Andhra Pradesh

Area :2,75,068 square kilometers.
Capital :Hyderabad
Population :7,61,11,243
Language :Telugu and Urdu.
Climate :The climate of Andhra Pradesh is hot and humid.
People :The people of Andhra Pradesh speak Telugu and are tall,with thick and protruding noses,with straight hair and yellow skin. The other inhabitants of the Andhra Pradesh include the tribal communities. The tribal people worship their own pantheon of nature gods and goddesses and continue to revel in their ancient customs and manners. Their languages do not have scripts and are essentially verbal.

There are certain nomadic tribes that include Piccukaguntlu,Balasanta,Saradakandru,Viramushtivaru,Bavanilu,Birannalavaru,Gollasuddulu,Dasarulu,Jangamulu,Kommuvaru etc are Telugu nomads whose main occupation is ballad singing.

Among non-Telugu nomads,Lambadis also called Sugalis are very prominent. Originally they were Rajasthani's who took to a nomadic way of life and moved in batches towards the south of the sub-continent.
Economy : The major Crops that are cultivated are cotton,Millets,Oil seeds,Pulses,Rice,Sugarcane,Tobacco.

The major industries are textile manufacture,sugar-milling,machine tools,pharmaceuticals,cement,chemicals,glass,fertilizers,eletronic equpt,heavy electrical machinery,aircraft parts and paper making.

Minerals : Andhra Pradesh is an important producer of asbestos and barytes. Other important minerals are copper ore,coal,iron and limestone,steatite,mica and manganese.
Culture : The classical dance form of Andhra Pradesh is Kuchipudi that originated in Kuchelapuram.
History : Andhra Pradesh has been the home of the Pre- Dravidian dark coloured inhabitants. Andhra region witnessed the rule of Chandragupta Maurya during which it established itself as an independent kingdom. However after Ashoka,the Mauryan empire declined.

From 230 B.C. to 200 A.D. the Satavahanas one of the oldest of the dynasties ruled over this region. They held sway over the whole of the Deccan and far into Northern India. By the 3rd century A.D. Ikshvakus overpowered Satavahanas. Andra region was ruled by various other dynasties from 3rd to 6th century like the Pallavas of Kanchi,the Anandas and the Chalukyas exercised their power for many centuries.

The Kakatiyas who were the feudatories of the Eastern Chalukyas came into power by the 12th century. In 1332 A.D. Ulugh Khan established the Reddi Kingdom of Kondavidu called the Velama kingdom. The Vijayanagar Kingdom also ruled independently. The region was dominated by Muslim power at the time of emperor Muhammad Tughlag.

Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah ruled the region from 1518 to 1687 and it was during his rule that the city of Hyderabad came into existence. In 1687 the Mughals overpowered QUtub Shah. Followed were the empires of Nizams who influenced Andhra region before it was ceded to the East India Company. Gradually the whole of Andhra Pradesh except Hyderabad was under the British till 1947. In 1956 Andhra Pradesh was declared as a state.

When India became independent,Telugu-speaking people were distributed in about 21 districts in South India. Twelve of these districts formed part of the Madras Presidency and the other nine constituted the princely state of Hyderabad which was ruled by the Nizam.

The Nizam sought to become an independent ruler even after the British left India but after a brief action from the Indian Union government in 1949,Hyderabad became a part of the India. In the year 1953 the Telugu-speaking areas that were separated from Madras Presidency and thus Andhra Pradesh came into being whose capital was Kurnool. Later,the nine districts that had been ruled by the Nizam were added to the state and the present-day Andhra Pradesh was established on November 1,1956.