Allahabad

Allahabad, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Allahabad (Pron:ˈæləhəˌbɑ:d or ˈæləhəˌbæd)( [ɪlɑhɑbɑd̪] (help·info) also known as Prayag, is a city in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Allahabad District. Allahabad is the seventh most populous city in Uttar Pradesh, with an estimated population of 1.74 million living in the city and district area. In 2011, it was ranked the world's 130th fastest growing city. Allahabad is also known as the "city of prime ministers" because post independence seven out of 13 prime minister of India belonged to Allahabad (Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Gulzarilal Nanda, Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Chandra Shekhar). All these seven leaders were either born in Allahabad, were alumni of Allahabad University, or were elected from a constituency in Allahabad.[1]
The city's original name—Prayaga, or "place of sacrifice", comes from its position at the sacred union of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati. It is the second-oldest city in India and plays a central role in the Hindu scriptures. The city contains many temples and palaces. Allahabad is located in the southern part of Uttar Pradesh. It is bounded by Pratapgarh in the north, Bhadohi in the east, Rewa in the south and Kaushambi in the west. Its area is 63.07 km2 (24.35 sq mi). Allahabad contains many suburbs. While the city and surroundings are governed by several municipalities, a large portion of Allahabad District is governed by the Allahabad City Council. The demonym of Allahabad is Allahabadi.
Allahabad was originally founded as Kaushambi (now a separate district) by the Kuru rulers of Hastinapur, who developed it as their capital. Since then, Allahabad has often being the political/cultural/administrative head of the entire Doab area and beyond. First as Kaushambi, then as Prathisthanpur. Later, the Mughal emperor Akbar renamed Prayag as Allahabad and made it a prominent administrative centre again. As a large and growing city, Allahabad is home to colleges and research institutions. Government offices of both central and state government lie within the city. Allahabad has hosted cultural and sporting events, including Kumbh Mela and Indira Marathon. Although Allahabad's economy was built on tourism, its main revenue now comes from real estate and financial services.
Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 History
3 Geography
3.1 Climate
3.2 Biodiversity
4 Demographics
5 Civic administration
5.1 Administrative divisions
6 Culture
7 Kumbh Mela
8 Sports
9 Transportation
10 Education
11 Industries
12 Media
13 Sister cities
14 References
15 External links
[edit]Etymology

The name is derived from the one given to the city by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1583.[5] The name in Indian languages generally is Ilāhābād (Hindi: इलाहाबाद); ilah (Hindi: इलाह) being Arabic for "Lord" or "God (Allah)" and -ābād (Hindi: आबाद) is Persian for "to construct or to create", which explains the meaning of the name Illahabad as "God's creation" or "City of God"[5]
There are demands that the name be changed to Prayag or Prayagraj, mainly from the Hindu nationalist side.[6][7]
[edit]History

Main article: History of Allahabad
The city was known earlier as Prayāga – a name that is still commonly used.[8] Prayāga existed during the Vedic period, and is mentioned in the Veda as the location where Brahma, the Creator of the Universe according to Hindu mythology, attended a sacrificial ritual.[9] Excavations have revealed Northern Black Polished Ware that dates to 600–700 BCE.[9] The Puranas record that Yayati left Prayag and conquered the region of Saptha Sindhu.[10] His five sons Yadu, Druhyu, Puru, Anu and Turvashu became the main tribes of the Rigveda.[11] Lord Rama, the main protagonist in the Ramayana, spent time at the Ashram of Sage Bharadwaj before proceeding to nearby Chitrakoot.[12]


Allahabad Fort made by Akbar in the 1850s
When the Aryans first settled in what they termed the Āryāvarta (or Madhyadesha), Prayag (or Kaushambi) was an important part of their territory.[13] The Kuru Kingdom, rulers of Hastinapur (near present day Delhi), established the town of Kaushambi near Prayag.[14] They shifted their capital to Kaushambi when Hastinapur was destroyed by floods.[13]
The Doaba region, including Allahabad, was controlled by several empires and dynasties in the ages to come.[15] The area became a part of the Mauryan and Gupta empires of the east and the Kushan empire of the west before becoming part of the local Kannauj empire in 15th century.[13] The city was the scene of Maratha incursions before colonial rule was imposed over India.[15] In 1765, the British established a garrison at Allahabad fort. It is also known as the "Prime minister Capital of the India," the importance of the government to the city has led seven out of fourteen Prime Ministers of India.[1] Prayag became a part of the Delhi sultanate when the town was annexed by Mohammad Ghori in A.D. 1193.[16] Later, the Mughals took over from the slave rulers of Delhi and under them Prayag rose to prominence.[17] Akbar built a magnificent fort (viz. Allahabad fort), on the banks of the holy sangam and rechristened the town as Illahabad in 1575.[17]
In 1765, the combined forces of the Nawab of Awadh and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II lost the Battle of Buxar to the British.[18] Although the British did not yet establish direct rule, they realised the strategic position of Allahabad as the gateway to the northwest and established a garrison at the fort.[19] In 1801, the Nawab of Awadh ceded the city to the British East India Company.[20] Gradually the other parts of Doaba and adjoining region in its west (including Delhi and Ajmer-Mewara regions) were won by the British.[18] The north western areas were made into a new Presidency called the "North Western Provinces of Agra", with their capital at Agra.[18] Allahabad remained an important part of this state.[21] In 1834, Allahabad became the seat of the Government of the Agra Province, and a High Court was established—but a year later both were relocated to Agra.[18] In 1857, Allahabad was active in the Indian Mutiny.[22] After the mutiny, the British truncated the Delhi region of the state, merging it with Punjab, and transferred the capital of North west Provinces to Allahabad, where it remained for 20 years.[23] Later, in 1877 the two provinces of Agra (NWPA) and Awadh were merged to form a new state which was called the United Provinces.[21] Allahabad served as the capital of United Provinces until 1920.[23]


