Andhra Pradesh (ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశం), a state in South India, lies between 12°41' and 22°N latitude and 77° and 84°40'E longitude . It 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.
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. Various dynasties have ruled the area, including the Andhra (or Satavahana), Reddy Kings, Shakas, Ikshvakas, Eastern Chalukyas, Kakatiya, Vijayanagar, the Qutb Shahis, and the Nizams (princes) of Hyderabad.
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 Andhra (or Telugu) were at the forefront of Indian nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
After Indian Independence
India became independent from the United Kingdom 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.
Demands for a separate state for Telugu speakers led to the formation of Andhra Pradesh on October 1, 1953 from the 11 northern districts of Madras state. Kurnool was the first capital of the Andhra state. Andhra Pradesh became the first linguistically-based state in India, which paved the way for the establishment of other linguistic states. On November 1, 1956, in accordance with the recommendations of the State Reorganization Commission Hyderabad state was partitioned along linguistic lines, and nine districts, including the city of Hyderabad, were added to Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad became the new capital of the state.
Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu was the first chief minister. Andhra had a row of Congress governments till 1982. Kasu Bramhananda Reddy was the longest serving chief minister till 1982. P.V. Narasimha Rao also served as the chief minister for the state, who later went on to become the Prime Minister of India. Among the notable chief ministers of the state since independence are Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu , Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy , Kasu Brabhananda Reddy , Dr.Marri Chenna Reddy and Kotla Vijaya Bhasker Reddy and N T Rama Rao.
The Begining of Multi-Party Politics: 1982 saw the rise of NT Rama Rao (or NTR) as the chief minister of the state for the first time introducing a formidable second political party to Andhra politics and thus breaking the virtually-single party monopoly on Andhra politics. Nadendla Bhaskar Rao attempted a hijack when NTR was away to the United States for a medical treatment. After coming back, NTR successfully convinced the governor to dissolve the Assembly and call for a fresh election. NTR won by a large majority. His government's policies included investment in education and rural development and in holding corrupt government offices accountable.
The next Assembly saw NTR becoming the chief minister again, but he was soon thrown out of power by his finance minister and son-in-law N Chandrababu Naidu. Naidu 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.
Geography
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 great 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.
Andhra Pradesh has 23 local administrative districts. Hyderabad is the capital of the state and also largest city. Other major cities include Visakhapatnam, India's fourth largest port, Vijayawada an important trading center and major railhead, Tirupati with the famous Venkateswara temple, Nellore and Guntur the heart of the tobacco industry.
Politics
List of political parties in the state
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).
Districts
Economy
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, tobacco, cotton, mirchi, and sugarcane are the local crops. The state has also started to focus on the fields of information technology and biotechnology.
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. With a dynamic leadership, the state is steering the nation to new dimensions in the fields of Information Technology, Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Business Management, Construction, etc., to emerge as a land of immense business opportunities.
Culture
Telugu(తెలుగు) is the state's official language. It is known for its mellifluous nature and has also been called 'Italian of the East'. A Muslim, Urdu-speaking minority lives mostly in Hyderabad. Among the many tribal languages, Banjara , Koyi , and Gondi have the greatest number of speakers.
The state has a rich cultural heritage. The great composers of carnatic music Annamacharya, Tyagaraja and many others chose Telugu as their language of composition, thus enriching the language.
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.
Kuchipudi is the state's classical dance form.
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 defined Telugu culture for long.
Andhras have shown a strong cultural interest in film for the past 40 years. The state produces about 200 films per year. Thus Telugu film is a big industry in terms of money, but has hardly gained any notice in the rest of India. However, the state has seen some notable artists in the form of NT Rama Rao (former chief minister), Akkineni Nageswara Rao (a.k.a. "ANR", Dadasaheb phalke winner), S.V.Ranga Rao, Ghantasala, Dr. K. Viswanath, S P Balasubrahmanyam, Savithri, Jamuna, Sarada, Sowcar Janaki, Sridevi, and Jayaprada.
Andhra Pradesh has several museums, including the Salar Jung Museum, which features a varied collection of sculptures, paintings, and religious artifacts, and the Archaeological Museum, which features Buddhist and Hindu sculptures and other antiques; both museums are located in Hyderabad.
Education
Andhra Pradesh is also the home of many colleges and universities, including
Festivals
Tourism
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.
See also
External links
Last updated: 05-07-2005 09:06:43
Last updated: 05-07-2005 18:09:53
