Circar
Encyclopedia
The Northern Circars was a former division of British India's Madras Presidency
, which consisted of a narrow slip of territory lying along the western side of the Bay of Bengal
from 15° 40' to 20° 17' north latitude, in the present-day Indian states of Andhra Pradesh
and Orissa
. The territory derived its name from Circar or Sarkar, an India
n term applied to the component parts of a subah
or province, each of which is administered by a deputy governor. These Northern Circars were five in number, Chicacole
, Rajahmundry
, Ellore, Kondapalli
and Guntur
, and their total area was about 30000 square miles (77,699.6 km²).
The region corresponds in the main to the Coastal Andhra
region of Andhra Pradesh
, including the districts of Krishna
, East Godavari
, West Godavari
, Visakhapatnam
, Vizayanagaram, Srikakulam
, Prakasam and Guntur
, as well as Gajapati and Ganjam
districts of Orissa
. The region was invaded by the Bahmani Sultanate
in 1471; in 1541 they conquered Kondapalli, and nine years later they extended their conquests over all Guntur and the districts of Masulipatam. The sultans appear to have acquired only an imperfect possession of the country, as it was again wrested from the Hindu
princes of Orissa
about the year 1571, during the reign of Ibrahim, of the Qutb Shahi dynasty
of Golconda
and Hyderabad. In 1687 the Circars were added, along with the Golconda Sultanate, to the extensive empire of Aurangzeb
.
In 1724, Asaf Jah, governor of Hyderabad, declared his independence from the disintegrating Mughal Empire
, claiming the title of Nizam al Mulk of Hyderabad. Salabat Jang, the son of the Nizam al Mulk, who was indebted for his elevation to the throne to the French East India Company
, granted the district of Kondavid or Guntur to the French in return for their services, and soon afterwards the other circars. In 1759, by the conquest of the fortress of Masulipatam, the dominion of the maritime provinces on both sides, from the river Gundlakamma to the Chilka Lake
, was necessarily transferred from the French
to the British
. But the British left them under the administration of the Nizam
, with the exception of the town and fortress of Masulipatam, which were retained by the British East India Company
. In 1765 Lord Robert Clive obtained from the Mughal emperor Shah Alam
a grant of the five Circars. Hereupon the fort of Kondapalli was seized by the British, and on November 12, 1766 a treaty of alliance was signed with Nizam Ali by which the Company, in return for the grant of the Circars, undertook to maintain troops for the Nizam's assistance. By a second treaty, signed on March 1, 1768, the nizam acknowledged the validity of Shah Alam's grant and resigned the Circars to the Company, receiving as a mark of friendship an annuity of 50,000. Guntur, as the personal estate of the Nizam's brother Basalat Jang, was excepted during his lifetime under both treaties. He died in 1782, but it was not till 1788 that Guntur came under British administration. Finally, in 1823, the claims of the Nizam over the Northern Circars were bought outright by the Company, and they became a British possession.
The Northern Circars were governed as part of Madras Presidency
until India's independence in 1947, after which the presidency became India's Madras state. The northern, Telugu
-speaking portion of Madras state, including the Northern Circars, was detached in 1953 to form the new state of Andhra state
. Andhra state was merged with Telangana
in 1956 to form the state of Andhra Pradesh
.
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
, which consisted of a narrow slip of territory lying along the western side of the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
from 15° 40' to 20° 17' north latitude, in the present-day Indian states of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
and Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
. The territory derived its name from Circar or Sarkar, an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n term applied to the component parts of a subah
Subah
A Subah was a province of the Mughal Empire in South Asia. The governor of a subah was known as a subahdar, which later became subedar to refer to an officer in the Indian Army...
or province, each of which is administered by a deputy governor. These Northern Circars were five in number, Chicacole
Chicacole
Chicacole, was the former name for the city of Srikakulam that was applied by British colonial rulers. It is said that the word Chicacole came from two Persian words - Chica and Khol. Chica means "a small cloth bag which can be closed by pulling a thread around its neck" and Khol means 'open'...
, Rajahmundry
Rajahmundry
Rajahmundry is a city and municipal corporation of the Andhra Pradesh state in India. It is located east of the state capital, Hyderabad, on the banks of the River Godavari. Known as the Cultural Capital, Rajahmundry is noted for its intense Veda culture and intellect...
, Ellore, Kondapalli
Kondapalli
Kondapalli is an industrial town near Vijayawada city, Andhra Pradesh, India with population of nearly 38000. It is 16 km by road from Vijayawada on National Highway 221 and on Hyderabad–Vijayawada railway line.....
and Guntur
Guntur
Guntur , is a city and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located to the north and west of the Bay of Bengal. It is approximately to the south of the national capital, New Delhi and south east of state capital, Hyderabad. Guntur is the fourth largest city in Andhra...
, and their total area was about 30000 square miles (77,699.6 km²).
