Telugu states తెలుగు రాష్ట్రాలు (Telugu Rāṣṭrālu) | |
|---|---|
Ethno Region | |
 Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Yanam | |
| Country |  India |
| States | |
| Largest city | Hyderabad |
| Major cities (2011 Census of India)[1] | |
| Area | |
• Total | 275,052 km2 (106,198 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 84,580,777 |
| • Density | 307.508/km2 (796.443/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (Indian Standard Time) |
| Official languages | |
TheTelugu states refer to theIndian states ofAndhra Pradesh andTelangana whereTelugu is spoken as the primary language. The predominant population ofTelugu ethnic-group reside in these states. When put together, the region is bordered byMaharashtra to the north,Karnataka to the west,Odisha,Chhattisgarh to the northeast,Tamil Nadu to the south and theBay of Bengal,Yanam district enclave ofPuducherry to the east.
Theunified state of Andhra Pradesh was established in 1956 through the merger of the Telugu-speakingAndhra State with the Telangana region of the formerHyderabad State under theStates Reorganisation Act.[2] The referential term of Telugu states has been in use ever since thebifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based on the 2023 population estimates, Telangana has a population of 38,272,000, and Andhra Pradesh has 53,340,000 bringing the combined population of the Telugu states to 91.62 million.[3]
Following theIndependence of India in 1947, Telugu-speaking population was divided betweenHyderabad State andMadras State. To gain an independent state based on linguistic identity and to protect the interests of the Telugu-speaking people ofMadras State,Potti Sreeramulu fasted to death in 1952. The Telugu-speaking area ofAndhra State was carved out of Madras state on 1 October 1953, withKurnool as its capital city.[4]
Vishalandhra was the term used in post-independence India for a united state for all Telugu speakers.[5] On the basis of theGentlemen's Agreement of 1956, theStates reorganisation act createdAndhra Pradesh by merging the neighbouring Telugu-speaking areas of theHyderabad State withHyderabad as the capital on 1 November 1956.[6]
Telugu is spoken across the Telugu states.[7] As of 2022,Urdu has also gained official status in both the states. Telugu stands alongsideHindi,Bengali andEnglish as one of the few languages with primary official language status in more than oneIndian state.[8] It is one of eleven languages designated aclassical language of India by the country's government.[9]
Given the proximity of the two states and the shared language, there are quite a few similarities between the states like cuisine (seeTelugu cuisine,Andhra cuisine andHyderabadi cuisine) and cinema (seeTelugu cinema).
