Hyderabad, city, south central India, capital of Andhra Pradesh State, on the Musi River. An administrative and commercial center, Hyderabad has industries producing cotton and silk textiles, cigarettes, paper, pottery, and glassware. On the right bank of the Musi is the old city. Founded in 1589, it became the capital of the nizams, or princes, of Hyderabad in 1724. In the center of the old city stands the Char Minar (Four Minarets), a rectangular building with four arches under which the two main streets of the city intersect. 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. In the city are a large industrial research laboratory, Osmania University (1918), and Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (1972).
In 1948 Indian forces invaded the princely state of Hyderabad and captured the city. The population later voted, in a plebiscite, to join the Republic of India. In 1956, when the Indian states were reorganized on a linguistic and cultural basis, Hyderabad and the surrounding district became part of Andhra Pradesh State. Population (1991) 2,964,638.
