Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Srikakulam (old district)

The old Srikakulam district occupied the north-eastern corner of undivided Andhra Pradesh, between the Eastern Ghats and the sea. Kalinganagara (Mukhalingam) was an Eastern Ganga capital, and Srikakulam (Chicacole) was the headquarters of Golconda's Chicacole Circar. Its Telugu taluks had long belonged to Ganjam. They joined Visakhapatnam in 1936 and became a separate district in 1950. Part of the district went to Vizianagaram in 1979. In 2022 its territory was divided between Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Parvathipuram Manyam districts.

The old Srikakulam district lay in the north-eastern corner of Andhra Pradesh, between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal.1 Its headquarters was the town of Srikakulam, once called Chicacole.2 It was formed in 1950.34 In 2022 Andhra Pradesh divided its territory between three districts.34

Early history and kingdoms

According to the 2001 handbook, the name of Kalinga survives in the seaside village of Kalingapatnam.5 It says Kalinga was for centuries a stronghold of Buddhism.5 The Buddhist remains of Salihundam appear on the district’s emblem, along with the temples of Arasavalli, Srikurmam and Srimukhalingam.6

Ashoka’s rock edict says 150,000 people were carried away from Kalinga and 100,000 killed.5 The handbook reads this as a sign that Kalinga could resist even so powerful an emperor.5 The handbook says copper-plate grants of the Eastern Chalukya king Vishnuvardhana I were found at Cheepurupalle.5 The Eastern Gangas ruled from Kalinganagara, which has been identified with Mukhalingam on the Vamsadhara river.5

Under Anantavarman Chodaganga, who ruled from 1078 for about 72 years, the Gangas reached the height of their power.5 The handbook says he built the famous temple of Jagannath at Puri.5 See Mukhalingam temples and Srikurmam temple.

In 1434–35 a minister of the last Ganga king took the throne and founded the Gajapati dynasty, with its capital at Cuttack.2 Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagara later defeated the Gajapati Prataparudra and advanced as far as Simhachalam.2

The Chicacole Circar

In 1571 Ibrahim Qutb Shah of Golconda conquered territory as far north as Srikakulam.2 For about 180 years the Qutb Shahis and then the Mughals ruled this “Chicacole Circar” from Hyderabad.2 Its governor, the faujdar, lived at Srikakulam.2 In 1641 Sher Muhammad Khan came as governor and built a fine mosque at Srikakulam.2

The first governor appointed by the Nizam was Anwar-ud-din, who later became Nawab of Arcot.2 In 1753 the French general Bussy obtained the Northern Circars.2 On 24 January 1757 his forces attacked the fort of Bobbili, the handbook says.7

Under the Company

In 1765 Clive obtained the five Northern Circars from the Mughal emperor.8 In 1768 the English sent Colonel Peach against the zamindar of Parlakimedi.8 The Chicacole and Kasimkota divisions were then placed under the Chief and Council at Visakhapatnam, and Ichchapuram under a Resident at Ganjam.9

Henry Crawford became the first Collector of the Chicacole division in 1787.10 Famine and rebellion troubled the area in the years that followed.11 In 1802 the Chicacole division became part of Ganjam district.10 Peter Cherry, who took charge in 1802, was the first Collector of Ganjam.1 He brought in the Permanent Settlement and set up courts of justice.1

In 1816 about 4,000 to 5,000 mounted Pindaris raided the district, burning and plundering.1 The Ichchapuram and Mansurkota valleys suffered most.1 The famine of 1865–66 killed between 10,000 and 15,000 people by starvation, the handbook says.1 In 1839 Act XXIV placed parts of the district under the Collector as Agent to the Governor.10

1936–2014

In 1936 the new province of Orissa took most of Ganjam district.3 The Telugu taluks of Chicacole, Sompeta and Tekkali, with parts of Parlakimedi, Ichchapuram and Berhampur, stayed in Madras and were added to Visakhapatnam district.3 In 1950 the enlarged Visakhapatnam district was split, and its northern half became Srikakulam district.3

In 1953 it was one of the eleven districts of the new Andhra State.12 In 1979 part of it went to the new Vizianagaram district.13 The census of 1981 counted Srikakulam among the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh.14

In 1985 the district’s 14 taluks were reorganised into 37 mandals.1 After the division of 2014 it stayed in Andhra Pradesh.15

Division, 2022

On 4 April 2022 its territory was divided between three districts:4

Administration

The 2001 handbook describes two parts of the district: the hilly Agency area in the north-west and the sandy coastal plains.1 It borders the Koraput and Ganjam districts of Orissa on the north-west.1

Land, farming and water

The district’s main rivers include the Nagavali, the Vamsadhara and the Bahuda, which flow from the Eastern Ghats to the sea.16 The Vamsadhara enters from Orissa and reaches the sea near Kalingapatnam.16 In 2001 the district had 9 major irrigation projects with an ayacut (command area) of 1,15,381 hectares.16 About 74 per cent of its workers were in farming.16

Crafts and industries

The 2001 handbook says the district was famous for salt and jute twine.17 Its emblem shows cashew, for the district’s large cashew crop, and coconut palms for the Uddanam area.6

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 yearPopulation
190110,60,467
195114,05,792
196115,55,369
198119,59,352
200125,37,593
201127,03,114

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

Footnotes

  1. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Srikakulam District (2006), p. 15 (PDF p. 46) (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, Srikakulam District (2006), p. 6 (PDF p. 37) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  3. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Visakhapatnam District (2006), p. 15 (PDF p. 47) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. Government of Andhra Pradesh, Revenue (Lands-IV) Department, G.O.Ms. No. 173 (Srikakulam; Gazette No. 472), No. 174 (Vizianagaram; Gazette No. 473) and No. 175 (Parvathipuram Manyam; Gazette No. 474), 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: 173 (opens in a new tab), 174 (opens in a new tab), 175 (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  5. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Srikakulam District (2006), p. 5 (PDF p. 36) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

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

  7. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Srikakulam District (2006), p. 8 (PDF p. 39) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  8. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Srikakulam District (2006), p. 10 (PDF p. 41) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  9. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Srikakulam District (2006), p. 11 (PDF p. 42) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  10. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Srikakulam District (2006), p. 14 (PDF p. 45) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  11. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Srikakulam District (2006), p. 13 (PDF p. 44) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  12. “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)). ↩

  13. Purnachandra Rao, Portrait of Population (1981), p. 16 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

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

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

  16. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Srikakulam District (2006), p. 18 (PDF p. 49) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

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

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

  19. Directorate of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2011, Andhra Pradesh (Series 29): District Census Handbook, Srikakulam District, Part XII-A (Village and Town Directory) (2014), p. 17 (PDF p. 35) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

Places in this district (7)

Monuments in this district (2)

Inscriptions found in this district (8)

References

Sources (8)
  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; 16. 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. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Srikakulam District (Parts A and B) (opens in a new tab), Census of India, 2006, xix, xxvii, 5–6, 8, 10–11, 13–15, 18; PDF p. 4. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  4. Director of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2001, Andhra Pradesh: District Census Handbook, Visakhapatnam District (Parts A and B) (opens in a new tab), Census of India, 2006, pp. 15. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  5. Directorate of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, Census of India 2011, Andhra Pradesh (Series 29): District Census Handbook, Srikakulam District, Part XII-A (Village and Town Directory) (opens in a new tab), Census of India, 2014, pp. 17. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  6. 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]
  7. 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]
  8. 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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