Andhra Pradesh ([aːnd̪ʱrə prəd̪eːʃ] (
listen)), is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the country's southeastern coast. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh 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.
listen)), is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the country's southeastern coast. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh 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 has the second-longest coastline of 972 km (604 mi) among the states of India.[2] Two major rivers, the Godavari and the Krishna, run across the state. The small enclave (30 square kilometres (12 sq mi)) of Yanam, a district of Pondicherry, lies in the Godavari delta in the northeast of the state.
The primary official language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu with Urdu a common secondary official language in some areas. Other languages often spoken in the state include Hindi,Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, and Oriya. According to the 2001 census, 10,281 persons in Andhra Pradesh declare English as their first language.[4]
The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh exceeds $100 billion, ranking it third among the states of India.[5] It is historically called the "Rice Bowl of India".Andhra Pradesh's GSDP for 2010 was estimated at $100.35 billion in current prices and in 2011 it rose to $123,560 billion and $145,854 billion in 2012-13[6] It holds a position in the Provinces of the world with more than billion dollar GDP.[7] More than 77% of its crop is rice; Andhra Pradesh produced 17,796,000 tonnes of rice in 2006.[8]
| State language | Telugu (తెలుగు) |
| State symbol | Poorna kumbham (పూర్ణకుంభం) |
| State song | Maa Telugu Thalliki (మా తెలుగు తల్లికి మల్లె పూదండ) by Sri Sankarambadi Sundaraachari |
| State animal | Black Buck (కృష్ణ జింక) |
| State bird | Indian Roller (పాల పిట్ట) |
| State tree | Neem (వేప) |
| State sport | Kabaddi (చెడుగుడు) |
| State dance | Kuchipudi (కూచిపూడి) |
| State flower | Water lily (కలువ పువ్వు) |
On 1 November 1956, the States Reorganization Act formed Andhra Pradesh by merging Telugu-speaking areas of Hyderabad State with the already existing Andhra State .
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 and is home to the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command. Due to its location and proximity to major rail and road routes, Vijayawada is a major trading center and is the third largest city of the state, Rajamundry is the fourth largest city of the state, followed by Guntur, Nellore, Warangal, Kurnool, Kakinada. Other important places of the state are Tirupati,Srikakulam, and Kadapa.
Demographics:
Telugu is the official language of the state, spoken by 83% followed byUrdu 8.63% of the population. Major linguistic minority groups are Hindi(2.77%), and Tamil (1.13%).
Other languages spoken in Andhra Pradesh by less than 1% each areKannada (0.80%), Marathi (0.74%), and Oriya (0.44%). Languages spoken by less than 0.2% of the population include Malayalam (0.08%),Gujarati (0.06%), Bengali (0.05%), Gorkhali/Nepali (0.03%), Punjabi(0.01%) and Sindhi(0.01%).
The main ethnic group of Andhra Pradesh is the Telugu people, who are primarily Dravidians.
Andhra Pradesh ranks tenth compared to all Indian States in the Human Development Index scores with a score of 0.416.
The National Council of Applied Economic Research district analysis in 2001 reveals thatKhammam, Krishna, West Godavari, Chittoor, and Medak are the five districts with the highestHuman Development Indexscores in ascending order in rural AP. The data show that the poor make up 16.3 per cent of the total population in rural AP and expenditure on consumption is around 13.5 per cent of the total consumption expenditure. The female literacy rate is 0.66 compared to male literacy rate in rural AP. The district-wise variations for poverty ratio are high and low for the ratio of female/male literacy rate.
Religions
The state is home to Hindu saints of all castes. An important figure is Saint Yogi Sri Potuluri Virabrahmendra Swami. He was born in the Vishwabrahmin (goldsmith) caste and had Brahminand Dalit disciples.[50] Fisherman Raghu was a Shudra saint.[51] Saint Kakkayya was a chura(sweeper) Harijan saint.
