Ivan A. Petrov

South-Indian city of Hyderabad is the capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad, being a historical example of Hindu-Muslim cultural synthesis, is at the same time notorious for its intercommunal clashes. This article deals with the role of ethnic and confessional factors in the activities of political parties in Hyderabad.

This article dwells upon the language situation in Hyderabad, which is very diverse from the ethnolinguistic point of view. The author gives a historical description of the Urdu and Telugu languages and their relationship. The author also analyzes the evolution of the status of these languages and considers how their position has changed since the princely state of Hyderabad was integrated into the Indian Union in September 1948. The article examines the spheres in which Urdu and Telugu, though official languages, can be used, and the measures taken to promote and develop them. Special attention is paid to the correlation of ethnolinguistic and confessional aspects in the life of the Hindu and Muslim communities of Hyderabad, whose members are often bilingual. The author also raises the question of the relationship between Indian languages and English in various spheres of society and studies the resulting problems and possible solutions.