Districts of Andhra Pradesh.

The Indian state of Andhra Pradesh came into existence due to the States Reorganization Act of 1956 which merged Telugu-Speaking areas of Hyderabad State with the already existing Andhra State^[1]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Districts of Andhra Pradesh

References[link]

1. ^ "Know Hyderabad: History". Pan India Network. 2010. http://hyderabadonline.in/Profile/History/. Retrieved 22 May 2012. 
2. ^ Census, provisional. "Provisional Census of India 2011". http://updateox.com/india/district-wise-population-india-as-of-2011-census/. Retrieved 22 May 2012. 

v t e State of Andhra Pradesh Capital: Hyderabad Topics History Politics Telugu people Districts Adilabad Anantapur Chittoor East Godavari Guntur Hyderabad Karimnagar Khammam Krishna Kurnool Mahabubnagar Medak Nalgonda Nellore Nizamabad Prakasam Ranga Reddy Srikakulam Visakhapatnam Vizianagaram Warangal West Godavari YSR Major cities Hyderabad Visakhapatnam Vijayawada Tirupati Warangal Hanamakonda Guntur Rajahmundry Kakinada Nellore Kurnool Anantapur Ramagundam Eluru Machilipatnam Bhimavaram Karimnagar Mancherial Kadapa Khammam Bhadrachalam Nizamabad Portal: Andhra Pradesh

v t e Districts of States of India States Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal Union Territories Andaman and Nicobar Islands Chandigarh Dadra and Nagar Haveli National Capital Territory of Delhi Daman and Diu Lakshadweep Puducherry Related topics List of states and territories of India District collector Sub-Divisional Magistrate Community Development Block Block Development Officer Gram panchayat

Andhra Pradesh
—  State  —
Clockwise from top left: Charminar,Tirupathi, Prakasam Barrage, Lepakshi Nandi (bull), Kirti torana of Warangal Fort
Seal
Nickname(s): Rice Bowl of India
Location of Andhra Pradesh in India
Map of Andhra Pradesh
Coordinates (Hyderabad): 17°21′58″N 78°28′34″E / 17.366°N 78.476°E / 17.366; 78.476Coordinates: 17°21′58″N 78°28′34″E / 17.366°N 78.476°E / 17.366; 78.476
Country	India
Established	1 November 1956 (1956-11-01) (55 years ago)
Capital	Hyderabad
Largest city	Hyderabad
Districts	23 total
Government
• Body	Government of India, Government of Andhra Pradesh
• Governor	E. S. L. Narasimhan
• Chief Minister	N. Kiran Kumar Reddy (INC)
• Legislature	Bicameral (294 + 90 seats)
• Deputy Chief Minister	Damodar Raja Narasimha
• High Court	Andhra Pradesh High Court
Area†
• Total	275,045 km2 (106,195 sq mi)
Area rank	4th
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	84,655,533
• Rank	5th
• Density	310/km2 (800/sq mi)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
ISO 3166 code	IN-AP
HDI	0.572 (medium)
HDI rank	20th (2005)
Literacy	67.77% (2011)
Official language	Telugu (official) Urdu (co-official)
Website	ap.gov.in

Andhra Pradesh /ˌɑːndrə prəˈdɛʃ/ 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 state is separated into three regions: Telangana, Andhra, and Rayalaseema.

The primary official language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu ^[3] and the co-official language is Urdu. Other languages often spoken in the state include Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, and Oriya.^[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". ^[6] 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^[7] It holds a position in the provinces of the world with more than billion dollar GDP.^[8] More than 77% of its crop is rice; Andhra Pradesh produced 17,796,000 tonnes of rice in 2006.^[9]

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 .^[10]. The Marathi speaking areas of Hyderabad State merged with Bombay State and Kannada speaking areas were merged with Mysore State.

Ancient and medieval history[link]

Early History[link]

Kondaveedu

Kakatiya sculpture at Warangal

A pillar at Ahobilam temple in Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh

Rock-cut Lord --Buddha-- Statue at Bojjanakonda near Anakapalle, Visakhapatnam

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)^[11] An Andhra tribe was mentioned in the Sanskrit epics such as Aitareya Brahmana (800 BCE) and Mahabharata (400 BCE).^[12] The Natya Shastra written by Bharatha (1st century BCE) also mentions the Andhra people.^[13] The roots of the Telugu language have been seen on inscriptions found near the Guntur district^[14] and from others dating to the rule of Renati Cholas in the 5th century CE.^[15]

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.^[16]

Inscriptional evidence shows that there was an early kingdom in coastal 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)".^[17][18]

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.^[19]

During this period, Telugu emerged as a popular language, supplanting Prakrit and Sanskrit.^[20] 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.^[21]

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.

