Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Anantapur (old district)

The old Anantapur district lay on the northern edge of the Mysore plateau, in the driest part of Rayalaseema in undivided Andhra Pradesh. It was separated from Bellary in 1882 and gained Kadiri in 1910 and Rayadrug in 1956. Its history includes the great Vijayanagara forts of Penukonda and Gooty, recurring famines, thin soils and the later spread of groundnut farming. In 2022 its territory was divided between Ananthapuramu and Sri Sathya Sai districts.

The old Anantapur district lay in southern Rayalaseema, on the northern edge of the Mysore plateau.1 It became a district in 1882.23 In 2022 Andhra Pradesh divided its territory between two districts.23 The 1908 gazetteer calls its climate “one of the driest in all Madras”, and its story is one of forts, famine and dry farming.4

Early history and kingdoms

The 1908 gazetteer says the oldest inscriptions of the district, found at Hemavati, belong to an early local line, which it calls a branch of the Pallavas.5 See Nolamba Pallavas. The area became part of the Vijayanagara empire in the middle of the fourteenth century.6 The forts of Penukonda and Gooty were among its most valued possessions.6

When Rama Raja was killed at Talikota in 1565, the puppet king Sadasiva fled to Penukonda with what treasure he could carry.6 For some years the defeated royal family lived at Penukonda, which held out against several sieges.6 The temples at Tadpatri and Lepakshi are known for their carvings.5

Gooty later passed to the Maratha chief Morari Rao, who made it his favourite home.6 Local power lay with poligars (local chiefs holding forts), of whom the Hande family of Anantapur was perhaps the most important.6 In 1775 Haidar Ali took Gooty after its garrison ran short of water.6

The Ceded Districts and the new district

In 1792 Tipu lost part of his lands, and the north-eastern corner of Anantapur went to the Nizam.6 After Tipu’s death in 1799 the rest of the district also passed to the Nizam.6 In 1800 the Nizam gave all these lands to the East India Company, to pay for troops stationed in his state.65

The lands were known as the Ceded Districts, and Major Thomas Munro was their first Collector.5 Munro dealt directly with each farmer under the ryotwari system, and surveyed the land between 1802 and 1806.78 The taluks of present Anantapur were placed in Bellary district.5 Bellary later proved too large for one Collector to run.5 In 1882 it was divided into Bellary and Anantapur.5

1953–2014

In 1953 Anantapur was one of the eleven districts of the new Andhra State.9 Bellary district went to Mysore State, so the police headquarters for the area moved from Bellary to Anantapur.10 In 1956 the Telugu-speaking Rayadrug taluk came to Anantapur from Bellary.11 The census of 1981 counted Anantapur among the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh.12

In 1985 the taluks of the district were reorganised into mandals.13 By 2001 there were 63 mandals in three revenue divisions.13 After the division of 2014 the district stayed in Andhra Pradesh.14

Division, 2022

On 4 April 2022 its territory was divided between two districts:3

Administration

In 1901 the district had eight taluks, grouped in three subdivisions, Penukonda, Gooty and Anantapur.515 Anantapur town was the headquarters and the only municipality.5

In 1961 there were ten taluks: Anantapur, Gooty, Tadpatri, Dharmavaram, Kalyandrug, Rayadrug, Madakasira, Penukonda, Kadiri and Hindupur.10 Uravakonda was a sub-taluk.10 By 2001 the 63 mandals were grouped into the revenue divisions of Anantapur, Dharmavaram and Penukonda.13

Land, farming and water

In 1903–04 korra and cholam were the main food crops.16 Ragi was the staple in the cooler south, and cotton was grown in Gooty and Tadpatri.16 Horse-gram covered 462 square miles, a sign of poor soil and uncertain rain.16 Only 8 per cent of the cultivated land was irrigated, half of it from rain-fed tanks.17 The largest tanks were at Bukkapatnam and Dharmavaram, filled by the Chitravati.17

The 1961 census handbook says the district had the lowest rainfall in Rayalaseema, about 558 mm a year.10 It also calls the district industrially backward.10 Groundnut and cotton made the black soils the most valued.18

In 1998–99 groundnut covered 7,84,165 hectares, out of 10,65,161 hectares cropped.19 By then, wells and tube wells supplied most irrigated land.19 Canals served only 3,677 hectares.19 The 2001 handbook says farmers mostly grew dry crops because they lacked reliable irrigation.20

Crafts and industries

In 1904 cotton and silk weaving were the main industries.21 Silk was woven chiefly at Tadpatri, Dharmavaram and Uravakonda.21 Pamidi and Gutturu printed chintzes for export to Rangoon.21 Woollen blankets came from Kalyandrug and Madakasira, and three steam cotton presses worked at Timmancherla, Guntakal and Tadpatri.21

The Madras Railway reached the district between 1868 and 1870, and Guntakal became an important junction.21 In 1902 the Indian Aloe Fibre Company began work at Somandepalli.21

People

The 2001 census handbook lists the district’s population within its 2001 boundaries, from 1901 onward.22 The 2011 figure is from the 2011 handbook.23

Census yearPopulation
190110,25,322
195114,83,591
196117,67,464
198125,48,012
200136,40,478
201140,81,148

The 1876–78 famine cut the population from 7,41,255 in 1871 to 5,99,889 in 1881, the 1908 gazetteer says.5 It took about twenty-five years to recover.515 In 2011 Anantapur was the largest district of Andhra Pradesh by area.23

For an overview of district changes, see How the map changed.

