Allahabad (),
officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a
metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n state of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
.
The other five cities were: Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
, Meerut
Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...
, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrative headquarters of the
Allahabad district
Allahabad district, officially known as Prayagraj district, is the most populous district of Uttar Pradesh state of India. The district headquarters is Allahabad which was renamed Prayagraj at the same time as the district was renamed. The Di ...
—the most populous district in the state and 13th most populous district in India—and the
Allahabad division
Allahabad division, officially known as Prayagraj division, is an administrative unit of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
In 2000, when Uttar Pradesh was reorganised by forming Uttaranchal out of its northern areas, Allahabad division and the d ...
. The city is the judicial capital of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
with the
Allahabad High Court
Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...
being the highest judicial body in the state. As of 2011, Allahabad is the
seventh most populous city in the state,
thirteenth
In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octa ...
in
Northern India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
and
thirty-sixth in India, with an estimated population of 1.53 million in the city.
In 2011 it was ranked the world's 40th fastest-growing city.
Allahabad, in 2016, was also ranked the third most liveable
urban agglomeration
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...
in the state (after
Noida
Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...
and
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
) and sixteenth in the country.
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
is the most widely spoken language in the city.
Allahabad lies close to
Triveni Sangam
In Hindu tradition, Triveni Sangam is the confluence (Sanskrit: ''sangama'') of three rivers that is also a sacred place, with a bath here said to flush away all of one's sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth.
Triveni Sangam in Allaha ...
, the "three-river confluence" of the
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
,
Yamuna
The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...
and
Sarasvati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a god ...
rivers.
It plays a central role in
Hindu scriptures
Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These ...
. The city finds its earliest reference as one of the world's oldest known cities in Hindu mythological texts and has been venerated as the holy city of Prayaga in the ancient
Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
. Allahabad was also known as
Kosambi
Kosambi (Pali) or Kaushambi (Sanskrit) was an important city in ancient India. It was the capital of the Vatsa kingdom, one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It was located on the Yamuna River about southwest of its confluence with the Ganges at ...
in the late
Vedic period
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betw ...
, named by the
Kuru
Kuru may refer to:
Anthropology and history
* Kuru (disease), a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated with the cannibalistic funeral practices of the Fore people
* Kuru (mythology), part of Meithei mythology
* Kuru Kingdom, ...
rulers of
Hastinapur
Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'', described in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom, is also mentioned in ancient Jain tex ...
, who developed it as their capital. Kosambi was one of the greatest cities in India from the late Vedic period until the end of the
Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...
, with occupation continuing until the
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...
. Since then, the city has been a political, cultural and administrative centre of the
Doab
''Doab'' () is a term used in South Asia Quote: "Originally and chiefly in South Asia: (the name of) a strip or narrow tract of land between two rivers; spec. (with) the area between the rivers Ganges and Jumna in northern India." for the tract ...
region. In the early 17th century, Allahabad was a provincial capital in the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
under the reign of
Jahangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
.
''
Akbarnama
The ''Akbarnama'', which translates to ''Book of Akbar'', the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (), commissioned by Akbar himself and written by his court historian and biographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak. It was ...
'' mentions that the
Mughal emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
founded a great city in Allahabad.
ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni
ʽAbdul Qadir Badayuni (1540–1615) was the first Grand Mufti of India, Grand Mufti of India. He was also a historian and translator and lived in the Mughal Empire.
He translated the Hinduism, Hindu works, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata ( ...
and
Nizamuddin Ahmad
Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad Bakshi (also spelled as Nizam ad-Din Ahmad and Nizam al-Din Ahmad) (born 1551, died 1621/1030 AH) was a Muslim historian of late medieval India. He was son of Muhammad Muqim-i-Harawi. He was Akbar's ''Mir Bakhshi''. His w ...
mention that Akbar laid the foundations of an imperial city there which was called ''Ilahabas'' or ''Ilahabad''.
He was said to be impressed by its strategic location and built a fort there, later renaming it ''Ilahabas'' by 1584, which was changed to Allahabad by
Shah Jahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
.
In 1580, Akbar created the "
Subah
A Subah was the term for a province (State) in the Mughal Empire. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a ''Subah'' was known as a '' subahdar'' (sometimes also referred to as a "''Subeh''"), which later became ''subed ...
of Ilahabas" with Allahabad as its capital.
In mid-1600,
Jahangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
made an abortive attempt to seize
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
's treasury and came to Allahabad, seizing its treasury and setting himself up as a virtually independent ruler.
He was, however, reconciled with Akbar and returned to Allahabad where he stayed before returning to the royal court in 1604.
In 1833 it became the seat of the
Ceded and Conquered Provinces
The Ceded and Conquered Provinces constituted a region in northern India that was ruled by the British East India Company from 1805 to 1834; it corresponded approximately—in present-day India—to all regions in Uttar Pradesh sta ...
region before its capital was moved to
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
in 1835.
Allahabad became the capital of the
North-Western Provinces
The North-Western Provinces was an administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. In 1858, the nawab-ruled kingdom ...
in 1858 and was the
capital of India for a day.
The city was the capital of the
United Provinces from 1902
to 1920
and remained at the forefront of national importance during the
struggle for Indian independence.
Located in southern Uttar Pradesh, the city covers .
Although the city and its surrounding area are governed by several municipalities, a large portion of Allahabad district is governed by the Allahabad City Council. The city is home to colleges, research institutions and many
central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
offices. Allahabad has hosted cultural and sporting events, including the
Prayag Kumbh Mela
The Allahabad Kumbh Mela or Prayag Kumbh Mela, is a mela, or religious gathering, associated with Hinduism and held in the city of Allahabad India, at Prayag, the locality of Allahabad with the Triveni Sangam—which represents the conflue ...
and the
Indira Marathon
The Indira Marathon is a national annual full marathon held in Allahabad, India. It commemorates the birth anniversary of India's former prime minister, Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 No ...
. Although the city's economy was built on tourism, most of its income now derives from real estate and financial services.
Etymology
The location at the confluence of Ganges and Yamuna rivers has been known in ancient times as Prayāga, which means "place of a sacrifice" in Sanskrit (''pra-,'' "fore-" + ''yāj-'', "to sacrifice"). It was believed that god
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
performed the very first sacrifice (''yāga,
yajna
Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...
'') in this place.
The word ''prayāga'' has been traditionally used to mean "a confluence of rivers". For Allahabad, it denoted the physical meeting point of the rivers
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
and
Yamuna
The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...
in the city. An ancient tradition has it that a third river, invisible
Sarasvati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a god ...
, also meets there with the two. Today,
Triveni Sangam
In Hindu tradition, Triveni Sangam is the confluence (Sanskrit: ''sangama'') of three rivers that is also a sacred place, with a bath here said to flush away all of one's sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth.
Triveni Sangam in Allaha ...
(or simply Sangam) is a more frequently used name for the confluence.
Prayagraj (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: ''Prayāgarāja''), meaning "the king among the five ''prayāgas''", is used as a term of respect to indicate that this confluence is the most splendid one of the
five sacred confluencies in India.
It is said that the
Mughal emperor
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
visited the region in 1575 and was so impressed by the strategic location of the site that he ordered a fort be constructed. The fort was constructed by 1584 and called ''Ilahabas'' or "Abode of Allah", later changed to ''Allahabad'' under
Shah Jahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
. Speculations regarding its name however, exist. Because of the surrounding people calling it ''Alhabas'', has led to some people holding the view that it was named after
Alha
Alha (देवनागरी: आल्हा ; ISO: Ālhā ) was a legendary general of the Chandel king Paramardideva (also known as Parmal), who fought Prithviraj Chauhan in 1182 CE. He is one of the main characters of the '' Alha-Khand'' ...
from
Alha's story.
James Forbes' account of the early 1800s claims that it was renamed Allahabad or "Abode of God" by
Jahangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
after he failed to destroy the
Akshayavat
Akshayavata (), also rendered Akshayavat, is a sacred fig tree mentioned in the Hindu mythology. It is also the name of a sacred lake mentioned in the Puranas.
