| Warangal | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Andhra Pradesh |
| District(s) | Warangal |
| Population | 9,57,028 (2011[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 302 metres (991 ft) |
Warangal (Telugu: వరంగల్, ; also known as Orugallu, and Ekasila Nagaram) is a city and a municipal corporation in Warangal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Warangal is located 148 kilometres (92 mi) northeast of the state capital of Hyderabad and is the administrative headquarters of Warangal District. Warangal City is the second biggest city after Hyderabad in the Telangana Region. This district is a combination of three cities: Warangal, Hanamakonda and Kazipet. It has a population of nearly 1 million including Hanamakonda and Kazipet.[1][2] Warangal city is going to be Greater Warangal in few months as Basavaraju Saraiah, minister for backward castes welfare, said that the next Municipal Elections will be in Greater Warangal. Even faster steps were being taken for this proposal.
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Warangal was the capital of a Hindu Shaivaite kingdom ruled by the Kakatiya dynasty from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The old name of this newly formed city is Orugallu. Oru means one and Kallu means stone.
The Kakatiyas left many monuments, including an impressive fortress, four massive stone gateways, the Swayambhu temple dedicated to Shiva, and the Ramappa temple situated near Ramappa Lake. The cultural and administrative distinction of the Kakatiyas was mentioned by the famous traveller Marco Polo. Famous or well-known rulers included Ganapathi Deva, Prathapa Rudra, and Rani (queen) Rudrama Devi. After the defeat of Pratapa Rudra, the Musunuri Nayaks united seventy two Nayak chieftains and captured Warangal from Delhi sultanate and ruled for fifty years. Jealousy and mutual rivalry between Nayaks ultimately led to the downfall of Hindus in 1370 A.D. and success of Bahmanis. Bahmani Sultanate later broke up into several smaller sultanates, of which the Golconda sultanate ruled Warangal. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered Golconda in 1687, and it remained part of the Mughal empire until the southern provinces of the empire split away to become the state of Hyderabad in 1724 which included the Telangana region and some parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Hyderabad was annexed to India in 1948, and became an Indian state. In 1956 Hyderabad was partitioned as part of the States Reorganization Act, and Telangana, the Telugu-speaking region of Hyderabad state which includes Warangal, became part of united Andhra Pradesh state.
Warangal is located at .[3] It has an average elevation of 302 metres (990 feet).
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Located in the semi-arid Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, Warangal has a predominantly hot and dry climate. Summers start in March, and peak in May with average high temperatures in the 42 °C (108 °F) range. The monsoon arrives in June and lasts until September with about 550 mm (22 in) of precipitation. A dry, mild winter starts in late November and lasts until early February. With little humidity and average temperatures in the 22–23 °C (72–73 °F) range, this is the best time to visit Warangal.
Warangal's economy is predominantly agricultural. It has a large grain market in Enumamula village close to Warangal city near Desaipet. Rice is the main crop in this region for local consumption and commerce. Cotton has also been a major cash crop since the early 1990s; however the cotton sector has been troubled in recent years, and there was a highly publicized spate of suicides by cotton farmers in 1997-1998.
Industry has been neglected in the region by successive governments. Some industries existing during the Nizam's rule, like Azam Jahi Cloth Mills, were closed down; Warangal has several small to medium scale industries.
A STPI (Software Technology Parks of India) has been set up at National Institute of Technology, Warangal with the intention of taking the benefits of the Information Technology revolution to second tier cities. Warangal makes an excellent location for this because of its proximity to Hyderabad, the student pool from some of the best institutes in the country, good transportation facilities, infrastructure, lower traffic problems, etc.
There is a large amount of foreign investment coming from the NRIs who settled in abroad.
Warangal city is the headquarters of Warangal district. Warangal district contributes a total of twelve seats (city has two; that of Warangal East and Warangal West) in the lower house of the State Legislature and two seats (Warangal and Mahabubabad) in lower house of Indian Parliament.
Warangal witnessed a bloody chapter in its history in 1969, when the people of Telangana Region felt discriminated against the people of Andhra Region in the unified state of Andhra Pradesh. This has caused the Telangana Agitation including the Mulki (locals) agitation by Telangana Praja Samithi (TPS) party lead by Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy and other leaders asking for a separate state as was the case before 1956. Warangal was the brewing ground of the movement. Students, peasants and government employees all joined forces. More than 400 students lost their lives in the struggle. The college students also lost an academic year due to this movement.yh
As of 2011[update] India census,[6] Warangal had a population of 759,594. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Warangal has an average literacy rate of 84.16%, higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 91.54%, and female literacy is 76.79%. In Warangal, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
The Mamnoor village, on the south-east outskirts of Warangal on Warangal Khammam Road, was used as a air force base and for glider training. The nearest international airport is Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad located 160km away from Warangal.