Mahatma Gandhi attending a Congress Working Committee meeting at Anand Bhavan, Allahabad in January 1940. Right: Vallabhbhai Patel. Left: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit.
During the 1857 mutiny, Allahabad had a presence of European troops.[24] Maulvi Liaquat Ali freedom fighter of 1857, unfurled the banner of revolt.[25] After the Mutiny was quelled, the British established the High Court, the Police Headquarters and the Public Service Commission in the city.[26] This transformed Allahabad into an administrative center.[27] The fourth session of the Indian National Congress was held in the city in 1888.[28] By the turn of the century, Allahabad was a nodal point for the revolutionaries.[29] The Karmyogi office of Sundar Lal in Chowk sparked patriotism among youth. Nityanand Chatterji became a household name when he hurled the first bomb at the European club.[30] It was at Alfred Park in Allahabad where, in 1931, the revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad killed himself when surrounded by the British Police.[31] The Nehru family homes Anand Bhavan and Swaraj Bhavan were at the center of the political activities of the Indian National Congress.[32] In the years of the freedom struggle, Allahabad was home to thousands of satyagrahis, led, inter alii, by Purushottam Das Tandon, Bishambhar Nath Pande and Narayan Dutt Tiwari.[33] The first seeds of the idea of Pakistan were sown in Allahabad.[34] On 29 December 1930, Allama Muhammad Iqbal's presidential address to the All-India Muslim League proposed a separate Muslim state for the Muslim majority regions of India.[35]
[edit]Geography



Yamuna river in Allahabad during the rainy season.
Allahabad is located in the southern part of the state, at 25.45°N 81.84°E, and stands at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers.[36][37] The region was known in antiquity as the Vats (initially Kuru) country.[38] To its south west is the Bundelkhand region, to its east and south east is the Baghelkhand region, to its north and north east is the Awadh region and to its west is the (lower) doab of which it itself is a part.[36] The city is divided by the railway line running through it.[39] South of the railway line is the Old Chowk area, while the British-built Civil lines is situated in north. Allahabad stands at a strategic point both geographically and culturally.[40] A part of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab, it is the last point of the Yamuna river, and culturally, the last point of the Indian west.[41] As with the rest of Doab, the soil and water are predominantly alluvial in origin.[42] The Indian GMT longitude that is associated with Jabalpur also passes through Allahabad. According to a United Nations Development Programme report, its wind and cyclone zone is "Low damage risk".[43]

Allahabad is known for its literary and artistic heritage; as the former capital of United Provinces it was the birthplace of holy scriptures- the Vedas and the grand epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and in the Puranas as Prayag.[74] Allahabad has been called the "literary capital of Uttar Pradesh". Allahabad's antiquity attracted curious itinerants from even the ear east.[75] Huen Tsang and Fa Hien, the Chinese travelers, who visited it in the fifth and the seventh centuries respectively, found it a flourishing city.[76][75] Over the centuries that followed, Allahabad remained on the forefront of national importance-more so during the days of the Indian independence struggle.[33] The city has a tradition of political graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures, and propaganda.[29] Allahabad has many buildings adorned with Indo-Islamic and Indo-Saracenic architectural motifs. Several major buildings from the colonial period have been declared "heritage structures"; however, others are decaying.[77] Established in the 1930s to serve as the residence of the Nehru family, the Swaraj Bhavan was transformed into the local headquarters of the Indian National Congress, that showcase memorabilia of the Gandhi-Nehru family.[78]
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Hindi literature was modernised through the works of authors such as Mahadevi Varma, Sumitranandan Pant, Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala', Harivansh Rai Bachchan.[79] Another noteworthy poet was Raghupati Sahay who was more famous by the name of Firaq Gorakhpuri.[80] Firaq Gorakhpuri and Mahadevi Varma were awarded the Jnanpith Award.[81][82][83] Allahabad has also been the biggest centres of publication of Hindi literature for instance Lok Bharti, Rajkamal and Neelabh. Persian and Urdu literature also has a significant respect in city.[84] Akbar Allahabadi is well known poet of modern Urdu Literature. Poets like Nooh Narwi, Tegh Allahabadi, Raaz Allahabadi, Asghar Gondvi, Ibn e Safi,Adil Rasheed, Azam Kuraivi, Dr.Aijaz Husain, Dr.Aqeel Rizwi, Hakeem Asrar Kuraivi also hail from the city.[85] English author and Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling (1907) played a role for The Pioneer as an assistant editor and overseas correspondent.[86]
Though Hindu women traditionally wear the sari, the shalwar kameez and Western attire is gaining acceptance among younger women.[87] Western-style dress has greater acceptance among men, although the traditional dhoti and kurta are seen during festivals. Diwali (celebrated between mid-October and mid-December) and Rama Navami are the two most popular festivals in Uttar Pradesh. Sherwani is a more formal male dress and is frequently worn along with chooridar on festive occasions.[87]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allahabad