Legend
The Padma Purana states that those who venerate the Akshayavata with devoti ...
tree. The name, however, predates him, with ''Ilahabas'' and ''Ilahabad'' mentioned on coins minted in the city since Akbar's rule, the latter name became predominant after the emperor's death. It has also been thought to not have been named after
Allah
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
but ''ilaha'' (the gods). Shaligram Shrivastav claimed in ''Prayag Pradip'' that the name was deliberately given by Akbar to be construed as both
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
("ilaha") and
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
("
Allah
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
").
Over the years, a number of attempts were made by the
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
-led governments of Uttar Pradesh to rename Allahabad to Prayagraj. In 1992, the planned rename was shelved when the chief minister,
Kalyan Singh
Kalyan Singh (5 January 1932 – 21 August 2021) was an Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He served twice as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and as a Member of Parliament. He was the Chief minister of Utt ...
, was forced to resign following the
Babri Masjid demolition
The demolition of the Babri Masjid was illegally carried out on 6 December 1992 by a large group of activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organisations. The 16th-century Babri Masjid in the city of Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh, had ...
. 2001 saw another attempt led by the government of
Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the Defence Minister of India. He is currently the Deputy Leader of the House Lok Sabha. He is the former President of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has previously served as ...
which remained unfulfilled.
The rename finally succeeded in October 2018 when the
-led government officially changed the name of the city to Prayagraj.
History
Antiquity
The earliest mention of Prayāga and the associated pilgrimage is found in ''
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
Pariśiṣṭa'' (supplement to the ''Rigveda'', c. 1200–1000 BCE). It is also mentioned in the
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
canons of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, such as in section 1.7 of ''
Majjhima Nikaya'' (), wherein the Buddha states that bathing in ''Payaga'' (Skt: Prayaga) cannot wash away cruel and evil deeds, rather the virtuous one should be pure in heart and fair in action. The ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
'' (–300 CE) mentions a bathing pilgrimage at Prayag as a means of ''prāyaścitta'' (atonement, penance) for past mistakes and guilt. In ''Tirthayatra Parva'', before the great war, the epic states "the one who observes firm
thicalvows, having bathed at Prayaga during Magha, O best of the Bharatas, becomes spotless and reaches heaven." In ''Anushasana parva'', after the war, the epic elaborates this bathing pilgrimage as "geographical tirtha" that must be combined with ''manasa-tirtha'' (tirtha of the heart) whereby one lives by values such as truth, charity, self-control, patience and others.
Prayāga is mentioned in the ''
Agni Purana
The ''Agni Purana'', ( sa, अग्नि पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also co ...
'' and other
Puranas
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
with various legends, including being one of the places where
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
attended a
yajna
Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...
(homa), and the confluence of river Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati site as the king of pilgrimage sites (''Tirtha Raj'').
Other early accounts of the significance of Prayag to Hinduism is found in the various versions of the ''Prayaga Mahatmya'', dated to the late 1st-millennium CE. These Purana-genre Sanskrit texts describe Prayag as a place "bustling with pilgrims, priests, vendors, beggars, guides" and local citizens busy along the confluence of the rivers (''sangam'').
Prayaga is also mentioned in the Hindu epic ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'', a place with the legendary ''Ashram'' of sage
Bharadwaj
Bharadwaj ( hi, भारद्वाज) is a surname mostly used by Brahmins. Notable people with the surname include:
* Abhay Bharadwaj (1954–2020), Indian advocate turned politician
*Anasuya Bharadwaj (born 1982), Indian television presenter ...
.
Archaeology and inscriptions
![Ashoka Pillar in Allahabad](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Ashoka_Pillar_in_Allahabad.jpg)
Inscription evidence from the famed Ashoka edicts containing
Allahabad Pillar – also referred to as the Prayaga Bull pillar – adds to the confusion about the antiquity of this city.
[ Excavations have revealed ]Northern Black Polished Ware
The Northern Black Polished Ware culture (abbreviated NBPW or NBP) is an urban Iron Age Indian culture of the Indian Subcontinent, lasting c. 700–200 BCE (proto NBPW between 1200 and 700 BCE), succeeding the Painted Grey Ware culture and Blac ...
dating to 600–700 BCE. According to Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti
Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti (born 27 April 1941) is an Indian archaeologist, Professor Emeritus of South Asian Archaeology at Cambridge University, and a Senior Fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge University. He ...
, there is nothing to suggest that "modern Prayag (modern Allahabad) was an ancient city", but it is also inconceivable that there was no city at the holiest pilgrimage site in Hinduism. Chakrabarti suggests that the city of Jhusi
Jhusi or Jhunsi is a town and a part of Allahabad municipal corporation in Allahabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was formerly called Pratishthan Pur or Puri.
The place is also noted for being one of the Neolithic sites ...
, opposite the confluence, must have been the "ancient settlement of Prayag". Archaeological surveys since the 1950s has revealed the presence of human settlements near the ''sangam'' since BCE.[
Along with Ashoka's Brahmi script inscription from 3rd-century BCE, the pillar has a Samudragupta inscription, as well as a Magha Mela inscription of ]Birbal
Birbal (; born Mahesh Das; 1528 16 February 1586), or Raja Birbal, was a Saraswat Hindu Bhatt Brahmin advisor and main commander (''Mukhya Senapati'') of army in the court of the Mughal emperor, Akbar. He is mostly known in the Indian subcon ...
of Akbar's era. It states,
These dates correspond to about 1575 CE, and confirm the importance and the name Prayag. According to Cunningham, this pillar was brought to Allahabad from Kaushambi by a Muslim Sultan, and that in some later century before Akbar, the old city of Prayag had been deserted. Other scholars, such as Krishnaswamy and Ghosh disagree. In a paper published in 1935, they state that the pillar was always at its current location based on the inscription dates on the pillar, lack of textual evidence for the move in records left by Muslim historians and the difficulty in moving the massive pillar. Further, like Cunningham, they noted that many smaller inscriptions were added on the pillar over time. Quite many of these inscriptions include a date between 1319 CE and 1575 CE, and most of these refer to the month Magha. According to Krishnaswamy and Ghosh, these dates are likely related to the Magh Mela
Magh mela, also spelled Magha mela, is an annual festival with fairs held in the month of ''Magha'' (January/February) near river banks and sacred tanks near Hindu temples. About every twelve years, ''Magha melas'' coincide with what is believed by ...
pilgrimage at Prayag, as recommended in the ancient Hindu texts.
In papers published about 1979, John Irwin – a scholar of Indian Art History and Archaeology, concurred with Krishnaswamy and Ghosh that the Allahabad pillar was never moved and was always at the confluence of the rivers Ganges and Yamuna.[ According to Irwin, an analysis of the minor inscriptions and ancient scribblings on the pillar first observed by Cunningham, also noted by Krishnaswamy and Ghosh, reveals that these included years and months, and the latter "always turns out to be Magha, which also gives it name to the ]Magh Mela
Magh mela, also spelled Magha mela, is an annual festival with fairs held in the month of ''Magha'' (January/February) near river banks and sacred tanks near Hindu temples. About every twelve years, ''Magha melas'' coincide with what is believed by ...
", the Prayaga bathing pilgrimage festival of the Hindus.[ He further stated that the pillar origins were undoubtedly pre-Ashokan based on the new evidence from the archaeological and geological surveys of the triveni site (Prayaga), the major and minor inscriptions as well as textual evidence, taken together.] Archaeological and geological surveys done since the 1950s, states Irwin, have revealed that the rivers – particularly Ganges – had a different course in distant past than now. The original path of river Ganges at the Prayaga confluence had settlements dating from 8th-century BCE onwards.[ According to ]Karel Werner Karel Werner (12 January 1925 – 26 November 2019) was an indologist, orientalist, religious studies scholar, and philosopher of religion born in Jemnice in what is now the Czech Republic.
Life
Werner has described his childhood in the small ...
– an Indologist known for his studies on religion particularly Buddhism, the Irwin papers "showed conclusively that the pillar did not originate at Kaushambi", but had been at Prayaga from pre-Buddhist times.
