The Factfile on Telangana, The name Telangana is thought to have been derived from the word Trilinga, as in the Trilinga Desa, which translates to “the country of the three lingas”.
According to a Hindu legend, Shiva descended in the lingam form on three mountains, Kaleshwaram, Srisailam and Draksharama, which marked the boundaries of the Trilingadesa, later called Telinga, Telunga or Telugu.
Telinga is mentioned in Mahabharata as “Telingadesha” whose people fought in Kurukshetra War with the Pandavas against the Kauravas.
The word “Telinga” changed over time to “Telangana” and the name “Telangana” was designated to distinguish the predominantly Telugu-speaking region of the erstwhile Hyderabad State from its predominantly Marathi-speaking one, Marathwada.
Also read: Telangana State Profile
One of the earliest uses of a word similar to Telangana can also be seen in a name of Malik Maqbul (14th century C.E.), who was called the Tilangani, which implies that he was from Tilangana.
He was the commander of the Warangal Fort (Kaṭaka Pāludu).
Number of districts: 10. Greater Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Khammam.
Telangana Geography: Has contiguous area bordering Rayalaseema and Andhra, (parts of the existing Andhra Pradesh), Karnataka, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
The region is situated at a high altitude in an upland area. Two major rivers Godavari and Krishna flow through the region but most of the land is arid.
Greater Hyderabad, located almost at the heart of Telangana, is a major information technology hub and is likely to be the capital of the new state.
- Telangana comprises of 10 districts namely, Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Khammam.
- The state borders coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh .
- It covers an area of 1.14 lakh sq. km, which makes it the 12th largest state in the country.
- Hyderabad will be the joint capital of Telangana & Andhra for the first 10 years
- Its 35.28 million population of Telangana makes it the 12th most populous state.
- The two main languages spoken in the state are Telugu and Urdu
- The region is situated at a high altitude in a highland area. Godavari and Krishna are the two major rivers flowing through the state.
- Telangana Assembly will have 119 seats & the new state will send 17 members to Lok Sabha
- The state contributes 60% of revenues of existing Andhra Pradesh. Majority of revenue comes from Hyderabad which is a IT hub.
Telangana Fact files
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