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Andhra Pradesh

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Template:India state infobox Andhra Pradesh (ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశ్ in Telugu) (Āndhra Prādesh), is a state in south-eastern India and is part of the linguistic-cultural region of South India. It lies between 12°41' and 22°N latitude and 77° and 84°40'E longitude, and is bounded by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Orissa in the north, the Bay of Bengal in the east, Tamil Nadu to the south and Karnataka to the west. Andhra Pradesh is the fifth largest state in India and it forms the major link between the north and the south of India. It is the biggest and most populous state in the south of India. It is considered the rice bowl of India. The state is crisscrossed by two major rivers, the Godavari and Krishna. ("Pradesh" means "region" or "state".)

History

Sanskrit writings from the 7th century BC describe the Andhra people as Aryans from the north who migrated south of the Vindhya Range and mixed with Dravidians. They are mentioned again at the time of the death of the great Mauryan King Ashoka, in 232 BC. This date has been held to be the beginning of the Andhra historical record. The Andhras are first mentioned in the Aitareya Brahamana. They first rose to prominence under the Satavahana Dynasty. Various dynasties have ruled the area, including the Andhra (or Satavahana), Ikshvakas, Eastern Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Vijayanagar, the Qutb Shahis, and the Nizams (princes) of Hyderabad.

Charminar or Four Minarets in Hyderabad. Hyderabad was the capital of the Nizam kingdom and later the Nizam dominion.

17th Century

During the 17th century, the British acquired the Coastal Andhra region along the Bay of Bengal, then known as the Northern Circars, from the Nizams, which became part of the British Madras Presidency. The Nizams retained control of the interior provinces as the princely state of Hyderabad, acknowledging British rule in return for local autonomy.

The Colonial Era

During the colonial era, Andhra was split amongst several rulers: the Nizam, the Madras Presidency. The Andhra (or Telugu) were at the forefront of Indian nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Potti Sriramulu fought for independence alongside Mahatma Gandhi, and later fought for Andhra unification.

Post-Independence

India became independent from Britain in 1947. The Muslim Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to retain his independence from India, but his state was forcibly integrated into India in 1948 as Hyderabad state. In 1953, the northern, Telugu-speaking portion of Madras State voted to become the new state of Andhra Pradesh, the first of India's linguistic states. The state acquired its present boundaries on November 1, 1956, when Hyderabad State was partitioned along linguistic lines and its Telangana region was added to Andhra Pradesh.

Hyderabad

Dynasties

Satavahana, Shakas, Ikshvakus, Eastern Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Musunuri Nayaks, Vijayanagar, Reddys,Qutb Shahi.

Geography

Regions

Andhra Pradesh can be broadly divided into three regions, namely Coastal Andhra, Telangana and Rayalaseema.

Coastal Andhra occupies the coastal plain between Eastern Ghats ranges, which run the length of the state, and the Bay of Bengal.

Telangana lies west of the Ghats on the Deccan plateau. The Godavari and Krishna rivers rise in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and Maharashtra and flow east across Telangana to empty into the Bay of Bengal in a combined river delta.

Rayalaseema lies in the southeast of the state on the Deccan plateau, in the basin of the Penner River. It is separated from Telangana by the low Erramala hills, and from Coastal Andhra by the Eastern Ghats.

The Krishna and Godavari rivers together irrigate thousands of square kilometres of land, and create the largest perennial cultivable area in the country. Andhra Pradesh leads in the production of rice (paddy) and is called India's Rice Bowl.

Languages in Andhra Pradesh

Telugu is the regional and official language of the State, spoken by 84.86 percent of the population. The major linguistic minority groups in the State include the speakers of Urdu (7.86%), Hindi (2.65%) and Tamil (1.27%).The minority language speakers who constitute less than 1 percent are the speakers of Kannada (0.94%), Marathi (0.84%), Oriya (0.42%), Malayalam (0.10%), Gondi (0.21%), and Koya (0.30%).

Urdu is one of the most important languages of Andhra Pradesh. While Telugu is the official language of the state, Urdu is treated as the additional official language in numerical strength. It comes next to Telugu. Urdu is spoken by 55.6 lakh persons in the state. The state government has notified the areas where the population of linguistic minority constitutes 15% or more of the local population. Telugu is the most preferred language among the Urdu speakers of Andhra. 38 percent of the total Urdu population is bilingual in Telugu.

Important Cities/Towns

  • Hyderabad is the capital of the state and, along with its twin town of Secunderabad, is the largest city.
  • Visakhapatnam is the second largest city, India's fourth largest port, an important Naval Centre and an industrial hub.
  • Tirupati features the famous Venkateswara temple, is a major pilgrimage center.
  • Vijayawada is the third largest city and an important trading center and a prominent railway junction.
  • Guntur is the heart of the tobacco industry.
  • Warangal was the capital of the Kakatiya dynasty.
  • Nellore is famous for its sea food and rice quality. Also famous for mica industry and space research centre.
  • Kurnool was the capital city of the Andhra state.
  • Kakinada is the hub of natural gas exploration and industrial activity.
  • Rajahmundry is known for the Godavari barrage which is the largest bridge in the state.
  • Ramagundam is an industrial town in the upper Godavari valley

Districts

Districts of Andhra Pradesh.

