User:Korra.Srinivaschowhan1985/sandbox

Brief History of Telangana Telangana, as a geographical and political entity was born on June 2, 2014 as the 29th and the youngest state in Union of India. However, as an economic, social, cultural and historical entity it has a glorious history of at least two thousand five hundred years or more. Megalithic stone structures like cairns, cists, dolmens and menhir is found in several districts of Telangana show that there were human habitations in this part of the country thousands of years ago. Remnants of iron ore smelting found at many places demonstrate the hoary roots of artisanship and tool making in Telangana for at least two thousand years. The reference to Asmaka Janapada, part of present Telangana, as one of the 16 Janapadas in ancient India proves that there existed an advanced stage of society. One of the first five disciples of the Buddha, Kondanna is a typical name from Telangana and though there is no exact information about his native place, the earliest known Buddhist township of Kondapur in Medak district is believed to be after him. The Buddha himself famously acknowledged that it was Kondanna who understood him properly. The Buddhist sources say that Bavari, a Brahmin from Badanakurti in Karimnagar sent his disciples to all the way to north India to learn Buddhism and spread the message in this region. Megasthenes, who visited India in the 4th century BCE, wrote that there were 30 fortified towns of Andhras and a majority of them were in Telangana. In the historical age, Telangana had given rise to mighty empires and kingdoms like the Satavahanas, Vakatakas, Ikshvakus, Vishnukundins, Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Qutb Shahis and Asif Jahis. The emergence and flourishing of these powerful political formations is in itself a proof of existence of a sturdy economic, social and cultural structure. Thus Telangana has been a vibrant social entity by the time of the Buddha and continued to be so for the next two and a half millennia. Endowed with such rich cultural heritage, despite the attempts by historians and scholars from Andhra region to obfuscate and erase its history, Telangana always retained and fought for its self respect and self rule. Due to the official efforts to ignore, erase, belittle and look down Telangana history and turn it into an appendage or a footnote, particularly during 1956-2014, much of Telangana history is either not properly researched or not recorded even if it was studied. Telangana rose again and secured its political identity now and is in the process of resurrecting its own glorious past. Here is an attempt to reconstruct the history of Telangana, the wonderful musical instrument with a thousand strings. Pre-history (Up to 1000 BCE) Even though extensive exploration has not been done, particularly subjected to neglect after 1956, the archaeological  department under the Nizams’ government had done tremendous work in discovering the traces of pre-historical human habitations in Telangana. These studies found that human habitations in parts of Telangana can be seen from the Paleolithic age consistently. Either the same locations or extended locations showed people continued to live and develop through the later stages of Mesolithic, Neolithic and Metal ages. Excavations discovered stone tools, microliths, cists, dolmens, cairns and menhirs. All the ten districts of Telangana showed these traces even when a proper, scientific and official research and excavations have not been done and thanks to the efforts of either the first generation researchers before 1950s or individual amateur explorations. Pre-Satavahanas (1000 BCE – 300 BCE) In the historical age beginning from 1000 BCE there are some references of Telangana as a geographical entity as well as Telugu as a linguistic entity, in the contemporary Buddhist and mythological texts. However, it needs a detailed research to discover finer aspects and establish the stage of development of pre-Satavahana society. Thought the official research into this aspect was stalled for about six decades, some enthusiasts like Thakur Rajaram Singh, BN Sastry and Dr D Raja Reddy did their own painstaking explorations and showed that there was a flourishing society before the emergence of the Satavahanas. Particularly Dr Raja Reddy proved with numismatic evidence that there were rulers before the Satavahanas with Kotalingala as capital and issued their own coins. In these excavations the coins of Gobada, Naarana, Kamvaaya and Samagopa were discovered and at least two other rulers’ names came to light. Thus Telangana happens to be the first region in the subcontinent to have issued punch-marked coins with even insignia. The Buddhist texts as well as accounts of foreigners like Magesthenes and Arrian talked about this region as having thirty forts, many of which have to be explored. Satavahanas (250 BCE – 200 CE) After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, around the third century BC there arose the first significant kingdom under the Satavahanas from this region. The earliest capital of the Satavahanas was Kotalingala and then moved to the other popular