Allahabad district General information
Allahabad district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and Allahabad town is the district headquarters. Allahabad district is a part of Allahabad Division.
Allahabad is a holy city in Hindu religion, also known as Prayag. It is a place where the three rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical river of Sarasvati meet at a point known as Sangam. Sangam is one of the most significant points of Allahabad.
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 Prayaga - 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 the ancient 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 day Delhi), 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.
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.
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.
Places of interest
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.