Medak (old district)

The old Medak district lay in western Telangana, north-west of Hyderabad.¹ It took its name from the hill-fort town of Medak, but its headquarters was Sangareddy.²³ It belonged to Andhra Pradesh from 1956, and Telangana divided it into three districts on 11 October 2016.¹⁴

Early history and kingdoms

According to the 2001 census handbook, Satavahana coins have been found at Kondapur.² The digs there point to a large buried town with stupas and monasteries.² The handbook says the Badami Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas and the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani ruled the area in turn.² Inscriptions of the Western Chalukyas at Kohir, Alladurg and Patancheru record gifts to Jain temples.²

The 1909 gazetteer says the district “formed part of the ancient kingdom of Warangal”, that is, of the Kakatiyas.⁵ In 1309 Malik Kafur, the general of Ala-ud-din Khilji, took Medak on his march against Warangal.⁵ In the fourteenth century Medak belonged to the Bahmani kingdom, and later to the Qutb Shahis of Golconda.⁵ After Golconda fell, it became part of the Mughal empire.⁵

The 2001 handbook adds that the Recherla chiefs held Medak for a time, before the Bahmanis took their lands.² The Medak fort stands about 300 feet above the plain.⁵ The gazetteer also mentions old Hindu temples cut underground at Patancheru, where old coins had been found.⁵

The Nizam’s district

Early in the eighteenth century the area became part of the Hyderabad State of the Asaf Jahis.⁵ The 2001 handbook says the Nizam Nizam Ali Khan later gave Medak to his French commander Raymond, who held it until his death in 1798.⁶⁷

Before 1866, contractors collected revenue from groups of villages and kept 10 per cent of the amount.⁸ Later the state took three-fifths of the crop from land watered by tanks and wells.⁸ In 1866 the government began to collect the revenue in cash from each farmer.⁸

In 1905 the district lost Ramayampet and Tekmal taluks to mergers, and gained Ibrahimpatan from Mahbubnagar and Siddipet from Karimnagar.⁹ It then had five taluks: Medak, Siddipet, Baghat, Kalabgur and Andol.⁹ Its headquarters was Sangareddipet.⁹ Under the Nizams the district belonged to the Medak Gulshanabad Division.¹

1956–2014

The district’s boundaries changed in the 1950s.¹ Vikarabad taluk and 11 villages of Sangareddy taluk went to Hyderabad district.¹ In return Narayankhed taluk and four circles of Bidar district joined it, and the four circles became the new Zahirabad taluk.¹ In November 1956 the district became part of Andhra Pradesh, with the eight other districts of Telangana.¹

In 1961 the district covered 3,675 square miles, with eight taluks in three revenue divisions.¹ The census of 1981 counted it among the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh.¹⁰ Later the district’s 11 taluks were reorganised into 45 mandals.⁷ The 2001 handbook dates this change to 25 May 1988.⁷ The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 placed the district in the new State of Telangana.¹¹

Division, 2016

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

• Medak, which kept the old name⁴
• Sangareddy⁴
• Siddipet⁴

Administration

In 1909 the district was small but had three sub-divisions.⁸ Medak and Siddipet taluks were under a Third Talukdar, Andol under a Second Talukdar, and Kalabgur and Baghat under another Second Talukdar.⁸ A First Talukdar (district officer) supervised them all.⁸

In 1961 there were three revenue divisions, Sangareddy, Medak and Siddipet.¹ By 2001 there were 45 mandals in the same three divisions:⁷¹²

• Sangareddy, with 15 mandals
• Medak, with 18 mandals
• Siddipet, with 12 mandals⁷¹²

Land, farming and water

In 1901 bajra, jowar and rice were the main food crops.¹³ The gazetteer says the district’s rice “compares favourably with the finest qualities produced elsewhere”.¹³ Tanks were “the mainstay of the District”, which had 351 large and 1,658 small tanks.¹³ Farmers usually raised two crops of rice with water from tanks and wells.¹³

