CITY HISTORY
Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah founded the city of Hyderabad in the year 1591. Formerly, Golkonda, a small fort constructed by one of the Rajas of Warangal, who ceded it to Muhammad Shah Bahmani of Gulbarga in 1364, was the capital of the Qutb Shahi Kings. In 1507, when Qutb-ul-Mulk Muhammad Quli, the Viceroy of Bahmani Kingdom declared his independence, Golconda became the capital of his kingdom.
During the reign of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, when Golkonda became overcrowded, unhealthy, and the water supply proved inadequate. In 1591, the present-day city of Hyderabad became the new site for urban expansion. The large town which sprang up was named “Bhagnagar’, after one of the king’s Hindu mistresses, Bhagmati, who used to live in the village of Chichlam. According to another version, the city was named either Baghnagar (Garden City) or Haiderabad, after the name of the fourth caliph of Islam, Hazrath Haidar (Hazrath Ali).
The city was planned on a grid-iron pattern with two main intersecting roads, 60 feet wide, running north-south and east-west. Charminar, constructed as the central building at the intersection of these two main roads marking, marked the heart of the new city. The written excerpts from contemporary historians and foreign merchants detail the four main highways lined with 14,000 double-storeyed shops selling varieties of goods. Canals lined the north-south main road on either side, bringing in an aesthetic beauty to the city.
The Charkaman, four arches, was built in 1592, about 250 feet north of Charminar. Each Kaman was 60 feet tall, 36 feet wide at the base and 6 feet in thickness. They faced the four cardinal points separated from the centre by about 375 feet in each case. The arches served as a gateway to the Jilu Khana (antechamber) or the Royal Palaces. These arches are named Machili Kaman (North), Waqqar Khana-e-Kaman or Kali Kaman (East), Sahi-e-Batil Ki Kaman (West) and Charminar ki Kaman (South). Char-Su-Ka Haus, an octagonal cistern now called Gulzar Hauz, was built at the centre of these Kamans providing jets of water.
To the North-east, not too far from these arches, Dar-ush-Shifa, General Hospital, was built in 1595. It served the medical needs of the population of the nascent capital. It was also a residential college for imparting Unani medical education.
In the suburb and peripheral areas, which were thinly populated, tanks, inns, other buildings of importance and many parks were built, providing social amenities to the people.
The renowned historian Muhammad Qasim Firishta, and other contemporary foreign travellers of the seventeenth century, namely, Jean de Thévenot and Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, highly praised the grandeur of the city. Tavernier found local businesses transacting with foreign traders. Thévenot expressed a surprise to see a large number of wealthy merchants, bankers, jewellers and skilful artisans, not only native but also from Persia and Armenia. Abbe Carre found that “Bhagnar” was full of strangers and merchants, and the trade was carried out by locals and foreigners without any restriction as to their nationality or particular business.
Before the downfall of the Qutb Shahi Kingdom in 1687, three suburbs grew up around Khairatabad, Naubat Pahad and Lingampally.
The Mughal Empire annexed the city in 1687, halting development of Hyderabad. The capital shifted away to Aurangabad, headquarters of Mughal Empire in the south. The only work done during this period in the city was the erection of a protective wall by the Mughal Subedar (Governor) Mubariz Khan, from Chaderghat to Dabirpura.
In 1724, when Nizam-ul-mulk Asaf Jah-I became the Subedar of the Deccan region. He built the Khilwat Palace, Jilu Khana and other buildings, and completed the protective wall with turrets. This wall precisely defined city limits. The localities situated inside the walled city called the ‘city interior’, and those outsides called the ‘city environs’. The walled city had twelve gates and twelve posterns. During the road widening and city improvement, all gates and posterns other than Dabirpura and Puranapul, have been dismantled.
Nawab Nizam Ali Khan-II reigned as the viceroy of the Deccan in the period 1763-98. According to Dr Alam, a renowned historian, this was a period of acceleration of development. Hyderabad again became the capital on June 7, 1770, rejuvenating its economic and physical growth. During this period, the walled city underwent a redevelopment with new palaces and mansions built. To the east of Karwan developed the busy locality of Begum Bazar. The square area between the Char Kaman became Taksal area in 1770. The old Qutb Shahi palace area, between Dad Mahal and Charmahal, was chosen as a residential area for bankers. Thus, the city of Hyderabad regained its past glory, and its economic and commercial importance increased considerably.
