Andhra Pradesh

/ahn"dreuh preuh daysh"/

a state in SE India, formed from portions of Madras and Hyderabad states 1956. 48,630,000; 105,963 sq. mi. (274,444 sq. km). Cap.: Hyderabad.

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State (pop., 2001 prelim.: 75,727,541), southeastern India.

Located on the Bay of Bengal, it is bordered by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Orissa states. Covering 106,204 sq mi (275,068 sq km), it was formed in 1953 from part of Madras state; its capital is Hyderabad. Its name derives from the Telugu-speaking Andhra people, who have long inhabited the area. Many dynasties have flourished here, dating back to the 3rd century BC. The area came under British influence in the 17th century; in the 19th century the Andhras played a decisive role in the rise of Indian nationalism. The state's economy is primarily agricultural.

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▪ state, India

Introduction

 state of India, located in the southeastern part of the subcontinent. It is bounded by the Indian states of Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nādu) (formerly Madras) to the south, Karnataka (Karnātaka) (Mysore) to the west, Maharashtra (Mahārāshtra) to the northwest and north, and Chhattisgarh and Orissa to the northeast; the eastern boundary is a 600-mile (970-km) coastline along the Bay of Bengal (Bengal, Bay of). The capital is Hyderabad.

      The state draws its name from the Andhra people, who have inhabited the area since antiquity and who have developed their own language, Telugu (Telugu language). Andhra Pradesh came into existence in its present form in 1956 as a result of the demand of the Andhras for a separate state. Although it is primarily agricultural, the state has some mining activity and a significant amount of industry. Area 106,204 square miles (275,068 square km). Pop. (2004 est.) 79,275,000.

Land

Relief, drainage, and soils

      The state has three main physiographic regions: the coastal plain to the east, extending from the Bay of Bengal to the mountain ranges; the mountain ranges themselves, the Eastern Ghats, which form the western flank of the coastal plain; and the plateau to the west of the Ghats. The coastal plain, also known as the Andhra region, runs almost the entire length of the state and is watered by several rivers, flowing from west to east through the hills into the bay. The deltas formed by the most important of these rivers—the Godavari (Godavari River) and the Krishna (Krishna River)—make up the central part of the plains, an area of fertile alluvial soil.

      The Eastern Ghats are part of a larger mountain system extending from central India to the far south and running parallel to the east coast. Interrupted by the great river valleys, these mountains do not form a continuous range. They have highly porous soils on their flanks.

      The plateau to the west of the ranges—part of the Deccan—is composed of gneissic rock ( gneiss being a foliated rock formed within the Earth's interior under conditions of heat and pressure); it has an average elevation of about 1,600 feet (500 metres). The southern portion of the plateau is commonly called Rayalaseema, and the northern portion is called Telangana (Telengana Plateau). As the result of erosion, the plateau is a region of graded valleys, with red, sandy soil and isolated hills. Black soil is also found in certain parts of the area.

Climate

      A summer that lasts from March to June, a season of tropical rains that runs from July to September, and a winter that lasts from October to February constitute the three seasons of Andhra Pradesh. Throughout much of the state, annual maximum temperatures range from the mid-70s to the low 80s F (the mid-20s C), while minimum temperatures usually read in the low 50s F (about 10 to 12 °C). On the coastal plain, however, summers are extraordinarily warm, with temperatures often exceeding 100 °F (38 °C) in some places. Conversely, summers are cooler and winters colder on the central plateau. Annual rainfall, which derives largely from the southwest monsoon, varies widely across the state. Some coastal areas may receive as much as 55 inches (1,400 mm) of rain, while the northern and western parts of the plateau may receive as little as 20 inches (500 mm).

Plant and animal life

       mangrove swamps and palm trees fringe the coastal plain of Andhra Pradesh, while thorny vegetation covers the scattered hills of the plateau. Of the state's total area, about one-fourth is forest-covered, with dense woodlands occurring primarily in the north along the Godavari River and in the south in the Eastern Ghats. The forests consist of both moist deciduous and dry savanna vegetation; teak, rosewood, wild fruit trees, and bamboo are plentiful. Elsewhere in the state, neem (which produces an aromatic oil), banyan, mango, and the pipal (or Bo (Bo tree); Ficus religiosa) are among the common trees. Andhra Pradesh also has an array of flowering vegetation, including jasmine, rose, and a number of endemic species—particularly in the hilly region of the Eastern Ghats.

