History of Telangana

The Satavahanas rose to a political power, after the fall of the Mauryan Empire. Koti Lingala seems to be one of the 30 cities of Satavahana dynasty.[4] Excavations revealed brick wells, coins belonging to a pre-Satavahana period, namely, Gobhada and Samagopa. It is believed that the place is the site of the hermitage of sage Bhavari.[5] Several coins of Simukha, the founder of the Satavahana dynasty, and those of other early rulers like Kanha and Satakarni I were found.[6]

The Deccan, during this period, was an emporium of inland and maritime trade. The region between the rivers of Godavari and Krishna was full of ports and throbbing with activity. There was plentiful of currency to facilitate trade and the people entered upon a period of great industrial, commercial and maritime activity. Buddhism flourished throughout the period and the rulers were also devoted to Vedic ritualism. They constructed several Buddhist Stupas, Viharas and Chaityas. Satavahanas were able rulers and loved literacy and architecture. The 17th ruler of this dynasty, Hāla was a great poet and his “Gathasaptasati” in Prakrit was well received by all. Gunadhya, the minister of Hala was the author of “Brihatkadha”. According to Matsya Purana, there were 29 rulers of this dynasty. They ruled over for about 456 years, from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD. The empire included most of the southern peninsula and some southern parts of the present Indian states of Maharashtra, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. The court language used by the Satavahanas was Prakrit.

The decline and fall of the Satavahana Empire left the state in a political chaos. Local rulers, as well as invaders, tried to carve out small kingdoms for themselves and to establish many dynasties. Such instability continued to prevail until the rise of the Western Chalukyas.

In 1323, Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq sent his son Ulugh Khan on an expedition to the Kakatiya capital of Warangal. The ensuing Siege of Warangal resulted in the annexation of Warangal, and the end of the Kakatiya dynasty.[14] Prataparudra was taken captive, and sent to Delhi, but it is believed he died en route. Ulugh Khan ruled briefly as viceroy, until he returned to Delhi to succeed the throne.

As early as 1330, the Musunuri Nayaks who served as army chiefs for Kakatiya kingdom led the various Telugu clans and recovered Warangal from the viceroy of the Delhi Sultanate and ruled for 30 years. As the musunuri nayaks were struggling and ceding territories to sultanate, their rule was ended by Recherla Nayaks who then ruled until 15th century and later ceded to the Bahmani Sultanate and the Sangama dynasty, the latter of which evolved to become the Vijayanagara empire.[15]

Coat of Arms of the Hyderabad State

With the emaciation of the Mughal Empire after Aurangzeb's death in 1707, the Mughal-appointed governors of the Deccan Suba (Deccan province) gained more autonomy from Delhi. 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). He was well suited for the position as he had fought alongside his father and grandfather who were commanders during the siege of Hyderabad.

In 1724, he defeated Mubariz Khan to establish control over Hyderabad. He received the title of Asaf Jah from Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah in the following year. Thus began the Asaf Jahi dynasty that would rule Hyderabad State until a year after India's independence from Britain.

Charminar and its surroundings, photographed by Lala Deen Dayal in the 1880s.

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. The accession of Asif Jah II, who reigned from 1762 to 1803, ended the instability. In 1768 he signed the Treaty of Machilipatnam, surrendering the coastal region to the East India Company in return for a fixed annual rent.[26]

In 1769 Hyderabad city became the formal capital of the Nizams.[27][28] 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.[26]

When the British and the French spread their hold over the country, successive Nizams won their friendship without bequeathing their power. The Nizams allied themselves with each side at different times, playing a significant role in the Anglo-Mysore Wars.

As an offshoot of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Maulvi Allauddin and Turrebaz Khan led attacks on the British Residency.[29]

The Great Musi flood of 1908 ravaged the city of Hyderabad and resulted in the death of at least 15,000 people.[30]

In 1911, Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh and last Nizam of Hyderabad succeeded his father. He was widely known for his wealth and considered one of the wealthiest men of all time. The development of early modern Hyderabad took place during his reign.

