The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making up the majority of the southern part of the country. It rises ass hundred metres high in the north, rising further to more than a kilometre high in the south, forming a raised triangle nested within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of the Indian subcontinent's coastline.

It extends over eight Indian states and encompasses a wide range of habitats, covering most of central and southern India.

It is located between three mountain ranges: the Western Ghats form its western boundary, and the Eastern Ghats its eastern boundary. Each rises from their respective nearby coastal plains and nearly meet at the southern tip of India. It is separated from the Gangetic plain to the north by the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges, which form its northern boundary.

The name ''Deccan'' is an anglicised form of the Prakrit word '''', itself derived from the Sanskrit word '''', meaning "south".

Geography

The Deccan Plateau lies south of the Indo-Gangetic plain. The Western Ghats Mountain Range is tall and blocks the moisture from the southwest monsoon from reaching the Deccan Plateau, so the region receives very little rainfall. The eastern Deccan Plateau is at a lower elevation spanning the southeastern coast of India. Its forests are also relatively dry but serve to retain the rain to form streams that feed into rivers that flow into basins and then into the Bay of Bengal.

Most Deccan plateau rivers flow from west to east. The Godavari River and its tributaries, including the Indravati River, drain most of the northern portion of the plateau, rising in the Western Ghats and flowing east towards the Bay of Bengal. The Tungabhadra River, Krishna River and its tributaries, including the Bhima River, which also run from west to east, drain the central portion of the plateau. The southernmost portion of the plateau is drained by the Kaveri River, which rises in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and bends south to break through the Nilgiri Hills at Hogenakal Falls into Tamil Nadu, then forming the Sivasamudram Falls at the island town of Shivanasamudra, the second-biggest waterfall in India and the sixteenth-largest in the world, before flowing into the Stanley Reservoir and the Mettur Dam that created the reservoir and finally emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

The two main rivers which do not flow into the Bay Of Bengal are the Narmada and Tapti. They start in the Eastern Ghats and flow into the Arabian sea. All Deccan plateau rivers depend on the rains and dry up in the summers.

The climate of the region varies from semi-arid climate in the north to tropical in most of the region with distinct wet and dry seasons. Rain falls during the monsoon season from about June to October. March to June can be very dry and hot with temperatures exceeding 40°C regularly.

Geology

The volcanic basalt beds of the Deccan were laid down in the massive Deccan Traps eruption, which occurred towards the end of the Cretaceous period between 67 and 65 million years ago. Some paleontologists speculate that this eruption may have accelerated the extinction of the dinosaurs. Layer after layer was formed by the volcanic activity that lasted many thousands of years, and when the volcanoes became extinct, they left a region of highlands with typically vast stretches of flat areas on top like a table.The volcanic hotspot that produced the Deccan traps is hypothesized to lie under the present day island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean.

Typically the Deccan Plateau is made up of basalt extending up to Bhor Ghat near Karjat. This is an extrusive igneous rock. Also in certain sections of the region, we can find granite, which is an intrusive igneous rock. The difference between these two rock types is: basalt rock forms on eruption of lava, that is, on the surface (either out of a volcano, or through massive fissures—as in the Deccan basalts—in the ground), while granite forms deep within the Earth. Granite is a felsic rock, meaning it is rich in potassium feldspar and quartz. This composition is continental in origin (meaning it is the primary composition of the continental crust). Since it cooled relatively slowly, it has large visible crystals. Basalt, on the other hand, is mafic in composition—meaning it is rich in pyroxene and, in some cases, olivine, both of which are Mg-Fe rich minerals. Basalt is similar in composition to mantle rocks, indicating that it came from the mantle and did not mix with continental rocks. Basalt forms in areas that are spreading, whereas granite forms mostly in areas that are colliding. Since both rocks are found in the Deccan Plateau, it indicates two different environments of formation.

The Deccan is rich in minerals. Primary mineral ores found in this region are mica and iron ore in the Chhota Nagpur region, and diamonds, gold and other metals in the Golconda region.