Several important Hindu modern-day saints are from Andhra Pradesh. These include Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Sri Sivabala Yogi Maharaj who advocates religious unity in worship; Swami Sundara Chaitanyanandaji of the Aurobindo Mission; and Brahmarshi Subhash Patri, founder of the pyramid spiritual societies movement.Islam in Hyderabad, with historical patronizing by the rulers, has a strong Sufi influence, with various moments active in the last two decades. Hyderabad has also produced many renowned religious scholars of representing different Islamic sects and trends, including Abul Ala Maududi, Turab-ul-Haq Qadri, and Allamah Rasheed Turabi.[52] Most Telugu Christians are Protestant belonging to major Indian Protestant denominations such as the Church of South India, the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches and several others.
Information technology and other key sectors
In 2004–2005, Andhra Pradesh was at the second position[citation needed] in the list of top information technology exporting states of India. The IT sector is expanding at a rate of 52.3% every year. The IT exports reached 
19,000 crores ($4.5 billion) in 2006–2007, contributed to 14 per cent of total IT exports of the nation and ranked fourth in India.[56] Other key sectors include, Biopharmaceuticals, Power, Automobile, Tourism, Textiles, Retail, Leather, Mining and Religious tourismMain article: Software industry in Andhra Pradesh
Ancient and medieval history
The first historical records appear in the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya, when what is now Nizamabad and Adilabad districts of the Telangana region constituted parts of the Assaka Mahajanapada (700–300 BCE)An Andhra tribe was mentioned in the Sanskrit epics such as Aitareya Brahmana (800 BCE) andMahabharata (400 BCE). The Natya Shastra written byBharatha (1st century BCE) also mentions the Andhra people.The roots of the Telugu language have been seen on inscriptions found near the Guntur districtand from others dating to the rule of Renati Cholas in the 5th century CE.
Megasthenes, a Greek traveller and geographer who visited the Court of Chandragupta Maurya (322–297 BCE), mentioned that the region had three fortified towns and an army of 100,000 infantry, 200 cavalry, and 1,000 elephants. Buddhist books reveal that Andhras established their huts or tents near the Godavari River at that time.
Inscriptional evidence shows that there was an early kingdom incoastal Andhra (Guntur District) ruled first by Kuberaka and then by his son Varun, with Pratipalapura (Bhattiprolu) as the capital. Around the same time, Dhanyakatakam/Dharanikota (present day Amaravati) appears to have been an important place, which was visited by Gautama Buddha. According to the ancient Tibetan scholar Taranatha: "On the full moon of the month Chaitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhanyakataka, the Buddha emanated the mandala of 'The Glorious Lunar Mansions' (Kalachakra)".
The Mauryans extended their rule over Andhra in the 4th century BC. With the fall of the Maurya Empire in the 3rd century BC, the Satavahanas became independent. After the decline of the Satavahanas in 220 CE, the Ikshvaku dynasty, Pallavas, Ananda Gotrikas, Rashtrakutas, Vishnukundinas, Eastern Chalukyas, and Cholas ruled the land.
During this period, Telugu emerged as a popular language, supplanting Prakrit and Sanskrit. Telugu was made the official language by the Vishnukundina kings (5th and 6th centuries), who ruled from their capital city of Vengi. Eastern Chalukyas ruled for a long period after the decline of Vishnukundinas; their capital was also Vengi. As early as the 1st century CE, Chalukyas were mentioned as being vassals and chieftains under the Satavahanas and later under the Ikshvakus. The Chalukya ruler Rajaraja Narendra ruled Rajahmundry around 1022 CE.
The battle of Palnadu (1182) resulted in the weakening of the Eastern Chalukya dynasty and led to the emergence of the Kakatiya dynasty in the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Kakatiyas were at first vassals of the Rashtrakutas, and ruled over a small territory near Warangal. Eventually all the Telugu lands were united by the Kakatiyas. In 1323 CE, Delhi Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq sent a large army under Ulugh Khan to conquer the Telugu country and captured Warangal. King Prataparudra was taken prisoner. Musunuri Nayaks recaptured Warangal from the Delhi Sultanate in 1326 CE and ruled for fifty years.
Inspired by their success, the Vijayanagara Empire, one of the greatest empires in the history of Andhra Pradesh and India, was founded by Harihara and Bukka, who served as treasury officers of the Kakatiyas of Warangal.In 1347 CE, an independent Muslim state, the Bahmani Sultanate, was established in south India by Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah in a revolt against the Delhi Sultanate. The Qutb Shahi dynasty held sway over the Andhra country for about two hundred years from the early part of the 16th century to the end of the 17th century.
