Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will break from the past when he unfurls the National flag from the historic 1,000-year-old Golconda Fort to mark the Independence Day on Friday.
For all these years, the Independence Day parade was held at the Parade Grounds in Secunderabad.
Rao, who has been seeking to do things differently after he became the first Chief Minister of Telangana State about two months ago, had considered several venues for the ceremony. He ultimately zeroed in on the Golconda Fort, which can be seen as a cultural statement by the new State. For, despite being a region with history which goes back to ancient period, the cultural facets of the region have hitherto not been adequately recognised.
As a fort initially constructed by the famed Kakatiyas who ruled from Warangal in 10-11{+t}{+h} centuries AD, Golconda has been a torchbearer to the linkages to the cultural ethos of Telangana region.
After the Kakatiyas, the fort passed into the control of Bahamanis in the 14{+t}{+h} century. The ascendancy of Golconda had actually begun under the Qutub Shahi rulers who broke away from the Bahamani Kingdom around 1520s and set up an independent sultanate.
The fort also figured on the pan-Indian political map of the Mughals when it fell to an invasion by Aurangazeb in 1687 AD. From 1724, after the setting up of Hyderabad State, it came under the control of the Asaf Jahs.
More than swinging political fortunes, what makes the fort culturally relevant to the State is its linkages to today’s world. Be it the famous Bhadrachalam Temple of Lord Rama or secular administrative fabric of the Qutub Shahi rulers, the fort has become an icon of the Deccani culture over a period of time.
In this perspective, it also transgressed the local barriers and turned a living example of the harmony between the Hindus and Muslims. In this way, it stands on par with the Red Fort, the symbol of Mughal secularism.
If Hyderabad today is a technology-hub, there was a parallel then in the fort too in the form of modern acoustics and a scientific water supply system which still baffles modern engineers. The Ujjain Mahankali Temple is inextricably linked with the Bonalu, which is now a State festival.
More importantly, the Independence Day fete serves the important purpose of brining history and culture back in the lime light.
Happening HyderabadOn the eve of the celebrations, the KCR Government kicked off the year-long ‘Happening Hyderabad’ campaign, which will have weekly events in arts, culture, sports, hobby and entrepreneurship.
The 52-week campaign includes vintage car rally, khadi fashion show, classical dance, theatre festival, folk festival, sport events, regatta and food festival.