Secunderabad

36 languages
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
Tools












Coordinates:  17.439900°N 78.498300°E
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Secunderabad

Twin city
Cantonment area

Secunderabad Clock Tower

Secunderabad

Secunderabad (Telangana)

Show map of Telangana Show map of India Show all

Coordinates:  17.439900°N 78.498300°E

Country  India

State Telangana

District Hyderabad District

Metro Secunderabad East metro station,

Secunderabad West metro station,
Parade Ground metro station

Established 1806

Founded by Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III

Named for Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III

Government

 • Type Municipal Corporation

 • Body Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation

Secunderabad Cantonment Board[1]

 • MP G. Kishan Reddy

  • MLA Padma Rao Goud

Area

 • Twin city 64.5 km2 (24.9 sq mi)

Cantonment area

Elevation 561 m (1,841 ft)

Population

 (2011)

 • Twin city 213,698

Cantonment area

 • Density 3,300/km2 (8,600/sq mi)

 • Metro 1,000,000

Languages

Telugu
 • Official
English
Urdu

Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)

Pincode(s) 500 xxx

Telephone code 040
Vehicle registration TS-10[2]/AP 10(Old)

Website ghmc.gov.in

Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad[note 1] (/sɪkəndər

ˈɑːbɑːd/, [sɪ.kən.d̪əɾ.ɑː.bɑːd̪] ( listen)), is a twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six
zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the Indian
state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South Central Railway zone. Named
after the Mir Akbar Ali Khan Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III, Nizam of the Asaf Jahi
dynasty, Secunderabad was established in 1806 as a British cantonment. Although
both the cities are together referred to as the twin cities, Hyderabad and
Secunderabad have different histories and cultures, with Secunderabad having
developed directly under British rule until 1948, and Hyderabad as the capital of
the Nizams' princely state of Hyderabad.[3]
Geographically divided from Hyderabad by the Hussain Sagar lake, Secunderabad is
no longer a separate municipal unit and has become part of Hyderabad's Greater
Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. Both cities are collectively known as Hyderabad
and together form the sixth-largest metropolis in India. Being one of the largest
cantonments in India, Secunderabad has a large presence of army and air
force personnel.[4][5]

History[edit]
See also: History of Hyderabad

James street circa 1880, an important shopping district in Secunderabad [6]

Following the dissolution of the Chalukya empire into four parts in the 11th century,
the areas around the present day Hyderabad and Secunderabad came under the
control of the Kakatiya dynasty (1158–1310), whose seat of power was at Warangal,
148 km (92 mi) northeast of modern Hyderabad.[7]
In 1310 the area of present day Hyderabad and Secunderabad came under the rule
of the Delhi Sultanate after the capture of Warangal, the Kakatiya capital. The
modern city of Hyderabad was built and founded in 1592 by the Golconda
Sultanate under Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah. The modern Secunderabad is also the
site where the then Mughal emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur was defeated in the year
1754 by the Maratha Empire; the emperor arrived after the death
of Nawab Anwaruddin Khan nearby at the Battle of Ambur in 1749. Anwaruddin
Khan was the Nawab of Arcot.
The area around Secunderbad changed hands between various rulers, and the area
was part of Nizam's Hyderabad by the 18th century. [8][9]

Banner celebrating 200 years of Secunderabad

Modern Secunderabad was founded as a British cantonment after Nizam Asaf Jah

II was defeated by the British East India Company. He was then forced to sign the
1798 Treaty of Subsidiary Alliance[10][11] to get the favor of British troops camped in the
village of Ulwul, north-east of Hussain Sagar, the lake that separates Secunderabad
from its twin city Hyderabad. In 1803, Nizam Sikandar Jah, the third Nizam of
Hyderabad, changed Ulwul's name to Secunderabad after himself. [10] The city was
formed in 1806, after the order was signed by the Nizam allotting the land north of
Hussain Sagar to set up the British Cantonment. [12]
The twin cities are separated by the man-made Hussain Sagar lake, which was built
during the reign of the Qutb Shahi dynasty in the 16th century. Unlike Hyderabad,
the official language of Secunderabad was English. [13] Secunderabad was exempted
from customs duty on imported goods, thus making trade very profitable. Various
new markets such as Regimental Bazaar and General Bazaar were created. After
the First War of Indian Independence of 1857, the construction of a 7-metre-high
(23 ft) wall was started at Trimulgherry and completed in 1867.[13]
Secunderabad Junction railway station, one of the largest in India and the zonal
headquarters of South Central Railway, was established in 1874. The King Edward
Memorial Hospital, now known as Gandhi Hospital, was established in 1851. A civil
jail (now a heritage building known as Old Jail complex near Monda Market) was
also established.[14] Originally constructed in 1860 as the country house of the British
Resident at Hyderabad, the Residency House is now known as the Rashtrapati
Nilayam, the official retreat of the President of India.[15]

Trimulgherry Entrenchment where British troops were stationed

Sir Winston Churchill, the prime minister of the United Kingdom during World War II,
was posted in Secunderabad during the 1890s as a subaltern in the British Army.
[16]
 Sir Ronald Ross conducted his initial research on the cause of malaria in the city
of Secunderabad.[17] The original building is today called the Sir Ronald Ross Institute
and is located on Minister Road.
Secunderabad Municipality was first formed in 1945. Later in 1950, along with
Hyderabad Municipality, it was upgraded to Secunderabad Municipal Corporation
under the Hyderabad Corporation Act, 1950. In 1960, by the Hyderabad Municipal
Corporation Act of 1955, Secunderabad Municipal Corporation was merged with
Hyderabad Corporation to form a single municipal corporation. [18] Today
Secunderabad is part of the Hyderabad district.