Hyderabad (India), city, south central India, capital of Andhra Pradesh State, on the Musi River. Hyderabad was founded by the Qutb Shahi sultans of Golconda, under whom the kingdom of Golconda attained a position of importance second only to that of the Mughal Empire in the north.

Hyderabad has industries producing cotton and silk textiles, cigarettes, paper, pottery, and glassware. In 1956 the state was split up; its Telugu-speaking areas were combined with the erstwhile Andhra state to form the state of Andhra Pradesh with Hyderabad as the capital.

Several fine palaces built by various nizams, and the Jamma Masjid and Mecca mosques, are also in the old city. Five bridges cross the Musi to the left bank where the former British residency, the state museum, and the state central library are located. Under the Nizams the Hindu and Muslim populations lived in amity, although immediately after Indian independence a fanatical Muslim faction, the Razakars, fomented tensions in the state and the city.

Hyderabad and the surrounding district became part of Andhra Pradesh State. Population (1991) 2,964,638. city, 3,043,896; metropolitan area, 3,344,437.

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