      Animal life, apart from common domestic types (dogs, cats, and cattle), includes tigers (tiger), blackbucks (blackbuck), hyenas (hyena), sloth bears (sloth bear), gaurs (gaur), and chitals (chital), which abound in the hills and forest areas. There also are dozens of species of birds, including flamingos (flamingo) and pelicans (pelican), as well as some rare varieties, such as the Jerdon's courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus), which is found in the thorny or scrub-covered areas surrounding the Eastern Ghats. The eastern coast is a nesting ground for sea turtles.

People

Population composition

      The population of Andhra Pradesh, like that of the other states of India, is highly diverse. In general, the state's various communities are identified more readily by a combination of language, religion, and social class or caste than they are by specific ethnic affiliation. Telugu (Telugu language) is the official and most widely spoken language in the state; a small minority speaks Urdu (Urdu language), a language primarily of northern India and Pakistan. Most of the remaining groups speak border-area languages, including Hindi (Hindi language), Tamil (Tamil language), Kannada (Kannada language), Marathi (Marāṭhī language), and Oriya (Oṛiyā language). Lambadi (Banjari) and a number of other languages are spoken by the state's Scheduled Tribes (indigenous minority peoples who are not embraced by India's caste hierarchy).

 The great majority of the residents of Andhra Pradesh practice Hinduism. Smaller segments of the population follow Islam or Christianity. Christians live mostly in the urban centres and coastal areas, while Muslims are concentrated in the Telangana and Rayalaseema regions.

Settlement patterns

      More than one-fourth of the population lives in urban areas. Of the urban dwellers, over a third inhabit the industrial and manufacturing areas around the three main cities— Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam (Vishākhapatnam), and Vijayawada (Vijayawāda). With increasing industrial development, these cities began to merge with neighbouring towns, forming urban agglomerations.

Economy

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

      Dominated by the production of food grains, agriculture is the primary sector of the state's economy. Andhra Pradesh is one of the leading rice-growing states in the country and is a major producer of India's tobacco. The state's rivers, particularly the Godavari (Godavari River) and the Krishna (Krishna River), account for its agricultural importance; for a long time their benefits were restricted to the coastal districts of the Andhra region, which had the best irrigation facilities. Since the mid-20th century, however, great efforts have been made to tap the waters of these and other rivers for the benefit of the dry interior; indeed, a significant portion of the state's total investment for development is allotted to agricultural irrigation.

      Canal irrigation in the Telangana (Telengana Plateau) and Rayalaseema regions of the plateau has given rise to agro-industrial complexes rivaling those of coastal Andhra Pradesh. The Nagarjuna Sagar multipurpose project, diverting the waters of the Krishna for irrigation, has increased substantially the production of rice and sugarcane. Rice flour, rice-bran oil, paints and varnishes, soaps and detergents, cardboard and other packaging materials, and cattle feed are all produced from local paddy rice. Other agricultural commodities now grown statewide include chili peppers, sorghum, pulses (peas, beans, and lentils), castor beans, peanuts (groundnuts), and cotton—all of which are processed locally as well—and grapes, mangoes, bananas, and oranges. This economic development in Telangana and Rayalaseema—further stimulated by improved agricultural technology, use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and upgrades in transport, marketing, and credit systems—has helped to reduce the political tensions that formerly existed between interior and coastal Andhra Pradesh.

      The woodlands of Andhra Pradesh annually yield high-quality timber, such as teak and eucalyptus. Nontimber forest produce—including sal seeds (from which an edible oil is extracted), tendu leaves (for rolling local cigarettes), gum karaya (a type of emulsifier), and bamboo—is also important.

      With its long coastline and many rivers, the state has a significant and expanding fishing industry. Much of the yield is drawn from freshwater and marine aquaculture, but open-sea fisheries are significant as well. Prawns and shrimp are among the main products of the industry.

