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History of Andhra Pradesh The State of Andhra Pradesh which covers a large part of the
Deccan, extends over an area of The earliest historical references to the Andhras as a race is found in Aithereya Brahmana (circa 1000 B.C.). They are mentioned as southern people, inhabiting the region south of Vindhyas. The political history of Andhras in very clear terms begins with the Mauryan period. Andhra formed part of the sprawling Mauryan empire and its mention is found in one of the edicts of Asoka at Erragudi near Gooty in the present Anantapur District. Megasthenes, the Greek Ambassador in the court of Chandra Gupta Maurya, made a number of references to Andhras in his book, Indica. According to him, Andhras were an independent and militarily very strong people. Pliny (1st century A.D.) speaks of a powerful king of Andhra desa. The political beginning of the Andhras appear to be near the mouth of the river Krishna. The early Telugu kings conquered the northern Deccan. Prathistanapura or Paithan (in Maharastra) was their early capital. Satavahanas: After the decline of the Mauryan empire, Satavahanas, a powerful Telugu dynasty ruled over the region. Their empire at its zenith comprised of Maharashtra, Konkan, Berar, Malwa and extended in the south up to Kanchi. The Satavahanas had trade relations with Romans and their maritime activities are mentioned by Ptolemy. They also had trade relations with countries in South- East Asia like Java, Sumetra, Indo-China and Malaya Peninsula. The fame of Satavahanas was known outside India in countries like China, Japan and Burma, with whom they had commercial relations. Though the Satavahana kings followed Brahmanical religion, they also patronised Buddhism, thus revealing the spirit of tolerance. The famous Buddhist philosopher and exponent of Madyamika philosophy, Acharya Nagarjuna belonged to the times of Satavahanas. He gave a definite shape to the Mahayana form of Buddhism that was ultimately responsible for the absorption of Buddhism into Hinduism. The evolution of Madhyamika philosophy of Buddhism was a distinct contribution of the Andhras to the various schools of philosophy existing in the world. It was under the guidance of Acharya Nagarjuna that the famous center of Buddhist learning flourished at Nagarjunakonda. It was during the period of Satavahana rulers that the paintings of Ajanta and the sculptures of Amaravathi were carved out. Thus even in the field of painting and sculpture, Andhras developed a distinct school of Art. During the period of four and a half centuries rule, the Satavahanas gave more stability and security to the lives of the people in Deccan than any other political power before. Around 300 A.D., the Ikshvakus extended a kingdom in Krishna and Godavari valley with their capital at Vijayapuri representing the modern Nagarjunakonda. This kingdom was later absorbed into Pallava dominions. Ikshvakus were followed by several small dynasties one after the other. The kings of Brihatpalayana gothra were the immediate successors of Ikshvakus, who ruled from Vengipura near Eluru in West Godavari. Hastivarman, a Salankayana king was a contemporary of Samudra Gupta. Vishnukundins became predominant after the Salankayanas and they held power from 440 A. D. and continued upto 616 A. D. Vinukonda in Guntur District was their capital and Mahendra Verma I was the greatest among the Salankayanas. He is credited to have performed Aswamedha Sacrifice. Pistapura, the modern Pithapuram in East Godavari District and Kottura in Visakhapatnam district were the two Andhra kingdoms subdued by Samudra Gupta during his South Indian expeditions. The Chalukyas with their capital at Vengi ruled a large part of Andhra from the middle of the 6 th century A. D. Pulakesin II who blocked Harsha?s inroads to the south and whose court like that of Harsha?s was visited by the Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang, conquered from the Pallavas the Vengi territory situated between Krishna and Godavari rivers near the sea ? coast. The Vengi kingdom had its capital at Rajamahendrapuri, the present Rajhmundry. The Pallavas of Kanchi ultimately overran the Chalukyas. However, the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani continued with power till 1198 A. D. The Rastrakutas who became predominant by 752 A. D. had two capital cities ? one at Mayurkhandi in Nasik District in Maharastra and another at Manyaketa (Malkhed in Karnataka). Kakatiyas The Kakatiyas of Warangal were a great Telugu dynasty and they rose to power by 1000 A.D. on the ruins of Chola and the later Chalukya kingdoms. Ganapathi Deva, Prataparudra Deva and Rani Rudrama were the prominent Kakatiya rulers. It was during the reign of Prataparudra Deva II that Malik Kafur, the famous general of the Delhi Sultan, Ala-ud-Din Khilji attacked Telangana. In 1323 Muhammad-bin-Tughluq as a Prince, laid seize to Warangal, but three years later, Tughluq led another expedition and annexed the whole of the Kakatiya kingdom. Kakatiya rulers were great patrons of learning and builders of temples. The thousand