23 districts of Andhra Pradesh

Politics

Andhra Pradesh has a Legislative Assembly of 294 seats. The state has 60 members in the Indian national parliament: 18 in the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and 42 in the Lok Sabha (lower house).

Notable Indian National Congress chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh

People of Andhra Pradesh elected Indian National Congress during the first three decades of its formation and Congress ruled A.P from its inception till 1982 winning every election and delivered an excellent growth. During the 1957-1969 period Congress party laid foundation pillars and incorporated the key infrastructure for the state by building the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam (which is also the main power source for the south India). During the early seventies congress party also took initiatives and helped construct the major universities and invested in starting technical/medical universities across the state.

Dr. Bejawada Gopala reddy was the first chief minister of the Andhra Pradesh. Dr. Bejawada Gopala reddy was a freedom fighter and played a key role in architecting a separate state for Telugu speaking people from Madras presidency. Dr. Bejawada Gopala reddy envisioned the todays Andhra Pradesh and laid foundation in forming the state.

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is the First and the only president from the state. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy a freedom fighter was born in a very poor family. During the independence struggle he went to jail during Peace protest activates along with Gandhi. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy is known for his soft spoken language and his strict belief to Gandhi-an beliefs and he is often referred as a “Noble man” by Nehru.

Kasu Brahmananda Reddy reformed the economic development for the state by initiating drip irrigation and heavily funded the state funds for agricultural Universities and agricultural development. Kasu Brahmananda Reddy had the opportunity to serve as the chief minister of A.P the longest time until his term. During his nine year term Andhra Pradesh saw a rapid agriculture and economic growth and during his second term Andhra Pradesh had the highest per-capita in the country (beating Maharashtra…Currently Delhi has the highest per capita but Delhi was not a state until 1996).

Bhavanam Venkatrami Reddy, Kotla VijayaBhaskara Reddy, Nedurumalli Janardhan Reddy, T. Anjaiah (Ramakrishnareddi Talla), Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy all from Indian National Congress were also the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh.

The Beginning of Multi-Party Politics

Congress party was undefeated player and was the choice of people until 1982. During the 1982 elections Indira Ghandi conteseted from medak district for a member of parliament seat (M.P) and Chandra Babu Naidu (then a Congress party minister for Film development), his father-in-law NTR took an active role during the 1982 National Election campaign and helped Indira Ghandi win by the largest majority in the country. After the elections NTR was neglected by Indira Ghandi and with six months he stopped his support for Indian National Congress and started his own party “Telugu Desam” and won the 1983 elections. TDP was the second political party in Andhra politics and thus breaking the virtually-single party rule in Andhra politics. Nadendla Bhaskar Rao who was the Home minister under NTR sneaked and was sworn in as the Second chief minister under the TDP(by assembling the TDP party left wing MLA’s who were denied the ministry in NTR’s Govt before governor) when NTR was away to the United States for a medical treatment. After coming back, NTR and his son-in-law C.B.Naidu (who had just quit the Congress party and joined TDP) successfully convinced the left wing M.L.A’s and assembled them all before the President of India to show the Support for his father-in-law and NTR was the chief minister till 1989.

In 1989 the people of Andhra Pradesh elected Indian National Congress with a huge majority and congress returned to power and Dr.Marri Chenna Reddy won the elections with a absolute victory. He was later replaced by Nedurumalli Janardhan Reddy who was in turn replaced by Kotla Vijaya Bhasker Reddy during the next elections.

In 1994 NTR's TDP won the majority and NTR was elected the chief minister again, but he was soon thrown out of power by his finance minister and son-in-law N Chandrababu Naidu. Naidu won a second term before he was defeated by the Congress-led coalition in the May 2004 polls.

Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy of the Indian National Congress (INC) is the current chief minister of the states. Rajasekhara Reddy fought the 2004 Assembly elections in an alliance with a new party called Telangana Rashtra Samithi (or TRS), which hopes to form a separate state called Telangana.


See Andhra Pradesh Politics
See Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh
See List of political parties in the state

See Andhra Pradesh Politics
See Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh
See List of political parties in the state

Economy

Major road links of Andhra Pradesh

Recent Economic Progress

In the last decade, the state has emerged at the forefront of India's progress in fields like

and has emerged as a land of immense business opportunities.

In spite of some liberalization since 1990, Andhra's economy still faces many challeges, especially in the drought-hit agricultural sector.

Agriculture has been the chief source of income for the state's economy. Two important rivers of India, the Godavari and Krishna, flow through the state. Rice, sugarcane, cotton, mirchi, and tobacco are the local crops. The state has also started to focus on the fields of information technology and biotechnology.

Urban Centers of Economic Importance

Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, is the fifth largest cosmopolitan city in India, rich in culture, enduring history and industrial growth. It is unique in being one of the few cities where tradition and technology co-exist. Hyderabad, like Bangalore, has become a center for outsourcing. Notable amongst the multinational companies in Hyderabad are Microsoft, Google, Bank of America, Intergraph and Oracle.