Although Hyderabad was founded less than 500 years ago, archaeologists have unearthed Iron Age sites near the city that could date back to 500 BC. Approximately over 1000 years ago this region was ruled by Kakatiyas until 1310 AD, and fell under Delhi sultanate from (1310–1345), when the central sultanate became weak the Bahmani Sultan revolted against the Sultan of Delhi Muhammad bin Tughluq and established an independent state in Deccan within the Delhi Sultanates southern provinces and ruled until 1518 AD. Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, governor of golconda, declared Independence from Bahmani Dynasty, and announced himself a sultan of golconda in the year 1518 AD, and founded the Qutb Shahi dynasty.
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, a fifth Sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty (the ruling family of the Golconda Sultanate, previously a feudatory of Bahmani sultanate that declared independence in 1512) founded the city of Hyderabad on the banks of the Musi River in 1591[20] to relieve a water shortage the dynasty had experienced at its old headquarters at Golconda city (11 kilometers west of Hyderabad city on the other side of Musi). He also ordered the construction of the Charminar. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb captured kingdom of Golconda including the city of Hyderabad in 1687 and, during this short Mughal rule, Mughal-appointed governors of the city soon gained autonomy.
In 1724, Asaf Jah I, who was granted the title Nizam-ul-Mulk ("Governor of the country") by the Mughal emperor, defeated a rival official to establish control over kingdom of Golconda renamed it as Hyderabad state. Thus began the Asaf Jahi dynasty that ruled Hyderabad State until a year after India's independence from Britain. Asaf Jah's successors ruled as the Nizams of Hyderabad. The rule of the seven Nizams saw the growth of Hyderabad city both culturally and economically. Hyderabad city became the formal capital of the kingdom (Hyderabad state) and Golkonda city was almost abandoned. Huge reservoirs, like the Nizam Sagar, Tungabhadra, Osman Sagar, and Himayat Sagar, were built. Survey work on Nagarjuna Sagar had also begun during this time; the actual work was completed by the Government of India in 1969. The wealth and grandeur of the Nizams is demonstrated by the fabled Jewels of The Nizams, which is a tourist attraction. The state was the richest and the largest among the princely states of India. The land area of the state was 90,543 mi²; its population in 1901 was 50,073,759. It enjoyed an estimated revenue of £90,029,000.
Scholars have suggested that the Prajñāpāramitā Sutras, the earliest Mahayana Sutras, developed among the Mahāsāṃghika along the Krsna River in Andhra country.A.K. Warder holds that "theMahāyāna originated in the south of India and almost certainly in the Andhra country."Sree Padma and Anthony Barber note that "historians of Buddhist thought have been aware for quite some time that such pivotally important Mahayana Buddhist thinkers as Nāgārjuna, Dignaga, Candrakīrti, Aryadeva, andBhavaviveka, among many others, formulated their theories while living in Buddhist communities in Andhra."[31] They note that the ancient Buddhist sites in the lower Krishna Valley, including Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda and Jaggayyapeta "can be traced to at least the third century BCE, if not earlier." TheDzogchen, Mahamudra and Lamdré masters Sri Singha, Savari, Maitripa and Virupa lived and taught in the Andhra region for some portion of their lives or were in some cases permanent residents.
In Colonial India, Northern Circars became part of the British Madras Presidency. Eventually this region emerged as the Coastal Andhra region. Later the Nizam rulers of Hyderabad ceded five territories to the British which eventually emerged as Rayalaseema region. The Nizams retained control of the interior provinces as the princely state of Hyderabad, acknowledging British rule in return for local autonomy. However, Komaram Bheem, a tribal leader, started his fight against the erstwhile Asaf Jahi Dynasty for the liberation of Hyderabad State.Meanwhile, the Frenchoccupied Yanam, in the Godavari delta, and (save for periods of British control) would hold it until 1954. India became independent from the United Kingdom in 1947. The Nizam wanted to retain the independence of the Princely Hyderabad State from India, but the people of the region launched a movement to join the Indian Union. The state of Hyderabad was forcibly joined to the Republic of India with Operation Polo in 1948.