Early medieval period
The 7th-century Buddhist Chinese traveller Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
(Hiuen Tsang) in Fascicle V of ''Dà Táng Xīyù Jì'' (''Great Tang Records on the Western Regions
The ''Great Tang Records on the Western Regions'' is a narrative of Xuanzang's nineteen-year journey from Chang'an in central China to the Western Regions of Chinese historiography. The Buddhist scholar traveled through the Silk Road regions of ...
'') explicitly mentions Prayaga as both a country and a "great city" where the Yamuna river meets Ganges river. He states that the great city has hundreds of "deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
temples" and to the south of the city are two Buddhist institutions (a stupa built by Ashoka and a monastery). His 644 CE memoir also mentions the Hindu bathing rituals at the junction of the rivers, where people fast near it and then bathe believing that this washes away their sins. Wealthy people and kings come to this "great city" to give away alms at the Grand Place of Almsgiving. According to Xuanzang's travelogue, the confluence is to the east of this "great city" and the site where alms are distributed every day.[Li Rongxi (1996), ''The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions'', Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley, , pp. 136-138] Kama MacLean – an Indologist who has published articles on the Kumbh Mela predominantly based on the colonial archives and English-language media, states based on emails from other scholars and a more recent interpretation of the 7th-century Xuanzang memoir, that Prayag was also an important site in 7th-century India of a Buddhist festival. She states that Xuanzang festivities at Prayag featured a Buddha statue and involved alms giving, consistent with Buddhist practices. According to Li Rongxi – a scholar credited with a recent and complete translation of a critical version of the ''Dà Táng Xīyù Jì'', Xuanzang mentions that the site of the alms-giving is a ''deva'' temple, and the alms-giving practice is recommended by the "records at this temple". Rongxi adds that the population of Prayaga was predominantly heretics (non-Buddhists, Hindus), and affirms that Prayaga attracted festivities of ''deva''-worshipping heretics and also the orthodox Buddhists.[
Xuanzang also describes a ritual-suicide practice at Prayaga, then concludes it is absurd. He mentions a tree with "evil spirits" that stands before another ''deva'' temple. People commit suicide by jumping from it in the belief that they will go to heaven.][ According to Ariel Glucklich – a scholar of Hinduism and Anthropology of Religion, the Xuanzang memoir mentions both the superstitious devotional suicide and narrates a story of how a Brahmin of a more ancient era tried to put an end to this practice.] Alexander Cunningham
Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...
believed the tree described by Xuanzang was the Akshayavat
Akshayavata (), also rendered Akshayavat, is a sacred fig tree mentioned in the Hindu mythology. It is also the name of a sacred lake mentioned in the Puranas.
Legend
The Padma Purana states that those who venerate the Akshayavata with devoti ...
tree. It still existed at the time of Al-Biruni
Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...
who calls it as "Prayaga", located at the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna.
The historic literature of Hinduism and Buddhism before the Mughal emperor Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
use the term Prayag, and never use the term Allahabad or its variants. Its history before the Mughal Emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
is unclear. In contrast to the account of Xuanzang, the Muslim historians place the tree at the confluence of the rivers. The historian Dr. D. B. Dubey states that it appears that between this period, the sandy plain was washed away by the Ganges, to an extent that the temple and tree seen by the Chinese traveller too was washed away, with the river later changing its course to the east and the confluence shifting to the place where Akbar laid the foundations of his fort.
Henry Miers Elliot
Sir Henry Miers Elliot (1 March 1808 – 20 December 1853) was an English civil servant and historian who worked with the East India Company in India for 26 years. He is most known for ''The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians'' based ...
believed that a town existed before Allahabad was founded. He adds that after Mahmud of Ghazni
Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
captured Asní near Fatehpur, he couldn't have crossed into Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lyin ...
without visiting Allahabad had there been a city worth plundering. He further adds that its capture should have been heard when Muhammad of Ghor
Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam ( fa, معز الدین محمد بن سام), also Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, also Ghūri ( fa, معز الدین محمد غوری) (1144 – March 15, 1206), commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor, also Gh ...
captured Benares. however, Ghori's historians never noticed it. ''Akbarnama
The ''Akbarnama'', which translates to ''Book of Akbar'', the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (), commissioned by Akbar himself and written by his court historian and biographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak. It was ...
'' mentions that the Mughal emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
Akbar founded a great city in Allahabad. 'Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni and Nizamuddin Ahmad
Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad Bakshi (also spelled as Nizam ad-Din Ahmad and Nizam al-Din Ahmad) (born 1551, died 1621/1030 AH) was a Muslim historian of late medieval India. He was son of Muhammad Muqim-i-Harawi. He was Akbar's ''Mir Bakhshi''. His w ...
mention that Akbar laid the foundations of an Imperial City there which he called ''Ilahabas''.
Mughal rule
Abul Fazal in his ''Ain-i-Akbari'' states, "For a long time his (Akbar's) desire was to found a great city in the town of Piyag (Allahabad) where the rivers Ganges and Jamuna join... On 13th November 1583 (1st Azar
Azar ( fa, آذر, ) is the ninth month of the Solar Hijri calendar, the official calendar of Iran and Afghanistan. Azar has thirty days. It begins in November and ends in December by the Gregorian calendar. Azar corresponds to the Tropical Astro ...
991 H.) he (Akbar) reached the wished spot and laid the foundations of the city and planned four forts." Abul Fazal adds, "Ilahabad anciently called Prayag was distinguished by His Imperial Majesty kbar
The bar is a metric unit of pressure, but not part of the International System of Units (SI). It is defined as exactly equal to 100,000 Pa (100 kPa), or slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea lev ...
by the former name". The role of Akbar in founding the Ilahabad – later called Allahabad – fort and city is mentioned by ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni
ʽAbdul Qadir Badayuni (1540–1615) was the first Grand Mufti of India, Grand Mufti of India. He was also a historian and translator and lived in the Mughal Empire.
He translated the Hinduism, Hindu works, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata ( ...
as well.[
]Nizamuddin Ahmad
Khwaja Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad Bakshi (also spelled as Nizam ad-Din Ahmad and Nizam al-Din Ahmad) (born 1551, died 1621/1030 AH) was a Muslim historian of late medieval India. He was son of Muhammad Muqim-i-Harawi. He was Akbar's ''Mir Bakhshi''. His w ...
gives two different dates for Allahabad's foundation, in different sections of ''Tabaqat-i-Akbari''. He states that Akbar laid the foundation of the city at a place of the confluence of Ganges and Jumna which was a very sacred site of Hindus, then gives 1574 and 1584 as the year of its founding, and that it was named Ilahabas.
Akbar was impressed by its strategic location for a fort. According to William Pinch, Akbar's motive may have been twofold. One, the armed fort secured the control of fertile Doab region. Second, it greatly increased his visibility and power to the non-Muslims who gathered here for pilgrimage from distant places and who constituted the majority of his subjects. Later, he declared Ilahabas as a capital of one of the twelve divisions (''subahs''). According to Richard Burn, the suffix "–bas" was deemed to "savouring too much of Hinduism" and therefore the name was changed to ''Ilahabad'' by Shah Jahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
.[ This evolved into the two variant colonial-era spellings of Ilahabad (Hindi: इलाहाबाद) and Allahabad.] According to Maclean, these variant spellings have a political basis, as "Ilaha–" means "the gods" for Hindus, while Allah is the term for God to Muslims.
After Prince Salim
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
's coup against Akbar and a failed attempt to seize Agra's treasury, he came to Allahabad and seized its treasury while setting himself up as a virtually independent ruler. In May 1602, he had his name read in Friday prayers
In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...
and his name minted on coins in Allahabad. After reconciliation with Akbar, Salim returned to Allahabad, where he stayed before returning in 1604. After capturing Jaunpur in 1624, Shah Jahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
ordered the siege of Allahabad. The siege was however, lifted after Parviz and Mahabat Khan
Mahabat Khan ( ur, مهابت خان) (full title ''Mahabat Khan Khan-e-Khanan Sipah-Salar Zamana Beg Kabuli)'', born Zamana Beg (died 1634), was a prominent Mughal general and statesman, perhaps best known for his coup against the Mughal Empero ...
came to assist the garrison. During the Mughal war of succession, the commandant of the fort who had joined Shah Shuja made an agreement with Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
's officers and surrendered it to Khan Dauran on 12 January 1659.
