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Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Hyderabad only knows Golconda. Telangana’s Hindu temples are either ignored—or demolished

The destruction of the 800-year-old Kakatiya-era temple in Warangal comes when Telangana and Hyderabad have both faced sustained threats of erasure of heritage sites.

Last week, historians and heritage activists were aghast when the Telangana government demolished a Kakatiya-era 13th-century Shiva temple in Ashok Nagar, Khanapur mandal of Warangal district, to build a school. Not only was it unfortunate, but it was also ironic, given that the state over the last few years has been trying to diversify its tourism beyond Hyderabad with a focus on older temples.

We tend to focus on Hyderabad’s Indo-Persian architecture more today due to the Qutb Shahi dynasty (1518-1687) that ruled the Sultanate of Golconda and also because of its origins linked to Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (from Persia), who founded the city of Hyderabad in 1591. But many forget that Hyderabad and Telangana also have some exquisite and beautiful temples, thanks to the state once being ruled by the Kakatiya dynasty.

In fact, Hyderabad also boasts some very interesting Hindu temples due to the fact that the region has had dynasties that shaped two major cities over a period of more than 800 years. While serving initially as vassals of the Rashtrakutas and Western Chalukyas, the Kakatiya dynasty of Telangana developed Warangal as their capital. The Kakatiyas majorly ruled what are now the two Telugu states (Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) between the 12th and early 14th centuries.

The Shiva temple destroyed........

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