Centre approves renaming Allahabad to ‘Prayagraj’

The Union Home Ministry has approved the proposal of the Uttar Pradesh Government to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj.

Why the name change was proposed?

The government of Uttar Pradesh has said that it is restoring the original name of the city. The government states that the city was rechristened during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Akbar called the city Illahabas, meaning the abode of God.
Before renaming by Akbar, the city was known as Prayag. Medieval texts, including Akbar’s court historian Abul Fazl, called the city as Piyag.

Procedure for changing Names

The proposals of the states would be scrutinised by the Union Home Ministry according to the existing guidelines in consultations with agencies concerned. The Ministry approves the proposal after taking no-objections from the Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts and Survey of India, which confirms that there is no such city, town or village in their records with a name similar to the proposed one. Then an executive order is passed on the renaming of cities.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2019