Nawabs of Awadh
The fort was coveted by the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
for the same reasons Akbar built it. British troops were first stationed at Allahabad fort in 1765 as part of the Treaty of Allahabad
The Treaty of Allahabad was signed on 12 August 1765, between the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, son of the late Emperor Alamgir II, and Robert Clive, of the East India Company, in the aftermath of the Battle of Buxar of 23 October 1764. The ...
signed by Lord Robert Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...
, Mughal emperor Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II (; 25 June 1728 – 19 November 1806), also known by his birth name Ali Gohar (or Ali Gauhar), was the seventeenth Mughal Emperor and the son of Alamgir II. Shah Alam II became the emperor of a crumbling Mughal empire. His powe ...
, and Awadh's Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula
Shuja-ud-Daula (b. – d. ) was the Subedar and Nawab of Oudh and the Vizier of Delhi from 5 October 1754 to 26 January 1775.
Early life
Shuja-ud-Daula was the son of the Mughal Grand Vizier Safdarjung chosen by Ahmad Shah Bahadur. Unlike ...
. The combined forces of Bengal's Nawab Mir Qasim
Mir Qasim ( bn, মীর কাশিম; died 8 May 1777) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1760 to 1763. He was installed as Nawab with the support of the British East India Company, replacing Mir Jafar, his father-in-law, who had himself been su ...
, Shuja and Shah Alam were defeated by the English at Buxar in October 1764 and at Kora in May 1765. Alam, who was abandoned by Shuja after the defeats, surrendered to the English and was lodged at the fort, as they captured Allahabad, Benares
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tr ...
and Chunar
Chunar is a city located in Mirzapur district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is nearby Mirzapur city. The railway tracks passing through Chunar Junction railway station leads to major destinations of India, including Howrah, Delhi, T ...
in his name. The territories of Allahabad and Kora were given to the emperor after the treaty was signed in 1765.
Shah Alam spent six years in the Allahabad fort and after the takeover of Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
by the Marathas, left for his capital
in 1771 under their protection. He was escorted by Mahadaji Shinde
Mahadaji Shinde (b. 23 December 1730 – 12 February 1794), later known as Mahadji Scindia or Madhava Rao Sindhia, was a Maratha statesman and ruler of Ujjain in Central India. He was the fifth and the youngest son of Ranoji Rao Scindia, the f ...
and left Allahabad in May 1771 and in January 1772 reached Delhi. Upon realising the Maratha intent of territorial encroachment, however, Shah Alam ordered his general Najaf Khan to drive them out. Tukoji Rao Holkar
Tukoji Rao Holkar (26 June 1723 – 15 August 1797), belonging to the Holkar clan of the Marathas was the feudatory of Indore (r. 1795–1797). Tukoji Holkar was the adopted son of Malhar Rao Holkar, he was the second son of Shrimant Tan ...
and Visaji Krushna Biniwale
Visaji Krushna Chinchalkar, popularly known as Visaji Pant Biniwale, was one of the leading generals of Peshwas in Northern India during 1759 to 1772. Peshwa Madhavrao I mainly sought his assistance in his attempt to restore Maratha Empire in the N ...
in return attacked Delhi and defeated his forces in 1772. The Marathas were granted an imperial '' sanad'' for Kora and Allahabad. They turned their attention to Oudh to gain these two territories. Shuja was however, unwilling to give them up and made appeals to the English and the Marathas did not fare well at the Battle of Ramghat. In August and September 1773, Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-Genera ...
met Shuja and concluded a treaty, under which Kora and Allahabad were ceded to the Nawab for a payment of 50 lakh rupees.
Saadat Ali Khan II
Yameen-ud Daula Saadat Ali Khan II Bahadur ( fa, سعادت علی خان, hi, सआदत अली ख़ान, ur, ) (bf. 1752 – c. 11 July 1814) was the sixth Nawab of Oudh from 21 January 1798 to 11 July 1814, and the son of Shuj ...
, after being made the Nawab by John Shore, entered into a treaty with the company and gave the fort to the British in 1798. Lord Wellesley
Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, (20 June 1760 – 26 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish politician and colonial administrator. He was styled as Viscount Wellesley until 1781, when he succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of M ...
after threatening to annexe the entire Awadh, concluded a treaty with Saadat on abolishing the independent Awadhi army, imposing a larger subsidiary force and annexing Rohilkhand
Rohilkhand (previously Rampur State) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Rampur, Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the Rohilla tribe. Th ...
, Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dis ...
and the Doab in 1801.
British rule
Acquired in 1801, Allahabad, aside from its importance as a pilgrimage centre, was a stepping stone to the agrarian track upcountry and the Grand Trunk Road
The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...
. It also potentially offered sizeable revenues to the company. Initial revenue settlements began in 1803. Allahabad was a participant in the 1857 Indian Mutiny
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...
, when Maulvi Liaquat Ali
Maulvi Liaquat Ali (1817-1892) was a Muslim religious leader from Allahabad (Prayagraj), in the state of Uttar Pradesh in present-day India. He was one of the leaders in the revolt against the British in 1857, in what is now known as the First ...
unfurled the banner of revolt. During the rebellion, Allahabad, with a number of European troops, was the scene of a massacre.
After the mutiny, the British established a high court, a police headquarters and a public-service commission in Allahabad, making the city an administrative centre. They truncated the Delhi region of the state, merging it with Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
and moving the capital of the North-Western Provinces
The North-Western Provinces was an administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. In 1858, the nawab-ruled kingdom ...
to Allahabad (where it remained for 20 years). In January 1858, Earl Canning
Earl Canning was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1859 for the Conservative politician and then Viceroy of India, Charles Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning. He was the third and youngest son of the noted politician G ...
departed Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
for Allahabad. That year he read Queen Victoria's proclamation, transferring control of India from the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
to the British Crown
The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...
(beginning the British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
), in Minto Park
Minto Park is a park in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It occupies a full city block, meeting Elgin Street on the park's west side, Gilmour Street on the north, Cartier Street on the east, and Lewis Street on the south. It contains picnic ...
. In 1877 the provinces of Agra and Awadh were merged to form the United Provinces, with Allahabad its capital until 1920.
The 1888 session of the Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
was held in the city, and by the turn of the 20th century, Allahabad was a revolutionary centre. Nityanand Chatterji became a household name when he hurled a bomb at a European club. In Alfred Park
Chandrashekhar Azad Park (also known by its former name Alfred Park, and Company Bagh during the Company Raj) is a public park in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. Built in 1870 to mark Prince Alfred's visit to the city, with an area of 13 ...
in 1931, Chandrashekhar Azad
Chandra Shekhar Tiwari ( (23 July 1906 – 27 February 1931), popularly known as Chandra Shekhar Azad, was an Indian revolutionary who reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) under its new name of Hindustan Socialist Republican ...
died when surrounded by British police. The Nehru family
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India du ...
homes, Anand Bhavan
The Anand Bhavan is a historic house museum in Prayagraj, India, focusing on the Nehru family. It was bought by Indian political leader Motilal Nehru in the 1930s to serve as the residence of the Nehru family when the original mansion Swaraj Bh ...
and Swaraj Bhavan
Swaraj Bhavan (formerly Anand Bhavan, meaning ''Abode of Bliss'') is a large mansion located in Prayagraj (formerly known as Allahabad) India, best known for once being owned by the Indian political leader Motilal Nehru and being home to the ...
, were centres of Indian National Congress activity. During the years before independence, Allahabad was home to thousands of satyagrahis led by Purushottam Das Tandon
Purushottam Das Tandon (; 1 August 1882 – 1 July 1962) was a freedom fighter from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is widely remembered for his opposition to the partition of India, as well as efforts in achieving the ''Official Languag ...
