Uttarakhand Information Centre

Allahabad is third fastest growing cities of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow and Agra . It is also one of the most green cities in the state. Besides having many prime educational institutions and organizations, the presence of key government offices give city an important status. These include Allahabad High Court, Principal Accountant General Office (AG office), UP Public ServiceCommission Office, Headquarters of North Central Railway, the Regional Office of the Central Board of Secondary Education and the UP Board of High School and Intermediate Education.

Allahabad also known to be associated with 7 out of 14 Prime Ministers of India. Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri,Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Gulzarilal Nanda, Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Chandra Shekhar were all either born in Allahabad, were alumni of Allahabad University or got elected from a constituency in Allahabad.

Government of India has selected Allahabad as one of the mission cities for Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission(JNNURM), with the goals of improving urban infrastructure, efficient governance and basic services to urban common citizens.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Geography 4 Demographics 5 Climate 6 Civic Administration 7 Cityscape 7.1 Places 7.2 Architecture 8 Transportation 8.1 Air 8.2 Road 8.3 Train 9 Education 10 Industries 11 Trivia 12 Notable people from Allahabad 13 References 14 External links

Etymology

The name is derived from the one given to the city by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1583. The name in Indian languages generally is Ilāhābād; ilah being Arabic for “(a) god” (in this context from Din-i-Ilahi, the religion founded by Akbar), and “-ābād” is Persian for “to construct or to create”, which explains the meaning of name Allahabad as “God’s
creation”.

History

Allahabad or Prayagraj is a historian’s paradise. History lies embedded everywhere, in its fields, forests and settlements. 48 km (30 mi), towards the southwest, on the placid banks of the Yamuna, the ruins of Kosambi, at one time capital of the Vatsa Kingdom and later a thriving center of Buddhism, bear silent testimony to a forgotten and bygone era. On the eastern side, across the Ganges and connected to the city by the Shastri Bridge is Jhusi, identified with the ancient city of Pratisthanpur, capital of the Chandra dynasty. About 58 km (36 mi) northwest is the medieval site of Kara with its impressive wreckage of Jayachand’s fort. Shringaverpur, another ancient site discovered relatively recently, has become a major attraction for tourists and antiquarians alike.

The city was known earlier as Prayāga – a name that is still commonly used.
That fact that it is an ancient town is illustrated by supposed references in
the Vedas to
Prayag, where Brahma, the Hindu creator of the universe, is believed to have
attended a sacrificial ritual. Excavations have revealed Northern Black
Polished Ware objects in Prayag, further corroborating the conjecture that
Prayag existed as a town as early as 600 B.C. Prayag was also important in theancient Buddhist period
as attested by the inscriptions on the Pillar of Asoka.

The Puranas record that Yayati left Prayag and conquered
the region of Saptha Sindhu. His five sons Yadu, Druhyu, Puru, Anu and Turvashu
became the main tribes of the Rigveda.

Allahabad is an extremely important and integral part of the Ganges-Yamuna Doab, and its history is
inherently tied with that of the Doab region, right from the inception of the
town.

When the Aryans
first settled in what they termed the Aryavarta, or Madhyadesha,
Prayag or Kaushambi was an important part of their territory. The Vatsa (a branch of the early Indo-Aryans) were
rulers of Hastinapur (near present dayDelhi), and they
established the town of Kaushambi near present day Prayag. They shifted their
capital to Kaushambi when Hastinapur was destroyed by floods.

In the times of the Ramayana, Prayag was made up of
a few rishis‘ huts
at the confluence of the sacred rivers, and much of the Vatsa country was
continuous jungle. Lord Rama, the main protagonist in the Ramayana,
spent some time here, at the Ashram of Sage Bharadwaj, before
proceeding to nearby Chitrakuta.

The Doaba region, including Prayag was controlled by several empires and
dynasties in the ages to come. It 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 which became very powerful.

Objects unearthed in Prayag indicate that it was part of the Kushan
Empire in the 1st century AD. In his memoirs on India, Xuanzang, the Chinese chronicler who travelled
through India during Harsha’s (Harshavardhana) reign
(607-647), writes that he visited Prayag in 643.

When Islamic
rule came, Prayag became a part of the Delhi Sultanate when the
town was annexed by Muhammad of Ghor in
1193. Then the Mughals took over from the rulers of Delhi and under them Prayag
rose to prominence once again.

