Andhra Pradesh

Modern southern Indian state. Andhra
Pradesh is one of the so-called linguistic
states formed after independence to
unite people with a common language
and culture (in this case, Telegu) under
one state government.
In the case of Andhra Pradesh, this
was done by combining the princely
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Andhaka
Temple of Venkateshvara in the town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.
state of Hyderabad with the Teleguspeaking provinces of the former state
of Madras. This merger did not happen without some drama; when independence arrived, the Nizam of
Hyderabad, a Muslim ruler whose
subjects were mainly Hindus, was initially reluctant to join the Indian
union, although he acceded after
troops were deployed by the Indian
government. The state capital has
remained at Hyderabad, which is the
largest and most important city.
Andhra Pradesh is overwhelmingly
agricultural, with fertile land in the
Krishna and Godavari river deltas, but
it is relatively undeveloped, and there
is still a great disparity between the
rich and the poor. In recent years it has
become the home of an important
regional political party, the Telegu
Desam, as well as a base for the
Marxist revolutionary group known as
Naxalites, who are carrying on an
armed struggle against the landlords.
Andhra is also home to India’s
richest temple, the temple of
Venkateshvara at Tirupati, and to
Mallikarjuna, one of the twelve jyotirlingas, a group of sites especially
sacred to Shiva. For general information about Andhra Pradesh and all the
regions of India, an accessible reference is Christine Nivin et al., India. 8th
ed., Lonely Planet, 1998.