, Bishambhar Nath Pande, Narayan Dutt Tiwari
Narayan Datt Tiwari (18 October 1925 – 18 October 2018) was an Indian politician who served as the 9th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and 3rd Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from 2002 to 2007. He was first Indian Chief Minister who served for ...
and others. The first seeds of the Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
i nation were sown in Allahabad: on 29 December 1930, Allama Muhammad Iqbal
Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...
's presidential address to the All-India Muslim League
The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...
proposed a separate Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
state for the Muslim-majority regions of India.
Post-independence
Allahabad is known as the City of Prime Ministers because seven out of 15 prime ministers of India since independence have connections to Allahabad (Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
, Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...
, Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
, Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...
, Gulzarilal Nanda
Gulzarilal Nanda (4 July 1898 – 15 January 1998) was an Indian politician and economist who specialized in labour issues. He was the Interim Prime Minister of India for two 13-day tenures following the deaths of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964 and L ...
, Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Chandra Shekhar). All seven leaders were either born in Allahabad, were alumni of Allahabad University or were elected from an Allahabad constituency.
Geography
Cityscape
Allahabad's elevation is over 90 m (295 ft) above sea level. The old part of the city, at the south of Allahabad Junction Railway Station, consists of neighbourhoods like Chowk, Johnstongunj, Dariyabad, Allahabad, Dariyabad, Khuldabad, Allahabad, Khuldabad and many more. In the north of the Railway Station, the new city consists of neighbourhoods like Lukergunj, Civil Lines, Allahabad, Civil Lines, Georgetown, Allahabad, Georgetown, Tagoretown, Allahpur, Ashok Nagar, Allahabad, Ashok Nagar, Mumfordgunj, Bharadwaj Puram and others which are relatively new and were built during the British Raj, British rule. Civil Lines, Allahabad, Civil Lines is the central business district of the city and is famous for its urban setting, gridiron plan roads and high rise buildings. Built in 1857, it was the largest town-planning project carried out in India before the establishment of New Delhi. Allahabad has many buildings featuring Indo-Islamic architecture, Indo-Islamic and Indo-Saracenic architecture. Although several buildings from the colonial period have been declared "heritage structures", others are deteriorating. Famous landmarks of the city are Allahabad Museum, New Yamuna Bridge, Allahabad, New Yamuna Bridge, Allahabad University, Triveni Sangam
In Hindu tradition, Triveni Sangam is the confluence (Sanskrit: ''sangama'') of three rivers that is also a sacred place, with a bath here said to flush away all of one's sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth.
Triveni Sangam in Allaha ...
, All Saints Cathedral, Allahabad, All Saints Cathedral, Anand Bhavan
The Anand Bhavan is a historic house museum in Prayagraj, India, focusing on the Nehru family. It was bought by Indian political leader Motilal Nehru in the 1930s to serve as the residence of the Nehru family when the original mansion Swaraj Bh ...
, Alfred Park
Chandrashekhar Azad Park (also known by its former name Alfred Park, and Company Bagh during the Company Raj) is a public park in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. Built in 1870 to mark Prince Alfred's visit to the city, with an area of 13 ...
etc. The city experiences one of the highest levels of air pollution worldwide, with the 2016 update of the World Health Organization's ''Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database'' finding Allahabad to have the third highest mean concentration of "PM2.5" (<2.5 μm diameter) particulates, particulate matter in the ambient air among all the 2972 cities tested (after Zabol and Gwalior).
Triveni Sangam and Ghats
The Allahabad Triveni Sangam
In Hindu tradition, Triveni Sangam is the confluence (Sanskrit: ''sangama'') of three rivers that is also a sacred place, with a bath here said to flush away all of one's sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth.
Triveni Sangam in Allaha ...
(place where three rivers meet) is the meeting place of Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
, the Yamuna
The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...
and invisible Sarasvati River, Saraswati River, which according to Hindu legends, wells up from underground.[At the Three Rivers](_blank)
''TIME'', 23 February 1948. A place of religious importance and the site for historic Prayag Kumbh Mela
The Allahabad Kumbh Mela or Prayag Kumbh Mela, is a mela, or religious gathering, associated with Hinduism and held in the city of Allahabad India, at Prayag, the locality of Allahabad with the Triveni Sangam—which represents the conflue ...
held every 12 years, over the years it has also been the site of immersion of ashes of several national leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.
The main ghat in Allahabad is Saraswati Ghat, on the banks of Yamuna. Stairs from three sides descend to the green water of the Yamuna. Above it is a park which is always covered with green grass. There are also facilities for boating here. There are also routes to reach Triveni Sangam by boat from here. Apart from this, there are more than 100 raw ghats in Allahabad.
Topography
Allahabad is in the southern part of Uttar Pradesh, at the confluence of the Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
and Yamuna. The region was known in antiquity first as the Kuru, then as the Vats country. To the southwest is Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lyin ...
, to the east and southeast is Baghelkhand, to the north and northeast is Awadh and to the west is the lower doab (of which Allahabad is part). The city is divided by a railway line running east–west. South of the railway is the Old Chowk area, and the British-built Civil Lines, Allahabad, Civil Lines is north of it. Allahabad is well placed geographically and culturally. Geographically part of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab (at the mouth of the Yamuna), culturally it is the terminus of the Indian west.
The Indian Standard Time longitude (25.15°N 82.58°E) is near the city. According to a United Nations Development Programme report, Allahabad is in a "low damage risk" wind and cyclone zone. In common with the rest of the doab, its soil and water are primarily Alluvium, alluvial. Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Pratapgarh is north of the city, Bhadohi is east, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, Rewa is south, Chitrakoot district, Chitrakoot (earlier Banda) is west, and Kaushambi district, Kaushambi, which was until recently a part of Allahabad, is North-West.
Climate
Allahabad has a humid subtropical climate common to cities in the plains of North India, designated ''Cwa'' in the Köppen climate classification. The annual mean temperature is ; monthly mean temperatures are . Allahabad has three seasons: a hot, dry summer, a cool, dry winter and a hot, humid monsoon. Summer lasts from March to September with daily highs reaching up to 48 °C in the dry summer (from March to May) and up to 40 °C in the hot and extremely humid monsoon season (from June to September). The monsoon begins in June, and lasts until August; high humidity levels prevail well into September. Winter runs from December to February, with temperatures rarely dropping to the freezing point. The daily average maximum temperature is about and the minimum about . Allahabad never receives snow, but, experiences dense winter fog due to numerous wood fires, coal fires, and open burning of rubbish—resulting in substantial traffic and travel delays. Its highest recorded temperature is on 9 June 2019, and its lowest is on 26 December 1961.
Rain from the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea branches of the southwest monsoon falls on Allahabad from June to September, supplying the city with most of its annual rainfall of . The highest monthly rainfall total, , occurs in August. The city receives 2,961 hours of sunshine per year, with maximum Insolation, sunlight in May.
Biodiversity
The Ganga-Jamuna Doab, of which Allahabad is a part, is on the western Indus-Gangetic Plain region. The doab (including the Terai) is responsible for the city's unique flora and fauna. Since the arrival of humans, nearly half of the city's vertebrates have become extinct. Others are endangered or have had their range severely reduced. Associated changes in habitat and the introduction of reptiles, snakes and other mammals led to the extinction of bird species, including large birds such as eagles. The Allahabad Museum, one of four national museums in India, is documenting the flora and fauna of the Ganges and the Yamuna.
To protect the rich aquatic biodiversity of river Ganges from escalating anthropogenic pressures, development of a Turtle sanctuary in Allahabad along with a River Biodiversity Park at Triveni Sangam, Sangam have been approved under Namami Gange programme.
The most common birds found in the city are Columbidae, doves, Peafowl, peacocks, junglefowl, black partridge, house sparrows, songbirds, blue jays, parakeets, quails, bulbuls, and Knob-billed duck, comb ducks. Large numbers of Deer are found in the Trans Yamuna area of Allahabad. India's first conservation reserve for blackbuck is being created in Allahabad's Meja Tehsil, Meja Forest Division. Other animals in the state include reptiles such as lizards, cobras, Bungarus, kraits, and gharials. During winter, large numbers of Siberian birds are reported in the Triveni sangam, sangam and nearby wetlands.