People

The Deccan is home to many languages and people. Bhil and Gond people live in the hills along the northern and northeastern edges of the plateau, and speak various languages that belong to both the Indo-European and Dravidian families of languages. Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language, is the main language of the north-western portion of the Deccan plateau in the state of Maharashtra. Speakers of Telugu and Kannada, the predominant languages of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka respectively, occupy those states' portions of the plateau. Tamil is the main language of Tamil Nadu to the south of the plateau, and Malayalam that of the hills and coast to the south-west, in the state of Kerala. The city of Hyderabad is an important centre of Urdu language in the Deccan; its surrounding areas also host a notable population of Urdu speakers. The Urdu dialect spoken in this region is also known as Dakhni or ''Deccani''.

The chief crop is cotton, however, sugarcane, rice, and other crops are also common.

Apart from the states already mentioned, the state of Chhattisgarh is found in the northeast corner of the plateau. The two large cities in the Deccan are Hyderabad the capital of Andhra Pradesh and Bangalore the capital of Karnataka. Other major cities include Chennai, Pune, Nagpur and Aurangabad (in Maharashtra).

History

Of the early history the main facts established are the growth of the Mauryan empire (250 B.C.) and the invasion (A.D. 100) of the Scythic tribes known as the Sakas, Pahlavas and Yavanas, which led to the establishment of the power of the Kshaharata satraps in western India. Prominent dynasties of this time include the Cholas (3rd c. BC to 12th c. AD), Chalukyas (6th to 12th c.), Rashtrakutas (753–982), Hoysalas (10th to 14th c.), Kakatiya (1083 CE to 1323 CE) and Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1646). Ahir Kings once ruled over the deccan. In a cave inscription at Nasik, references is made to the reign of an Abhira prince named Ishwarsena,son od Shivadatta.

In 1294, Ala-ud-Din Khilji, emperor of Delhi, invaded the Deccan, stormed Devagiri, and reduced the Yadava rajas of Maharashtra to the position of tributary princes (see Daulatabad), then proceeding southward to conquer the Telangana and Carnatic. In 1307, a fresh series of Muslim incursions led by Malik Kafur began in response to unpaid tributes, resulting in the final ruin of the Yadava power; and in 1338 the conquest of the Deccan was completed by Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq. The imperial hegemony was brief, as soon Telingana and Karnataka reverted to their former masters. These defections by the Hindu states was soon followed by a general revolt of the Muslim governors, resulting in the establishment in 1347 of the independent Muslim dynasty of Bahmani. The power of the Delhi sultanate evaporated south of the Narmada River.

In the power struggles which ensued, the Hindu kingdom of Telingana fell bit by bit to the Bahamani dynasty, who advanced their frontier to Golkonda in 1373, to Warangal in 1421, and to the Bay of Bengal in 1472. On the dissolution of the Bahmani empire in 1482, its dominions were distributed into the five Muslim states of Golkonda, Bijapur, Ahmednagar, Bidar and Berar, giving rise to the Deccan sultanates. To the south of these the Hindu state of Carnatic or Vijayanagar still survived; but this, too, was destroyed, at the Battle of Talikota (1565) by a league of the Muslim powers. Berar had already been annexed by Ahmednagar in 1572, and Bidar was absorbed by Bijapur in 1609. Mughal interest in the Deccan also rose at this time; Ahmadnagar was partially incorporated in the Empire in 1598 and again in 1616, Bijapur in 1686, and Golkonda in 1688.