Warangal is connected well to many major cities of India by rail. It falls under the South Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways. Kazipet Junction Railway Station in Kazipet, about 13 km from Warangal is a major railway junction on the Hyderabad-New Delhi-Vijayawada-Chennai-Kolkata route. Warangal Railway Station in Warangal is a station located on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Chennai-Kolkata route. Every day nearly 132 trains pass through this section apart from goods trains.It is one of the biggest Railway Junction in the country.
National Highway 202 under construction from Hyderabad to Bhopalapatnam in Chhattisgarh passes through Warangal city.
There are two major bus stations in Warangal and Hanamakonda. Long-distance deluxe buses ply from Warangal to Bangalore, Madras, Hyderabad, Tirupathi, Anantapur, Hubli, and Belgaum; and standard express buses to Guntur via Vijayawada, Cherial, Jangaon, Kodad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad, Suryapet, Palampet, Jagtial, Mahabubabad, Narsampet, Parkal, Khammam, Bhadrachalam and Basar. Direct buses are available from Hyderabad to Warangal every hour with a travelling time of 3.5 hours.
Warangal is the fifth-largest city in Andhra Pradesh and is known for important educational institutions like Kakatiya Medical College and National Institute of Technology, Warangal. Established in 1959 as the first of Regional Engineering Colleges in the country, (foundation stone laid by the first prime minister of India, Sri Jawahar Lal Nehru), the NIT grew into an important national level institute for engineering studies. Warangal NIT is one of the best Institutes among all the NIT's in India. From 1959 onwards, this institute has successfully produced innumerable global citizens and scientists. Ex President of India, Sri Abdul Kalam visits this institute almost every year.
There are several non-governmental organizations active in primary and secondary education in Warangal District. Of these, the best known are KITS, WITS, Rural Development Foundation and Institute for Technology and Management, Warangal (ITM Warangal). CultureTelugu is the major language spoken by most of the people in Warangal. People of Warangal wear traditional attire like Saree, Dhoti and also modern dresses. Warangal is famous for the poets like Bammera Potana who has translated the Maha Bhagavatham from Sanskrit to Telugu and also Palkuriki Somanna to present day poets/writers like Kaloji Narayana Rao. Most popular culture here is most of the young generation are widespread in all countries mostly in USA mainly into software related professions. Almost each home has some members in foreign countries. Telugu people are well known for their IT skills. This has brought a major influx of IT companies from USA and European countries.
Major Hindu festivals such as Bathukamma festival, Dasara, Deepavali, Sankranti are celebrated here. Bonalu and Bathukamma festival is very famous here and celebrated by the women and young girls worshipping the goddess for nine days with various flowers. In addition, the district hosts the Sammakka Saralamma Jatara or congregation bi-annually, and approximately 6 million people gather around the small village of Medaram and its adjacent stream/rivulet, Jampanna Vagu, 90 km from Warangal city for over three days. This fair is said to be the largest repeating aggregation of tribal communities in the whole world and commemorates the valiant fight put up by a mother and daughter (Samakka and Sarakka) with the reigning Kakatiya king over an unjust law. This is also the second biggest congregation in Asian continent after Kumbha Mela in India.[7] Every year during the month of Ramzan, Muslim areas, especially Mandi Bazaar wear a festival look and the main road remains closed in the evening and is only accessed by foot. Many make shift shops and food eateries crop up serving the famous haleem dish and lots of other foods, sweets and seviyan after the fasting is broken in the evening by Muslims in the locality. Night shopping is famous here when people fast the whole day and come out for shopping via casual walk in the evening. Most of the shops are open almost up to 1:00 am in the night. The dargah of Kazipet is raised in honour of Hazrat Sayyad Shah Afzal Biyaban It attracts pilgrims from abroad as well. The celebrations at the famous Kazipet dargah is full of fervour and gaiety. A symbol of unity, people cutting across religious and caste affiliations throng this historic site every year. The dargah attracts huge crowds from different parts of the country and abroad. Legend has it that Hazrat Sayyad Shah Afzal Biyabani, born in 1793 AD, became the darling of the masses through his teachings and was popular among them for his miracles. People believed that he could cure diseases and help lead them a normal live. The day he left his physical form on Safar 26, 1856 AD, his followers and devotees raised a dargah and began Urs (celebrations). Islamic scholars say there are only three such dargahs, with dome coloured in green, in honours of great personalities - one in Baghdad, the other in Madina and the third one - here in Kazipet. Fatima Feast, a Roman Catholic fair is celebrated every year on February 12 and 13 at their Warangal Diocesian Headquarters of Cathedral Church in Fatima Nagar, Kazipet. Members of ParliamentShri Sircilla Rajaiah (INC) is the sitting MP of Warangal. References
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