Resources and power

      Among the state's principal mineral resources are asbestos, mica, manganese, barite, and high-grade coal. Low-grade iron ore is found in the southern parts of the state. Andhra Pradesh produces a major share of the country's barite. It is the only state in southern India that possesses significant coal reserves. In the early 21st century, large deposits of natural gas were discovered onshore and offshore in the basins of the Godavari and Krishna rivers. The diamond mines of Golconda were once renowned worldwide for producing the Koh-i-noor diamond and other famous stones; efforts have been made to revive production in the area. Quartz, limestone, and graphite also occur. The state has established a mining and metal trading corporation to lead the exploitation of its mineral resources.

      Most of Andhra Pradesh's energy is produced by thermal generators in the public sector, with hydroelectric power stations providing an important secondary source of energy. In addition, the government has established several wind farms. A number of private companies operate generators powered by natural gas; they also have worked to develop wind, biomass, and other nonconventional power sources.

Manufacturing

      Although Andhra Pradesh has since the mid-20th century become one of the most highly industrialized states in India, manufacturing continues to account for a small percentage of the state's income. Industries such as shipbuilding, aeronautics, and the manufacture of electrical equipment, machine tools, and drugs have been established in the Vishakhapatnam (Vishākhapatnam) and Hyderabad areas. Private enterprises, many of them located in and around the urban agglomeration of Vijayawada (Vijayawāda) and Guntur in the east-central region, produce chemicals, textiles, cement, fertilizers, processed foods, petroleum derivatives, and cigarettes. A number of important enterprises of moderate size, such as sugar factories, are scattered across the medium and smaller urban areas. There is a mammoth steel plant at Vishakhapatnam, where raw materials and port facilities are easily accessible; an oil refinery also is located there, as is a large shipbuilding yard. The phenomenal increase in power generated by hydroelectric and thermoelectric projects since the late 20th century has benefited industrialization and irrigation.

Transportation

      There are airports in the state at Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Tirupati, and Vishakhapatnam. An extensive road and rail system connects Andhra Pradesh with most other parts of India. Bus transportation, a large share of which is privately operated, offers facilities for express travel between various cities. The river canals in coastal areas, especially the saltwater Kommamur (Buckingham) Canal (Kommamur Canal) running parallel to the coast from the Krishna River to Chennai (Madras), are used for cargo transportation. Vishakhapatnam is a major international seaport.

Government and society

Constitutional framework

      Andhra Pradesh is a constituent unit of the Republic of India; as such, the structure of its government, like that of most Indian states, is defined by the national constitution of 1950. A governor, appointed by the president of India, is the executive head of the state administration, but the real power is in the hands of a chief minister and a Council of Ministers responsible to the state legislature. The state has a unicameral legislature, the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha), which is elected by adult suffrage from territorial constituencies.

      The administration is conducted by various ministries and departments, each under the direction of a minister, assisted by a staff of permanent civil servants. The State Secretariat at Hyderabad supervises the administration of the state's nearly two dozen districts. Local administration in each district is the responsibility of a district collector. Rural local government has been democratically decentralized by the introduction of a system in which local authorities operate at the village, block (a unit consisting of a group of villages), and district levels. Municipal bodies govern the urban areas.

      The regional committees for Telangana (Telengana Plateau) and Rayalaseema are a special feature of the state government; the duty of the committees is to ensure that the views of the people of Telangana and Rayalaseema are given adequate consideration. The committees were established to protect regional interests when the regions joined Andhra Pradesh in 1956, since the areas were economically and educationally less-advanced than the coastal Andhra areas. The disparities of development that existed at the regional level in Andhra Pradesh gave rise in the early 1970s to the formation of Telangana Praja Samiti (Telugu: Telangana People's Committee), a political party demanding Telangana statehood. In the following decade, organizers of another political party, Telugu Desam (“Land of Telugu”), advocated a reduced role for the national government in state affairs. Telugu Desam ruled Andhra Pradesh for much of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

      The state judiciary is headed by a High Court, located in Hyderabad; the High Court has original jurisdiction in some cases and exercises appellate and administrative control over the district and lower level courts. The High Court is itself subject to the appellate authority of the Supreme Court of India in certain matters. The Secunderabad cantonment, north of Hyderabad, comprises a number of defense establishments, and Vishakhapatnam is the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command.

