Christian Missionaries in Telangana

Telangana Introduction

Contents 1 History 1.1 Post-independence history 1.1.1 Merger of Telangana and Andhra 1.1.2 Separate Telangana movement 2 Geography 3 Irrigation 4 Culture and Identity 5 Places of interest

 Telangana or Telingana, also known as the Deccan region, is an unofficial region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It includes the northwestern interior districts of Warangal,Adilabad, Khammam, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Rangareddi, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Medak, and the state capital, Hyderabad. The region lies on the Deccan plateau to the west of the Eastern Ghats range. The Krishna and Godavari rivers flow through the region from west to east.

History

Telangana region has been ruled by many great dynasties like Sathavahanas, Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Mughals, Qutubshahis, Asafjahis. It was never under the direct control of Britishers(unlike Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh who were part Madras Presidency of British India).

Post-independence history

India became independent from the British Empire in 1947. The Muslim Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to retain his independence from India, but his state of Hyderabad was forced to become part of India in 1948 as the Hyderabad State. When India became independent, the Telugu-speaking people (although Urdu is spoken in some parts of Hyderabad and in few other districts of Telangana) were distributed in about 22 districts, 9 of them in the Nizam's Dominions(Hyderabad state) and 12 in the Madras Presidency and one in French controlled Yanam. Andhra State was the first state in India that has been formed on a purely linguistic basis by carving it out from Madras Province in 1953. Andhra State was later merged with Telugu speaking area of Hyderabad(Telangana) to create Andhra Pradesh state in 1956. In 1954, Yanam (India) was liberated and it was merged with Pondicherry in 1963.

 Merger of Telangana and Andhra

The States Reorganization Commission (SRC) set up by the government of India in early 50s to examine the question of reorganization of states of the country was, in fact, not in favour of merging the Telangana region with the then Andhra state.

The central government decided to ignore the recommendation to establish a separate Telangana state and, instead, merged the two regions into a unified Andhra Pradesh. However, a "Gentlemen's agreement" provided reassurances to the Telangana people.There are more Telugu speaking people in Karnataka and Tamil nadu there for there should be Telugu as official language in these states.

Separate Telangana movement

In the following years after the formation of Andhra Pradesh state, however, the Telangana people had a number of complaints about how the agreements and guarantees were implemented. Discontent with the 1956 Gentlemen's agreement intensified in January 1969 when the guarantees that had been agreed on were supposed to lapse. Student agitation for the continuation of the agreement began at Osmania University in Hyderabad and spread to other parts of the region. Government employees and opposition members of the state legislative assembly swiftly threatened "direct action" in support of the students. This movement also know as Jai Telangana movement led to widespread violence and deaths of hundreds of people and students of this telangana region. Approx. 360 students gave their lives in this movement.

Although the Congress faced dissension within its ranks, its leadership stood against additional linguistic states, which were regarded as "antinational." As a result, defectors from the Congress, led by M. Chenna Reddy, founded the Telangana People's Association (Telangana Praja Samithi). Despite electoral successes, however, some of the new party leaders gave up their agitation in September 1971 and, much to the disgust of many separatists, rejoined the safer political haven of the Congress ranks. (Source: US Library of Congress)

The emotions and forces generated by the movement were not strong enough, however, for a continuing drive for a separate state until 1990s when Bharatiya Janata Party, promised separate Telangana state if they come to power. But BJP could not create separate Telangana state because of the opposition from its coalition partner, Telugu Desham Party. These developments brought new life into separate Telangana movement by year 2000. Congress party MLAs from Telangana region, supported the separate Telangana state and formed a Telangana Congress Legislators Forum. In another development, a new party called Telangana Rashtra Samithi (or TRS) is formed with single agenda of separate Telangana state, with Hyderabad as its capital.

In 2004, for Assembly and Parliament elections, Congress party and TRS had an electoral alliance in Telangana region with the promise of separate Telangana State. Congress came to power in the state and formed coalition government at the centre. Telangana means north india.

Geography

Of the three regions of the state, Telangana has the largest area, with 1,14,800 sq km.The Telangana plateau is composed of Archean Gneissic rocks and drained by Godavari and Krishna rivers. The entire region is divided into two main regions namely ghats and peneplains. The surface is dotted with low depressions.

