Allahabad
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Prayagraj
Prayagraj, formerly Allahabad (ălˌəhəbădˈ, –bädˈ), city (1991 pop. 844,546), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. It is a district administrative headquarters and trading center and has an airport and a university. Prayagraj is located at the junction of two sacred rivers, the Yamuna and the Ganges, on the site of Prayag, an ancient Indo-Aryan holy city. The confluence is known as Sangam and is visited by thousands of Hindu pilgrims every 12 years. The oldest monument is a pillar (c.242 B.C.) with inscriptions from the reign of Aśoka. The Mughal emperor Akbar founded (late 16th cent.) the fortress and city of Ilahabas or Ilahabad there, which was later renamed Allahbad. The city was the scene of much fighting in the Indian Mutiny (1857). Allahabad was the capital of the United Provinces from 1901 to 1949 and the center of the Indian independence movement. Allahabad was renamed Prayagraj by the state government in 2018, and the change was formally approved by the national government in 2019. There is a museum on the estate of the Nehru family.
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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Allahabad
a city in northern India, in the state of Uttar Pradesh at the junction of the Ganges and Jumna rivers. Population, 514,000 (1971). It is a transportation junction. Industries include food and tobacco processing, glass production, and production of religious articles. There is a university and a place of worship for Hindu pilgrims. The stone column of Asoka (c. 242 B.C.) and a fort dating from 1583 are located in the city.
The date of Allahabad’s founding is unknown. In ancient India the city was known as Prayag—a name which is used to this day. The name of Allahabad was given to the city by Akbar, who built the fort of Allahabad near Prayag.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Allahabad
a city in N India, in SE Uttar Pradesh at the confluence of the Ganges and Jumna Rivers: Hindu pilgrimage centre. Pop.: 990 298 (2001)
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005