State highway 2 and 18. Also

National Highway 65 The following highways are numbered 65: International * AH65, Asian Highway 65 * European route E65 Canada * Highway 65 (Ontario) China * G65 Baotou–Maoming Expressway, G65 Expressway France * Autoroute A65 (France), Autoroute A65 Germ ...

(Hyderabad to Vijayawada) passes through Nalgonda District.

Road

TGSRTC operates buses from Nalgonda to various destinations in

state.

Railway

Nalgonda railway station provides rail connectivity to the city. It is classified as a ''B–category'' station in

Guntur railway division Guntur railway division is one of the six divisions of the South Central Railway zone of Indian Railways. The division was sanctioned in 1995–96 and was fully operational on 1 April 2003, with its headquarters at Guntur. The ''Rail Vikas Bhavan ...

of the

South Central Railway zone South Central Railway (abbreviated SCR) is one of the 19 zones of Indian Railways. The jurisdiction of the zone is spread over the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka. It has three divisions under its administration, wh ...

and is located on the Pagidipalli-Nallapadu section of the division.

Attractions

Nalgonda contains several religious sites, including Maruthi Mandir and Kolanupaka Temple, a Jain shrine. Other attractions include the

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 districts of Kr ...

, a Gowthama Buddha Museum, and the Bhuvanangiri Fort, built by Tribhuvanamalla Vikramaditya VI, panagallu someswara temple and many masjid built by Alamgir in and around the district.

Education

As district headquarters, Nalgonda serves as a hub for primary and secondary education for surrounding villages. Nalgonda has many primary and upper primary schools, offering instruction in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. It also contains a number of colleges specializing in engineering, medicine, pharmacy, and sciences, as well as vocational colleges. There are also many state government-operated schools and colleges in the city, such as Nagarjuna Government Degree college. *

Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences is a private medical college associated with a 1050-bed teaching Hospital located in Narketpally village, Nalgonda District, Telangana state of India on NH65 about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the city o ...

* Mahatma Gandhi University, Nalgonda * Government Medical College, Nalgonda

References

External links

Nalgonda Municipality
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Nalgonda district Municipalities of Telangana District headquarters of Telangana Cities in Telangana