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  Hitherto, too much importance has been given to understanding one particular period in the history of a country/region. This does not seem appropriate in the context o writing about Local History. Further, usually studies have ignored the role of regions which have been inhabited by economically less developed tribal communities and cultures at the micro level. It is therefore, necessary to take up an intensive study of localities within the broader framework of regional history and delve into various kinds of sources like archeology, literature, inscriptions, monuments and other data in a sequential order, so hat a total history of a given locality can be made.
  
  In the present online book , we have made attempt to understand the local history of Nizamabad and its environs from the prehistoric to the early medieval times. This, we feel, is very necessary because this has hitherto been a much neglected region of historical analysis even within the context of the regional history of Andhra Pradesh. For a proper understanding of the history of Nizamabad and its environs in general we have to depend upon the following sources. viz, archaeology, literature, epigraphy, monuments , numismatics and oral traditions. No single source can throw light on the complete history of this region. For instance the archeological sources give information from the prehistoric times upto the megalith period and also give information about some of the early historical sites in this region. Further, the literary sources given general information about the geographical location of Asmaka and its Podana / Paudanyapura and to some extention, the significance of this region in the period of rashtrakutas. The inscriptional source give the maximum information on the historicity of the region. Monuments sculptures and oral traditions throw light on various cultural and artistic facts of the region. The present day district of Nizamabad is surrounded by the Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh and the Nanded district of Maharashtra in the work. The latte also bounds it in the West. On the East and south it is surrounded by the Karimnagar and Medak districts respectively. This study is not confined to the exact present day limits of Nizmabad district. Infact we have excluded some parts of it in the west. (Details are in chapter III) . Though the name Nizamabad does not occur in the ancient and medieval records, the region today is best understood by this name and therefore, this has been used in the title of the dissertation.
  
  The necessity of local history has been underlined by Professor Finberg in his study of “The Origin , Growth, Decline and Fall of a Local Community”.1 He is of the opinion that it is the sound background of general history which does not need justify its existence solely as a provider of some of the grains making up the “sand dune of national history.2 Some of the chief points which have been hitherto ignored by historians have been understanding the totality of local history and its relevance for understanding national history. Further, they have so far mainly concentrated on the histories of the main line of royal families and well known architectural monuments. 3
  They have not only neglected socio-economic history at the micro level but have have also ignored the regions where no monumental remains have been found. Although, political aspects are imperative to write a history of a nation/region/locality, the historian has to take all aspects of society such as economy, way of life, religion and social processes of change to write a total history of the concerned region. The aim of this online book is to place all the data available for the micro-region under study in the context of the broader region of upper Telengana and not study it in isolation.
  
  
  References:
  
  1.W.B. Stephens, Teaching Local History, Manchester University Press, Great Britain,
  1977, pp. 4-9.
  
  2. Ibid.,
  
  3. Most of the early works on general history of Deccan like , Early History of Deccan,
  Like, Early History of Deccan, down to the Mohammedan conquest by
  R.G. Bhandarkar (1894) Ancient History of Deccan Dubreuil (1920) and A History of
  South India by K.A.N. Sastri (1955) have dealt with the over all trends in the history of
  the region with a focus on political history. Further, the works on monuments which
  became important subjects of study in the third quarter of this century like the Temples
  of Telangana by M. Radha Krishna Sarma (1972) and Select Kakatiya temples by
  M.Rama Rao (1966) were mainly oriented to give information on projecting the
  description of big monuments or describing a particular period of their history.
  

Labels: Necessity of Writing Local History