Demographics
The 2011 census of India, 2011 census reported a population of 1,112,544 in the area governed by Allahabad Municipal Corporation, corresponding to a density of .[ In January 2020, the boundaries of Allahabad Municipal Corporation were expanded to ; according to the 2011 census, 1,536,218 people lived within those boundaries; this corresponds to a population density of .]
Natives of Uttar Pradesh form the majority of Allahabad's population. With regards to Houseless Census in Allahabad, total 5,672 families live on footpaths or without any roof cover, this is approximately 0.38% of the total population of Allahabad district. The sex ratio of Allahabad is 901 females per 1000 males and child sex ratio of is 893 girls per 1000 boys, lower than the national average.
Hindi, the official state language, is the dominant language in Allahabad. Urdu and other languages are spoken by a sizeable minority. Hindus form the majority of Allahabad's population; Muslims compose a large minority. According to provisional results of the 2011 national census, Hinduism is majority religion in Allahabad city with 76.03% followers. Islam in Uttar Pradesh, Islam is the second most practised religion in the city with approximately 21.94% following it. Christianity in Uttar Pradesh, Christianity is followed by 0.68%, Jainism in Uttar Pradesh, Jainism by 0.10%, Sikhism in India, Sikhism by 0.28% and Buddhism in India, Buddhism by 0.28%. Around 0.02% stated 'Other Religion', approximately 0.90% stated 'No Particular Religion'.
Allahabad's Literacy in India, literacy rate at 86.50% is the highest in the region. Male literacy is 90.21% and female literacy 82.17%. For 2001 census same figure stood at 75.81 and 46.38. As per census 2011, total 1,080,808 people are literate in Allahabad of which males and females are 612,257 and 468,551 respectively. Among Crime in India, 35 major Indian cities, Allahabad reported the highest rate of violations of special and local laws to the NCRB, National Crime Records Bureau.
Administration and politics
General administration
Allahabad division
Allahabad division, officially known as Prayagraj division, is an administrative unit of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
In 2000, when Uttar Pradesh was reorganised by forming Uttaranchal out of its northern areas, Allahabad division and the d ...
, comprising four districts, is headed by the Divisional commissioner (India), divisional commissioner of Allahabad, who is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of high seniority, the Divisional commissioner (India), commissioner is the head of local government institutions (including Municipal corporations in India, municipal corporations) in the division, is in charge of infrastructure development in his division, and is also responsible for maintaining law and order in the division. The District collector (India), district magistrate and collector of Allahabad reports to the Divisional commissioner (India), divisional commissioner. The current commissioner is Ashish Kumar Goel.
Allahabad district
Allahabad district, officially known as Prayagraj district, is the most populous district of Uttar Pradesh state of India. The district headquarters is Allahabad which was renamed Prayagraj at the same time as the district was renamed. The Di ...
administration is headed by the District collector (India), district magistrate and collector (DM) of Allahabad, who is an Indian Administrative Service, IAS officer. The DM is in charge of property records and revenue collection for the central government and oversees the Elections in India, elections held in the district. The DM is also responsible for maintaining law and order in the district. The DM is assisted by a chief development officer; five additional district magistrates for finance/revenue, city, rural administration, land acquisition and civil supply; one chief revenue officer; one city magistrate; and three additional city magistrates. The district has eight tehsils viz. Sadar, Soraon, Phulpur, Handia, Karchhana, Bara, Meja and Kuraon, each headed by a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (India), sub-divisional magistrate.
Police administration
City comes under the Allahabad Police Zone and Allahabad Police Range, Allahabad Zone is headed by an Additional director general of police, additional director general-rank Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, and the Allahabad Range is headed Inspector-general of police#India, inspector general-rank IPS officer. The district police is headed by a Superintendent of police (India), senior superintendent of police (SSP), who is an Indian Police Service, IPS officer, and is assisted by eight Superintendent of police (India), superintendents of police or Additional superintendent of police, additional superintendents of police for city, either from the IPS or the Provincial Police Service (Uttar Pradesh), Provincial Police Service. Each of the several police circles is headed by a circle officer (CO) in the rank of Deputy superintendent of police#India, deputy superintendent of police.
Infrastructure and civic administration
The development of infrastructure in the city is overseen by the Allahabad Development Authority (ADA), which comes under the Department of Housing and Urban Planning of Government of Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh government. The Divisional commissioner (India), divisional commissioner of Allahabad acts as the ''ex-officio'' chairperson of ADA, whereas a vice chairperson, a government-appointed Indian Administrative Service, IAS officer, looks after the daily matters of the authority. The current chairperson of ADA is Bhanu Chandra Goswami.
The Allahabad Nagar Nigam, also called Allahabad Municipal Corporation, oversees the city's civic infrastructure. The corporation originated in 1864 as the Municipal Board of Allahabad, when the Lucknow Municipal Act was passed by the Government of India.
This book says that the Municipal Board of Allahabad was founded in 1863. In 1867, the Civil Lines, Allahabad, Civil Lines and the city were amalgamated for municipal purposes.[ The Cantonment was counted as part of the city in censuses until the 1931 Census of India, 1931 Indian census, when it was started to be counted as a separate census town. The Municipal Board became Allahabad Municipal Corporation in 1959.] Allahabad Cantonment has a cantonment board. The city of Allahabad is currently divided into 80 wards, with one member (or corporator) elected from each ward to form the municipal committee. The head of the corporation is the mayor, but, the executive and administration of the corporation are the responsibility of the municipal commissioner, who is an Government of Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh government-appointed Provincial Civil Service (Uttar Pradesh), Provincial Civil Service officer of high seniority. The current mayor of Allahabad is Abhilasha Gupta, whereas the current municipal commissioner is Avinash Singh.
Allahabad was declared to have metropolitan status in October 2006. The metropolitan area is referred to in the 2011 Indian census and other official documents as Allahabad Urban Agglomeration. It consists of Allahabad Municipal Corporation, three census towns (the cantonment, Arail Uparhar, and Chak Babura Alimabad), and 17 Outer Growth (OG) areas listed in the table below.[
]
Politics
Allahabad is the seat of Allahabad High Court
Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...
, the highest judicial body in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The city is known as the "Prime Minister Capital of India", since, seven of fifteen Prime Minister of India, Indian prime ministers have been from the district. Allahabad is administered by several Government agency, government agencies. As the seat of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad is home to local governing agencies and the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (housed in the Allahabad High Court
Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...
building). The Allahabad district has two parliamentary constituency, namely, Allahabad (Lok Sabha constituency), Allahabad and Phulpur (Lok Sabha constituency), Phul pur and elects 12 members of the legislative assembly (Member of the Legislative Assembly, MLAs) to the state legislature.
Central government offices/organisations
Allahabad houses various central government offices and organisations, such as-
Ministry of Home Affairs
* Headquarters of Central Zonal Council
* Rapid Action Force (101 Battalion).
* Indo-Tibetan Border Police (Training Institute).
Ministry of Minority Affairs
* Special officer for Linguistic Minorities (Regional Headquarters).
Ministry of Defence (India)
* Headquarters of Central Air Command.
* Services Selection Board (East Centre).
Ministry of Civil Aviation (India)
* Civil Aviation Training College.
Ministry of Railways (India)
* Headquarters of North Central Railway Zone.
* Headquarters of Central Organisation for Railway Electrification.
* Railway Recruitment Control Board (Selection Centre).
Ministry of Finance (India)
* Headquarters of Accountants General, Uttar Pradesh.
Ministry of Human Resource Development
* Central Board of Secondary Education (Regional office).
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
* Botanical Survey of India (Central Regional Centre, Allahabad).
* Centre for Social Forestry and Eco-Rehabilitation.
Ministry of Science and Technology (India)
* Harish Chandra Research Institute.
* Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (Regional Center).
* National Academy of Sciences, India.
