The national historical narrative in India has largely been Brahminic and centred around the Gangetic region. Regional histories often do not match such a narrative, or the Indo-Aryan economic and political system they describe. Social history, constructed from puranic texts, further homogenises the diversities of the Indian subcontinent.
A Cultural History of Telangana takes a longue durée approach to understanding the socio-economic, cultural and political movements in the region, delineating the broad trends and themes in Telangana’s history, while correcting the imbalance that led to Telangana’s marginalisation in the history of the Telugu-speaking region. Moving away from the dynastic perspective commonly deployed in conventional history writing, the author follows significant developments in the fields of agriculture, urbanisation, architecture, trade and commerce, religion, and the arts to reconstruct the unique history of Telangana from ancient times up to the early eighteenth century.
Telangana, with its rocky terrain, thick forests, hilly landscapes and red sandy soils, has produced a diverse social, economic and political system. This diversity has led to intense cultural assimilation over the centuries, producing a new culture known as Deccani, which is markedly different from both the cultures of the north as well as the other regions of south India. This book will be valuable for graduate and undergraduate students of history, aspirants of public service examinations, and interested readers.
Bhangya Bhukya is Professor of History, University of Hyderabad.
Preface
1. Early Social Formations
2. State Formation and Dynasties
3. Political System and Governance
4. Land and Agrarian System
5. Agricultural Development and Tank Irrigation
6. Growth of Crafts, Trade and Commerce
7. Growth and Decline of Urbanisation
8. Rise and Fall of Buddhism and Jainism
9. Popular Beliefs, Cults and Religious Practices
10. Spread of Islam and its Various Sects
11. Development of Language and Literature
12. Caste and Caste System
13. Art and Architecture
Appendix
List of Dynasties that Ruled Telangana
Index