The Deccan (from Urdu: دکھن dakkhan or dakkhin, meaning "south") is a plateau of over 422,000 km2 (163,000 sq mi) on the southern part of India, from the Satpura and Vindhya ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats on both sides. The plateau is arid compared to the northern plains, as the rivers that feed the area, such as the Narmada, Godavari and the Kaveri (Cauvery), run dry during the summer.
Although the Deccan region largely overlaps with Southern India, the two aren't synonyms. The region covers most of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana, and parts of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Cities
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- 1 Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) — the city of 52 doors, famous for its Mughal monuments
- 2 Bangalore (Bengaluru) — the beautiful garden city, once the sleepy home of pensioners, now a hub for high-technology companies
- 3 Bijapur (Vijayapura) — former capital of the Adil Shah dynasty, with ruins of fort, tombs, mosques and palaces
- 4 Hyderabad — known for pearl and diamond trading, and for the classic dish biryani, now with major manufacturing and financial institutions
- 5 Mysore (Mysuru) — the "City of Palaces", erstwhile capital of the Kingdom of Mysore that ruled over the southern parts of present-day Karnataka
- 6 Nagpur — the city of oranges, at the geographical centre of India
- 7 Pune — Maharashtra's cultural capital, a historic city and home to many educational institutions
- 8 Tirupati — major spiritual centre, with a sacred temple on the Tirumala Hills
Understand
[edit]History
[edit]The Deccan has been ruled by various dynasties in Indian history, such as Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas, Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, Kadambas, Kakatiyas and Western Gangas. In the later medieval era, the region came under Vijayanagara, Bahmani and Deccan dynasties. In early modern times, during the Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb, the Deccan saw the rise of dynasties like the Marathas, the Wodeyars of Mysore, and the Nizams of Hyderabad.
The Deccan eventually came under the British rule, bifurcating it into Bombay and Madras presidencies. After India's independence in 1947, the region was reorganised into states along linguistic lines, eventually leading to the creation of modern states.
Culture
[edit]Talk
[edit]The Deccan is historically home to the Dravidian family of languages, of which Kannada, Telugu and Tamil are most commonly spoken here. Minor languages like Kodava and Tulu are also spoken.
The region is also home to Indo-Aryan languages like Marathi and Urdu. In particular, the Deccani (or Dakkhani) dialect of Urdu is spoken by some Muslims, which originated in the courts and military encampments of the Islamic rulers of the Deccan. Hindi is mainly spoken in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and is also understood elsewhere in the region, albeit not as commonly as other languages.