Economy
Overall Allahabad has a stable and diverse economy comprising various sectors such as State and Central government offices, education and research institutions, real estate, retail, banking, tourism and hospitality, agriculture-based industries, railways, transport and logistics, miscellaneous service sectors, and manufacturing. Disposable household and per capita income, Average household income of the city is US$2,299.
The construction sector is a major part of Allahabad's economy. Secondary manufacturers and services may be registered or unregistered; according to the third All India Census for Small Scale Industries, there are more than 10,000 unregistered small-scale industries in the city. An integrated industrial township has been proposed for in Allahabad by the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India.
The city is also home to glass and wire-based industry. The main industrial areas of Allahabad are Naini and Phulpur, Allahabad, Phulpur, where several Public sector, public and private sector companies have offices and factories. BPCL, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, India's largest oil company (which is state-owned), is constructing a seven-million-tonnes-per-annum (MTPA) capacity refinery in Lohgara with an investment estimated at ₹62 billion. Allahabad Bank, which began operations in 1865, Bharat Pumps & Compressors and A. H. Wheeler and Company have their headquarters in the city. Major companies in the city are Reliance Industries, ITI Limited, BPCL, Dey's Medical, Food Corporation of India, Raymond Synthetics, Triveni Sheet Glass, Triveni Electroplast, EMC Power Ltd, Steel Authority of India, HCL Technologies, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO), Vibgyor Laboratories, Geep Industries, Hindustan Cable, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Baidyanath Ayurved, Hindustan Laboratories.
The primary economic sectors of the district are tourism, fishing and agriculture, and the city is a hub for India's agricultural industry. In the case of agriculture crops, Paddy has the largest share followed by Bajra, Arhar, Urd and Moong, in declining order during the Kharif season. In Rabi, Wheat is predominantally followed by pulses and oilseed. Among oilseed crops, Mustard has very less area under pure farming and is grown mainly as a mixed crop. Linseed dominates the oilseed scenario of the district and is mainly grown in Jamunapar area. in the case of pulses, gram has the largest area followed by pea and lentil (''masoor''). There is fairly good acreage under barley.
Transportation and utilities
Air
The main international and domestic airport serving Allahabad is Allahabad Airport , which began operations in February 1966. The airport is from the city centre and lies in Bamrauli, Allahabad. As of now, Allahabad is connected to eleven cities by flight, where Air India's regional arm Alliance Air (India), Alliance Air connects Allahabad to Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
and Bilaspur Airport, Bilaspur, while IndiGo connects it to Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Gorakhpur. The nearest international airports are in Varanasi and Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
.
The world's first airmail flight took place from Allahabad to Naini in February 1911, when 6,000 cards and letters where flown by French pilot Henri Pequet.
Railways
Allahabad Junction is one of the main railway junctions in northern India and headquarters of the North Central Railway Zone.
Allahabad has following nine railway stations in its city limits :
The city is connected to most other Uttar Pradesh cities and major Indian cities such as Kolkata, New Delhi, Hyderabad, India, Hyderabad, Patna, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Bangalore, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Pune, Bhopal, Kanpur, Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
and Jaipur.
Roads
Buses operated by Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation and Allahabad City Transport Service are an important means of public transport for travelling to various parts of the city, state and outskirts. Auto Rickshaws have been a popular mode of transportation. Cycle rickshaws are the most economical means of transportation in Allahabad along with e-rickshaws.
There are several important National Highways that pass through Allahabad:
Cable-stayed bridge, Cable-stayed, New Yamuna Bridge, Allahabad, New Yamuna Bridge (built 2001–04), is in Allahabad and connects the city to the suburb of Naini across the Yamuna. The Old Naini Bridge now accommodates railway and auto traffic. A road bridge across the Ganges also connects Allahabad and Jhusi
Jhusi or Jhunsi is a town and a part of Allahabad municipal corporation in Allahabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was formerly called Pratishthan Pur or Puri.
The place is also noted for being one of the Neolithic sites ...
. National Waterway 1 (India), National Waterway 1, the longest Waterway in India, connects Allahabad and Haldia.
The city generates 5,34,760 kg of domestic solid wastes daily, while the per capita generation of waste is 0.40 kg per day. The sewer service areas are divided into nine zones in the city. Allahabad Municipal Corporation oversees the solid waste management project. Allahabad was the first city to get pre-paid meters for electricity bill in Uttar Pradesh. The city is equipped with over 40 CCTVs at major crossings and markets.
Human resources
Public health
Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh oversees the healthcare system of Allahabad. Its healthcare system comprises hospitals, medical facilities, private clinics and diagnostic centers. These facilities are either privately owned or owned and facilitated by the government. Allahabad has a total of twenty four hospitals run by the administration. Founded in memory of Pandit Motilal Nehru in 1961, Motilal Nehru Medical College (MLN Medical College and associated hospitals) is a government medical college in Allahabad, with Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital, Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital, Sarojini Naidu Children's Hospital and Manohar Das Eye Hospital serving under its affiliation. Some of the known multispecialty hospitals in and around Allahabad are Alka Hospital, Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital, Amardeep Hospital, Asha Hospital, Ashutosh Hospital and Trauma Centre, Bhola Hospital, Dwarka Hospital, D R S Hospital, Jain Hospital, Parvati Hospital Pvt. Ltd., Phoenix Hospitals Pvt. Ltd., Priya Hospital, Sangam Multispeciality Hospital, Vatsalya Hospital, Yashlok Hospital and Research Centre, etc.
Allahabad healthcare also comprises many medical research institutes. The city also has diagnostic labs, clinics, consultation providers and pathological institutes like Kriti Scanning Centre, Prayag Scan & Diagnostic Centre, and Sprint Medical.
Projects
IBM selected Allahabad among 16 other global cities for its smart cities programme to help it address challenges like waste management, disaster management, water management and citizen services. The company commenced working on solid waste management and power sector in generating renewable energy.
A memorandum of understanding was signed on 25 January 2015 between the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the Government of Uttar Pradesh for developing Allahabad as a smart city. The pact came into existence after the bilateral meeting between the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the US President Barack Obama in October 2014, wherein it was announced that the US would assist India in developing three smart cities, Allahabad, Ajmer and Visakhapatnam, in a boost to India's 100 smart city programme. On 27 August 2015 the official list of 98 cities to be developed as smart cities, including Allahabad, was announced by the Government of India. Allahabad Task Force was set up by the Ministry of Urban Development, Minister of Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu which consists of the Divisional commissioner (India), divisional commissioner as chairperson, secretaries of housing and urban planning and urban development in Government of Uttar Pradesh, the District collector (India), district magistrate and collector, the vice-chairperson of Allahabad Development Authority and the mayor in addition to the Additional secretary to the Government of India, Additional Secretary (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Urban Development) in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and representatives of the Ministry of External Affairs (India), Ministry of External Affairs and the USTDA. The project is being assisted by the U.S.-India Business Council.
As a part of Smart City Project, Civil Lines, Allahabad, Civil Lines is being developed on the lines of Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
's Hazratganj. A sum of ₹20 crore (US$3,024,000) has been sanctioned to Beautification, beautify all prominent crossings of the city. As per the plan, the administration proposed uniformity in signage and colour of buildings and a parking lot to be set up to solve traffic congestion. A 1.35 km long riverfront along Yamuna river would be developed by the Allahabad Development Authority, irrigation and power departments at a cost of ₹147.36 crore. The riverfront would be developed in two phases. In the first phase, around 650 metres at Arail would be developed along with the Yamuna, while in the second phase 700 metres of the stretch between New Yamuna Bridge and Boat Club in Kydganj would be taken up.
Education
The Allahabad educational system is distinct from Uttar Pradesh's other cities, with an emphasis on broad education. Board of High School and Intermediate Education Uttar Pradesh, the world's biggest examining body, is headquartered in the city. Although English is the language of instruction in most private schools, government schools and colleges offer Hindi and English-medium education. Schools in Allahabad follow the 10+2+3 plan. After completing their secondary education, students typically enrol in higher secondary schools affiliated with the Uttar Pradesh Board of High School and Intermediate Education, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education, ICSE or the Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE. and focus on liberal arts, business or science. Vocational programs are also available.