Footnotes

  1. Imperial Gazetteer: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 470 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  2. Francis, Anantapur (1905), p. 101 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  3. Government of Andhra Pradesh, Revenue (Lands-IV) Department, G.O.Ms. No. 193 (Ananthapuramu; Gazette No. 492) and No. 194 (Sri Sathya Sai; Gazette No. 493), 2 April 2022, final notifications printed in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette, Part I Extraordinary, 3 April 2022: notification PDF p. 1, Schedule-I PDF p. 2 (archive.org copies: 193 (opens in a new tab), 194 (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. Imperial Gazetteer: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 472 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  5. Imperial Gazetteer: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 474 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11

  6. Imperial Gazetteer: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 473 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  7. Imperial Gazetteer: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 481 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  8. Imperial Gazetteer: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 482 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  9. “Prime Minister’s Statement on Andhra”, 25 March 1953, printed in Madras Legislative Assembly Debates, 2 April 1953, appendix, pp. 823–825 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)); The History of the Andhra Pradesh Police (1861–1961) (1961), pp. 249–250 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  10. A. Chandra Sekhar, Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Anantapur District (1964), p. ii (PDF p. 20) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  11. A. Chandra Sekhar, Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Anantapur District (1964), p. i (PDF p. 19) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  12. Ch. Purnachandra Rao, Census of India 1981, Andhra Pradesh: Portrait of Population (1981), p. 13 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  13. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Anantapur District (2006), p. 8 (PDF p. 54) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  14. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 (Act No. 6 of 2014), ss. 2–4, pp. 1–2 (Gazette copy (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  15. Imperial Gazetteer: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 480 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  16. Imperial Gazetteer: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 477 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  17. Imperial Gazetteer: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 478 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  18. A. Chandra Sekhar, Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Anantapur District (1964), p. iv (PDF p. 22) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  19. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Anantapur District (2006), p. 14 (PDF p. 60) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  20. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Anantapur District (2006), p. 12 (PDF p. 58) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  21. Imperial Gazetteer: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 479 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  22. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Anantapur District (2006), p. xxxii (PDF p. 24) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  23. Directorate of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2011, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Anantapur District, Part XII-A (Village and Town Directory) (2014), p. 9 (PDF p. 27) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

Places in this district (8)

Monuments in this district (3)

Inscriptions found in this district (5)

References

Sources (10)
  1. Ch. Purnachandra Rao (Census of India 1981), Census of India 1981, Andhra Pradesh: Portrait of Population (opens in a new tab), Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, 1981, pp. 13. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  2. Government of Andhra Pradesh, Revenue (Lands-IV) Department, Restructuring / formation of districts: final notifications, G.O.Ms. Nos. 173 to 198 (2 April 2022) (opens in a new tab), Andhra Pradesh Gazette, Part I Extraordinary, Nos. 472 to 497 (3 April 2022), 2022, PDF pp. 1–2 of each notification. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  3. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteers: Anantapur (opens in a new tab), Government of Madras (Addison & Co.), 1905, pp. 101. [Public domain]
  4. Government of India, Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Madras, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta, 1908, pp. 433, 470–482. [Public domain]
  5. A. Chandra Sekhar (Census of India), Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Anantapur District (opens in a new tab), Census of India, 1964, i–ii, iv. [Public domain in India]
  6. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Anantapur District (Parts A and B) (opens in a new tab), Census of India, 2006, xxxii, 8, 12, 14. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  7. Directorate of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2011, Andhra Pradesh (Series 29): District Census Handbook, Anantapur District, Part XII-A (Village and Town Directory) (opens in a new tab), Census of India, 2014, pp. 9. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  8. Madras Legislative Assembly, Prime Minister's Statement on the Establishment of Andhra State (Assembly debates, 2 April 1953) (opens in a new tab), Madras Legislative Assembly, 1953, pp. 823–825. [Public domain in India]
  9. Inspector-General of Police, Andhra Pradesh, The History of the Andhra Pradesh Police (1861-1961) (opens in a new tab), Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, 1961, pp. 249–250. [Public domain in India]
  10. Parliament of India, The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 (Act No. 6 of 2014) (opens in a new tab), Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 1 (1 March 2014), 2014, pp. 1–2 (ss. 2–4). [Public domain (Indian enactment; Copyright Act 1957, s. 52(1)(q))]

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