Acknowledging the strategic position of Prayag in the Doaba or the
“Hindostan” region, at the confluence of its defining rivers which had immense
navigational potentials, Akbar built a magnificent fort – one of his
largest – on the banks of the holy Sangam and re-christened the town as
Illahabad in 1575. The Akbar fort has an Ashokan pillar and some temples, and is
largely a military barracks. On the southwestern extremity of Allahabad lies Khusrobagh; it has three
mausoleums, including that of Jahangir’s first wife – Shah
Begum.

It was from Allahabad that Prince Salim, later to become emperor Jahangir,
revolted against his father, the Mughal emperor Akbar. In 1602, prince Salim
held a parallel imperial court in Akbar’s fort here, ignoring the royal summons
to leave Allahabad and proceed to Agra. However, before his death in
1605, Akbar named Salim his successor. The history repeated itself when in his
(Muslim League)
presidential address on December 29, 1930 at Allahabad, Muhammad Iqbal outlined
a vision of an independent state for Muslim-majority provinces in northwestern
India named Pakistan.

Before colonial rule was imposed
over Allahabad, the city was rocked by Maratha incursions. But the
Marathas also left behind two beautiful 18th century temples with intricate
architecture.

In 1765, the combined forces of Mir Qasim (the Nawab of Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daula (the Nawab
of Awadh), and Shah Alam II (the Mughal Emperor)
lost the Battle of Buxar to the
British East India Company
commanded by General Hector Munro.
Although, the British did not take over their states, they established a
garrison at the Prayag fort – realising its strategic position as the gateway to
the northwest. The Governor-General
of India, Warren Hastings, later
took Allahabad from Shah Alam and gave it to Awadh alleging that he had placed
himself in the power of the Marathas.

In 1801 the Nawab of Awadh ceded the city to
the British East India Company. Gradually the other parts of Doaba and adjoining
region in its west (including Delhi and Ajmer-Merwara regions)
were won by the British. When these north western areas were made into a new
Presidency called the “North Western Province of Agra”, with its capital at
Agra. Allahabad remained an important part of this state.

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.

In 1845, missionaries established the Apostolic Vicariate
of Patna, which later became the Diocese
of Allahabad.

In 1857, Allahabad was active in the first Indian Rebellion of
1857 sometimes inappropriately called as Indian Mutiny. After this
revolution, the British truncated the Delhi region of the state, merging it with
Punjab and transferred the capital of the North-Western
Provinces to Allahabad, which remained so for the next 20 years.

In 1877 the provinces of Agra (NWPA) and Awadh were merged to form a new
state which was called the United
Provinces. Allahabad was the capital of this new state till the 1920s.

Geography

Allahabad is located at 25°27′N 81°50′E /
25.45°N
81.84°E / 25.45;
81.84 in the south-west part of Uttar
Pradesh at an elevation of 98 meters (322 feet) and lies at the
confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. The region was known in antiquity
as the Vats country. To its southwest is the Bundelkhand region, to its
east and south east is the Bagelkhand region, to its
north and northeast is the Awadh region and to its west is the lower doab of
which it is a part.

Allahabad stands at a strategic point both geographically and culturally. An
important part of the Ganges-Yamuna Doaba region, it is the last point of the
Yamuna River and is the last frontier of the Indian west.

The land of the Allahabad district
that falls between the Ganges and Yamuna is just like the rest of Doab, fertile
but not too moist, which is especially suitable for the cultivation of wheat.
The non-doabi parts of the district (which were not originally a part of
Allahabad but were added later by the British), the southern and eastern part of
the district are somewhat similar to those of adjoining Bundelkhand and
Bagelkhand regions, dry and rocky.

The Indian longitude that is associated with Jabalpur, also passes through
Allahabad, which is 343 km (213 mi) north of Jabalpur on the same
longitude.

Reorganisation of Allahabad

The Allahabad division
and the district underwent a major reorganisation a few years ago. The Etawah and Farrukhabad
districts of the Allahabad division were merged with the Agra
division, while Kanpur dehat was
carved out from the Kanpur district and a
separate Kanpur division was
created.

Parts of the western areas of Allahabad were carved out to create the new Kaushambi district.
Now the new Allahabad division consists of Allahabad, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh and Fatehpur
districts.

Demographics

Allahabad City has a population of 1,042,229 as per the 2001 census. It lists
as the 32nd most populous city in India.
Allahabad has an area of about 70 km² (27 sq mi) and is 98 m (320 ft) above sea level. Languages spoken in and around
Allahabad include Hindi, Urdu, and English.

The dialect of Hindi spoken in Allahabad is Awadhi, although Khariboli is
most commonly used in the city area. In the eastern, non-doabi part of the
Allahabad district Bagheli dialect is more
common.

All major religions are practiced in
Allahabad. Hindus comprise about 85% and Muslims about 12%.
There are small groups of Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists.