In an effort to gain an independent state based on the linguistic and protect the interests of the Andhra (Telugu-speaking) people of Madras State, Potti Sreeramulu fasted until death in 1952. After his death, Andhra attained statehood on 1 November 1953, with Kurnool as its capital.
On 1 November 1956, the States Reorganization Act merged the Telugu-speaking areas of the former Hyderabad state with the Telugu-speaking areas of the former Madras state to form the state of Vishalandhra, which is named as Andhra Pradesh. The city of Hyderabad, the former capital of the Hyderabad State, was made the capital of the new state.
There were several movements to disintegrate Andhra Pradesh into two states viz. Andhra and Telengana in the late 1960 which are continuing till date.
On 9 December 2009, it was announced that a separation proposal for Telangana would be introduced to the state assembly.Controversy arose as to the future status of Hyderabad City, part of one of the ten districts of Telangana region. This move was opposed by protesters from Kosta and Rayalaseema regions,however the protests in the state capital Hyderabad was rocked only by pro-bifurcation protests. On 23 December 2009, the government decided to put the decision of bifurcating the state on hold until a consensus is achieved among the different political parties.
This agitated supporters of a separate Telangana state. On 5 January 2010, the Central Government represented by Home Minister P Chidambaram conducted a meeting by inviting all the recognised political parties of AP and recorded their stand on the issue. The Government of India appointed a committee, headed by B. N. Srikrishna, to guide the central government to settle the issue of Telangana amicably. The committee submitted its report on 30 December 2010, a day before its term was to expire.
Geographically, Andhra Pradesh is composed of most of the eastern half of the Deccan plateau and the plains to the east of the Eastern Ghats. Andhra Pradesh is divided into three regions. The northern part of the plateau is theTelangana region and the southern part is known as Rayalaseema. These two regions are separated by the River Krishna. The third region is Coastal Andhra.[42] The plains to the east of Eastern Ghats form the Eastern coastal plains. The Eastern Ghats are discontinuous and individual sections have local names. The Kadapa Basin[43] formed by two arching branches of the Eastern Ghats is a mineral rich area. The coastal plains are for the most part delta regions formed by the Godavari, Krishna, and Penner rivers. The Eastern Ghats are a major dividing line in the state's geography. The Ghats become more pronounced towards the south and extreme north of the coast. The Eastern Ghat region is home to dense tropical forests, while the vegetation becomes sparse as the Ghats give way to the Deccan Plateau, where shrub vegetation is more common. Most of the coastal plains are put to intense agricultural use. The west and southwest parts of Andhra Pradesh have semi-arid conditions.
Indian Space Research Organisation's Satish Dhawan Space Centre is located at the Barrier Island ofSriharikota, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
The climate of Andhra Pradesh varies considerably, depending on the geographical region. Monsoons play a major role in determining the climate of the state. Summers last from March to June. In the coastal plain, the summer temperatures are generally higher than the rest of the state, with temperature ranging between 20 °C and 41 °C.[44]
July to September is the seasons for tropical rains in Andhra Pradesh. The state receives heavy rainfall from Southwest Monsoon during these months. About one third of the total rainfall in Andhra Pradesh is brought by the Northeast Monsoon. October and November see low-pressure systems and tropical cyclones form in the Bay of Bengal which, along with the Northeast Monsoon, bring rains to the southern and coastal regions of the state. November, December, January, and February are the winter months in Andhra Pradesh. Since the state has a long coastal belt the winters are not very cold. The range of winter temperature is generally 12 °C to 30 °C.[44]
Religions
The state is home to Hindu saints of all castes. An important figure is Saint Yogi Sri Potuluri Virabrahmendra Swami. He was born in the Vishwabrahmin (goldsmith) caste and had Brahminand Dalit disciples.[50] Fisherman Raghu was a Shudra saint.[51] Saint Kakkayya was a chura(sweeper) Harijan saint.