Allahabad attracts students from throughout India. As of 2017, the city has one Central University, India, central university, two State University, India, State Universities and an Uttar Pradesh Rajarshi Tandon Open University, open university. Allahabad University, founded in 1876, is the oldest university in the state. Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad is a noted technical institution. Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, founded in 1910, as "Agricultural Institute", is an autonomous Christian minority university in Allahabad. Other notable institutions in Allahabad include the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, Indian Institute of Information Technology – Allahabad; Motilal Nehru Medical College; Ewing Christian College; Harish-Chandra Research Institute; Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute; and Allahabad State University
Culture
Although Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
women have traditionally worn saris, the shalwar kameez and Western attire are gaining acceptance among younger women. Western dress is worn more by men, although the dhoti and kurta are seen during festivals. The formal male sherwani is often worn with chooridar on festive occasions. Diwali, Holi, Kumbh Mela, Eid al-Fitr and Vijayadashami, Vijayadasami are the most popular festivals in Allahabad.
Literature
Allahabad has a literary and artistic heritage; the former capital of the United Provinces, it was known as Prayag in the Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
, the ''Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'' and the ''Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
''. Allahabad has been called the "literary capital of Uttar Pradesh", attracting visitors from East Asia; the Chinese travellers Faxian and Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
found a flourishing city in the fifth and seventh centuries, respectively. The number of foreign tourists, which mostly consisted of Asians, visiting the city was 98,167 in 2010 which subsequently increased to 1,07,141 in 2014. The city has a tradition of political graffiti which includes Limerick (poetry), limericks and caricatures. In 1900, ''Saraswati (magazine), Saraswati'', the first Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
-language monthly magazine in India, was started by Chintamani Ghosh. Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, the doyen of modern Hindi literature, remained its editors from 1903 to 1920. The Anand Bhavan
The Anand Bhavan is a historic house museum in Prayagraj, India, focusing on the Nehru family. It was bought by Indian political leader Motilal Nehru in the 1930s to serve as the residence of the Nehru family when the original mansion Swaraj Bh ...
, built during the 1930s as a new home for the Nehru family
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India du ...
when the Swaraj Bhavan
Swaraj Bhavan (formerly Anand Bhavan, meaning ''Abode of Bliss'') is a large mansion located in Prayagraj (formerly known as Allahabad) India, best known for once being owned by the Indian political leader Motilal Nehru and being home to the ...
became the local Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
headquarters, has memorabilia from the Gandhi-Nehru family.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Hindi literature was modernised by authors such as Mahadevi Varma, Sumitranandan Pant, Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala' and Harivansh Rai Bachchan. A noted poet was Raghupati Sahay, better known as Firaq Gorakhpuri. Gorakhpuri and Varma have received Jnanpith Awards. Allahabad is a publication centre for Hindi literature, including the Lok Bharti, Rajkamal and Neelabh. Persian language, Persian and Urdu literature are also studied in the city. Akbar Allahabadi is a noted modern Urdu poet, and Nooh Narwi, Tegh Allahabadi, Shabnam Naqvi and Rashid Allahabadi hail from Allahabad. English author and List of Nobel laureates#List of laureates, 1907 Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling was an assistant editor and overseas correspondent for ''The Pioneer (newspaper), The Pioneer''.
Entertainment and recreation
Allahabad is noted for historic, cultural and religious tourism. Historic sites include Alfred Park
Chandrashekhar Azad Park (also known by its former name Alfred Park, and Company Bagh during the Company Raj) is a public park in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. Built in 1870 to mark Prince Alfred's visit to the city, with an area of 13 ...
, the Victoria Memorial, Victoria and Thornhill Mayne Memorials, Minto Park, Allahabad Fort, the Allahabad Pillar, Ashoka Pillar and Khusro Bagh. Religious attractions include the Kumbh Mela, the Triveni Sangam
In Hindu tradition, Triveni Sangam is the confluence (Sanskrit: ''sangama'') of three rivers that is also a sacred place, with a bath here said to flush away all of one's sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth.
Triveni Sangam in Allaha ...
and All Saints Cathedral, Allahabad, All Saints Cathedral. The city hosts the ''Maha'' Kumbh Mela, the largest religious gathering in the world, every twelve years and the ''Ardh'' (half) Kumbh Mela every six years. It also hosts a ''Magh Mela'' annually on the banks of the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, Triveni Sangam that typically lasts for one and a half months. Cultural attractions include the Allahabad Museum, the Jawahar Planetarium and the University of Allahabad. North Central Zone Culture Centre, under the Ministry of Culture (India), Ministry of Culture and Prayag Sangeet Samiti are nationally renowned centres of Arts, Dance, Music, local Folk Dance and Music, Plays/Theatre etc. and nurture upcoming artists. The city has also hosted the International Film Festival of Prayag.
Media
''The Leader (Allahabad newspaper), The Leader'' and ''The Pioneer (Indian newspaper), The Pioneer'' are two major English-language newspapers that are produced and published from the city.
All India Radio, the national, state-owned radio broadcaster, has AM broadcasting, AM radio stations in the city. Allahabad has seven Frequency modulation, FM stations, including two AIR stations: Gyan Vani and Vividh Bharti, four private FM channels: BIG FM 92.7, Red FM 93.5, Fever 104 FM and Radio Tadka and one educational FM radio channel Radio Adan 90.4 run by Allahabad Agricultural Institute. There is a Doordarshan Kendra in the city. Regional TV channels are accessible via Cable television, cable subscription, direct-broadcast satellite service or IPTV, Internet-based television.
Sports
Cricket and field hockey are the most popular sports in Allahabad, with kabaddi, kho-kho, gilli danda and pehlwani mostly being played in rural areas near the city. Gully cricket, also known as street cricket, is popular among city youth. The famous cricket club Allahabad Cricketers has produced many national and international cricket players. Several sports complexes are used by amateur and professional athletes; these include the Madan Mohan Malviya Stadium, the Amitabh Bachchan Sports Complex and the Boys' High School and College Gymnasium. There is an international-level swimming complex in Georgetown, Allahabad, Georgetown. The National Sports Academy in Jhalwa trains gymnasts for the Commonwealth Games. The Indira Marathon
The Indira Marathon is a national annual full marathon held in Allahabad, India. It commemorates the birth anniversary of India's former prime minister, Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 No ...
honours the late prime minister Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
.
See also
* List of people from Allahabad
* Forest Research Centre for Eco-Rehabilitation
Tehsils of Allahabad:
* Handia, Uttar Pradesh, Handia
* Phulpur, Allahabad, Phulpur
* Soraon
* Karchana, Karchhana
* Koraon
References
Further reading
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*
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* ''Allahabad: A Study in Urban Geography'', by Ujagir Singh. Published by Banaras Hindu University, 1966.
* ''Employment and Migration in Allahabad City'', by Maheshchand, Mahesh Chand, India Planning Commission. Research Programmes Committee. Published by Oxford & IBH Pub. Co., 1969.
* ''Subah of Allahabad Under the Great Mughals, 1580–1707: 1580–1707'', by Surendra Nath Sinha. Published by Jamia Millia Islamia, 1974.
* ''The Local Roots of Indian Politics: Allahabad, 1880–1920'', by Christopher Bayly, Christopher Alan Bayly. Published by Clarendon Press, 1975.
* ''Triveni: Essays on the Cultural Heritage of Allahabad'', by D. P. Dubey, Neelam Singh, Society of Pilgrimage Studies. Published by Society of Pilgrimage Studies, 1996. .
* ''Magha Inscriptions in the Allahabad Museum'', by Siddheshwari Narain Roy. Published by Raka Prakashana for the Museum, 1999.
* ''The Last Bungalow: Writings on Allahabad'', by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra. Published by Penguin Books, 2007. .
Allahabad
''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'', 1909, v. 5, p. 226–242.
External links
Allahabad News
Allahabad Municipal Corporation
Prayagraj District
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Allahabad at Wikimapia – Places, geography, terrain and routes in and around Allahabad, with satellite images
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