Climate

Allahabad experiences all four seasons. The summer season is from April to
June with the maximum temperatures ranging between 40 °C (104 °F) to
45 °C (113 °F). Monsoon begins in early July and
lasts till September. The winter season falls in the months of December, January
and February. Temperatures in the cold weather could drop to freezing with
maximum at almost 12 °C (54 °F) to 14 °C (57 °F). Allahabad
also witnesses severe fog in January resulting in massive traffic and travel
delays. It does not snow in Allahabad.

Lowest temperature recorded, −2 °C (28.4 °F) −2 °C; highest
48 °C (118 °F) 48 °C.

Civic Administration

Municipal Corporation of Allahabad(also called Allahabad Nagar Nigam), is one
of the old municipalities of the state. The corporation came into existence in
1864,
when Lucknow Municipal Act was passed by Government of India. City municipal
area is divided in total 80 wards and a member(the Corporator) from each ward is
elected to form the Municipal Committee.
The Corporators elect the Mayor of city. The chief executive is the Commissioner
of Allahabad who is appointed by the state government.

Cityscape

Allahabad is situated at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. It
encompasses a large area and is an inland peninsula surrounded by rivers on
three sides with only one side connected to the mainland. Because of this fact,
to handle growing traffic and connectivity demands, Allahabad has many bridges
crossing rivers the Ganges and Yamuna.

The urban area of city can be classified into three categories. The Old
City is economic center of city. This area is having high density where
major roads are used as transport corridors as well as market streets. The
newer city around Civil Lines area, was conceived during British
rule. This area is well planned on grid-iron road pattern with additional
diagonal roads which makes it an efficient city. It is a low density area with
wide tree lined avenues. It houses major educational institutions, offices,
gardens and cantonment areas. The outer growth areas include satellite
towns along major highways passing thrugh cities. It also includes city areas
trans Ganges and Yamuna.

Places

Allahabad is well known for its sporting activities in the fields of Cricket, Badminton, Tennis and Gymnastics.
There are several sports complexes that can be used by both amateurs and
professionals. These include the Madan Mohan
Malaviya Cricket stadium, Mayo Hall Sports Complex and the Boys’ High
School & College Gymnasium. There are several swimming facilities
throughout the city as well. Allahabad has a prominent place in Indian
Gymnastics. It is the leading team in SAARC and Asian countries.
Khelgaon Public School at Jhalwa, Allahabad provides training in Gymnastics.
Khelgaon Gymnasts won two Gold and 3 silver medals at 33rd Tulit Peter Memorial
Cup-2007 held at Hungary. The largest icon of Indian hockey till date, Major
Dhyanchand, was born on August 29, 1906, in Allahabad. He won gold medal in
three successive Olympic games: Amsterdam Olympics 1928, Los Angeles Olympics
1932 and Berlin Olympics 1936. Mohammed Kaif, Indian
cricket player, is from Allahabad. Another prominent sporting personality from
Allahabad is Abhinn Shyam Gupta who won the National title of badminton in
2002.

Some places of interests in Allahabad are:

• Sangam and around, particularly in December to February, when Kumbh
  Mela is going on.
• Anand Bhavan and Jawahar
  Planetarium.
• New Yamuna Bridge, Yamuna bank road.
• Company Bagh, Alfred Park and Allahabad Museum.
• Allahabad High
  Court building
• All Saints Cathedral – was built in Century Gothic Style in 13th Century.
  Also commonly known as Patthar Girja Ghar, this cathedral stands at a
  prominent location of the city in lush green premises. It figures among the
  finest Cathedrals of India. Though it was consecrated in 1887, it took another
  40 years for it to be completed.
• Allahabad
  University, established on 23 September 1887, is the fourth oldest
  University of India after Calcutta, Bombay and Madras University. Its
  sprawling 320 acre campus in the middle of the city has many heritage
  buildings.
• Ewing Christian College – American and Victorian Era architecture; the
  College was established by American Presbyterians in 1902 by
  the banks of the river yamuna.

Architecture

The imprints of Britishers and Mughals can be seen in
buildings, gardens and places in Allahabad. The styles of buildings reflect a
good mix of western Gothic and Mughal
architectures.

All Saints Cathedral, designed by great English architect William
Emerson who also designed Victoria
Memorial of Calcutta. This cathedral is the most beautiful building in city.
Styled in 13th Century Gothic architecture, building’s interior is more
beautiful than its exterior with high ceilings and stone Gothic arches

Muir College (1874), designed by William Emerson, in Indo-Saracenic
architecture, an excellent mix of Gothic and Indian architectural elements. Its
foundation was laid in 1874 and opened in 1886. It has an arcade quadrangle,
which is dominated, by a 200 feet minaret tower in cream coloured sandstone fromMirzapur with
marble and mosaic floors. The domes of the Indo-Saracenic structure are clad in
Multan glazed tiles.

