Guntur is a city and district in Andhra Pradesh state of southern India. The city has a population of around 600,000 people, making it the fourth-largest city in the state, and is the administrative center of Guntur District. One of the largest universities of India, Acharya Nagarjuna University, is located in Guntur city.

Guntur District

Guntur district covers an area of 11,391 sq. km., and has a population of 4,106,999 (1991 census). The Krishna River forms the northeastern and eastern boundary of the district, separating Guntur District from Krishna District. The district is bounded on the southeast by the Bay of Bengal, on the south by Prakasam District, on the west by Mahbubnagar District, and on the northwest by Nalgonda District.

Paddy, tobacco, cotton and chillies are the main agricultural products cultivated in the district.

Some places of historical importance in Guntur District are Amaravathi, Bhattiprolu, the Undavalli caves and the archeological museum in Guntur.

History

Guntur District is home to the oldest evidence of humans in India, in the form of Palaeolithic (old stone age) implements.

The earliest reference to Guntur, a variant of Guntur, comes from the Idern plates of Ammaraja I (922-929), the Vengichalakyan King. Guntur also appears in another two inscriptions dated 1147 and 1158.

Since the beginning of Buddhist epoch, Guntur stood foremost in matters of education. Buddhists established universities in ancient times at Dhanyakataka (Amaravathi) . Acharya Nagarjuna, an influential Buddhist philosopher, is thought to have been from the district, and is said to have discovered Mica in this area around 200 BCE.

The Kingdom of Prati Palaputra (5th century BCE), identified with Bhattiprolu, appears to be the earliest known kingdom in Guntur District. Inscriptional evidence shows that king Kubera was ruling over Bhattiprolu around 230 BCE, followed by the Sala Kings. Guntur was successively ruled by famous dynasties such as the Satavahanas, Ikshavakus , Pallavas, Anandagothrins, Vishnu Kundins, Chalukyas, Cholas, Kakatiyas , Reddies , Vijayanagara and Qutb Shahis during ancient and medieval times. Later, several subordinate kingdoms ruled the region. These subordinate dynasties also indulged in mutual wars, one of which culminated in the famous battle of Palnadu which is enshrined in legend and literature as "Andhra Kurukshetra" in 1180.

Guntur became part of the Mughal empire in 1687 when the emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Qutb Shahi sultanate of Golconda, of which Guntur was then part. In 1724, Asaf Jah , viceroy of the empire's southern provinces, declared his independence as the Nizam of Hyderabad. The coastal districts of Hyderabad, known as the Northern Circars, were occupied by the French in 1750. Guntur was brought under control of the British East India Company by 1788, and became a district of Madras Presidency.

The Guntur region played a significant role in the struggle for independence and the formation of Andhra Pradesh. India's independence came in 1947, and Madras Presidency became Madras state. The northern, Telugu-speaking districts of Madras state, including Guntur, advocated for a separate state, and the new state of Andhra Pradesh was created in 1953 from the eleven northern districts of Madras.

Unique to Guntur

• Pierre Jules Cesar Janssen (1824-1907) discovered the existence of Helium in Guntur, in 1868, while watching a complete solar eclipse. The unusual length of the eclipse, about ten minutes, had attracted many scientists to view it.

• The only Indian family on the Titanic from India was from Guntur.

• Jinnah tower, a commemorative tower for Pakistan's founder Muhammed Ali Jinnah is unique to Guntur in the whole of South Asia.

See also

• List of Buddhist topics
• Mount Guntur is a volcano in Indonesia