Several important Hindu modern-day saints are from Andhra Pradesh. These include Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Sri Sivabala Yogi Maharaj who advocates religious unity in worship; Swami Sundara Chaitanyanandaji of the Aurobindo Mission; and Brahmarshi Subhash Patri, founder of the pyramid spiritual societies movement.Islam in Hyderabad, with historical patronizing by the rulers, has a strong Sufi influence, with various moments active in the last two decades. Hyderabad has also produced many renowned religious scholars of representing different Islamic sects and trends, including Abul Ala Maududi, Turab-ul-Haq Qadri, and Allamah Rasheed Turabi.[52] Most Telugu Christians are Protestant belonging to major Indian Protestant denominations such as the Church of South India, the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches and several others.
Information technology and other key sectors
In 2004–2005, Andhra Pradesh was at the second position[citation needed] in the list of top information technology exporting states of India. The IT sector is expanding at a rate of 52.3% every year. The IT exports reached 19,000 crores ($4.5 billion) in 2006–2007, contributed to 14 per cent of total IT exports of the nation and ranked fourth in India.[56] Other key sectors include, Biopharmaceuticals, Power, Automobile, Tourism, Textiles, Retail, Leather, Mining and Religious tourismMain article: Software industry in Andhra Pradesh
19,000 crores ($4.5 billion) in 2006–2007, contributed to 14 per cent of total IT exports of the nation and ranked fourth in India.[56] Other key sectors include, Biopharmaceuticals, Power, Automobile, Tourism, Textiles, Retail, Leather, Mining and Religious tourismMain article: Software industry in Andhra PradeshAncient and medieval history
The first historical records appear in the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya, when what is now Nizamabad and Adilabad districts of the Telangana region constituted parts of the Assaka Mahajanapada (700–300 BCE)An Andhra tribe was mentioned in the Sanskrit epics such as Aitareya Brahmana (800 BCE) andMahabharata (400 BCE). The Natya Shastra written byBharatha (1st century BCE) also mentions the Andhra people.The roots of the Telugu language have been seen on inscriptions found near the Guntur districtand from others dating to the rule of Renati Cholas in the 5th century CE.
Megasthenes, a Greek traveller and geographer who visited the Court of Chandragupta Maurya (322–297 BCE), mentioned that the region had three fortified towns and an army of 100,000 infantry, 200 cavalry, and 1,000 elephants. Buddhist books reveal that Andhras established their huts or tents near the Godavari River at that time.
Inscriptional evidence shows that there was an early kingdom incoastal Andhra (Guntur District) ruled first by Kuberaka and then by his son Varun, with Pratipalapura (Bhattiprolu) as the capital. Around the same time, Dhanyakatakam/Dharanikota (present day Amaravati) appears to have been an important place, which was visited by Gautama Buddha. According to the ancient Tibetan scholar Taranatha: "On the full moon of the month Chaitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhanyakataka, the Buddha emanated the mandala of 'The Glorious Lunar Mansions' (Kalachakra)".
The Mauryans extended their rule over Andhra in the 4th century BC. With the fall of the Maurya Empire in the 3rd century BC, the Satavahanas became independent. After the decline of the Satavahanas in 220 CE, the Ikshvaku dynasty, Pallavas, Ananda Gotrikas, Rashtrakutas, Vishnukundinas, Eastern Chalukyas, and Cholas ruled the land.
During this period, Telugu emerged as a popular language, supplanting Prakrit and Sanskrit. Telugu was made the official language by the Vishnukundina kings (5th and 6th centuries), who ruled from their capital city of Vengi. Eastern Chalukyas ruled for a long period after the decline of Vishnukundinas; their capital was also Vengi. As early as the 1st century CE, Chalukyas were mentioned as being vassals and chieftains under the Satavahanas and later under the Ikshvakus. The Chalukya ruler Rajaraja Narendra ruled Rajahmundry around 1022 CE.
The battle of Palnadu (1182) resulted in the weakening of the Eastern Chalukya dynasty and led to the emergence of the Kakatiya dynasty in the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Kakatiyas were at first vassals of the Rashtrakutas, and ruled over a small territory near Warangal. Eventually all the Telugu lands were united by the Kakatiyas. In 1323 CE, Delhi Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq sent a large army under Ulugh Khan to conquer the Telugu country and captured Warangal. King Prataparudra was taken prisoner. Musunuri Nayaks recaptured Warangal from the Delhi Sultanate in 1326 CE and ruled for fifty years.