In 1674, Shivaji laid the foundation of the Maratha Empire which within 75 years of his death covered territory of over 250 million acres (1 million km²) or one-third of the Indian sub-continent. Marathas under Shivaji directly challenged the foreign rule of the Bijapur Sultanate and ultimately the mighty Mughal empire. Once the Bijapur Sultanate stopped being a threat to the Maratha Empire, Marathas became much more aggressive and began to frequently raid Mughal territory. The Marathas had conquered some part of central and western India by Shivaji Maharaj's death in 1680. After Shivaji, Sambhaji defended the Maratha empire from the Mughal onslaught led by Aurangzeb. Sambhaji didn't let Aurangzeb gain a single major victory before he was deceitfully captured and executed. Thereafter, Peshwas began commanding Maratha armies. After 1707, the Marathas acquired the right to levy tribute in southern India. After the death of Chhatrapati Shahu, the Peshwas became the ''de facto'' leaders of the Empire from 1749 to 1761, while Shivaji's successors continued as nominal rulers from their base in Satara. The Marathas kept the British at bay during the 18th century. By 1760, with the defeat of the Nizam in the Deccan, Maratha power had reached its zenith. However, dissension between the Peshwa and their sardars (army commanders) saw a gradual downfall of the Empire leading to its eventual annexation by the British East India Company in 1818 after the three Anglo-Maratha wars.

A few years later the Aurangzeb's viceroy in Ahmednagar, Nizam-ul-Mulk, established the seat of an independent government at Hyderabad in 1724. Mysore was ruled by Hyder Ali. During the contests for power which ensued from about the middle of the 18th century between the powers on the plateau, the French and British took opposite sides. After a brief course of triumph, the interests of France declined, and a new empire in India was established by the British. Mysore formed one of their earliest conquests in the Deccan. Tanjore and the Carnatic were shortly after annexed to their dominions, followed by the Peshwa territories in 1818.

In British India, the plateau was largely divided between the presidencies of Bombay and Madras. The two largest native states at that time were Hyderabad State and Mysore State; many smaller states existed at the time, including Kolhapur, Sawantwari, Travancore, and Cochin.

After independence in 1947, almost all native states were incorporated into the Republic of India. Hyderabad refused to join, and was annexed by the Indian Army in Operation Polo in 1948. In 1956, the States Reorganisation Act reorganized states along linguistic lines, leading to the states currently found on the plateau.

See also

Geography of India

South India

Mysore Plateau

Vijayanagara Empire

Kakatiya empire

Bayaluseemae

Notes

References

External links

Destruction along the Deccan plateau

Photos of Deccan Plateau

Dynasties of Deccan

The Deccan Peninsula

Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests

Geology of Deccan Plateau

Deccan South Indian Online

Category:Plateaus of India Category:Physiographic divisions

ar:دكن bn:দাক্ষিণাত্য মালভূমি be:Дэканскае пласкагор'е ca:Dècan cs:Dekánská plošina da:Deccanplateauet de:Dekkan eo:Dekka Altebenaĵo et:Dekkani kiltmaa es:Decán eu:Dekan goi-ordokia fa:دکن fr:Deccan ko:데칸 고원 hr:Dekan (visoravan) id:Dataran Tinggi Dekkan it:Altopiano del Deccan he:רמת דקאן kn:ದಖ್ಖನ್ ಪೀಠಭೂಮಿ ka:დეკანის ზეგანი lt:Dekano plokščiakalnis hu:Dekkán-fennsík ml:ഡെക്കാൻ പീഠഭൂമി mr:दख्खनचे पठार nl:Hoogland van Dekan ja:デカン高原 no:Deccan nn:Deccan pl:Dekan (płaskowyż) pt:Decão ro:Dekkan ru:Декан (плоскогорье) simple:Deccan Plateau sk:Dekanská plošina sr:Висораван Декан sh:Dekanska visoravan fi:Deccanin ylänkö sv:Deccan tl:Dekanong Talampas ta:தக்காணப் பீடபூமி te:దక్కన్ పీఠభూమి tr:Deccan yaylası uk:Декан (плато) ur:سطح مرتفع دکن zh-yue:德干 zh:德干高原

Prem Joshua () is a German musician, active since 1991.

Born in Germany, Joshua learned the flute at the age of five and played the flute and the saxophone for various local bands. At the age of 18, he traveled overland to India studying the indigenous folk music of countries along the way. Joshua was the name his parents gave him, he later added Prem to it, dropping the family name, to remind him of the essence of love (Prem literally means love in Hindi).

