Will the sacred city of Allahabad be known as Prayagraj before 2019? The Uttar Pradesh government, led by Yogi Adityanath, is all in favour of the new name and wants the rechristening to happen before the upcoming Ardh Kumbh in 2019.
Behind the move to rename the city is the pressure exerted by Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad—an important religious body comprising seers. Its head Mahant Narendra Giri said the chief minister has, in principle, accepted their demand to rename Allahabad. Recently, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya too confirmed the present government’s intention to rename the city.
People of Allahabad find it a welcome move as long as it leads to the development of the city. Manish Malhotra, a local business man who has been residing in the city for over four decades, said Mughals had changed the city's name from Prayag to Allahabad and added that if the government is restoring its old name, there is nothing wrong with it. He, however, said along with changing the name, the government should also ensure the development of the city in terms of infrastructure and other facilities.
This is not for the first time that such efforts are being made. Earlier, such a move was initiated when Rajnath Singh was the chief minister of the state.
Mughal emperor Akbar had changed the name of the sacred city from Prayagraj to Allahabad in the 16th century.
According to Narendra Giri, the state government is undoing the wrong done by the Mughal emperor.
The seers of Allahabad are mostly in favour of renaming Allahabad.
Meanwhile, the Adityanath government is spending lavishly to spruce up the city before Ardh Kumbh.
The Ardh Kumbh fair is held in every six years at Haridwar and Allahabad where million of devotees throng to take a holy dip in the Ganga.
Vinay Mehrotra, an educationist and a resident of Allahabad, said in the past, other governments like the BSP, the Congress and the SP changed the names of cities, memorials, and colonies, and so changing name is not very important. He further said it wouldn't really have any impact unless steps are also taken to develop the city.
Another local resident, Manu Agrawal, is of the opinion that this is a step in the nationalisation of names as even Uttar Pradesh was earlier known as The United Province. He further said there is nothing wrong in changing the names of cities named by the British or the Mughals.