Health and welfare

      Government-supported health facilities have expanded rapidly since the late 20th century. Under the Primary Health Centres scheme, medical help, both curative and preventive, has been brought to many rural areas. Urban public medical centres, such as the large Osmania Hospital at Hyderabad and the King George Hospital at Vishakhapatnam (Vishākhapatnam), have undergone expansion and upgrading; and specialized institutes, including those for treating specific diseases, have been opened. There is also a family-planning program. Medical aid is free to low-income groups, and several medical-insurance schemes cover various categories of employees.

      Before the state's independence, social-welfare work was mainly undertaken by private agencies. Since the mid-20th century, however, the magnitude of need and the scarcity of resources, both organizational and financial, led the government to accept primary responsibility in this field. Public investment in social welfare accounts for a large proportion of the total amount spent on planning. There are social-welfare programs for people with disabilities, for Scheduled Castes (formerly called “untouchables (untouchable)”) and Scheduled Tribes, and for other groups that are not fully integrated into the social structure. Such programs include, among others, those that reserve places in educational institutions, those that provide employment, and housing and land-distribution schemes. A separate government department addresses women's concerns. There remain, nevertheless, many privately run social organizations that operate alongside those of the government; the Andhra Mahila Sabha, for instance, broadly promotes women's welfare.

Education

      The state's educational system provides for 10 years of schooling followed by a two-year junior college course leading to undergraduate and postgraduate education. Primary school has been compulsory since 1961, and both primary and secondary school are provided free of charge. In the early 21st century the literacy rate was roughly 60 percent.

      Andhra Pradesh has some 20 universities, a number of which provide postgraduate instruction and research facilities. The Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, which is a nationally prominent institution, is located at Hyderabad. Since the late 20th century, technical education has received special attention in order to meet the demands of industrialization. Various industrial-training institutes offer vocational training, while the engineering colleges of the universities train advanced technical personnel. Scholarship programs are available for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other disadvantaged groups in all educational institutions that receive substantial financial assistance from state and federal agencies. Privately run facilities also operate at all levels.

Cultural life

      The Andhras' contribution to India's cultural heritage is substantial. Architecture and painting have been highly developed arts in the region since ancient times. The kuchipudi style of dance is unique in the Indian tradition, while Carnatic (South Indian) music (Carnatic music) has derived much from Andhra roots. Many of southern India's major classical composers have been Andhras, and Telugu (Telugu language) has been the language of most of the compositions. Telugu, one of the four literary languages of the Dravidian (Dravidian languages) family, occupies a prestigious place among Indian languages, being renowned for its antiquity and admired by many for its mellifluous quality. Telugu literature was prominent in the Indian literary renaissance of the 19th and 20th centuries, as the writing resonated with a revolution in literary forms and expression, stimulated to a large degree by Western genres. Andhra Pradesh has many periodicals in English, Telugu, and Urdu (Urdu language). Muslim culture in the Telangana (Telingāna) region further enriches the state's cultural diversity.

      Before independence, arts and literature thrived mostly under the sponsorship of royal patrons and private organizations, many of which still function. Since independence, the state has created autonomous academies to revive, popularize, and promote fine arts, dance, drama, music, and literature.

      The conscious cultivation of cultural expression is more an urban than a rural phenomenon, for cultural performances, literary meetings, and religious discussions occur mostly in towns or cities. Cultural development in different parts of the state under different historical circumstances resulted in the occurrence of recognizable variations in dialect, in caste structure, and in other traditions, all of which ultimately served to diversify the rural arts. Rural cultural media such as balladry (ballad), puppetry, and storytelling are indigenous to the area; use of these media in social and political communication is also common. The penetration of the mass media, especially of radio and television, into rural areas has helped to bring an awareness of classical traditions to the rural communities and of rural arts to the urban population. Andhra Pradesh is among the few major moviemaking states of India.

