Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Khammam (old district)

The old Khammam district lay on the Godavari in south-eastern Telangana, in undivided Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad State formed it on 1 October 1953 from five taluks of Warangal district. Bhadrachalam and Nugur joined it from East Godavari in 1959. The district was known for its forests, Singareni coal mines, Kothagudem power station and the temple town of Bhadrachalam. In 2016 Telangana divided it into Khammam and Bhadradri districts.

The old Khammam district lay in Telangana, between Warangal and Nalgonda districts on the west and the two Godavari districts on the east.1 The Godavari river flowed through it.2 Hyderabad State formed it on 1 October 1953.34 Telangana divided it into two districts on 11 October 2016.34 It was known for its coal mines, its thermal power station and the Rama temple at Bhadrachalam.5 Forests covered nearly half of it.6

Early history and kingdoms

The district took its name from its headquarters town.1 The 1981 census handbook says the town’s name comes from Stambhadri, a hill in the middle of the town.1 It adds that “Khammamett” is a Telugu form of that name.1

The area was part of the Kakatiya kingdom.3 After the Kakatiyas the land passed to the Bahmanis, the Qutb Shahis and the Mughals.3 Early in the eighteenth century it became part of the Hyderabad State of the Asaf Jahis.3 See Bayyaram for a great Kakatiya tank and its inscription.

The 1909 gazetteer says the old fort of Khammam was believed to be 900 years old.7 Sultan Quli Qutb Shah of Golconda captured it in 1516.7 East of Paloncha taluk lay the Paloncha samasthan (tributary estate), with 62 villages in 1901.8

Bhadrachalam before 1959

Bhadrachalam, on the Godavari, has a different history.9 The Nizam handed the Bhadrachalam taluk to the British in 1860.10 Until 1874 it was run as part of the Upper Godavari district of the Central Provinces.11 In 1874 it was moved to the Godavari district of the Madras Presidency.1112

The 1907 Godavari gazetteer describes a taluk of low hills and forest, cut off from the rest of that district by the Ghats.9 Jowar was its main crop, and paddy and a little tobacco grew along the river banks.9 The Koya people formed a large part of its population.9 It was still part of East Godavari district in 1959, when it moved to Khammam.133

The Nizam’s district

When the Nizam’s government grouped its districts into divisions in 1867, Warangal was part of Khammam district.14 That district went into the Eastern Division with Nalgonda and Nagarkurnool.14 In 1905 the district was rearranged and its headquarters moved to Warangal.15

In 1909 the Khammamett, Kallur (formerly Madhra), Yellandlapad and Paloncha taluks were all part of Warangal district.1617 Khammamett was then the second trading centre of the district, after Mathwada near Warangal.18 A mineral railway line, 16 miles long, ran from Dornakal to the coal town of Yellandlapad.188

Formation, 1953

The people of the eastern taluks of Warangal district had long asked for a separate district.3 These taluks were far more backward than the western ones.3 The government felt that a separate district would help these taluks develop and make it easier to maintain law and order.3

The Hyderabad Government ordered the change by a notification of 18 September 1953.19 On 1 October 1953 the taluks of Khammam, Yellandu, Burgampadu, Palvancha (Kothagudem) and Madhira became Khammam district.3 Its headquarters was Khammam town.3 In 1956 it was one of the Telangana districts that were joined to the Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh.20

1956–2014

In 1959 the Bhadrachalam taluk and the Nugur sub-taluk moved to Khammam from East Godavari district.133 They were hard to reach from Kakinada, the headquarters of East Godavari.3

Between 1951 and 1961 Khammam’s population grew by 30.88 per cent, faster than any other district in the State.21 The 1961 census handbook says many people moved into this developing district.21 The census of 1981 counted Khammam among the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh.22

In 1985 the district’s 12 taluks were reorganised into 46 mandals, in four revenue divisions.23 A mandal parishad (local council) was formed for each mandal.23 The Act of 2014 placed Khammam district, except certain villages, in the new State of Telangana.24

Division, 2016

On 11 October 2016 Telangana divided the district into two districts:4

Some of its mandals also went to Jayashankar and Mahabubabad.25

Administration

In 1981 the district had 12 taluks in three revenue divisions, Khammam, Kothagudem and Bhadrachalam.26 After 1985 it had 46 mandals in four revenue divisions:2327

  • Bhadrachalam, with 8 mandals
  • Palvancha, with 10 mandals
  • Kothagudem, with 11 mandals
  • Khammam, with 17 mandals27

Khammam town was the headquarters from 1953.3

Land, farming and water

In 1901 rice was grown widely in Khammamett taluk, watered from tanks and wells.17 The 1909 gazetteer praises the cattle of Khammamett and Madhira as large and of a superior kind.28

In 1960–61 only about a fifth of the sown land was irrigated.29 Tanks watered 78.6 per cent of the irrigated land.29 The district had no major irrigation project, and the Kinnerasani project in Kothagudem taluk was the only medium one.29 Paddy, jowar, bajra, maize, pulses, groundnut, tobacco and chillies were the chief crops.30

By the late 1990s the Nagarjuna Sagar left canal had become the main source of water.6 In 1997–98 canals watered 61,370 hectares, more than tanks or wells.31 Forests covered 47 per cent of the district.6 Paddy, jowar and maize were the main food crops, and cotton, chillies and tobacco the main cash crops.631

Crafts and industries

In 1904 the Singareni coal mines near Yellandlapad employed 6,360 miners.32 Talc was found in the Kallur and Khammamett taluks.32 The diamond mines of Partyal lay in Kallur taluk.17