Being a secular ruler, he is known for his donations and yearly grants towards various Hindu temples like Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala, Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Yadadri[31][32].He also donated a grant of 1 Lakh Hyderabadi Rupees towards the reconstruction of Thousand Pillar Temple.[33]

He also donated money and yearly grants for research work for 11 years for the compilation of the Hindu holy book "Mahabharata" at Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune.[34][35]

In late 1945, there started a peasant uprising in Telangana area, led by the Comrades Association (representing Communist Party of India) also known as The Telangana Rebellion or Vetti Chakiri Udyamam or Telangana Raithanga Sayudha Poratam. The communists drew their support from various quarters.

Among the poor peasants, there were grievances against the jagirdari system, which covered 43% of landholding. Initially, they also drew support from wealthier peasants who also fought under the communist banner, but by 1948, the coalition had disintegrated.

Initially, in 1945, the communists targeted zamindars and deshmukhs, but soon they launched a full-fledged revolt against the Nizam. Starting mid-1946, the conflict between the Razakars (a private militia led by Kasim Razvi) and the communists became increasingly violent, with both sides resorting to increasingly brutal methods. The Razakars cordoned off villages, captured suspected communists en masse and engaged in ‘absolutely indiscriminate and organised' (according to one Congressman) looting and massacres. According to an Indian government pamphlet, the communists had killed about 2,000 people by 1948.[36]

Major General Syed Ahmed El Edroos (at right) offers his surrender of the Hyderabad State Forces to Major General Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri at Secunderabad

Operation Polo, the code name of the Hyderabad "Police Action"[37][38] was a military operation in September 1948 in which the Indian Armed Forces invaded the State of Hyderabad and overthrew its Nizam, annexing the state to India.

At the time of the Partition of India, the princely states of India, who in principle had self-government within their own territories, were subject to subsidiary alliances with the British, giving them control of their external relations. In the Indian Independence Act 1947 the British abandoned all such alliances, leaving the states with the option of opting for full independence. However, by 1948 almost all had acceded to either India or Pakistan. One major exception was that of Hyderabad, where the Nizam, a Muslim ruler who presided over a largely Hindu population, chose independence and hoped to maintain this with an irregular army recruited from the Muslim aristocracy, known as the Razakars.[39]^:224 The Nizam was also beset by the Telangana uprising, which he was unable to subjugate.[39]^:224

The Indian government, anxious to avoid what it termed a Balkanization of what had been the Indian Empire, was determined on the integration of Hyderabad State into the new Indian Union.[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". The operation itself took five days, in which the Razakars were defeated easily.

The operation led to massive violence on communal lines. The Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru appointed a commission known as the Sunderlal Committee. Its report, which was not released until 2013, concluded that "as a conservative estimate, 27,000 to 40,000 people had lost their lives during and after the police action."[41]

After Operation Polo, the Hyderabad State was formed and Mir Osman Ali Khan served as Rajapramukh and M. K. Vellodi was elected Chief Minister of Hyderabad State.

In December 1953, the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) was appointed to form states on a linguistic basis.[42] An agreement was reached between Telangana leaders and Andhra leaders on 20 February 1956 to merge Telangana and Andhra with promises to safeguard Telangana's interests. After reorganization in 1956, the region of Telangana was merged with Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh.

On 30 July 2013, the Congress Working Committee unanimously passed a resolution to recommend the formation of a separate Telangana state. After various stages the bill was placed in the Parliament of India in February 2014.[43] In February 2014, Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 bill was passed by the Parliament of India for the formation of Telangana state comprising ten districts from north-western Andhra Pradesh.[44] The bill received the assent of the President on 1 March 2014.[45]

The state of Telangana was officially formed on 2 June 2014. Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao was elected as the first chief minister of Telangana, following elections in which the Telangana Rashtra Samithi party secured majority.[46] Hyderabad will remain as the joint capital of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for a period, not more than 10 years.