The city, earlier confined to the southern bank of river Musi, now started growing towards the north to the Residency and cantonment areas of Secunderabad. With the completion of Residency in 1806, many new shops and residences of the employees in the British Government services came into existence. Due to the security of this area, several business communities living in Karwan also moved to the new locality. Besides this, many Europeans and other foreigners also settled down in the western and north-western parts of the Residency, adding value to Hyderabad’s cultural development. Many churches and missionary schools were established in the then called Chaderghat area. The Gunfoundary served as a nucleus for the growth of Christian settlement.
With the coming over of the bankers from Karwan to Residency, Residency bazaars became great trading centres. The Chaderghat Bridge (Oliphant Bridge) was constructed in 1839, during the period of Nawab Sikandar Jah Bahadur and Raja Chandu Lal. Almost around the same period, Mir Alam Market was opened in the old city to the north-east of Charkaman. The new Eidgah and Mir Alam Tank were constructed to supply drinking water to the people living in the South and South-west of Hyderabad. Subsequently, in 1857, Afzal Ganj Bridge was built over the Musi to the north of Diwan Devdi.
The British forces signed a subsidiary alliance with the Nizams’ State in 1798. Secunderabad, named after Nawab Sikandar Jah, Nizam-III, became the permanent residence of the British Subsidiary force. The regimental bazaars were established, and Secunderabad cantonment area extended up to Tirumalgherry and Bolarum.
Owing to the presence of a large army, Secunderad became a prominent centre of sports, a hub of social life, and a stronghold of Christian missionary and education. Later, other residential localities like Marredpally were developed. The Hussain Sagar Bund has linked both Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
The modern era of the development of the twin cities began after the last flood of river Musi in 1908. The floods shattered the lives of the people in a phased manner. Sri Vishwesharayya, the great engineer of Mysore, was specially invited for this purpose and was appointed as advisor to the Nizam’s Government to suggest measures for flood control and improvement of the city. As a result of his suggestions, Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar were constructed in 1917 A.D. The two dams thenceforth not only controlled the flooding of the river Musi but also supplied drinking water to the city. These spots have also become recreational centres for many people in Hyderabad. Another step in the development was the formation of the City Improvement Board in 1912 to pay more considerable attention to the construction of roads, markets, housing sites and shopping centres in the city. Nizam-VII moved to the Northern Suburb of King Koti in 1914, resulting in the development of its surroundings.
Several public utility services were commissioned in 1923. In 1928, a metre-gauge rail connection to Bangalore was established connecting the city through rail with the rest of India. In 1932, bus services were started, and by 1936, the routes radiated connecting the capital to all the district headquarters. In 1935, the Madras-Karachi Air Service was linked with Hyderabad with Hakimpet as a landing ground.
Many buildings of utility like the Legislative Assembly, Hyderabad and Secunderabad railway stations, and Kachiguda metre-gauge railway station, Osmania Hospital, the High Court, City College, the State Library, the Unani Hospital and the Osmania University were constructed during the reign of Nizam-VII. He is called the “Modern Architect of Hyderabad”.
In Secunderabad, to relieve the congestion on James Street, in 1936, Kings-way (now Rashtrapathi Road) was laid. The expansion of the Transport system proved a great asset saving the old city in the south from disintegration. It also spurred the development and urbanisation of Santhnagar, Kukatpally, Moula Ali and Ramachandrapuram. Before these industrial areas were developed, Azambad Industrial area was established in Mushirabad.
The Balanagar-Sanatnagar-Kukatpally industrial cluster which is partly in the city was by far the most important in terms of the number of units located in this area. Next in importance is the Nacharam-Uppal area, housing 27% of the total industrial units in the large and medium scale sector. Some of the big-name industries like the Electronics Corporation of India and the Warner Hindustan Limited set up here.
The Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited was set up in the Ramachandrapuram-Pattancheru Industrial Cluster. The other industrial units set up in the cluster include Indo-Nippon Ball Bearing, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Indian Detonators, Indian Pharmaceutical, etc., which have national and international importance.
In addition to this, after independence and formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, there has been a proliferation of central government offices, training institutes of several banks, the establishment of National Police Academy, one Agricultural University and the other Central University of Hyderabad.
Thus the city has undergone a radical change in the past few years with its expansion into different directions.