The 1961 census handbook found the district “industrially very backward”, with no major industries.21 Rice mills, oil mills and saw mills were the main employers.21 There was also a tobacco company at Bhadrachalam.21

By the late 1990s the picture had changed.33 In 1998–99 the coal fields of Kothagudem, Yellandu and Manuguru produced over a crore of tonnes between them.33 The thermal power station at Palvancha had a capacity of 1,170 megawatts.33 In 1997–98 the Singareni Collieries Company employed 1,14,051 people in the district.34 The large factories included a paper board mill at Sarapaka, a sponge iron plant at Palvancha and a co-operative sugar factory at Rajeshwarapuram.34

People

The 2001 census handbook lists the district’s population within its 2001 boundaries, from 1901 onward.35 The 2011 figure is from the 2011 handbook.36

Census yearPopulation
19013,80,139
19518,08,002
196110,57,542
198117,51,574
200125,78,927
201127,97,370

In 2001, 72 of every 100 workers in the district worked in farming.5

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

Footnotes

  1. Jaya Rao, District Census Handbook, Khammam District (1986), PDF p. 21 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Jaya Rao, District Census Handbook, Khammam District (1986), PDF p. 22 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  3. S. S. Jaya Rao, Census of India 1981, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (1986), PDF p. 17 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14

  4. Government of Telangana, Revenue (DA-CMRF) Department, G.O.Ms. No. 236 (Khammam) and No. 237 (Bhadradri), 11 October 2016, final notifications: notification PDF p. 2, Schedule-I PDF p. 3 (archive.org copies of the goir.telangana.gov.in orders: 236 (opens in a new tab), 237 (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  5. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (2006), p. xix (PDF p. 11) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  6. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (2006), p. 11 (PDF p. 50) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 164 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  8. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 171 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  9. Hemingway, Godavari, Vol. I (1907), p. 258 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  10. Hemingway, Godavari, Vol. I (1907), p. 260 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  11. Hemingway, Godavari, Vol. I (1907), p. 174 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  12. Hemingway, Godavari, Vol. I (1907), p. 175 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  13. N. Ramesan, Andhra Pradesh District Gazetteers: East Godavari (1979), p. 2 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  14. M. V. Rajagopal, Andhra Pradesh District Gazetteers: Warangal (1976), p. 141 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  15. M. V. Rajagopal, Andhra Pradesh District Gazetteers: Warangal (1976), p. 1 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  16. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 165 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  17. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 172 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  18. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 168 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  19. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (2006), p. 5 (PDF p. 44) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  20. History of the Andhra Pradesh Police (1961), p. 260 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  21. A. Chandra Sekhar, Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (1968), p. A35 (PDF p. 52) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

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

  23. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (2006), p. 7 (PDF p. 46) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

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

  25. Government of Telangana, Revenue (DA-CMRF) Department, G.O.Ms. No. 231 (Warangal Urban), No. 232 (Warangal Rural), No. 233 (Jayashankar), No. 234 (Jangaon) and No. 235 (Mahabubabad), 11 October 2016, final notifications: notification PDF p. 2, Schedule-I PDF p. 3 (archive.org copies of the goir.telangana.gov.in orders: 231 (opens in a new tab), 232 (opens in a new tab), 233 (opens in a new tab), 234 (opens in a new tab), 235 (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  26. Jaya Rao, District Census Handbook, Khammam District (1986), PDF p. 23 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  27. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (2006), p. 8 (PDF p. 47) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  28. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 166 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  29. A. Chandra Sekhar, Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (1968), p. A39 (PDF p. 56) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  30. A. Chandra Sekhar, Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (1968), p. A40 (PDF p. 57) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  31. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (2006), p. 13 (PDF p. 52) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  32. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 167 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  33. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (2006), p. 15 (PDF p. 54) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  34. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (2006), p. 17 (PDF p. 56) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  35. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (2006), p. xxix (PDF p. 21) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  36. Directorate of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2011, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam 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. ↩

Places in this district (7)

Monuments in this district (1)

Inscriptions found in this district (2)

References

Sources (12)
  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 India, Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (opens in a new tab), Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta, 1909, pp. 162–172. [Public domain]
  3. M. V. Rajagopal, Andhra Pradesh District Gazetteers: Warangal (opens in a new tab), Government of Andhra Pradesh (Government Central Press, Hyderabad), 1976, pp. 1–2, 141. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  4. F. R. Hemingway, Madras District Gazetteers: Godavari, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1907, pp. 174–175, 258, 260. [Public domain]
  5. A. Chandra Sekhar (Census of India), Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (opens in a new tab), Census of India, 1968, A35, A39. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  6. S. S. Jaya Rao (Census of India 1981), Census of India 1981, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (opens in a new tab), Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, 1986, PDF pp. 17, 21, 23. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  7. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Khammam District (Parts A and B) (opens in a new tab), Census of India, 2006, xix, xxix, 5, 7–8, 11, 13, 15, 17. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  8. Directorate of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2011, Andhra Pradesh (Series 29): District Census Handbook, Khammam 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)]
  9. Government of Telangana, Revenue (DA-CMRF) Department, Formation / reorganisation of districts, revenue divisions and mandals: final notifications, G.O.Ms. Nos. 221 to 250 (11 October 2016) (opens in a new tab), Government of Telangana (goir.telangana.gov.in), for the Telangana Gazette Extraordinary of 11 October 2016, 2016, PDF pp. 2–3 of each order. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  10. 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. 260. [Public domain in India]
  11. N. Ramesan, Andhra Pradesh District Gazetteers: East Godavari (revised edition) (opens in a new tab), Government of Andhra Pradesh (Government Central Press, Hyderabad), 1979, pp. 2. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  12. 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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