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"తెలుగుదేలయన్న దేశంబు తెలుగేను,

తెలుగు వల్లభుండ తెలుగొకండ,

ఎల్లనృపులు గొలువ యెరుగవే బాసాడి,

దేశభాషలందు తెలుగు లెస్స!"

(అముక్తమాల్యద-శ్రీకృష్ణదేవరాయలు)

Andhra Pradesh, the 'Land of Telugu People' is a state in southern India with abundant natural resources and rich cultural heritage. It lies between 12°41' and 22°N latitude and 77° and 84°40'E longitude, and is bordered 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 4th largest state in India by area and population. It is the largest and most populous state in Southern India. The state is crossed by two major rivers, the Godavari and the Krishna. Historically this land was known as Andhraapatha, Andhra Desa, Andhraavani, Andhra mandalamu, Andhra vishaya etc.

Language

Telugu is the regional and official language of the state, spoken by 84.86% of the population. Telugu is the second largest spoken language in India(after Hindi). Nearly 150 million people speak Telugu all over the country. Andhra Pradesh state constitutes 80 million of the total population. There are around 28 million Telugu speaking people in Tamil Nadu State. The states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Kerala, Chhattisgarh also has considerable number of Telugu Population. The Central government had conferred “Ancient Language” status to Telugu on 1 Nov 2008 recognizing it's importance in the Indian History & Culture.

Geography

Andhra Pradesh can be divided into three regions, namely Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana. Andhra Pradesh has 23 districts: Adilabad, Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, East Godavari, Guntur, Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Krishna, Kurnool, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Sri Potti Sreeramulu Nellore, Nizamabad, Prakasam, Rangareddy, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Warangal and West Godavari. Hyderabad is the capital and, along with the adjoining twin city Secunderabad, is the largest city in the state. Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh's main seaport, is the second largest city of the state and is home to the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command. Vijayawada due to its location and proximity to major rail and road routes is a major trading center and the third largest city of the state. Other important cities and towns are: Anantapur, Bhimavaram, Eluru,Kurnool, Warangal, Guntur, Tirupati, Karimnagar, Kakinada, Rajahmundry and Nellore.

History

The history of Andhra Pradesh dates back to the epic era of the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha. But the documented history points to 236 BC, when Satavahana established a kingdom and a dynasty around the modern Hyderabad. During the reign of 450 years, Buddhism flourished in the kingdom. The rulers were followers of Brahmanism, but the women folk practiced Buddhism. It was during this period that Buddhism spread from these shores to China, The far East and to Sri Lanka. The Ikshvakus succeeded the Satavahanas and ruled the kingdom for 57 years. The Pallavas annexed the area South of River Krishna and ruled till the end of 6th century.

Then came the dynasties of Chalukyas and the Kakatiyas. The Kakatiyas established themselves as rulers of a Telugu speaking people. The glorious reign of the Kakatiyas came to end in the 14th century and for the first time Telugus came under a Muslim regime that brought with it a totally different set of customs, language and religion. The Delhi Sultanate came in power in 1347 AD, governed by Allahuddin Hasan, claiming lineage to Bahman Shah of Persia, revolted against the Delhi Sultanate and declared himself ruler of the southern part of the territory, comprising mainly the Deccan and Telangana area.

It was somewhere around this time that the Qutub Shahi dynasty came into being when Sultan Quli, the Bahmani governor of Telangana, became independent and extend the new kingdom of Golconda right upto Machlipatnam on the east coast. Given the title of Quli-ul-Mulk by the Bahmanis, Qutub Shah, a descendant of a royal family of Hamdan in Persia, took over the reins and ruled till 1548. Aurangazeb last Mogul king to rule India, conquered the Deccan in 1687 and left his governors, the Nizams, to rule Andhra. The British and French took over from the Nizams. Andhra became a part of Indian Union in 1947. The present state was formed in 1953, merging a part of the then Madras State (present Tamil Nadu) and the princely state of Hyderabad..