HYDERABAD, the principal native state of India in extent, population and political importance; area, 82,698 sq.m.; pop. 12,471,770. The state occupies a large portion of the eastern plateau of the Deccan. It is bounded north and north-east by Berry, south and south-east by Madras, and west by Bombay. Two tracts may be distinguished from one another geologically and ethnically, and are locally known from the languages spoken as Telingana and Marathwara. In some parts it is mountainous, wooded and picturesque, in others flat and undulating. The open country includes rich and fertile plains, much good land not yet brought under cultivation, and numerous sterile tracts. The terri tory is well watered, with many rivers, tanks and artificial pieces of water, especially in Telingana. The principal rivers are the Goda vari (q.v.), with its tributaries, the Dudna, Manjira and Pranhita; the Wardha, with its tributary the Penganga ; and the Kistna, with its tributary the Tungabhadra. The climate is in general good; and as there are no arid bare deserts, hot winds are little felt.
The revenue of the state is largely derived from the land, and the development of irrigation and railways has caused considerable expansion. (Revenue [est. 1927-28] 768 lakhs of rupees; expen diture 724 lakhs.) Over half the population are dependent on agriculture. The soil is generally fertile, though in some parts it consists of chilka, a red and gritty mould little fitted for purposes of agriculture. The principal crops are millets of various kinds, rice, wheat, oil-seeds, cotton, tobacco and fruits and garden pro duce. Lac, gums and oils are found, and hides, raw and tanned, are of commercial importance. The principal exports are cotton, oilseeds, grain, timber, country-clothes and hides; the imports are salt, timber, European piece-goods, sugar, cattle, metals, oil and yarn. Mineral wealth consists of coal, copper, iron, diamonds and gold, but its development has not been very suc cessful. The only coal mine now worked is the large one at Singareni, with an out-turn of 700,000 tons in 1925. The total exports in 1924-25 amounted to 1,578 lakhs; imports 2,165 lakhs.
The Bombay-Madras line (Great Indian Peninsular) runs through the south-west of the state, and the Nizam's railway runs from Wadi junction on this line through Hyderabad to Bezwada on the Madras and Southern Mahratta line. The Hyderabad Godavari railway traverses rich cotton country, and cotton presses have been erected along the line. There are also cotton weaving mills and flour mills. After periods of considerable difficulty, the financial situation of the state is now good. The currency is based on the Kali sikka, which contains approximately the same weight of silver as the British rupee. A new coin was minted in 1904, and the supply regulated. The current coin, called osmania sicca, exchanges at about 116 to loo rupees. The state suffered acutely from famine during 190o.
The nizam of Hyderabad is the principal Mohammedan ruler in India. The family was founded by Asaf Jah, a distinguished Turkoman soldier of the emperor Aurangzeb, who in 1713 was appointed subadar of the Deccan, but eventually threw off the control of the Delhi court. His death in 1748 was followed by internecine struggle among his descendants, in which British and French took part. At one time the French nominee, Salabat Jang, established himself with the help of Bussy. But when the British had secured their predominance throughout southern India, Nizam Ali took his place. He confirmed the grant of the Northern Circars in 1766, and joined in the two wars against Tippoo Sultan in 1792 and 1799. The additions of territory which he acquired by these wars were afterwards (i800) ceded to the British, as payment for the subsidiary force which he had undertaken to maintain. By a later treaty in 1853, the districts known as Berar were "assigned" to defray the cost of the Hyderabad contingent. In 1857 when the Mutiny broke out, the Nizam remained loyal to the British. An attack on the residency was repulsed, and the Hyderabad contingent displayed their loyalty in the field against the rebels. In 1902 by a treaty made by Lord Curzon, Berar was leased in perpetuity to the British government, and the Hyderabad contingent was merged in the Indian army. The present Nizam, His Exalted Highness Sir Osman Ali Khan, Bahadar Fateh Jung, G.C.S.I., G.B.E., faithful ally of the British government, was born in 1886 and succeeded in 1911. He is entitled to a salute of 21 guns. For many years the Hyderabad finances were unhealthy. But in 1902, on the revision of the Berar agreement, the nizam received 25 lakhs (./167,000) a year for the rent of Berar, thus substituting a fixed for a fluctuating source of income, and a British financial adviser was appointed for the purpose of reorgan izing the resources of the state. The executive council, with 7 ordinary and one extraordinary members under a president, was set up in 1919. A resident, representing the government of India, has his headquarters at Hyderabad.