Inspired by their success, the Vijayanagara Empire, one of the greatest empires in the history of Andhra Pradesh and India, was founded by Harihara and Bukka, who served as treasury officers of the Kakatiyas of Warangal.In 1347 CE, an independent Muslim state, the Bahmani Sultanate, was established in south India by Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah in a revolt against the Delhi Sultanate. The Qutb Shahi dynasty held sway over the Andhra country for about two hundred years from the early part of the 16th century to the end of the 17th century.
Although Hyderabad was founded less than 500 years ago, archaeologists have unearthed Iron Age sites near the city that could date back to 500 BC. Approximately over 1000 years ago this region was ruled by Kakatiyas until 1310 AD, and fell under Delhi sultanate from (1310–1345), when the central sultanate became weak the Bahmani Sultan revolted against the Sultan of Delhi Muhammad bin Tughluq and established an independent state in Deccan within the Delhi Sultanates southern provinces and ruled until 1518 AD. Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, governor of golconda, declared Independence from Bahmani Dynasty, and announced himself a sultan of golconda in the year 1518 AD, and founded the Qutb Shahi dynasty.
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, a fifth Sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty (the ruling family of the Golconda Sultanate, previously a feudatory of Bahmani sultanate that declared independence in 1512) founded the city of Hyderabad on the banks of the Musi River in 1591[20] to relieve a water shortage the dynasty had experienced at its old headquarters at Golconda city (11 kilometers west of Hyderabad city on the other side of Musi). He also ordered the construction of the Charminar. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb captured kingdom of Golconda including the city of Hyderabad in 1687 and, during this short Mughal rule, Mughal-appointed governors of the city soon gained autonomy.
In 1724, Asaf Jah I, who was granted the title Nizam-ul-Mulk ("Governor of the country") by the Mughal emperor, defeated a rival official to establish control over kingdom of Golconda renamed it as Hyderabad state. Thus began the Asaf Jahi dynasty that ruled Hyderabad State until a year after India's independence from Britain. Asaf Jah's successors ruled as the Nizams of Hyderabad. The rule of the seven Nizams saw the growth of Hyderabad city both culturally and economically. Hyderabad city became the formal capital of the kingdom (Hyderabad state) and Golkonda city was almost abandoned. Huge reservoirs, like the Nizam Sagar, Tungabhadra, Osman Sagar, and Himayat Sagar, were built. Survey work on Nagarjuna Sagar had also begun during this time; the actual work was completed by the Government of India in 1969. The wealth and grandeur of the Nizams is demonstrated by the fabled Jewels of The Nizams, which is a tourist attraction. The state was the richest and the largest among the princely states of India. The land area of the state was 90,543 mi²; its population in 1901 was 50,073,759. It enjoyed an estimated revenue of £90,029,000.
Scholars have suggested that the Prajñāpāramitā Sutras, the earliest Mahayana Sutras, developed among the Mahāsāṃghika along the Krsna River in Andhra country.A.K. Warder holds that "theMahāyāna originated in the south of India and almost certainly in the Andhra country."Sree Padma and Anthony Barber note that "historians of Buddhist thought have been aware for quite some time that such pivotally important Mahayana Buddhist thinkers as Nāgārjuna, Dignaga, Candrakīrti, Aryadeva, andBhavaviveka, among many others, formulated their theories while living in Buddhist communities in Andhra."[31] They note that the ancient Buddhist sites in the lower Krishna Valley, including Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda and Jaggayyapeta "can be traced to at least the third century BCE, if not earlier." TheDzogchen, Mahamudra and Lamdré masters Sri Singha, Savari, Maitripa and Virupa lived and taught in the Andhra region for some portion of their lives or were in some cases permanent residents.
