Hyderabad

/huy"deuhr euh bahd', -bad', huy"dreuh-/, n.

1. a former state in S India, now part of Andhra Pradesh.

2. a city in and the capital of Andhra Pradesh, India, in the W part. 1,796,339.

3. a city in SE Pakistan, on the Indus River. 795,000.

Also, Haidarabad.

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I

City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 3,449,878), capital of Andhra Pradesh state, southern India.

Founded by the sultans of Golconda in the 16th century, the town was plundered and destroyed following the Mughal occupation in 1685. In 1724 it became the capital of the independent kingdom of Hyderabad. A walled city, it has many buildings in a blend of Hindu and Muslim styles. Adjacent Secunderabad grew as a British cantonment, connected to Hyderabad by an embankment 1 mi (1.6 km) long. It is the site of Osmania University (1918) and the University of Hyderabad (1974).

II

formerly Haidarabad or Nizam's Dominions

Former princely state, south-central India.

Originally part of the ancient kingdom of Golconda, it became part of the Mughal Empire in 1687. The independent kingdom of Hyderabad was founded by Niẓām al-Mulk in 1724. In 1798 it was placed under British protection, although the nizams continued to rule over their princely state. At Indian partition in 1947, the nizam chose to resume its independent status, but India invaded the state (1948) and took control. The area is now divided among the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.

III

or Haydarabad

City (pop., 1998: 1,151,274), Sind province, Pakistan.

Located east of the Indus River, it was founded in 1768 by Ghulam Shah Kalhora. It remained the capital of Sind until 1843, when it surrendered to the British and the capital was transferred to Karachi. It is now a communications, commercial, and industrial centre. Notable antiquities include the tombs and palaces of former rulers; characteristic of the city are badgirs ("wind-catchers") fixed to housetops to catch sea breezes during the hot season.

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▪ India

Introduction

 city, capital of Andhra Pradesh state, south-central India. It is Andhra Pradesh's largest and most populous city and is the major urban centre for all of south-central interior India.

      Hyderabad is located on the Musi River in the heart of the Deccan plateau (Deccan). The city site is relatively level to the gently rolling terrain, at an elevation of about 1,600 feet (500 metres). The climate is warm to hot and monsoonal (i.e., marked by wet and dry periods), with moderate annual precipitation. Most rain falls during the wet monsoon months of June to October. Pop. (2001) city, 3,637,483; urban agglom., 5,742,036.

History

 Hyderabad was founded by the Quṭb Shāhi sultans of Golconda, under whom the kingdom of Golconda attained a position of importance second only to that of the Mughal Empire in the north. The old fortress town of Golconda had proved inadequate as the kingdom's capital, and so about 1591 Muḥammad Qulī Quṭb Shāhi, the fifth of the Quṭb Shāhis, built a new city called Hyderabad on the east bank of the Musi River, a few miles from old Golconda. The Charminar, a grand architectural composition in Indo-Saracenic style with open arches and four minarets, is regarded as the supreme achievement of the Quṭb Shāhī (Quṭb Shāhī Dynasty) period. It formed the centrepiece around which the city was planned. The Mecca Mosque, which was built later, can accommodate 10,000 people. The mosque was the site of a bombing attack in 2007 that killed several Muslims and injured many others. The incident aggravated Muslim-Hindu tensions in the city, which has experienced periodic outbreaks of violence over the years.

      Hyderabad was known for its beauty and affluence, but this glory lasted only as long as the Quṭb Shāhīs, for the Mughals conquered Hyderabad in 1685. The Mughal occupation was accompanied by plunder and destruction and was followed by the intervention of European powers in Indian affairs. In 1724 Āṣaf Jāh Nizam al-Mulk, the Mughal viceroy in the Deccan, declared independence. This Deccan kingdom, with Hyderabad as its capital, came to be known as Hyderabad. The Āṣaf Jāhīs, during the 19th century, started to rebuild, expanding to the north of the old city across the Musi. Farther north, Secunderabad grew as a British cantonment, connected to Hyderabad by a bund (embankment) 1 mile (1.6 km) long on the Husain Sagar Lake. The bund now serves as a promenade and is the pride of the city. Many new structures, reflecting a beautiful blend of Hindu and Muslim styles, have been added along it.

