ABSTRACT
When the boundaries of the modern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh were created in 1956, the attempt was made to include a majority of the Telugu-speaking people who inhabit the area. Significant minorities of Telugu speakers still live in the surrounding states, particularly in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka; within Andhra Pradesh itself, there are many linguistic minority groups as well. The largest of these linguistic minorities is the Urdu speakers, concentrated in and around Hyderabad, the current capital (as well as former capital of a large Muslim state of the same name that maintained a separate identity up until Indian independence). Andhra Pradesh has an area of over 275,000 square kilometers and a population of more than 60 million—both a little greater than those of the United Kingdom. Although Hyderabad is a major metropolis, the state is largely rural, ranging from rich rice-growing deltas to dry, rocky uplands.
