Andh

The Andh are the original descendants of the Andhra dynasty or Satvahana dynasty that ruled between third century BC to second century AD. At the time of Nijamshah of Hyderabad, before the marathwada region were isolated, Andh are the ruling satvahan dynastry, but after the attack of Nijamshah on this region Satvahan dynasty collapsed due to the death of the king and region had to be taken into 'Hyderabad Sansthan'. After this massive loss the Andh agreed to live as a tribe. ≠ The Andhs live primarily in the hills of the Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh. They are further subdivided into the Vertali and the Khaltali. The Vertali consider themselves a superior people and avoid marrying the Khaltali. "It seems highly possible that the word Andh is only a corruption of the Sanskrit 'Andhra', a designation given by the ancient Aryans to an aboriginal tribe dwelling in the Andhra Desh " (Wilson, V.P. 190). Similarly Andhs too speak Marathi. The Sanskrit word Andh is Andhr. The Satavahana clan of Andhras is said to have established first ever empire in entire Deccan two thousand years ago at Kotilingala, Jagtial district. Their inscriptions were in Maharashtri variant of Prakrit language, majority scholars say. Even today, the Andhs living in Telangana (across erstwhile Adilabad district) speak Marathi. Therefore, it can be surmised that Marathi also has its origins in Telangana.^[2]