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Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, headed by hardliner accused of violence against Muslims, to become Prayagraj

Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, has instigated a programme of Mughal-era name changes. Photograph: Rajat Gupta/EPA
▼ An Indian city in a state led by a hardline Hindu nationalist preacher accused of instigating violenceagainst Muslims has had its Muslim name changed to one with Hindu associations.
The state cabinet in Uttar Pradesh announced on Tuesday that it had approved the renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj, which harks back to the city’s ancient appellation, Prayag, before it was changed by Mughal-era rulers in the late 16th century.
Prayag in Sanskrit means place for sacrifice, in reference to the Hindu belief that the creator of the universe, Brahma, made his first offering at the area in the city where the Ganges and Yamuna riversmeet.
The Uttar Pradesh health minister, Siddharth Nath Singh, told local media: “The city used to be known as Prayagraj since the beginning. To those who are opposing the decision, how would you feel if the name your parents gave you was to be changed?”
The city, about 400 miles (650km) south-east of the Indian capital, Delhi, is the ancestral home of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, which has produced three Indian prime ministers, including the country’s first, Jawarharlal Nehru.
It is also the site of one of India’s Kumbh melas – mass Hindu pilgrimages that are considered to be among the world’s largest religious festivals. The most recent was held in the city in 2013 and attended by an estimated 100 million worshippers. (▪ ▪ ▪)
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