On reaching India, Joshua learned to play the sitar from Ustad Usman Khan and Osho. Osho inspired him and his music. His website states that "In the presence of this man with a long white beard, eyes as deep as the ocean and a strong sense of humor, he came in touch with the art of the “inner music” - Silence. This was really coming home!"

Throughout his career, he has experimented with various forms of music, creating a blend of the East and the West. He has also worked extensively with other producers, making remixes of his own songs and infusing traditional Hindustani acoustic instruments with lounge and trance beats. His music has immensely contributed to the Asian Underground and fusion scene.

In 1991, Joshua launched his first project, “Terra Incognita”, with Kora player, Ravi, and British Sarod player, Chinmaya Dunster, with which he released two albums. He subsequently released four solo albums and formed the band, “Hamsafar”, with which he released one album. Following this, Joshua began to experiment with genres like drum and bass, lounge, and trance, while still focusing on traditional Hindustani music.

Band members

Chintan Relenberg — Loops, Keyboards, Darbouka, Tabla, Vocals Raul Sengupta — Tabla, Percussion, Vocals Satgyan Fukuda — Bass, Percussion, Vocals Prem Joshua — Sitar, Flute, Saxophone, Dilruba, Santoor, Vocals Sandhya Sanjana — featured vocalist

Discography

''No Goal But The Path'' - with Terra Incognita, New Earth Records, 1991

''Tribal Gathering'' - with Terra Incognita, New Earth Records, 1992

''Tales of a Dancing River'' - New Earth Records, 1993

''Hamsafar'' - New Earth Records, 1994

''Desert Visions'' - New Earth Records, 1995

''Secret of the Wind'' - New Earth Records, 1996

''Mudra'' - White Swan Records, 1998

''Sky Kisses Earth'' - White Swan Records, 1999

''Dance of Shakti'' - White Swan Records, 2001

''Water Down The Ganges'' - with Manish Vyas, Medial Music, 2001

''Shiva Moon - Prem Joshua Remixed by Maneesh de Moor'' - Medial Music, 2003

''Dakini Lounge - Prem Joshua Remixed'' - White Swan Records, 2003

''Yatri'' - Medial Music, 2004

''Ahir'' - with Chintan, Medial Music, 2006

''Taranga'' - White Swan Records, 2006

''Prem Joshua & Band In Concert [LIVE]'' - White Swan Records, 2009

''Luminous Secrets'' - Link to Album on Official Website, 2010

Sources

Prem Joshua - Albums

White Swan Records - Featured Artists - Prem Joshua

[ Allmusic]

References

External links

Prem Joshua - Official Website

New Earth Records - Official Website

White Swan Records - Official Website

Trident Entertainment - Official Website

Prem Joshua's LastFM Site

Category:German musicians Category:Sitar players Category:Living people

name	Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan
office	President, Lok Satta Party
office2	Member, Legislative Assembly, Andhra Pradesh, India
constituency2	Kukatpally, Hyderabad, India
term start2	2009
birth date	January 14, 1956 }}

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Telugu: జయప్రకాశ్ నారయణ్ ; 1956 - ), widely known as JP, is a noted Indian politician, social reformer, TV commentator and columnist. He is the President of Lok Satta Party and currently a Member of the Legislative Assembly from Kukatpally constituency in Andhra Pradesh. He is also a former Indian public administrator. He is well known for his role in bringing electoral reforms and for his columns on democracy in leading Indian daily newspapers.

Early life

Nagabhairava Jayaprakash Narayan was born on Jan 14th, 1956 in Godavarru Village near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. He was raised in Maharashtra in his early years. He joined Andhra Loyola College in 1969 for his intermediate education. He obtained his medical degree from Guntur Medical College.

