Rayalaseema History

Formation of Rayalaseema districts And adoption of the name "Rayalaseema"

Under the subsidiary alliance system,concluded between the Nizam of Hyderabad and the East India Company on 24th october 1800,the Nizam ceded to the company the area corresponding to the modern districts of Bellary,Kadapa and Anantapur and parts of Kurnool and Chittoor districts.The Company government names this area the "Ceded districts" and constituted it as an administrative unit of the Madras Presidency in 1800 with Thomas Munro as principal collector to discharge both the military and civil duties.He restored Law and order after subduing the revolting local Palegars(rulers of villagers or group of villages) with a heavy hand, conducted the survey of land and introduced ryotwari system in the region.He carried the administration of the districts  with headquarters at Anantapur with the assistance of the Sub-collectors stationed at Adoni,Haranahalli,Kadapa and Cumbum(kambam).The ceded districts were divided in 1807 into two collectorates with headquarters, one at Bellary and the other at Kadapa.The area consisting of Adoni,Yemmiganuru and Aluru of the present Kurnool district and all the Taluks/mandals present Bellary and Anantapur districts, except Kadiri, formed Bellary district and the rest of the area carved into Kadapa district.

Kurnool district was formed in 1858 as a result of certain political developments following the conclusion of the subsidiary alliance.Part of the district consisting of the mandals of Kurnool, Patthikonda,Dhone(Dronachalam),Nandikotkur and Nandyal was a Jagir, ruled by the Nawabs of Kurnool under the Suzerainty of the Nizam of Hyderabad.When the Nizam ceded the region to the company,the Nawab,Aluf Khan,agreed to pay a voulntary peishcush of rupees one lakh to the Company government.Ghulam Rasul Khan,who became the Nawab in 1823,resorted to harsh measures to collect maximum revenue.He resumed  serveral inams and re-imposed certain taxes,which had been abolished during his predecessor's rule and started collecting large quantities of military stores and cannon, obviously for self-defence in times of need. The Company government suspected that the Nawab was stockpiling the arms in order to mount a revolt against it.So, a Commission was appointed to enquire into the matter.A body of troops was deployed from Bellary with the twin objects of rendering the assistance to the Commission when needed and overawe the Nawab. The Commission charged the Nawab with harbouring designs against the Company government. The Nawab was captured on this charge, and sent to Tiruchirapalli as prisoner in 1839. The jagir was annexed to the Company's territories  and was placed under the charge of a Commissioner. The area, so taken, was formed into a new district in1858,with headquarters at Kurnool, with the addition of the taluks of Koilkuntla,Kambam and Dupadu , which were taken from Kadapa district. Anantapur and Chittoor districts were formed for the administrative convenience in 1882 and 1911 respectively.The taluks of Anantapur,Dharmavaram, Penugonda,Madakasira,Hindupur,Gooty(Gutthi) and Tadipatri were separated from  Bellary district and carved into a new district with headquarters at Anantaur.Kadiri Taluk was added to the new district by transferring it from Kadapa district in1910.The taluk Rayadurgam was transferred from Bellary to Anantapur in1953.

Bringing together Madanapalle,vayalpadu and Pileru taluks of Kadapa district, and Chittoor,Chandragiri,Nagiri ,Puttur and Palamaneru taluks of North Arcot district formed Chittoor district. Kuppam Taluk, which had been a part of Mysore state,was added to the district  in1928. The erstwhile Zamindari areas of Punganuru,Karvetinagar and Kalahasthi,Which has been under the supervision of the Collectors of Kadapa and North Arcot districts earlier , were brought under the supervision of the Chittoor collectorate after its formation.They were added to the district on abolition of Zamindari system after India attained independence.

Adoption of the Name "Rayalaseema":

Historically, the name such as Maharajaranadu or Maharajanadu,Marjavadinadu and Renadu were in vogue for the region. In the last 16th Century, "Rayalavariseema" and "Rayalaseema" were used to refer to a part of the present Rayalaseema. For the reasons not clear, this name went out of use, and term "Ceded districts(దత్త మండలాలు)" given by the British rulers in AD1800 continued to be in vogue for the region till 1928. As the nationalist spirit was growing in the country, this term came to be disliked by the enlightened Andhra leaders.At one of the Andhra conferences held at Nandyal in 1928, Pappuri Ramacharyulu proposed, at the instance of Chilukuri Narayana Rao, the revival of the earlier name "Rayalaseema" for the region for the memory of the famous Rayas of Vijayanagara, who ruled it as a part of their empire for well over three centuries, from mid-fourteenth century to the mid-seventeenth century. The proposal  was unanimously carried and the name popularised and got entered in the offical records.

(All the above sentences in this post are taken directly from the book named "Rayalaseema During Colonial Times" by Yenadi Raju.The publication of the book has been financially supported by the Indian council of Historical Research and published by Northern Book Centre,422/1 Daryanganj,Ansari Road,New Delhi-11002. All the copy-rights of the above published sentences in this post belongs to the writer, council and publisher.)