In Colonial India, Northern Circars became part of the British Madras Presidency. Eventually this region emerged as the Coastal Andhra region. Later the Nizam rulers of Hyderabad ceded five territories to the British which eventually emerged as Rayalaseema region. The Nizams retained control of the interior provinces as the princely state of Hyderabad, acknowledging British rule in return for local autonomy. However, Komaram Bheem, a tribal leader, started his fight against the erstwhile Asaf Jahi Dynasty for the liberation of Hyderabad State.Meanwhile, the Frenchoccupied Yanam, in the Godavari delta, and (save for periods of British control) would hold it until 1954. India became independent from the United Kingdom in 1947. The Nizam wanted to retain the independence of the Princely Hyderabad State from India, but the people of the region launched a movement to join the Indian Union. The state of Hyderabad was forcibly joined to the Republic of India with Operation Polo in 1948.
In an effort to gain an independent state based on the linguistic and protect the interests of the Andhra (Telugu-speaking) people of Madras State, Potti Sreeramulu fasted until death in 1952. After his death, Andhra attained statehood on 1 November 1953, with Kurnool as its capital.
On 1 November 1956, the States Reorganization Act merged the Telugu-speaking areas of the former Hyderabad state with the Telugu-speaking areas of the former Madras state to form the state of Vishalandhra, which is named as Andhra Pradesh. The city of Hyderabad, the former capital of the Hyderabad State, was made the capital of the new state.
There were several movements to disintegrate Andhra Pradesh into two states viz. Andhra and Telengana in the late 1960 which are continuing till date.
On 9 December 2009, it was announced that a separation proposal for Telangana would be introduced to the state assembly.Controversy arose as to the future status of Hyderabad City, part of one of the ten districts of Telangana region. This move was opposed by protesters from Kosta and Rayalaseema regions,however the protests in the state capital Hyderabad was rocked only by pro-bifurcation protests. On 23 December 2009, the government decided to put the decision of bifurcating the state on hold until a consensus is achieved among the different political parties.
This agitated supporters of a separate Telangana state. On 5 January 2010, the Central Government represented by Home Minister P Chidambaram conducted a meeting by inviting all the recognised political parties of AP and recorded their stand on the issue. The Government of India appointed a committee, headed by B. N. Srikrishna, to guide the central government to settle the issue of Telangana amicably. The committee submitted its report on 30 December 2010, a day before its term was to expire.
Geographically, Andhra Pradesh is composed of most of the eastern half of the Deccan plateau and the plains to the east of the Eastern Ghats. Andhra Pradesh is divided into three regions. The northern part of the plateau is theTelangana region and the southern part is known as Rayalaseema. These two regions are separated by the River Krishna. The third region is Coastal Andhra.[42] The plains to the east of Eastern Ghats form the Eastern coastal plains. The Eastern Ghats are discontinuous and individual sections have local names. The Kadapa Basin[43] formed by two arching branches of the Eastern Ghats is a mineral rich area. The coastal plains are for the most part delta regions formed by the Godavari, Krishna, and Penner rivers. The Eastern Ghats are a major dividing line in the state's geography. The Ghats become more pronounced towards the south and extreme north of the coast. The Eastern Ghat region is home to dense tropical forests, while the vegetation becomes sparse as the Ghats give way to the Deccan Plateau, where shrub vegetation is more common. Most of the coastal plains are put to intense agricultural use. The west and southwest parts of Andhra Pradesh have semi-arid conditions.
Indian Space Research Organisation's Satish Dhawan Space Centre is located at the Barrier Island ofSriharikota, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
The climate of Andhra Pradesh varies considerably, depending on the geographical region. Monsoons play a major role in determining the climate of the state. Summers last from March to June. In the coastal plain, the summer temperatures are generally higher than the rest of the state, with temperature ranging between 20 °C and 41 °C.[44]
July to September is the seasons for tropical rains in Andhra Pradesh. The state receives heavy rainfall from Southwest Monsoon during these months. About one third of the total rainfall in Andhra Pradesh is brought by the Northeast Monsoon. October and November see low-pressure systems and tropical cyclones form in the Bay of Bengal which, along with the Northeast Monsoon, bring rains to the southern and coastal regions of the state. November, December, January, and February are the winter months in Andhra Pradesh. Since the state has a long coastal belt the winters are not very cold. The range of winter temperature is generally 12 °C to 30 °C.[44]
