The New Name of Allahabad: Prayagraj

Recently we heard that Gurgaon will now be called as Gurugram. Yet another time the government has come up with a new name for another city. This time the name has been changed for “Allahabad” – the city popularly known for the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and "invisible" Saraswati rivers. The city was named Allahabad by Emperor Akbar reportedly in the 16^th Century. On October 16, 2018, the BJP government announced officially the new name for Allahabad, i.e. “Prayagraj”.  

This initiative is a result of UP’s CM meeting with a delegation of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad in May 2018 when the CM visited Allahabad to announce the dates of the shahi snan. At that time the delegation demanded that the city should be renamed from Allahabad to Prayagraj. The delegation was led by Mahant Narendra Giri, President of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, who had there and then declared that CM would soon pass a resolution in the cabinet in order to bring about this change. The UP government feels that this name is apt for the city of Allahabad because Prayag means a confluence of two rivers. Here in Allahabad there is a confluence of three rivers. The UP Government has announced that the names of other institutions that contain the name of the district shall also undergo a change soon such as the University and the High Court. Siddhartha Nath Singh, Government spokesperson and cabinet minister stated that this initiative is a result of public demand that has been in picture for a long time now. He further stated that the new name shall prove helpful in promoting Indian culture on an international scale and also for the promotion of Kumbh, which is scheduled to begin in January 2019. On the contrary the response of the masses with this change is mixed. Some feel that nothing much is going to change because of this change, whereas some others laughed at the government on making this change. Alongside, scholars, too, have offered differing opinions. The current UP government has claimed that an ancient city of Prayag existing at the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna was renamed Allahabad during the period of Emperor Akbar. However, the former head of the Medieval and Modern History Department of Allahabad University, Herambh Chaturvedi, totally disapproved this theory. He stated that Prayag was never a city but only a pilgrimage site near the Sangam. It was temporarily inhabited by seers and their disciples during the month of ‘magh’. Apart from all these, there are definitely a few among the masses who have suggested a name change for some other cities as well. It is being heard that the next in line for name change is the city of “Shimla” which may get renamed as Shyamala.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/prayagraj-divides-allahabad/article25274402.ece

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