pillared temple at Warangal is an eloquent testimony to the architectural skills that these rulers patronised. Kakatiyas were also known for the construction of tanks and lakes for irrigational purposes. The Ramappa and Pakhal lakes were built during the period of the Kakatiyas. Ganapathi Deva is best remembered for his enlightened commercial policy. His Motupally (Guntur district) Pillar inscription dated 1244 A.D. registered an Abhayasasana or edict assuring protection to merchants engaged in foreign trade. Kakatiya rulers also were great patrons of Telugu literature. Atharvana, who wrote to establish the antiquity of Telugu in his grammatical work written in Sanskrit was the only Jain author in Telugu literature. The expeditions of Tughluq into South led the Nayaks of Andhra region to unite under the leadership of Prolaya Nayaka. They wrested Rajahmundry from where they drove away the Governor of the Delhi Sultan. By 1325, there came into being a number of independent Nayak kingdoms in the East. Prominent among them were: Reddys of Kondavidu (1325 ? 1425), the Reddys of Rajahmundry (1403 - 1448) and the Velama Nayaks of Nalgonda (1325 - 1474). Golconda: The Bahamani Kingdom that was founded by Hassan Gangu in 1347 with Devagiri as the capital exercised considerable influence on the western flanks of the Andhra country. But by 1490 A.D., the Bahamani kingdom broke into fragments and on its ruins rose the five independent smaller kingdoms - Imad Shahi dynasty of Ahmednagar, Adil Shahi dynasty of Berar, Nizam Shahi dynasty of Bijapur, Qutub Shahi dynasty of Golconda and Barid Shahi dynasty of Bidar. The Sultanate of Golconda which was established in 1518 was prominent among other kingdoms of the period. Laying mostly between the lower courses of the Godavari and Krishna rivers, it was a fertile territory. It extended to the coast of the Bay of Bengal in the East. The founder of Qutub Shahi dynasty was a Turki officer, Quli Qutub Shah, who served the Bahamani king. After the death of Muhammad Gawan, Quli became independent. He had a very prosperous reign till he was ninety years, when he was murdered by his son Jamshid in 1543. Jamshid ruled for ten years and his successor was his brother, Ibrahim, who joined the confederacy against Vijayanagar in 1565. Ibrahim had a very tolerant rule. He employed Hindus in great number in his administration. He died in 1580 and was succeeded by his son Muhammed Quli. In 1686, Golconda was annexed by the Mughal forces under the leadership of Aurangzeb. Golconda kingdom reached its zenith during the period of Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah. Marco Polo who visited Golconda in the later part of the 13 th century carried to Europe fabulous tales of the famous diamond mines of Golconda and methods by which the precious stones were collected . It was in 1591 that Muhammed Quli laid the foundation for the construction of a new city, Bhagyanagar - the present Hyderabad. Vijayanagar The invasion of the Deccan by Malik Kafur during the reign of Ala-ud-din Khilji and subsequent tyrannical rule of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq increased the insecurity of the Hindu kingdoms below the Vindhyas. Hari Hara and Bukka, the two valiant brothers with the support of Vidyaranya founded in 1336 A.D. , a city on the banks of Tungabhadra and also an empire, Vijayanagar. This glorious empire witnessed a total rule of 230 years with four successive dynasties - Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva and Aravidu. Krishna Deva Raya (1509 - 1530) known as Andhra Bhoja belonged to the Tuluva dynasty, during whose reign the empire reached its zenith. The Vijayanagar rulers were great patrons of Telugu language and literature. There were eight great poets Ashtadiggajas who adorned the court of Krishna Deva Raya. The king himself was a great poet and is credited to have authored works like Amukthamalyada, Jambavathi Parinayam etc. The Vijayanagar kings gave great importance to temple construction. The temples at Tirupati, Kalahasti, Kanchi, Madurai, Simhachalam - all owe their existence to the Vijayanagar rulers. There was also great economic activity during the reign of Vijayanagar kings. Irrigational improvements were given utmost importance. There was a Portuguese engineer in the court of Krishna Deva Raya to advise him on irrigational works. A number of foreigners like Abdul Razak, Domingo Paes and Nicolo Conti visited Vijayanagar and lavished praise on the prosperity of this kingdom. The Vijayanagar kingdom was defeated and destroyed by the allied Bahamani Sultans in the battle of Tallikota on 23 January 1565. With the fall of Vijayanagar, a glorious chapter in the history of Telugus ended and paved the way for the Mughal occupation of the Deccan. Hyderabad State Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah, the Subedar of Deccan declared
independence in 1724 during the chaotic times after the death of Aurangzeb. He successfully fought against the Marathas and
consolidated his position in the Deccan. The Nawabs of Arcot, Cuddapah, Kurnool, Sira and Savanoor were to pay tribute to him.
