New Delhi, Oct 16 (IT): What is known as Allahabad may soon be called Prayagraj before the upcoming Kumbh Mela in 2019, as Uttar Pradesh Cabinet gives the name-change a go-ahead today. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ajay Singh Bisht, known as Yogi Adityanath hinted at it when he said that if a broad consensus is achieved, "Allahabad will be renamed as Prayagraj".

"It might be the wish of many people that Allahabad can be renamed as Prayagraj. I think that it will give a very good message. If everyone agrees, we should know this city as Prayag Raj and it can be a good start," Yogi said.

According to some media reports, the banners for the upcoming Kumbh Mela (to be held on January 15, 2019) mention the name of the city as Prayagraj instead of Allahabad, reported ANI.

UP Governor's nod to Prayagraj name change
Addressing the media at Circuit House in Allahabad, CM Adityanath said, "In the meeting called to review the preparedness of Kumbh, a proposal was given by Akhada Parishad and others regarding changing the name of Allahabad district."

He went on to say that very soon the name of Allahabad district will be changed to Prayagraj.

Story of Allahabad from Prayag/Piyag to Pragragraj
Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh is not only the leading educational centre in the state but also the seat of High Court and hosts the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission. The Sangam place also holds religious importance for many. The association of Kumbh Mela with Allahabad dates way back.

Here is the timeline of Allahabad's renaming:

• Before 1575, it was known as Prayag
• Some medieval texts including Akbar's court historian Abul Fazl called it Piyag
• In 1575, the city was named Illahabas meaning 'abode of God' by the then Mughal Emperor Akbar when he visited the place
• Later in the time, it came to be known as Allahabad
• Renaming streak in Uttar Pradesh
• Looking at the renaming streak in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath clearly doesn't agree with
• Shakespeare who said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet."

In August 2018, Yogi Adityanath led UP government approached the centre to rename airports of Bareilly, Kanpur and Agra, the account of which is as follows:

1. The state government sent the proposal to rename the Bareilly airport as 'Nath Nagri' which is believed to be the ancient name of the city. Nath Nagri relates to Hindu God Lord Shiva and the city hosts as many as seven temples dedicated to the deity.

2. According to the proposal, Kanpur city was earlier known as Kanha Pur. Although it didn't propose to rename the city, it did ask to rename the city's Chakeri airport after freedom fighter Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi.

3. UP government also wants to rename the Agra airport after the RSS thinker Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya.

"We have reached out to the centre to get the airports renamed. A meeting with the Union ministry of civil aviation is expected soon," said Uttar Pradesh civil aviation minister; PTI reported.

4. In 2017, The Hindu Yuva Vahini, a right-wing outfit floated by CM Adityanath demanded that Azamgarh in eastern Uttar Pradesh should be renamed as Aryamgarh. The city's name dates back to 1665 when Azam Khan founded it from the ruins of Ailwal and Phulwaria. Azam Khan was the son of Vikramjit, whose ancestors were Gautam Rajputs of Mehnagar.

The state government led by Yogi Adityanath has changed the following places/sites in the state so far:
1. Civil terminals of Indian Air Force's Gorakhpur airport was renamed after Maha Yogi Gorakhnath, the founder of 'Nath Pant' (monastic movement). Notably, UP CM Adityanath belongs to the 'Nath' sect and he is also the 'Mahant' (priest) of Gorakhnath temple.

2. UP government renamed Mughalsarai town of Chandauli district as Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Nagar in 2017.

3. In 2018, the state government extended its renaming streak to the railway station of Mughalsarai and on August 5, BJP party president Amit Shah inaugurated the Mughalsarai Junction as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction.

4. During his tenure as MP of Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath renamed many places of the city:

• Ali Nagar as Arya Nagar
• Miya Bazar as Maya Bazar
• Urdu Bazar as Hindi Bazar
• Islampur as Ishwarpur
• Lahaladpur as Alahaladpur
• Humayun Nagar as Hanuman Nagar

However, most of these renaming were only vocal assertions by Adityanath as these places are still registered with their old names in official documents as reported by Aaj Tak.

5. The most famous street crossing in Uttar Pradesh, Hazratganj Chauraha was notified to be renamed after Atal Bihari Vajpayee to honour the former Prime Minister of the country.

Nasiruddin Haidar, the Nawab of Awadh, had in 1827 founded the Ganj market, where foreign goods, mostly from China, Japan and Belgium were sold. People began calling the area Hazratganj when Amjad Ali Shah, known by the honorific 'Hazrat' -- became the Nawab in 1842.

What value does it hold?
In an interview with India TV, Yogi Adityanath defended his act by arguing that these places were renamed only after invasion by Mughals and now is the time to give these places their original identity.

However, not everyone shares the excitement of Uttar Pradesh CM when it comes to renaming places.

In light of changing the name of Mughalsarai Junction to Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya Junction, UP Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said that by changing Mughalsarai station's name, trains won't start coming on time.

India Today Education reached out to residents of Allahabad to comment on the latest development in the city, that is, renaming the city as Prayagraj. While some support the move of CM Adityanath, not everyone shares his excitement. While some approve of the move, some were against it and there were also people who belonged to the neutral world and don't care what the name of the city becomes.

However, some of them did term it as a communal move while pointing out the positive and negatives of the current state government along with the work needs to be done in the city.

Vivek Kushwaha of Allahabad said, "We, the residents understand why the names are being changedbut we don't have any problem with the name of the city being Allahabad. It is good as it is."

"We want the problems of the city to be eliminated which clearly cannot be achieved by changing names," he said, adding that the move will increase the hassle of changing residential certificates and address in the government documents.

Commenting on the work done by this government, Babita Jain, a legal professional from Allahabad said, "I am seeing much improvement in governance and law and order. I do not fear to go out of home even after 10 pm."

Amresh Kumar who frequently travels to Allahabad said, "I do not know much of the city's issues, but the roads in the city sure are a serious issue."

Residents also complained of construction work which created the problem of dust and traffic jam in the city. Some also raised the issue of menace created by students of Allahabad University during student union elections, labelling them as goons.

Apart from this, resident complaint of bad drainage in the city and electricity, which they say is in better shape than before, but still needs improvement.

However, the excitement of some people along with some BJP members is worth the attention as some did not even flinch to call Akbar an invader and murderer while celebrating the city's name-changing as a great achievement of the state government.

Also, if you go on to explore the social media, you will find people making jokes on the name changing-streak of BJP-led UP government, which we decided not to include in this article.

Government versus opposition
Former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav opposed the move of the current government. He tweeted that Raja Harshvardhan made 'Prayag Kumbh' great by offering donations, but today's rulers are trying to take credit for the work just by renaming the city to 'Prayagraj'. They (BJP) have even re-named 'Ardh Kumbh' as 'Kumbh'. This mocks our tradition and belief."

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Onkarnath Singh said that changing the name of the historic city to 'Prayagraj' is an attempt to toy with the history of the nation, which has played a significant role since the days of Independence.

He added that the region where Kumbh takes place is already called Prayagraj and if the government is so eager, they can make it a separate city, but the name of Allahabad should not be changed.

"Allahabad has its own historic importance and changing the name of the city will definitely not be accepted by the people of the country," Singh said in a statement on Saturday.

However, BJP state spokesperson Manoj Mishra said that the announcement has come keeping in mind the sentiments of lakhs and crores of people of the state."

He further said in an official statement, "Akbar ki Nishani Ko mita kar pauranik naam dena shreyaskar hai. (To remove the sign of Akbar and give a historical name is creditable)."