      Under the nizams the Hindu and Muslim populations lived in amity, although immediately after Indian independence in 1947 a fanatical Muslim faction, the Raẕākārs, fomented tensions in the state and in the city. The Indian government intervened, and eventually the state of Hyderabad was acceded to India. In 1956 the state was split up; its Telugu-speaking areas were combined with the erstwhile Andhra state to form the state of Andhra Pradesh with Hyderabad as the capital.

The contemporary city

      Hyderabad has become a centre of trade and commerce. Cigarettes and textiles are manufactured, and service activities have been expanded. The city has good transport facilities. There are rail and air services to Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore (Bengaluru), as well as to historical sites including the Ajanta and Ellora caves, both of which were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites (World Heritage site) in 1983. Taxis, auto-rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, private vehicles, and suburban bus and rail services provide local transport.

      Initially, Hyderabad was the location of two colleges of the University of Madras. In 1918, however, the nizam established Osmania University, and it is now one of the best universities in India. The University of Hyderabad was established in 1974. An agricultural university and a number of advanced research and training institutes are also located there, as are several nongovernmental institutions, notably the American Studies Research Centre and the German Institute of Oriental Research.

      The city has many public and private cultural organizations, such as state-sponsored dramatic, literary, and fine arts academies. The public auditorium, Ravindra Bharati, provides a venue for dance and music festivals, and the Salar Jung museum has a unique collection of rare pieces, including jade, jewelry, paintings, and furniture.

      The public gardens provide the main recreational facilities. Many parks and the large parade grounds in Secunderabad offer space for play and relaxation. The zoological gardens and the university's botanical gardens are popular picnic spots. Hyderabad is reputed for its football (soccer) and cricket. There is also a racecourse.

▪ Pakistan

also spelled  Haydarabad 

      city, south-central Sind province, southeastern Pakistan. It lies on the most northerly hill of the Ganjo Takkar ridge, just east of the Indus River. One of the largest cities in Pakistan, it is a communications centre, connected by rail with Peshawar and Karachi and with Indian railways via the border towns of Khokhropar and Munabao.

      Founded in 1768 on the site of the ancient town of Nīrun-Kot by Ghulam Shah Kalhora, the saintly ruler of Sind, it was named for the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, ʿAlī, also known as Ḥaydar. It remained the capital of Sind under the Talpur rulers, who succeeded the Kalhoras, until 1843 when, after the nearby battles of Miani and Dabo, it surrendered to the British and the capital was transferred to Karachi.

      Incorporated as a municipality in 1853, it is an important commercial and industrial centre. Economic activities include textile, sugar, cement, and hosiery mills, and the manufacture of glass, soap, ice, paper, and plastics. There are hide tanneries and sawmills. Ornamented silks, silverwork and goldwork, and lacquerware are also produced. Noteworthy antiquities include the tombs of the Kalhora and Talpur rulers, palaces of the former amīrs of Sind, and a fort (built 1782). Newly developed settlements and industrial estates surround the congested old city area. Characteristic of the city are badgirs (“wind-catchers”) fixed to housetops to catch sea breezes during the hot season. A hospital, municipal gardens, zoo, sports stadium, and several literary societies are in the city. The Ghulam Muhammad (Kotri) Barrage, including a lock to facilitate river traffic, provides flood control. The University of Sind with numerous affiliated colleges, founded in 1947 in Karachi and moved to Hyderabad in 1951, lies across the Indus. Other education needs are served by numerous government colleges, the Liaqat Medical College, and specialized vocational institutions.

