History of Telangana
In 2014, Telangana became the 29th state of India after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, consisting of thirty-three (33) districts, with Hyderabad as its capital.
[2] The city of Hyderabad served as the joint capital for the residual Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for a period of ten years until 2024.
[5] Excavations revealed brick wells, coins belonging to a pre-Satavahana period, namely, Gobhada and Samagopa.
[6] Several coins of Simukha, the founder of the Satavahana dynasty, and those of other early rulers like Kanha and Satakarni I were found.
There was plentiful of currency to facilitate trade and the people entered upon a period of great industrial, commercial and maritime activity.
Ganapati put an end to the rule of the Velanati Cholas in 1210 and extended his empire to Anakapalle in the north.
An able fighter and ruler, Rudrama defended the kingdom against the Cholas and the Seuna Yadavas, earning their respect.
Prataparudra expanded his borders to the west to Raichur and in the south to Ongole and the Nallamala Hills, whilst introducing many administrative reforms, some of which were also later adopted in the Vijayanagara empire.
In 1309, the Sultan of Delhi, Alauddin Khilji sent his general Malik Kafur on an expedition to the Kakatiya kingdom.
[13] Kafur's army reached the Kakatiya capital Warangal in January 1310, and breached its outer fort after a month-long siege.
As early as 1330, the Musunuri Nayaks who served as army chiefs for Kakatiya kingdom united the various Telugu clans and recovered Warangal from the viceroy of the Delhi Sultanate and ruled for half a century.
Surrounded by more significant states, by the 15th century these new entities had ceded to the Bahmani Sultanate and the Sangama dynasty, the latter of which evolved to become the Vijayanagara empire.
[20][21] During this period, the city of Hyderabad was established by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591, on the banks of the Musi River.
Over the years, Hyderabad would grow as an important trading center for diamonds, pearls, arms and steel.
In 1656, Aurangzeb attacked Golconda Fort by surprise but was forced to call off the siege on orders of Shah Jahan.
In 1714, the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar appointed Mir Qamar-ud-din Siddiqi as the viceroy to the Deccan and gave him the title of Nizam-ul-Mulk (governor of the country).
Thus began the Asaf Jahi dynasty that would rule Hyderabad State until a year after India's independence from Britain.
When Asaf Jah I died in 1748, there was political unrest due to contention for the throne among his sons, who were aided by opportunistic neighbouring states and colonial foreign forces.
The death of Asaf Jah I in 1748 resulted in a period of political unrest as his sons, backed by opportunistic neighbouring states and colonial foreign forces, contended for the throne.
In 1768 he signed the Treaty of Machilipatnam, surrendering the coastal region to the East India Company in return for a fixed annual rent.
[28][29] In response to regular threats from Hyder Ali (Dalwai of Mysore), Baji Rao I (Peshwa of the Maratha Empire), and Basalath Jung (Asaf Jah II's elder brother, who was supported by the Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau), the Nizam signed a subsidiary alliance with the East India Company in 1798, allowing the British Indian Army to occupy Bolarum (modern Secunderabad) to protect the state's capital, for which the Nizams paid an annual maintenance to the British.
[27] When the British and the French spread their hold over the country, successive Nizams won their friendship without bequeathing their power.
As an offshoot of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Maulvi Allauddin and Turrebaz Khan led attacks on the British Residency.
Initially, they also drew support from wealthier peasants who also fought under the communist banner, but by 1948, the coalition had disintegrated.
The Razakars cordoned off villages, captured suspected communists en masse and engaged in "absolutely indiscriminate and organised" (according to one Congressman) looting and massacres.
[39]: 223 Amidst atrocities by the Razakars, the Indian Home Minister Sardar Patel decided to annex Hyderabad[40] in what was termed a "police action".
On 30 July 2013, the Congress Working Committee unanimously passed a resolution to recommend the formation of a separate Telangana state.