Mughal era[link]

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.^[22] 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.^[23]

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.^[24]

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.^[25]

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.^[26][27]

Charminar at Hyderabad

Heartland of Mahayana Buddhism[link]

Scholars have suggested that the Prajñāpāramitā Sutras, the earliest Mahayana Sutras,^[28][29] developed among the Mahāsāṃghika along the Krishna River in Andhra country.^[30] A.K. Warder holds that "the Mahāyāna originated in the south of India and almost certainly in the Andhra country."^[31] 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, and Bhavaviveka, among many others, formulated their theories while living in Buddhist communities in Andhra."^[32] 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."^[32] The Dzogchen, 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.^[33]

Modern history[link]

Vizag skyline

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.^[34] Meanwhile, the French occupied 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.^[35]

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.^[36]

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.^[37] Controversy arose as to the future status of Hyderabad City, part of one of the ten districts of Telangana region.^[38] 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.^[39] 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.^[40] The committee submitted its report on 30 December 2010, a day before its term was to expire.^[41]

Geography and climate[link]

The Mouth of the Godavari River (East) emptying into the Bay of Bengal

Greater Flamingoes (Phoenicopterus roseus) taking off Pocharam lake

Aerial view of Visakhapatnam^[42] port

Ethipothala Falls

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 the Telangana region and the southern part is known as Rayalaseema. These two regions are separated by the River Krishna. The third region is Coastal Andhra.^[43] 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^[44] 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 of Sriharikota, 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.^[45]

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.^[45]

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, Guntur is the fourth largest city of the state, followed by Rajamundry, Nellore, Warangal, Kurnool, Kakinada. Other important places of the state are Tirupati, Srikakulam, and Kadapa.

Adjacent states[link]

The state shares its borders with Karnataka, Maharastra, Chattisgarh, Tamil Nadu & Orissa.

	Maharastra	Maharastra, Chattisgarh & Orissa	Bay of Bengal
	Karnataka		Bay of Bengal
		Andhra Pradesh    East
	Karnataka	Tamil Nadu	Bay of Bengal

Demographics[link]

Languages of Andhra Pradesh in 2001^[47]

  Telugu (83.88%)

  Urdu (8.63%)

  Hindi (3.23%)

  Tamil (1.01%)

Telugu is the official language of the state, spoken by 83.88% followed by Urdu 8.63% of the population. Major linguistic minority groups are Hindi (3.23%), and Tamil (1.02%).

Other languages spoken in Andhra Pradesh by less than 1% each are Kannada (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%).^[48]

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^[49] with a score of 0.416.

The National Council of Applied Economic Research district analysis in 2001 reveals that Khammam, Krishna, West Godavari, Chittoor, and Medak are the five districts with the highest Human 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.^[50]

Religions[link]

Tirumala Temple entrance

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 Brahmin and Dalit disciples.^[51] Fisherman Raghu was a Shudra saint.^[52] 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.^{[citation needed]}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.^[53] 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.

Economy[link]

GDP by year

Year	State GDP ( MM)
1980	81,910
1985	152,660
1990	333,360
1995	798,540
2000	1,401,190
2007	2,294,610

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^[7] placing Andhra pradesh in second place in India in GDP.It holds a position in the Provinces of the world with more than billion dollar GDP.^[8] The state ranks third in terms of overall Gross State Product among all the states of the Indian Union.^[54] In terms of per capita GSDP the state compares very favorably with other large states. In the 2010 list by Forbes Magazine, there are Seven from Andhra Pradesh among the top 100 richest Indians.^{[citation needed]}

Srisailam Dam - Hydro Electric Power Source

Agriculture has been the chief source of income for the state's economy. Andhra Pradesh is an exporter of many agricultural products. Four important rivers of India, the Godavari, Krishna, Penna, and Thungabhadra flow through the state, providing irrigation. Rice, sugarcane, cotton, Chili pepper, mango, and tobacco are the local crops. Recently, crops used for vegetable oil production such as sunflower and peanuts have gained favour. There are many multi-state irrigation projects in development, including Godavari River Basin Irrigation Projects and Nagarjuna Sagar Dam.^[55][56]

The service sector of the state accounts for 43% of the gross state domestic product (GSDP) and employs 20% of the work force.^[56] Andhra Pradesh economy has registered over 5.5% annual economic growth rate during the last two decades.^{[citation needed]} The state is ranked fifth industrially developed states in India.