A large canal from the Manjira, costing over 10 lakh rupees, opened in 1904.¹³¹⁴ It was expected to water 10,000 acres.¹³ The gazetteer says the district had always been free from famine because of its many tanks.¹⁴

In 1961, 77 per cent of the workers earned their living from farming.³ Tanks still gave much of the irrigation, besides projects such as Pocharam and Rayanpalle.³ By 1996–97, 62.71 per cent of the sown land was irrigated.¹⁵ Tube wells watered 1,30,184 hectares and dug wells 1,18,488, but tanks only 70,979.¹⁵ Paddy and sugarcane were the main irrigated crops.¹⁵

Crafts and industries

In 1909 the gazetteer found “no important hand industry in the District”.¹⁴ Ironstone was smelted in the hills of Lingampet for farm tools.¹⁴ Weavers made coarse cloth and fine silk cloth, and brass vessels came from Lingampet and Ramayampet.¹⁴ Sivanagar and Jogipet had tanneries, and their leather went to Hyderabad, Bombay and Madras.¹⁴ The Hyderabad Spinning and Weaving Mill stood near Mushirabad, then in the district’s Baghat taluk.¹⁴

The 1961 handbook calls the district industrially backward.¹⁶ Handloom weaving was important only in Siddipet taluk, and beedi making came next.¹⁶

The 2001 handbook says the district was “industrially poor prior to 1970”.¹⁷ After 1970 many factories came up, among them Bharat Heavy Electricals at Patancheru and the Nizam Sugar Factory at Zahirabad.¹⁷ By 1997–98 there were 259 large and medium industries, employing 64,954 people.¹⁷

People

The 2001 census handbook lists the district’s population within its 2001 boundaries, from 1901 onward.¹⁸ The 2011 figure is from the 2011 handbook.¹⁹

Census year	Population
1901	5,59,712
1951	11,14,476
1961	12,32,506
1981	18,07,139
2001	26,70,097
2011	30,33,288

In 1901 Telugu was the main language of the district.⁹ In 1961 more than 92 per cent of the people lived in villages.²⁰

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

Footnotes

1. A. Chandra Sekhar, Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Medak District (1967), p. A1 (PDF p. 21) (censusindia.gov.in↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Medak District (2006), p. 5 (PDF p. 40) (censusindia.gov.in↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. A. Chandra Sekhar, Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Medak District (1967), p. A3 (PDF p. 23) (censusindia.gov.in↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Government of Telangana, Revenue (DA-CMRF) Department, G.O.Ms. No. 238 (Medak), No. 239 (Sangareddy) and No. 240 (Siddipet), 11 October 2016, final notifications: notification PDF p. 2, Schedule-I PDF p. 3 (archive.org copies of the goir.telangana.gov.in orders: 238↗ (opens in a new tab), 239↗ (opens in a new tab), 240↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

5. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 133 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

6. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Medak District (2006), p. 6 (PDF p. 41) (censusindia.gov.in↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

7. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Medak District (2006), p. 7 (PDF p. 42) (censusindia.gov.in↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

8. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 137 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

9. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 134 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

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

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

12. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Medak District (2006), p. 8 (PDF p. 43) (censusindia.gov.in↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩²

13. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 135 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

14. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Hyderabad State (1909), p. 136 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

15. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Medak District (2006), p. 12 (PDF p. 47) (censusindia.gov.in↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩² ↩³

16. A. Chandra Sekhar, Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Medak District (1967), p. A4 (PDF p. 24) (censusindia.gov.in↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩²

17. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Medak District (2006), p. 15 (PDF p. 50) (censusindia.gov.in↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩² ↩³

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

19. Directorate of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2011, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Medak District, Part XII-A (Village and Town Directory) (2014), p. 7 (PDF p. 25) (censusindia.gov.in↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

20. A. Chandra Sekhar, Census of India 1961, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Medak District (1967), p. A2 (PDF p. 22) (censusindia.gov.in↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