Civil Service

Jayaprakash Narayan, a physician, joined public administration after making it to I.A.S. in 1980 standing all India second. He worked on agriculture, irrigation, technology and youth rehabilitation projects in various capacities in various districts of Andhra Pradesh. He had an eventful 16-year-long career in the government. Some of his achievements include :

Rehabilitation of 8000 youth from displaced families of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

Designed the reconstruction of drainage and irrigation network in Krishna, Prakasham and Godavari deltas. He successfully mobilized the farmers on a large scale to take up irrigation schemes to bring more than two lakh acres under irrigation.

Strengthened the credit cooperatives by making them independent of government control.

Served as a Secretary to both the Governor and The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Dr. NT Ramarao.

He also has several major policy initiatives to his credit.

Empowerment of parents in schools.

Economic reforms and restructuring of AP.

Development of the Infocity HITEC City (Hyderabad Information Technology Engineering Consultancy City) in Hyderabad to facilitate the growth of the software industry.

Empowerment of local governments and stakeholders.

Law for self-reliant cooperatives (1995).

Social Reforms

Dr. JP’s experience in government convinced him that the faulty governance process is the biggest hurdle in India’s path of progress. He resigned from the I.A.S in 1996, as he wanted to work on grass roots for good governance. Jayaprakash Narayan, an optimistic individual, talks about the efficacy of reforms in the governance, Economy of Andhra Pradesh among several other issues on various platforms in educational and political institutes. He emphasizes that democracy is for the people, of the people and by the people. He has also written columns in Indian newspapers like Times of India, The Economic Times, Financial Express, The Hindu and Eenadu. He also worked as Television host for election coverage shows and political programs like "Pratidhwani".

Political and Administrative Reforms

Dr. JP has served on the following panels.

The National Advisory Council (NAC) for the implementation of the National Common Minimum Programme (CMP), July 2004 through August 2006.

Vigilance Advisory Council, constituted by the Central Vigilance Commission, November 2004

Second Administrative Reforms Commission constituted by the Government of India in September 2005

Foundation For Democratic Reforms

Dr. JP is the founder member of Foundation For Democratic Reforms (FDR) and currently serves as its general secretary. FDR is one of India's leading think-tanks and research-resource centers for formulating and promoting fundamental reforms in political, electoral and governance spheres and in critical areas of state policy.

Lok Satta Movement

Jayaprakash Narayan started ''Lok Satta Movement'' (means people power) in 1997 to educate citizens of India about voting, rights and government. Lok Satta, a non-partisan movement for democratic reforms in India, worked on various activities like election reforms, police reforms, right to information act and voter registration procedures. The movement initially started in Andhra Pradesh and later spread across the country, including Mumbai and the Vote JUHU campaigns.

Lok Satta is in the forefront of key initiatives like disclosure of candidate wealth and criminal history details, political funding reform, decriminalization of politics, improvement of electoral registration, comprehensive judicial reforms including local courts, and national judicial commission and citizen's charters.

Political career

He started the Lok Satta party in 2006 with clean politics and good governance and improvement of India as the main agenda. While launching the political party, he stated that this party aimed to enrich the political scenario in India with its true spirit and felt that it would be considered as an alternative to any other political party, since it aimed to create a true and faithful political picture in India with out involving illegitimate money, liquor and caste in elections.

2008 Byelections

Lok Satta Party contested in 2008 in the Assembly by-elections for the first time, and was able to secure second place in two of the four places (Khairatabad, Terlam) it contested from.

2009 Elections

Lok Satta Party contested again in the 234 Legislative Assembly seats in 2009 general elections. He toured Andhra Pradesh in trains similar to the way freedom fighters traveled to reach people. Jayaprakash Narayan himself contested from Kukatpally, and won with 15,000 votes majority over the nearest opponent. His victory is quoted as "the victory of people" as he won the election without distributing money or liquor.

Andhra Pradesh 13th Assembly

Jayaprakash Narayan is one of the vocal leaders in assembly proceedings. Some of the major contributions to Andhra Pradesh 13th assembly are: Proposed the Anti Corruption Bill to amend the State's Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, to curb corruption in the state by including elected members under civil servants.

Advanced all party resolution to elect deputy speaker from opposition.