Irrigation

Separate Telangana is situated in the central stretch of the eastern seaboard of the Indian Peninsula. Telangana is situated at a high altitude in an up-land area. The river Godavari is flowing on the North and the river Krishna is flowing on the South in Telangana region. Apart from the major rivers, there are other small rivers such as Bhima, Dindi, Kinnerasani, Manjeera, Manair, Penganga, Praanahita, and Peddavagu and Taliperu.

Culture and Identity

Centuries of independent existence has given Telangana its own distinctive culture and identity. Even the telugu language spoken here has evolved into a new dialect with a liberal mixture of words from Urdu. Hindi is also spoken and understood in Telangana.

Festivals: Dassera is a big festival in Telangana, people will drink and eat a lot on this festival. Ugadi is one more big festival. Telangana celebrates very distinctive festivals like Bathukamma, and Bonalu. The ladies make beautiful "bathukammas" which are basically an arrangement of flowers and other items, and dance and sing around them, praying for the well being of their families and villages. The Bathukammas are then immersed into the locally accessible water bodies. The other Hindu festivals, such as, Diwali, Holi, and Ganesha chaturthi, are also celebrated with equal enthusiasm as in northern India.

Jathra's are an integral part of Telanganas cultural calendar. They happen in all important holy towns annually marking a local festival. The Sammakka Sarakka jathra sees the biggest tribal congregation in the world. An estimated 6 million people take part in the biennial festival.

Places of interest

1. Hyderabad
1. Charminar - the major landmark in Hyderabad with four graceful minarets.
2. Falaknuma Palace - Built by Nawab Viqar al-Umra', a beautiful and stunning piece of architecture.
3. Golconda Fort - located on the outskirts of the city, Golconda Fort is one of the most magnificent fortress complexes in India.
4. Salar Jung Museum - houses the largest one-man collection of antiques in the world.
5. Makkah Masjid - a stone-built mosque, immediately southwest of Charminar.
6. Birla Planetarium - located in the heart of the city on the panoramic hillock of Nawbat Pahad, the Birla Planetarium is a tribute to the advances made in science and technology.
7. Husain Sagar - man-made lake that separates the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
8. Prasads IMAX Theatre - is the first IMAX theatre to open in South India. It was the world's biggest IMAX screen at the time of opening.
9. Purani Haveli - The official residence of the Nizam.
10. Sanghi Temple - A temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara graces apromontory overlooking Sanghi Nagar.
11. Snow World - An amusement park which enables citizens of this tropical city to experience very low temperatures and snow
12. Madhapur - Home to the IT world of Hyderabad.
2. Nagarjuna sagar on krishna river in Nalgonda district
3. Sreeramsagar project on Godavari river in Nizamabad district
4. Beechupally (Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple)
5. Alampoor (one of the eighteen shaktipeetams)
6. Warangal, capital city of Kakatiyas
7. Basara Saraswathi Temple, a temple of Saraswati, one of the two temples in India
8. National forests and Wildlife Sanctuaries: Pakhala, Eturunagaram, Pranahitha, Kinnerasani, kawal, Pocharam
9. Anathagiri Forest - (Vikarabad - 70 km from Hyderabad)
10. Medak: Famous for out standing church & Medak khila
11. Bhadrachalam: Famous for Lord Rama Temple
12. Kaleshwaram : 130 km from Karimnagar
13. Dharmapuri : On the banks of River Godavari, 78 km from Karimnagar, is the 15th century temple town of Dharmapuri.
14. Nagunur Fort : The village of Nagunur is just about 8 km from Karimnagar Town.
15. Dhulikatta : 20 km from Karimnagar is Dhulikatta an important Buddhist spot visited by monks from all over the world.
16. Kondagattu :About 35 km from Karimnagar is this breathtaking temple of Lord Anjaneya Swamy.Apart from the temple, the fort of Kondalaraya & Bojjapotana caves are worth seeing at Kondagattu.
17. Molangoor Quilla : 30 km from Karimnagar, strategically located on summit of a big isolated granite hill, this fort was built by the Kakathiyas.
18. Manthani : is an extremely ancient center for Vedic teachings. It is located on the banks of River Godavari, and at a distance of 70 kilometers from Karimnagar.
19. Vemulawada - Rajarajeshawara Temple : Located 38 km from Karimnagar