UP cabinet approves renaming of Faizabad as Ayodhya, Allahabad as Prayagraj

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Tuesday approved the renaming of Faizabad and Allahabad divisions as Ayodhya and Prayagraj respectively. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet presided over by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna said.

While Prayagraj division will comprise of Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Fatehpur and Pratapgarh districts, Ayodhya division will include Ayodhya, Ambedkarnagar, Sultanpur, Amethi and Barabanki districts.

The final approval from the Cabinet comes after the Allahabad High Court asked the Centre and the state government to file counter affidavits within a week on a petition challenging the decision to change the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj.

Allahabad's ancient name was 'Prayag', but was changed after 16th-century Mughal emperor Akbar built a fort near 'Sangam', the holy confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. Akbar named the fort and its neighbourhood 'Ilahabad'. Later, Akbar's grandson Shah Jahan renamed the entire city as 'Allahabad'. But the area near the 'Sangam', the site of the Kumbh Mela, continues to be known as 'Prayag'. 

The state government has been facing criticism for the sudden spate in changing the names of key UP districts, towns and railway stations. The ruling BJP has, however, justified the name changes across Uttar Pradesh, saying they are merely restoring older names and correcting historical distortions.

Earlier, the government had renamed the Mughalsarai Railway station as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya junction. In August this year, the UP government had sent a request to the Centre to rename the airports in Agra, Bareilly and Kanpur. According to reports, the proposal is to rename the Agra airport after Jan Sangh founder Deen Dayal Upadhyay.