History

 Although Sanskrit (Sanskrit language) writings dating to about 1000 BCE contain references to a people called “Andhras” living south of the central Indian mountain ranges, definitive historical evidence of the Andhras dates from the times of the Mauryan dynasty (Mauryan empire), which ruled in the north from the late 4th to the early 2nd century BCE. The great Mauryan emperor Ashoka (reigned c. 265–238 BCE) sent Buddhist (Buddhism) missions to the Andhras in the south. About the 1st century CE, the Satavahanas (Sātavāhana Dynasty) (or Satakarni), one of the most renowned of the Andhra dynasties, came to power. Its members ruled over almost the entire Deccan plateau and even established trade relations with Rome. They were patrons of diverse religions and also were great builders; their principal city, Amaravati, contained Buddhist monuments that inaugurated a new style of architecture. Experts ascribe parts of the famous paintings in the Ajanta Caves of the Deccan to the Andhra painters of that period. Buddhism prospered under the Andhras, and in their capital flourished the great Buddhist university of antiquity, where Nagarjuna (c. 150–250), the founder of the Mahayana school of Buddhism, taught. The ruins of the university, at Nagarjunakonda, still reflect its former glory.

      The Andhras continued to prosper over the next millennium, and in the 11th century the eastern Calukya (Chalukya dynasty) dynasty unified most of the Andhra area. Under the Calukyas, Hinduism emerged as the dominant religion, and the first of the Telugu (Telugu language) poets, Nannaya, began translating the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, into Telugu, marking the birth of Telugu as a literary medium. During the 12th and 13th centuries the dynasty of the Kakatiyas of Warangal extended Andhra power militarily and culturally; during their regime the commercial expansion of the Andhras toward Southeast Asia reached its peak.

      By this time, however, followers of Islam (Islām) had established themselves in the north, and their invasion of the south led to the fall of Warangal in 1323. But the rise of the kingdom of Vijayanagar, to the southwest of Warangal, arrested further expansion of the Muslim power for some time. Widely acclaimed not only as the greatest kingdom in Andhra history but also as one of the greatest in Indian history, Vijayanagar, under the rule of its preeminent king Krishna Deva Raya (reigned 1509–29), became synonymous with military glory, economic prosperity, good administration, and artistic splendour. Telugu literature, for instance, flourished during this period. The formation of an alliance between the various neighbouring Muslim principalities ultimately led to the fall of Vijayanagar in 1565, leaving the Muslims in control of the Andhra areas.

      In the 17th century, European traders began to involve themselves in Indian politics, as successive nizams (rulers) of Hyderabad, seeking to consolidate their kingdom against rivals, obtained first French and later British support. In exchange for their help, the British acquired from the nizam the coastal Andhra districts lying to the north of the city of Madras (Chennai) (now Chennai) and later the hinterland districts. Thus, the major part of the Andhra country came under British rule. Part of the Telugu-speaking areas, known as the Telangana (Telingāna) region, remained under the nizam's dominion, and the French acquired a few towns.

      Indian nationalism arose during the 19th century, and the Andhras took a place at the forefront of the movement. Leaders such as Kandukuri Veerasalingam were pioneers in social reform. In the struggle against British rule, Andhra leaders played decisive roles. Pride in their historical and linguistic achievements led them to demand a separate province. Simultaneously, a movement was organized to unite the Telugu-speaking peoples living under British rule with those under the nizam's administration. Once India gained independence, the Andhras' demand for separate statehood became so insistent that, when the central government refused to comply, a local leader, Potti Sreeramulu, fasted to death in 1952 to dramatize the issue. The government finally acceded to the people's request by creating on Oct. 1, 1953, the Andhra state, which included the Telugu-speaking districts of the former Madras state to the south, thus paving the way for the formation of linguistic states throughout India in 1957. The erstwhile state of Hyderabad, which had joined independent India in 1949, was split up, and its nine Telugu-speaking districts (constituting Telangana) were joined to the Andhra state on Nov. 1, 1956, to form the new state of Andhra Pradesh.

R.V.R. Chandrasekhara Rao Sudhir Vyankatesh Wanmali

Additional Reading

The state's physical and human geography are discussed in A. Ramesh Choudhary (Ārigapūḍi), Andhra Pradesh (1979); T.D. Jagadesan, Andhra Pradesh (1969); N.V.B.S. Dutt, Geology and Mineral Resources of Andhra Pradesh and Late Proterozoic Stratigraphy and Middle and Late Proterozoic Tectonic Evolution of Peninsular India, 3rd ed., rev., updated, and enlarged (1986); Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf, The Gonds of Andhra Pradesh (1979); and K.V. Narayana Rao, The Emergence of Andhra Pradesh (1973).Sudhir Vyankatesh Wanmali

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