Nizam-ul-Mulk died in 1748 and the struggle for Hyder Ali, who rose to power in Mysore in 1761, obtained a large part of Rayalseema area from the Marathas. But these territories were lost to the British when Tipu Sultan, his son, was defeated in the Third Mysore war (1793) by Lord Cornwallis. The Nizam, by supporting the British against Tipu, gained Gooty, Cuddapah and other territories. In 1799 Tipu Sultan was finally defeated and killed in the Fourth Mysore war by Lord Wellesley. The Nizam, being a trusted ally of the British, acquired the whole of the land South of Tungabhadra. But on 12 October 1800, the Nizam entered into Subsidiary Alliance Treaty with the English and ceded the districts of Bellary, Cuddapah, Kurnool and Anantapur. These districts, from then on, came to be called as Ceded Districts. Thus a large part of the Telugu speaking area came under the British and formed part of the Madras Presidency. Andhra Under the British On the acquisition of Andhra, the British conducted several experiments in land revenue adminstration for their gain. The Bengal system of land revenue was extended and thus the Zamindari system was introduced in Coastal Andhra by 1802. Thomas Munro, the first Collector of Ceded Districts, was responsible for the introduction of another form of land revenue, namely the Ryotwari system, in the Rayalseema region. The Company administration was confronted with several revolts in the Andhra region from the very beginning. The Zamindars in the Northern Circars and Palegars in the Rayalseema region who exercised almost independent powers in the earlier period did not reconcile with the loss of power under the British. The Zamindars of Parlakimidi, Vijayanagaram and several others rose in revolt. The Palegars of Chittoor, numbering ten, raised the banner of rebellion in 1804. Two years later the Vellore Mutiny occurred resulting in the very removal of Lord William Bentinck as the Governor of Madras Presidency. In 1846, Koilkuntla Narasimha Reddy, a Palegar, shook the British administration with his rebellion in which several thousands of Kattubadi Inamdars participated. Freedom Movement Though South India was relatively quiet during the Great Revolt of 1857, disturbances did take place at Masulipatnam, Hyderabad and Cuddapah. But as the British firmly consolidated their rule after the suppression of the Mutiny, there was a gradual political awakening in the Andhra region. Leaders like Kandukuri Veeresalingam (1848 - 1919) inaugurated the social reform movement. Telugu journalism had its beginnings which ignited the sparks of independence. The establishment of Indian National Congress in 1885 gave great fillip to the National Movement in Andhra. Several delegates from Andhra, like P. Anandacharlu and Gooty Kesava Pillai, attended its first session held in Bombay. But the great political awakening in Andhra occurred only after the Vandemataram and Swadeshi movements became popular in the country. The tour of Bipin Chandra Pal in 1907 had a great impact especially on the student community. The annual Andhra Mahasabha Conference took place from 1913 with the sole aim of having a separate Andhra State. In 1918 a separate Andhra Congress Circle was created. Annie Besant started the Home Rule Movement, and Madanapalle in Chittoor District became a centre of political activity. It was in Madanapalle in 1919 when Tagore visited the Theosophical College, then affiliated to the National University established by Annie Besant and for which he was the Chancellor, that the present tunes to his song Janaganamana were composed by Margarate Cousins. The song has since become the National Anthem after independence. The Minto-Morley Reforms (1909) did not go beyond enhancing the maximum number of additional members in the Legislatures. The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) could only change the composition of such Legislatures. These concessions did not satiate the people. The non-cooperation movement, especially after the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, became widespread. The Chirala-Perala struggle under Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya, the no-tax campaign of Pedanandipadu, the forest Satyagraha in Palnadu, the valiant revolt of Alluri Sitarama Raju (1922 - 1924) are all great milestones in the course of struggle for independence. Tanguturi Prakasam shot into national politics after he defied the police while staging a demonstration against the Simon Commission in Madras in 1927. Andhra leaders came much under the increasing influence of Gandhiji, and his Civil Disobedience movement found greatest support in Andhra. Along with the fight for national independence, Andhra leaders craved for a separate Andhra State. The Andhra Mahasabha continued to work towards this end. Though India became free in 1947, the aspirations of several Andhra leaders were not completely fulfilled as a separate state was not in sight by then. Potti Sreeramulu, an Andhra residing in Madras, went on an indefinite fast and sacrificed his life for the sake of a separate State for Telugu speaking people. Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister, finally conceded the demand and Andhra State was formed on 1 October 1953. Tanguturi Prakasam became the first Chief Minister and Kurnool became the capital of the Andhra State. Andhra Movement in Telangana The Andhras in Hyderabad State became politically conscious only after the establishment of Andhra Jana Sangh in 1921. Eminent Telugu leaders like Andhra Pithamaha, Madapati Hanumantha Rao, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, M. Narasing Rao, Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy and others were associated with it. The activities of the Andhra Jana Sangh resulted in the establishment of libraries, opening of Telugu schools, publication of books and promotion of research activities. Krishna Deva Raya Bhasha Nilayam did yeomen service in the literary and cultural upliftment of the region. In 1931, Andhra Jana Sangh got converted into Andhra Mahasabha. Suravaram Prathapa Reddy was its first President. The real fillip to the Andhra Movement in Telangana came with the establishment of Hyderabad State Congress in 1938, and the moving spirit behind it was Swamy Ramananda Tirtha. In the same year the students of Osmania University took up the agitation against the ban on Vandemataram. From 1941 the Andhra Mahasabha came under the leadership of Leftists like Ravi Narayana Reddy, Kaloji Narayana Rao, Baddam Yella Reddy and others. In 1946 the Andhra Mahasabha under the leadership of Ravi Narayana Reddy launched an anti-feudal armed struggle, popularly known as the Telangana Movement. To counteract these activities, the Ittehad - ul - Muslimeen Party and its storm troopers -Razakars- terrorised the people. As the Nizam of Hyderabad was not willing to accede the State to the Indian Union, the troops entered Hyderabad, and on 17 September 1948 the Nizam's forces surrendered. General J.N. Chaudhary who conducted the Police Action became the military Governor of Hyderabad State till a civilian Government was established. After the elections in 1952, B. Ramakrishna Rao became the Chief Minister of Hyderabad State. Visalandhra The States? reorganisation commission, which was set up by the Union Government, suggested the trifurcation of Hyderabad State based on language. Accordingly Telangana, consisting of all the Telugu speaking districts, was added to the Andhra State to form Visalandhra or greater Andhra. Thus Andhra Pradesh came into being on 1 November 1956 with N. Sanjeeva Reddy as the Chief Minister and Hyderabad as its capital. Recent Strides: Andhra Pradesh after its emergence in 1956 has witnessed two violent political agitations in 1969 and in 1972. The first was the Telangana agitation which arose on the feeling of theTelangana people that the Gentlemen's Agreement which had facilitated the formation of Andhra Pradesh was violated by the leaders of the Andhra region. Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy, the leader of the Praja Samithi, and the student leader Mallikarjun, played an important role in the agitation. Immediately on the heels of the Telangana agitation came the Jai Andhra Movement on the issue of Mulki rules. Kakani Venkata Rathnam, B.V. Subba Reddy and others carried on the agitation. The Communist Party of India which was opposed to the bifurcation of the State organised rallies to counteract the separatist movement in both Andhra and Telangana regions. In 1978, after the elections, Dr. M. Chenna Reddy, who spearheaded the movement for a separate Telangana State, was elected the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He announced that separation of the State was no longer an issue and that Andhra Pradesh was an integrated State. The Congress Party, which had an uninterrupted rule for more than twenty five years with chief ministers like Sanjeeva Reddy, Brahmananda Reddy, Sanjeevayya, P.V. Narasimha Rao, J. Vengala Rao, Anjaiah and Vijayabhaskar Reddy, lost in 1983, to Telugu Desam, a party newly founded by N. T. Rama Rao. The coming up of the new party on the plank of preserving the Telugu pride and self respect created a record of sorts as it wrested power within nine months after its formation. Andhra Pradesh has been making rapid strides in every sphere of activity in recent decades. |
nearly 3 lakh sq.km. and has a
population of more than 8 crores. Bounded by Orissa and Madhya
Pradesh on the North, Bay of Bengal in the East, Tamil Nadu on
the South and Karnataka and Maharastra on the West, Andhra
Pradesh is the fifth largest State in the Indian Union. It has a long sea-coast extending nearly
1000 km. The State today with 23 Districts has three distinct
geographical regions - Rayalseema, Coastal and Telangana.
Known familiarly as Annapurna for its bounty, Andhra
Pradesh has been the rice-bowl of the country with its most
fertile Krishna and Godavari valleys. Andhra Pradesh, in addition
to its natural beauty has a very chequered and hoary past. 
succession between Nasir Jung and
Muzaffer Jung culminated in the second Carnatic war (1748 -
1754). Muzaffer, after initial success, was assassinated in 1751
at Lakkireddypalle near Cuddapah. Salabath Jung, the new Nizam,
gratified at the help rendered by the French under the leadership
of General Bussy, gave away the Northern Circars to them. But
when the French were defeated in the Third Carnatic war, Robert
Clive obtained, in 1766, the Northern Circars through a Sanad. In
1788 the British were granted Guntur Circar. 