Visakhapatnam's original history
Visakhapatnam is a small fishermen village, and now it is developed like this—this is a misnomer about the history of Vizag City represented in various parts of the media for a long time. During his visit in November 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the public that Visakhapatnam has a history of trading through shipping. Buddhist settlements were found by archaeologists in Madhavadhara, the foot area of Lord Vishnu’s incarnation Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy’s abode Simhachalam, in 2001.
Why this confusion? Visakhapatnam or Waltair!
The story behind the name of the city in the available records is that the city was named after a star, Visakha. During the independence struggle and in the British Regime, the train station here was called Waltair, and with this name, a division was in operation in the East Coast Railway Zone of Indian Railways. This was changed by the railway authorities back to Visakhapatnam Railway Station some years ago.
Rulers of Visakhapatnam (Vizag)
Visakhapatnam's history dates back to the 6th century, when it was considered part of the Kalinga Kingdom and later ruled by the Vengi, Pallava, and Eastern Ganga dynasties. The last known rulers were Gajapathi kings during Britain’s invasion. After British rule, Vizag was in Madras state and became part of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, while Nizam ruled Telangana on a linguistic state basis in independent India. But again, in 2014, Vizag went to Andhra Pradesh after state bifurcation due to alarming agitations for a separate Telangana state.
The Scenic Beauty of the City
Vizag is ensconced by one side of the sea and the other side of hills. Famous educational institutions such as Andhra University and Mrs. AVN College added dignity to the city in multiple ways. Several central government organizations, like Shipyard, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, and Vizag Steel Plant, are some feathers in its cap. When it comes to the total security of the nation, Eastern Naval Command looks after that from Vizag.