Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh (ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశం 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. Various dynasties have ruled the area, including the Andhra (or Satavahana), Reddys, Shakas, Ikshvakas, Eastern Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Vijayanagar, the Qutb Shahis, and the Nizams (princes) of Hyderabad.

Related Topics:
Sanskrit - 7th century BC - Aryan - Vindhya Range - Dravidian - Maurya - Ashoka - 232 BC - Satavahana - Reddy - Chalukya - Kakatiya - Vijayanagar - Qutb Shahi - Hyderabad

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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.

Related Topics:
17th century - Coastal Andhra - Bay of Bengal - Northern Circars - Madras Presidency - Princely state

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The Andhra (or Telugu) were at the forefront of Indian nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Related Topics:
Telugu - 19th - 20th

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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 aquired its present boundaries on November 1, 1956, when Hyderabad State was partitioned along linguistic lines and its Telangana region was added to Andhra Pradesh.

Related Topics:
India became independent - Britain - 1947 - Muslim - Nizam of Hyderabad - 1948 - Hyderabad state - Madras State - November 1 - 1956

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