From a city of nawabs to a modern metropolis

The politically dramatic entry of N. Chandrababu Naidu as chief minister in 1995 proved to be equally dramatic for the fledgling technology sector in Hyderabad, making the then united Andhra capital 'beat Bangalore in information technology'.

- RASHEED KIDWAI

This was the time; the Karnataka government had already roped in the Tata group and a consortium of Singapore-based companies to form the Information Technology Park Limited in Whitefield as the second technology enclave. Hyderabad did not have such an enclave.

In "Beyond Biryani: The Making of a Globalised Hyderabad (Westland, 2024)", journalist-turned author Dinesh C Sharma has showcased how Hyderabad came out of isolation in 1948 (on account of Nizam rule) to become a part of the larger project of nation-building, from information technology to large industries, steel plants, fertiliser factories, heavy machinery plants, power generation plants, and a nucleus for developing more scientific institutions.

On August 26, 1995, nine months into NT Ramarao's third term as chief minister of Andhra, Naidu, his son-in-law and trusted lieutenant, rebelled against him. Naidu defended his coup, saying he had been forced to act against his father-in-law because of NTR's second wife Lakshmi Parvathi's growing influence over party affairs and on the state government. Lakshmi Parvathi was NTR's biographer and he had married her in 1993, much against his family's wishes.