      The surrounding region is a vast fertile alluvial plain, excepting the hilly region of Hyderabad city, extending along the east bank of the Indus. Cultivation is dependent upon canal irrigation. Millet, jowār (sorghum), rice, wheat, cotton, oilseeds, and mangoes are the chief crops. Cottage handicrafts include leatherwork, glazed pottery and tiles, lacquerware and susi (striped cotton cloth) from Hala (north of Hyderabad city), khes (cotton blankets), and susis and anguchahs (cotton cloth) from Nasirpur (northeast of Hyderabad). Historic sites include Bhit Shah (4 miles [6 km] east of Hala), containing the tomb of Shāh ʿAbd-ul-Laṭīf (died 1753), the poet and Ṣūfī saint, and an ancient Buddhist stupa. Pop. (1998) 1,166,894.

▪ historical state, India

      former princely state of south-central India. It was founded by Nizam al-Mulk (Niẓām-ul-Mulk) (Āṣaf Jāh), who was intermittently viceroy of the Deccan under the Mughal emperors from 1713 to 1721 and who resumed the post again under the title Āṣaf Jāh in 1724, at which time he became virtually independent. He founded the dynasty of the nizams (rulers) of Hyderabad. The British (British Empire) and the French participated in the wars of succession that followed his death in 1748.

      After temporarily siding with Hyder Ali, the ruler of the Mysore principality (now Karnataka state), in 1767, Nizam ʿĀlī accepted British ascendancy in Hyderabad by the Treaty of Masulipatam (Masulipatam, Treaty of) (1768). From 1778 a British resident and subsidiary force were installed in his dominions. In 1795 Nizam ʿĀlī Khan lost some of his own territories, including parts of Berar, to the Marathas. When he turned to the French, the British increased their subsidiary force stationed in his domain. The nizam's territorial gains as an ally of the British against Tippu Sultan in 1792 and 1799 were ceded to the British to meet the cost of that force.

      Surrounded, except in the west, by territory owned by or dependent upon the British, Nizam ʿĀlī Khan in 1798 was forced to enter into an agreement placing his country under British protection, becoming the first Indian prince to do so. His independence in internal matters, however, was confirmed. Nizam ʿĀlī Khan was a British ally in the second and third Maratha Wars (Marāṭhā Wars) (1803–05, 1817–19), and Nizam Nāṣir al-Dawlah and Hyderabad's military contingent remained loyal to the British during the Indian Mutiny (1857–58).

      In 1918 Nizam Mīr Umān ʿĀlī was given the title “His Exalted Highness,” though the British government of India retained the right to intervene in his domain in case of misrule. Hyderabad remained a peaceful, but somewhat backward, princely state as the movement for independence gathered strength in India. Hyderabad's Muslim nizams ruled over a population that was predominantly Hindu.

      When the Indian subcontinent was partitioned in 1947, the ruling nizam elected to resume independent status rather than join India. On Nov. 29, 1947, he signed a standstill agreement with India to last one year, and Indian troops were withdrawn. Difficulties persisted, however; the nizam continued his efforts to assert his autonomy, India insisted that Hyderabad join India, and the nizam appealed to King George VI of Great Britain. On Sept. 13, 1948, Hyderabad was invaded by India, and within four days Hyderabad's accession to India was achieved. After a period of military and provisional civil government, a popular ministry and legislature were set up in the state in March 1952.

      On Nov. 1, 1956, the state of Hyderabad ceased to exist administratively. It was divided (along linguistic lines) among the states of Andhra Pradesh, which took the Telangana districts; Mysore, which took the Kannada (Kannada language)-speaking districts; and Bombay (now divided between Gujarat (Gujarāt) and Maharashtra (Mahārāshtra) states). Berar had already been merged with Madhya Pradesh.

      The nizams of Hyderabad constituted a Muslim dynasty that ruled over a predominantly Hindu population, and it is a tribute to the dynasty's government that its Hindu subjects over the years made no effort to evict the Muslim aristocracy by allying themselves with the Marathas, with Mysore, or with the European powers.

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