Opposed amendment to Andhra Pradesh Societies Act claiming that it is against the right to form unions as per the Constitution. Opposed populist schemes in 2009, 2010, and 2011 Andhra Pradesh Budgets.

Pressed the need for gas grid and industrial development.

Condemned the demolition of statues on Tankbund. Demanded investigation into land and natural resource allocation scams and provided evidences.

Attack in the Assembly premises by TRS activists

On 18th February 2011, Jayaprakash Narayan was attacked by members of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on the assembly premises after he gave a media interview highlighting the degrading democratic values in the state and assembly due to the vested interests of a certain section of the politicians. After the end of the interview, JP was attacked by TRS activists. TRS leaders K. T. Rama Rao, T. Harish Rao and D. Vinay Bhaskar instigated and managed the attack. TRS continues to defend its actions, while all political parties cutting across the party lines have condemned the attack.

Development of Kukatpally constituency

Dr. JP tours the Constituency every Saturday to get a first hand look at people's problems in the constituency and meets people at IMAX gardens, Road No.4 to listen to their problems. The following are activities undertaken by him.

Traffic

The construction of the under rail bridge in Safdarnagar, which has been neglected for several months has been completed.

New roads in phase 9 of Kukatpally Housing Board.

Road expansion works in Kukatpally phase 1.

Footover bridges on proposal are sanctioned at 5 different locations at JNTU Junction, Kukatpally Village Bus Stop, Moosapet Junction, Balanagar area and Begumpet in Kukatpally Constituency.

Road from Moosapet ‘Y’ Junction to Miyapur on NH-9 is proposed for widening and providing the service roads from both left & right sides to control heavy traffic on this route.

Water

Collected 99 samples of drinking water and showed it to water-board authorities, that the chlorine levels are not appropriate and directed them to take actions.

300 m pipeline construction in Moosapet division for Manjeera water supply. Another 400 m pipeline construction to make use of the neglected overhead tank.

Installed 20 bore wells in the water deprived areas of the Constituency.

pipeline construction from Vasantnagar to Bhagat Singh nagar, to regulate drainage problems in the rainy season, has been completed.

Booster pumps in Satyanarayana Swamy colony, Parvatnagar, Motinagar divisions to complement the irregular drinking water-supply that has been there for several years.

Kukatpally circle receives only 9 mgd water (5% of the city) even though it has 56000 water connections (10% of the city). Arrangements have been proposed to supply at least 16 mgd water.

Amenities

Street lighting between Vasanth Nagar/Satyanarayana Colony and highway.

Resumed swimming pool and indoor stadium works at Kukatpally Phase 6.

Organized free medical clinics in the constituency to diagnose eye and thyroid problems among people to provide better medical facilities. Organized a free medical camp in Balanagar colony with the help of expert doctors and distributed free medicines.

Establishment of Citizen Help Centers to help Citizens in Government and Municipality works.

Moving HUDA truck park from Kukatpally to Miyapur and construct an auditorium for cultural and entertainment programs and a commercial center in its place.

Construction of Sulabh complexes in densely populated places.

Drainage

Underground drainage system: Works worth Rs. 4.4 crore have been started in 11 colonies/bastis. This helps 2 lakh people and prevents the mixing of sewage and water supply. Will be completed by Dec 31, 2009.

To construct 6 sewerage treatment plants near ponds/lakes and to fence the ponds/lakes to prevent illegal occupation.

Personal life

JP is currently married to Radha who is said to be a Lawyer. They have two children, a son and a daughter.

See also

Lok Satta Party

Lok Satta Movement

References

External links

Lok Satta Party website

Development in Kukatpally Assembly Constituency

Foundation for Democratic Reforms

People for Loksatta

Vote India movement

Vote Mumbai movement

Jaya Prakash Narayan Interview

Category:1953 births Category:Lok Satta Party Category:Lok Satta Party politicians Category:Indian activists Category:Indian columnists Category:Indian civil servants Category:People from Krishna Category:Living people

hi:जयप्रकाश नारायण (लोकसत्ता)