Vizag, Andhra's main port, is home to the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command. The city's shipyards, fisheries, docks, and steel works make it an economic powerhouse. Recently, Vizag has seen a rise in investment as industry in Andhra begins to turn towards the lucrative export market. Also, because of its highly valuable geographic location, and because of recent political movement towards a creation of a separate Telangana state, Vizag has seen a massive rise in investment in the city's real estate market.

Culture

Language

Telugu (తెలుగు) is the state's official language. Telugu is the second most widely spoken language in India after the national language, Hindi. It is known for its mellifluous nature and has also been called Italian of the East. An Urdu-speaking and predominantly Muslim minority lives mostly in Hyderabad. Among the many tribal languages, Banjara, Koyi, and Gondi have the greatest number of speakers.

Movies

Andhra has 1,500 movie theaters, the most of any state in India. The state also produces about 200 movies a year.

Music

The state has a rich cultural heritage. The great composers of carnatic music Annamacharya, Tyagaraja and many others were of Telugu descent who chose Telugu as their language of composition, thus enriching the language.

Literature

Main article: Telugu literature

Nannayya, Tikkana, and Yerrapragada form the trinity who translated the great epic Mahabharatha into Telugu. Modern writers include Jnanpith Award winners Sri Viswanatha Satyanarayana and Dr. C. Narayana Reddy.

Dance

Classical dance in Andhra can be performed by both men and women, however women tend to learn it more often.

Kuchipudi is the state's best-known and widely practiced classical dance form.

Another classical dance form, Andhra Naatyam, was historically a dance that defined Andhra's culture. Danced since antiquity at both Buddhist and Hindu temples, it has seen a resurgence in recent years, after nearly dying out.

Cultural Institutions

Andhra Pradesh has many museums, including the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, which features a varied collection of sculptures, paintings, and religious artifacts, and the Visakha Museum in Vizag, which displays the history of the pre-Independence Madras Presidency in a rehabilitated Dutch bungalow.


Newspapers

Andhra Pradesh has several newspapers. Prominent among them are

Telugu Newspapers - Eenadu , Vaartha and Andhra Jyothi.

English Newspapers - Deccan Chronicle,The Hindu

Other elements of Culture

Bapu's paintings, Nanduri Subbarao's Yenki Paatalu (Songs on/by a washerwoman called Yenki), mischievous Budugu (a character by Mullapudi), Annamayya's songs, Aavakaaya (a variant of mango pickle in which the kernel of mango is retained), Atla taddi (a seasonal festival predominantly for teenage girls), banks of river Godavari, Dudu basavanna (The ceremonial ox decorated for door-to-door exhibition during the harvest festival Sankranti) have long defined Telugu culture.

Festivals

Food

The cuisine of Andhra Pradesh is reputedly the spiciest of all Indian cuisine. Foods include both the original spicy Andhra cooking and Muslim-influenced Hyderabadi cuisine.

Pickles and chutneys are particularly popular in Andhra Pradesh and many varieties of pickles and chutneys are unique to the state. Chutneys are made from practically every vegetable including tomatoes, brinjals and an aromatic green called 'Gongura'. A mango pickle, 'Aavakaya', is probably the best known of the Andhra pickles.

Rice is the staple diet and is used in a wide variety of ways. Typically, rice is either boiled and eaten with curry, or made into a batter for use in a crepe-like dish called dosas, or rice cakes called idlis.

Meat, vegetables and greens are prepared with different masalas into a variety of strongly flavoured dishes.

Hyderabadi cuisine is influenced by the Muslim population, which arrived in Andhra centuries ago. Much of the cuisine revolves around meat. It is rich and aromatic, with a liberal use of exotic spices and ghee, not to speak of nuts and dry fruits. Lamb, chicken and fish are the most widely used meats in the non-vegetarian dishes. The biryanis are perhaps the most distinctive and popular of Hyderabadi dishes.

Tourism

The temple town Tirumala lit during the night
Stalactite formation in Borra Caves near Vishakapatnam

Andhra Pradesh is the home of many religious pilgrim centers. Tirupati, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, has the richest and most visited Hindu temple in India. Srisailam, the abode of Sri Mallikarjuna, is one of the twelve Jyothirlingams in India and Yadagirigutta, the abode of an avatara of Vishnu, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha. Puttaparthi hosts the ashram of popular guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The Ramappa temple at Warangal is famous for some fine temple carvings. The state has numerous Buddhist centers at Amaravati, Bhattiprolu, Nagarjuna Konda, and Phanigiri.

The one-million-year old limestone caves at Borra, picturesque Araku Valley, hill resorts of Horsley Hills, Godavari racing through a narrow gorge at Papi Kondalu, waterfalls and rich bio-diversity at Talakona, the beaches of Vizag are some of the natural attractions of the state.

Charminar, Golconda Fort, Chandragiri Fort, and Falaknuma Palace are some of the monuments in the state.

Famous personalities from Andhra Pradesh

See List of Telugu People

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