University Science Faculty buildings have classical architectural
designs and have strong Victorian and Islamic style architectural
influences.

Allahabad High Court(1916) – Chief Justice, Sir John Staley laid the
foundation in 1911. It was finally completed in 1916 and opened by Viceroy Lord
Chelmsford. Designed by Frank Lishman. this structure is subtly adapted to the
climate as is evident from the double roofing with tiles from Allahabad on top
to beat the summer heat. Conceived in a grand fashion, it has a domed pediment
centre, arcade wings, stone balustrades and engrained arches. It reflects a
beautiful synthesis of Eastern and Western architectural styles.

Khusro Bagh – The three
sandstone mausoleums within this walled
garden, present an exquisite example of Mughal
architecture.

Public Library (1864)- Standing at Alfred Park it is a beautiful
building designed by R.Roskell Rayne. This public library is another remarkable
example of Gothic Style. The memorial has a lofty tower and accorded
cloisters.

The Old High Court and Public Offices – They are four-storied block.
Made of sandstone and ashore these were built by Colonel Pile in I 870 in the
classical style. The Minto Park to the west of the ton has a Memorial Pillar
enriched with Royal medallions and four lions carrying the Imperial coronet.
This was a memorial pillar to the Royal Proclamation of the assumption of rule
by the British crown in 1858. The Municipal Museum adjoining the library is yet
another colonial structure that is a treasure-trove of archaeological
artifacts.

The new Yamuna bridge built jointly by Hindustan
Construction Company and Hyundai
Engineering and Construction, is India’s first cable stayed six lane road
bridge in India, representing modern design structure. This large bridge has two pylons made of concrete, which support a large part of
bridge deck with the help of attached steel cables.

Transportation

Air

Allahabad is served by the Allahabad Airport (Bamrauli Air Force Base) (IXD) and is linked to Delhi and Kolkata (Calcutta) by JetLite and Air India
Regional. Other larger airports in the vicinity are at Varanasi (Varanasi Airport 142 km (88 mi)) and Lucknow (Amausi
International Airport 210 km (130 mi)).

Road

National Highway
2, one of the Golden
Quadrilateral routes, runs through middle of the city. Allahabad is located
in between Delhi and Kolkata on this highway. National Highway
96 connects to NH 28 at Faizabad. Another is National Highway
27 which is 93 km (58 mi) long and starts from Allahabad and ends
at Mangawan
in Madhya Pradesh connecting
to National Highway
7. A four lane access controlled bypass road of 84.7 km aided by World
Bank is nearing its completion This will not only reduce transport constraints but will also de-congest heavy
transport traffic passing through middle of city. There are other state highways
that link Allahabad to all other parts of the country. Allahabad has three bus
stations catering to different routes – at Zero Road, Leader Road and Civil
Lines. A number of road bridges on rivers Ganges and Yamuna have been built to
connect Allahabad with its suburb towns like Naini, Jhusi etc. A new eight lane
access controlled expressway- Ganga Expressway is
also proposed to pass through Allahabad. Tourist taxis, auto rickshaws (or tempos)
are available for local transport. There is also a local bus service that
connects various parts of the city. But the most convenient method of local
transport is the cycle rickshaw. Rates are
not fixed and one needs to bargain.

Train

Served by Indian Railways,
Allahabad is the headquarters of the North Central
Railway Zone, and is well connected by trains with all major cities, namely,Kolkata , Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), Hyderabad, Lucknow, Patna, Bangalore andJaipur. Allahabad
has eight railway stations with in its city limits namely Prayag , Allahabad
City (Rambagh),Daraganj,
Allahabad Junction, Naini Jn, Prayag Ghat, Subedar Ganj & Bamrauli.

Education

Allahabad attracts students and learners from all over country. Allahabad has
one central university, three deemed universities, research and technical
institutions and colleges known for providing higher education in vast range of
disciplines. Few of the reputed ones can be listed as following.