Andhra Pradesh ranks second in India in terms of mineral wealth. The state has about one third of India's limestone reserves, estimated at about 30 billion tonnes. The Tumalappalli Uranium mine in Andhra has confirmed 49,000 tonnes of ore and there are indications that it could hold reserves totalling three times its current size, The Times of India quoted Srikumar Banerjee as saying. The mine's proven reserve is enough to support a 8,000 mega watts nuclear power plant for 40 years, the report added. The Krishna Godavari Basin has huge reserves of natural gas and petroleum. The state has a large amount of coal reserves.^[56] The state ranks first nationwide in hydro electricity generation, with a national market share of over 11%. Andhra Pradesh has the fourth largest power generating utility in the country, with an installed capacity of around 10,650 MW. The two cheapest sources of thermal power generation – coal and natural gas – are in abundance.^{[citation needed]}

Information technology and other key sectors[link]

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.^[57] Other key sectors include, Biopharmaceuticals, Power, Automobile, Tourism, Textiles, Retail, Leather, Mining and Religious tourism.

Administration[link]

Andhra Pradesh has a Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly, lower house) of 294 seats, and a Vidhan Parishad (legislative council, upper house) of 90 members. 31 members are elected from local bodies, 31 members are elected from the assembly, eight members are elected from teachers, eight members are elected from graduates, and 12 members are nominated by the Governor. In the Parliament of India Andhra Pradesh has 18 in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House, and 42 in the Lok Sabha, the Lower House.^[58][59]

Andhra Pradesh had a series of governments headed by Indian National Congress (INC) Party until 1982.Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao is the founder of Telugu Desam party and served as the first chief minister from the party. N. Chandrababu Naidu held the record for the longest serving chief minister (1995 to 2004). P. V. Narasimha Rao served as the chief minister of the state from 1971 to 1973, and went on to become the Prime Minister of India in 1991. The first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh was Neelam Sanjiva Reddy who later served as President of India. The Congress chief ministers of the state are Damodaram Sanjivayya, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, P. V. Narasimha Rao, Jalagam Vengala Rao, Marri Chenna Reddy, Tanguturi Anjaiah, Bhavanam Venkatarami Reddy, Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Konijeti Rosaiah and N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Andhra Pradesh High Court at Hyderabad, the main judicial body for the State

^{[citation needed]}

Until 1962, the CPI, along with socialist parties, played an important role as opposition parties. Parties namely Praja Socialist Party and Krishi Lok Party played important role in 1950's. In the 1967 state assembly elections all socialist parties were eliminated and CPI lost opposition party status. N.G. Ranga's Swatantra Party became the Opposition Party. They also failed to hold control later and became defunct. In 1978 Jalagam Vengal Rao and Kasu Brahmananda Reddy formed the Reddy Congress and contested against INC but lost.

In 1983 the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) won the state elections and N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) became the chief minister of the state for the first time. This broke the long time single party monopoly enjoyed by the INC from 1956 until 1982. A few months after the election, Nadendla Bhaskara Rao usurped power when NTR was away in the United States for medical treatment. After coming back, NTR campaigned for a comeback by demonstrating the support of the majority of the elected MLAs. The governor Thakur Ram Lal was ousted by Indira Gandhi and in his place she appointed Shankar Dayal Sharma. NTR was reinstated as chief minister. Within a month NTR recommended the dissolution of the assembly and called for fresh elections. Gandhi was assassinated on 31 October 1984 by her Sikh bodyguard and Rajiv Gandhi was made Prime Minister by President Giani Zail Singh. In the ensuing elections for Lok Sabha and the AP Assembly, the Telugu Desam Party won in Andhra Pradesh and NTR came back to power.

The 1989 elections ended the rule of NTR, with the INC party returning to power with Marri Chenna Reddy at the helm. He was replaced by Janardhan Reddy in 1990, who was replaced by Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy in 1992. In 1994, Andhra Pradesh gave a mandate to the Telugu Desam Party again, and NTR became the chief minister again. Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the son-in-law of NTR, usurped power with the backing of a majority of the MLAs. The Telugu Desam Party won both the assembly and Lok Sabha election in 1999 under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu. There was an assassination attempt on Naidu in 2003 in Tirupathi; he survived the attack. In the ensuing elections the party lost power to a resurgent INC and its allies. Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy became the Chief Minister.

Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy became the CM again by fending off the Praja Rajyam Party and a major alliance of TDP, TRS, CPI and CPM. He died on 2 September 2009 in a helicopter crash. Konijeti Rosaiah, a senior statesman and former state finance minister, became the Chief Minister on 3 September 2009. On 24 November 2010, Rosaiah submitted his resignation on the grounds of increased work pressure. Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy was sworn in as the new Chief Minister on the following day.^[60]

Tourism[link]

Belum Caves

Andhra Pradesh is promoted by its tourism department as the "Koh-i-Noor of India."

Andhra Pradesh is the home of many religious pilgrim centres. Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati is according to believers the abode of Hindu god Venkateswara. Srisailam, nestled in the Nallamala Hills is the abode of Mallikarjuna and is one of twelve Jyothirlingas in India. Amaravati's Shiva temple is one of the Pancharamams, as is Yadagirigutta, the abode of an avatara of Vishnu, Lakshmi Narasimha. The Ramappa temple and Thousand Pillars temple in Warangal are famous for their temple carvings. The state has numerous Buddhist centres at Amaravati, Nagarjuna Konda, Bhattiprolu, Ghantasala, Nelakondapalli, Dhulikatta, Bavikonda, Thotlakonda, Shalihundam, Pavuralakonda, Bojjannakonda(Sankaram), Phanigiri and Kolanpaka.^[61] The Vijayanagara Empire built number of monuments, including the Srisailam temple and Lepakshi temples.

North View of Bhimili beach

The golden beaches at Visakhapatnam, the one-million-year-old limestone caves at Borra, picturesque Araku Valley, hill resorts of Horsley Hills, river Godavari racing through a narrow gorge at Papi Kondalu, waterfalls at Ettipotala, Kuntala and rich bio-diversity at Talakona are some of the natural attractions of the state. Kailashagiri is a park near the sea in Visakhapatnam. Visakhapatnam is home to other tourist attractions such as the INS Kursura S20 Submarine museum (the only one of its kind in India), the longest beach road in India, Yarada Beach, Araku Valley, and Indira Gandhi Zoological Gardens.

The Borra Caves are located in the Anatagiri Hills of the Eastern Ghats, near Vishakapatnam. They are at an altitude of about 800 to 1300 metres and are famous for million-year-old stalactite and stalagmite formations. They were discovered by British geologist William King George in 1807. The caves get their name from a formation inside the caves that looks like the human brain, which in the local language, Telugu, is known as burra. The Belum caves were formed due to erosion in limestone deposits in the area by the weakly acidic water of the Chitravati River millions of years ago.

The Papi Hills are located in Khammam district, near Bhadrachalam. Boat cruises are available on the river Godavari.

The Belum Caves in Kurnool District have a length of 3,229 metres (10,594 ft), making them the second largest natural caves on the Indian subcontinent. The Belum Caves derive their name from Bilum, the Sanskrit word for caves. In Telugu, the caves are known as Guhalu. The caves have long passages, spacious chambers, freshwater galleries, and siphons. The caves' deepest point is 120 feet (37 m) from the entrance and is known asPatalganaga.

Horsley Hills, elevation 1,265 metres (4,150 ft), is a summer hill resort in Andhra Pradesh, about 160 km (99 mi) from Bangalore and144 km (89 mi) from Tirupati. The town of Madanapalle lies nearby. Major tourist attractions include the Mallamma temple and the Rishi Valley School. Horsely Hills is the departure point for the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary at a distance of 87 km (54 mi).

Nirmal is famous for its handicrafts and paintings. Kuntala waterfall, at 45 metres (148 ft), is the biggest in the state. Charminar, Golconda Fort, Chandragiri Fort, Chowmahalla Palace, and Falaknuma Palace are some of the monuments in the state.

Kanaka Durga Temple in Vijayawada in Krishna district, Venkateswara Temple in Dwaraka Tirumala, West Godavari District, and Surya temple in Arasavelli in Srikakulam District are also places to see in Andhra Pradesh.

The Annavaram Satayannarayana Swami temple is in East Godavari, near Kakinada.Konaseema is another place in East Godavari for nature lovers with scenic greenery of lush paddy fields and coconut groves. All along the banks of river Godavari and its canals.

Religious tourism[link]

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, an important pilgrimage site in Tirupati