Coastal Andhra
Coastal Andhra or Kosta, is a region of India's Andhra Pradesh State. This region was part of Madras State before 1953 and Andhra State from 1953 to 1956. According to the 2011 census, it has an area of and a population of 3,41,93,868...
region of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, including the districts of Krishna
Krishna district
Krishna District is a district of India's Andhra Pradesh state. It is named after the Krishna River, the third longest river that flows within India, flows through the district and joins Bay of Bengal here in this district. It has a population of 4,529,009 of which 32.08% is urban as of...
, East Godavari
East Godavari
East Godavari District is a district situated on the northeast of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. Its district headquarters is Kakinada. It is the second richest district in the whole country...
, West Godavari
West Godavari
West Godavari District is one of the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. Eluru, is the district headquarter...
, Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
, Vizayanagaram, Srikakulam
Srikakulam
Srikakulam is a town, municipality and headquarters of Srikakulam district in the north-eastern Andhra Pradesh, India. It is part of Srikakulam Assembly constituency and Srikakulam Parliament Constituency. Srikakulam was formerly called as Gulshanabad during Muslim rule and was headquarter of...
, Prakasam and Guntur
Guntur
Guntur , is a city and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located to the north and west of the Bay of Bengal. It is approximately to the south of the national capital, New Delhi and south east of state capital, Hyderabad. Guntur is the fourth largest city in Andhra...
, as well as Gajapati and Ganjam
Ganjam
Ganjam is a town and a notified area committee in Ganjam district in the state of Orissa, India.-Geography:Ganjam is located at . It has an average elevation of 3 metres .-Demographics:...
districts of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
. The region was invaded by the Bahmani Sultanate
Bahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms...
in 1471; in 1541 they conquered Kondapalli, and nine years later they extended their conquests over all Guntur and the districts of Masulipatam. The sultans appear to have acquired only an imperfect possession of the country, as it was again wrested from the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
princes of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
about the year 1571, during the reign of Ibrahim, of the Qutb Shahi dynasty
Qutb Shahi dynasty
The Qutb Shahi dynasty was a Turko-Persian dynasty ; its members were collectively called the Qutub Shahis. They were the ruling family of the kingdom of Golkonda in modern-day Andra Pradesh, India. They were Shia Muslims and belonged to Kara Koyunlu...
of Golconda
Golconda
Golconda may be:Places:* Golkonda, ruined city and fortress in India* Golconda, Illinois, town in the United States* Golconda, Nevada, former town in the United StatesOther:* Golconda...
and Hyderabad. In 1687 the Circars were added, along with the Golconda Sultanate, to the extensive empire of Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
.
In 1724, Asaf Jah, governor of Hyderabad, declared his independence from the disintegrating Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
, claiming the title of Nizam al Mulk of Hyderabad. Salabat Jang, the son of the Nizam al Mulk, who was indebted for his elevation to the throne to the French East India Company
French East India Company
The French East India Company was a commercial enterprise, founded in 1664 to compete with the British and Dutch East India companies in colonial India....
, granted the district of Kondavid or Guntur to the French in return for their services, and soon afterwards the other circars. In 1759, by the conquest of the fortress of Masulipatam, the dominion of the maritime provinces on both sides, from the river Gundlakamma to the Chilka Lake
Chilka Lake
Chilka Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Orissa state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal...
, was necessarily transferred from the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. But the British left them under the administration of the Nizam
Nizam
Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad popularly known as Nizams of Hyderabad was a former monarchy of the Hyderabad State, now in the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , and Maharashtra in India...
, with the exception of the town and fortress of Masulipatam, which were retained by the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. In 1765 Lord Robert Clive obtained from the Mughal emperor Shah Alam
Shah Alam
Shah Alam is the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighboring Klang District. It is located about west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in 1978...
a grant of the five Circars. Hereupon the fort of Kondapalli was seized by the British, and on November 12, 1766 a treaty of alliance was signed with Nizam Ali by which the Company, in return for the grant of the Circars, undertook to maintain troops for the Nizam's assistance. By a second treaty, signed on March 1, 1768, the nizam acknowledged the validity of Shah Alam's grant and resigned the Circars to the Company, receiving as a mark of friendship an annuity of 50,000. Guntur, as the personal estate of the Nizam's brother Basalat Jang, was excepted during his lifetime under both treaties. He died in 1782, but it was not till 1788 that Guntur came under British administration. Finally, in 1823, the claims of the Nizam over the Northern Circars were bought outright by the Company, and they became a British possession.
The Northern Circars were governed as part of Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
until India's independence in 1947, after which the presidency became India's Madras state. The northern, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
-speaking portion of Madras state, including the Northern Circars, was detached in 1953 to form the new state of Andhra state
Andhra State
Andhra State was a state in India created on October 1, 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras Presidency. On November 1, 1956 it was merged with the Telangana region of Hyderabad State to form the united Telugu-speaking state of Andhra Pradesh.- Madras Manade movement :In 1953,...
. Andhra state was merged with Telangana
Telangana
Telangana is a region in the present state of Andhra Pradesh, India and formerly was part of Hyderabad state which was ruled by Nizam. It is bordered with the states of Maharashtra on the north and north-west, Karnataka on the west, Chattisgarh on the north-east and Orissa to the east...
in 1956 to form the state of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
.