• Allahabad
  University founded in 1887 is the fourth oldest university of India, is
  granted Central
  University status.
• Motilal
  Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT) Allahabad, a deemed
  university, one of the twenty National
  Institutes of Technology and an Institute
  of National Importance of India.
• Indian
  Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-A), ranked among the
  top 10 engineering schools in India. This institute also conferred the Deemed University status by government of
  India.
• Allahabad
  Agricultural Institute a deemed university, is the oldest such institute
  in South
  Asia.
• Harish-Chandra
  Research Institute is an institute funded by Department
  of Atomic Energy, Government of India, dedicated to research in
  Mathematics and Physics.
• Motilal
  Nehru Medical College.
• Birla Institute of
  Technology Allahabad is an extension center of Birla
  Institute of Technology Ranchi a premier engineering
  college of India which was ranked at tenth place by India Today magazine among
  best engineering institutions of India.
• Ewing Christian
  College founded in 1902 is the only Autonomous Minority Co-Educational
  College of the Allahabad
  University. The College was established by The American Presbyterians
  visiting India on Christian Mission. The Church of North India is the main
  controlling body, and the Bishop of the Lucknow Diocese stands the grand
  Chairman on the College. The campus is beautifully situated along the Yamuna
  River as a symbol of the grandeur of this historic city.
• Institute
  of Engineering and Rural Technology (IERT) Allahabad, was established to
  provide diploma courses in various engineering disciplines, now offers degree
  courses also from Uttar Pradesh Technical
  University.
• Shambhunath
  Institute of Engineering and Technology (SIET) Allahabad, was established
  in 2004 to provide B.TECH courses in various engineering disciplines, now
  offers MBA and B.PHARMA also from Uttar
  Pradesh Technical University.

There are many government aided and private schools and colleges in Allahabad
which are affiliated with either the Indian
Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the Central Board for Secondary
Education (CBSE), or the UP
Board of High School and Intermediate Education. Allahabad is one of the
regional divisions of CBSE and head office of UP
Board of High School and Intermediate Education. English is the medium of
instructions in most private schools while government aided schools and colleges
offer both Hindi and English medium education. St Joseph’s
College, Boys’ High School and
College, Maharshi Patanjali Vidya Mandir,
St Mary’s Convent School, Girls’ High School, Government Intermediate College
and Colonelganj Intermediate College are some of the reputed schools in
city.

To cater needs of vocational, technical and professional education in rural
areas of Allahabad and nearby districts, the Ministry of HRD, Government of
India has recently started another university named Nehru Gram
Bharti Vishwavidyalaya at Dubawal village of Allahabad. The university
currently offers academic programs at graduate and post graduate levels in
various disciplines including Arts, Commerce, Science, Education(as subject),
Law, Management, Rural Development, Master of Social Works, Computer
Applications, Journalism etc

Industries

Allahabad has few industries. The main industrial area of Allahabad is Naini where several public and private sector companies have their units, offices and factories. To name few big companies are – Areva T&D India Ltd (A division of multinational Areva Group), Indian Telephone Industry Ltd., Bharat Pumps and Compressors Limited (BPCL), Reliance Industries Limited – Allahabad Manufacturing Division , Hindustan Cables Limited, Triveni Structurals Limited (TSL – a subsidiary of Bharat Yantra Nigam), Glass Factory etc.

Indian Farmers Fertilizer Co-Operative Limited is situated in Phulpur area. It is more commonly known as IFFCO. It has several complexes in India and IFFCO, phulpur is one of them.IFFCO, Phulpur complex has two production units – Phulpur unit-I and Phulpur unit-II and is the world’s largest fertilser complex based on naphtha as feed stock.

Trivia

• Because solar events in Allahabad occur 5 hours and 27.4 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, the city is very close to the reference point for IST or Indian Standard Time which is + 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich. Allahabad is -2.6 minutes behind IST and Varanasi is +2 minutes ahead of IST. Actual IST longitude is between these two cities.  World’s first official air mail was sent from Allahabad on Saturday, 18 February 1911.
• Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning made the famous declaration in 1858 when East India Company officially handed over control of India to the British Raj. It happened in a park known as Minto Park or Madan Mohan Malviya Park  On June 12, 1975, Justice Jagmohan Sinha of the Allahabad High Court determined and wrote his opinion on the inappropriateness of the election of Indira Gandhi from the Raibareli constituency, thereby requiring Indira Gandhi to step down from the prime ministership (Case: Raj Narain vs. Indira Gandhi). This resulted in Indira Gandhi imposing national emergency on June 26, 1975 and imprisoning most of the political opposition in the country.
• India’s first jet plane took its flight from Allahabad.
• In January 2007, more than 70 million Hindu pilgrims from around the world gathered at Allahabad for the Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious festival and also the world’s largest gathering.

References

External links

• Official website of Allahabad
• Allahabad Development Authority
• Allahabad Nagar Nigam (Municipal Office)