There are also many residential areas and apartments, particularly in the small neighbourhood of Yapral, with many Indian Armed Forces officials living here.

Being one of the largest cantonments in India, Secunderabad has a large presence of army and air force personnel.

[8] In 1310, the area of present-day Hyderabad and Secunderabad came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate after the capture of Warangal, the Kakatiya capital.

The modern city of Hyderabad was built and founded in 1592 by the Golconda Sultanate under Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah.

He was then forced to sign the 1798 Treaty of Subsidiary Alliance[11][12] to get the favour of British troops camped in the village of Ulwul, north-east of Hussain Sagar, the lake that separates Secunderabad from its twin city Hyderabad.

[11] The city was formed in 1806, after the order was signed by the Nizam allotting the land north of Hussain Sagar to set up the British Cantonment.

[14] The twin cities are separated by the man-made Hussain Sagar lake, which was built during the reign of the Qutb Shahi dynasty in the 16th century.

[15] Secunderabad was exempted from customs duty on imported goods, thus making trade very profitable.

After the First War of Indian Independence of 1857, the construction of a 7-metre-high (23 ft) wall was started at Trimulgherry and completed in 1867.

[17] Sir Winston Churchill, the prime minister of the United Kingdom during World War II, was posted in Secunderabad during the 1890s as a subaltern in the British Army.

[18] Sir Ronald Ross conducted his initial research on the cause of malaria in the city of Secunderabad.

[19] The original building is today called the Sir Ronald Ross Institute and is located on Minister Road.

The popular neighbourhoods in Secunderabad are Tarnaka, Paradise Circle, Trimulgherry, Jawaharnagar colony, Marredpally, Jeera, General Bazar, Sitaphalmandi, Kharkhana, Ranigunj, Yapral, Kowkur and New Bhoiguda.

Situated in the North of Hyderabad at 17°27′N 78°30′E / 17.45°N 78.5°E / 17.45; 78.5.,[21] Secunderabad lies on the northern part of the Deccan Plateau.

Winter lasts for only about 2+1⁄2 months, during which the lowest temperature occasionally dips to 10 °C (50 °F) in December and January.

The city has a sizable population of Anglo-Indians, who mainly resided in the South Lallaguda area of Secunderabad which was popularly known as Little England.

[28] The camp transformed into an English town, and then into a truly cosmopolitan city where the Anglo-Indians, who had a colony popularly called "Little England", rubbed shoulders with the Mudaliars of Tamil Nadu, the Rajasthani trading community, the Parsis, and the Sikhs, as the historian Narendra Luther book Laskar vividly captures the flavour in the chapter, "Colours of the rainbow".

Due to the presence of communities such as Parsis and Anglo-Indians alongside British and native inhabitants, Secunderabad was historically a cosmopolitan city.

[15][30] Secunderabad used to be referred to by the locals as Lashkar, meaning the army and the city's culture reflected the same.

On 16 January 2022, a massive fire engulfed most of the Secunderabad Club, destroying many iconic structures.

Plaza Cinema was the only theatre in India where viewers could sip a beer while watching a movie.

[clarification needed][37] ITC, Infosys, Intergraph, and Coromandel International are some of the major private companies that have their offices in Secunderabad.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), established in 2007, is responsible for the administration and infrastructure of Secunderabad.

[39] The Secunderabad Municipality office which was located on Sardar Patel Road is to be demolished for the metro rail project.

The present Member of Parliament is G. Kishan Reddy,[41][42][43] who is also a Minister of State in the Union Cabinet.

Due to the prolonged presence of the British, Secunderabad has convent schools established by Christian missionaries.