capitals like Paithan and Amaravati (Dharanikota) only after two centuries of their rule. However, the first capital was either ignored or brushed aside to give prominence to the later place in coastal Andhra. The coins issued by the Satavahana kings Simuka (BC 231-208), Siri Satavahana, Satakani I, Satasiri, Satakani II, Vasittiputta Pulumayi, Vasittiputta Satakani and their governors were discovered in Kotalingala. Numismatic and epigraphic evidence showed that the Satavahanas ruled a larger area of the peninsula, with oceans as borders on three sides. Literature like Gathasaptashati, painting like Ajanta flourished during the Satavahana rule. Post-Satavahana (200 CE – 950 CE) After the fall of Satavahanas in the third century AD, Telugu-speaking areas were divided under various small rulers and till the emergence of the Kakatiyas, for about six or seven centuries this fragmentation continued. Even as the mainstream Andhra historians maintained that it was a dark period in Telangana history without any political formation, the current research found that Telangana was ruled by various kingdoms like the Ikshvakus, Vakatakas, Vishnukundins, Badami Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Vemulavada Chalukyas, Kalyani Chalukyas, Mudigonda Chalukyas, Kanduri Chodas and Polvasa dynasty. A detailed research into this period is yet to take place.Kakatiyas (950 CE – 1323 CE) The sub-feudatories of the Rashtrakutas emerged themselves as independent kings and founded the Kakatiya dynasty around 950 AD and this kingdom became strong and united whole of Telugu-speaking lands and lasted for more than three centuries and a half. The kingdom saw powerful kings like Ganapatideva, Rudradeva and Prataparudra as well as the first ever woman ruler in the subcontinent Rudramadevi. The Kakatiyas ruled from Hanumakonda in the beginning and shifted their capital to Warangal later. The Kakatiyas are known for their irrigation public works, sculpture and fire arts. Thanks to the well-planned irrigation facilities and a perfect system of chain tanks to suit the undulating nature of the terrain, the Kakatiya kingdom flourished economically leading to cultural progress also. Envy of this affluence, several neighbouring kingdoms as well as Delhi Sultanate tried to wage war on Warangal many times and failed. Finally in 1323, Delhi army could lay seize on Warangal fort and capture Prataparudra, who, according to the legend, killed himself on the banks of the Narmada unwilling to surrender   when he was being taken as prisoner of war to Delhi. Post-Kakatiya Interregnum (1323 – 1496) After Prataparudra was defeated by Malik Kafur in 1323, the Kakatiya kingdom was again fragmented with local governors declaring independence and for about 150 years Telangana was again under different rulers like Musunuri Nayakas, Padmanayakas, Kalinga Gangas, Gajapatis, and Bahmanis. Qutbshahis (1496 - 1687) Sultan Quli Qutb Shah, subedar for Telangana under the Bahamanis, with Golconda as his capital, declared his independence in 1496 and seven sultans of this dynasty ruled not only Telangana but the entire Telugu-speaking land including parts of present day Maharashtra and Karnataka. The Moghul empire waged war and defeated Golconda in 1687 and for about three decades Telangana was again witnessed chaos and fragmented rulers. Asaf Jahis (1724-1948) In 1712, Emperor Farrukhsiyar appointed Qamar-ud-din Khan as the viceroy of Deccan and gave him the title Nizam-ul-Mulk. He was later recalled to Delhi, with Mubariz Khan appointed as the viceroy. In 1724, Qamar-ud-din Khan defeated Mubariz Khan and reclaimed the Deccan suba. It was established as an autonomous province of the Mughal empire. He took the name Asif Jah, starting what came to be known as the Asif Jahi dynasty. He named the area Hyderabad Deccan. Subsequent rulers retained the title Nizam ul-Mulk and were called Asaf Jahi Nizams or Nizams of Hyderabad. The Medak and Warangal divisions of Telangana were part of their realm. 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. In 1769, Hyderabad city became the formal capital of the Nizams. Nasir-ud-dawlah, Asaf Jah IV signed the Subsidiary Alliance with the British in 1799 and lost its control over the state’s defense and foreign affairs. Hyderabad State became a princely state among the presidencies and provinces of British India. A total of seven Nizam’s ruled Hyderabad. (there was a period of 13 years after the rule of Asaf Jah I, when three of his sons (Nasir Jung, Muzaffar Jung and Salabath Jung) ruled. They were not officially recognised as the rulers: •	Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I (Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan) •	Nasir Jung (Mir Ahmed Ali Khan) •	Muzaffar Jung (Mir Hidayat Muhi-ud-din Sa’adullah Khan) •	Salabat Jung (Mir Sa’id Muhammad Khan) •	Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah II (Mir Nizam Ali Khan) •	Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III (Mir Akbar Ali Khan) •	Nasir-ud-Daula, Asaf Jah IV (Mir Farqunda Ali Khan) •	Afzal-ud-Daula, Asaf Jah V (Mir Tahniyath Ali Khan) •	Asaf Jah VI (Mir Mahbub Ali Khan) •	Asaf Jah VII (Mir Osman Ali Khan)