Demographics
As of 2001 India census, Ajnala had a population of 18,602. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Ajnala has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 58% of the males and 42% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Indian Rebellion of 1857
During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, 282 sepoys of the 26th Native Infantry, who had mutinied at Lahore and subsequently surrendered believing they were going to be given a fair trial, were summarily executed without trial by Fredric Cooper—the then-Deputy Commissioner of the district. Cooper was a proud Christian of the "true English stamp and mould". The bodies were dumped into a deep dry well near the police station. The guard who shot the sepoys were made up entirely of Sikhs.
The Doaba region, including Allahabad, was controlled by several empires and dynasties in the ages to come.
During the 1857 mutiny, Allahabad had a significant presence of European troops. Maulvi Liaquat Ali freedom fighter of 1857, unfurled the banner of revolt. After the Mutiny was quelled, the British established the High Court, the Police Headquarters and the Public Service Commission in the city. This transformed Allahabad into an administrative center. The fourth session of the Indian National Congress was held in the city in 1888. By the turn of the century, Allahabad was a nodal point for the revolutionaries. The Karmyogi office of Sundar Lal in Chowk sparked patriotism among youth. Nityanand Chatterji became a household name when he hurled the first bomb at the European club. It was at Alfred Park in Allahabad where, in 1931, the revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad killed himself when surrounded by the British Police. The Nehru family homes Anand Bhavan and Swaraj Bhavan were at the center of the political activities of the Indian National Congress. In the years of the freedom struggle, Allahabad was home to thousands of satyagrahis, led, inter alii, by Purushottam Das Tandon, Bishambhar Nath Pande and Narayan Dutt Tiwari. The first seeds of the idea ofPakistan were sown in Allahabad. On 29 December 1930, Allama Muhammad Iqbal's presidential address to the All-India Muslim League proposed a separate Muslim state for the Muslim majority regions of India.
Geography
Climate
Rains brought either by the Bay of Bengal branch of the south-west summer monsoon or by the Arabian Sea from the Arabian Sea branch lash Allahabad between June and September, supplying it with most of its annual rainfall of 1,027 mm (40 in). The highest monthly rainfall total, 296 mm (12 in), occurs in August. The month with the wettest weather is August when on balance 333 mm (13 in) of rain, sleet, hail or snow falls across 21 days; while driest weather is April when on balance 5 mm (0 in) of rain, sleet, hail or snow falls across 1 days. The city receives 2961 hours of sunshine per year, with maximum sunlight exposure occurring in May.
The most common birds which are found in the state are doves, peacocks, junglefowl, black partridge, house sparrows, songbirds, blue jays, parakeets,quails, bulbuls, and comb ducks. Other animals in the state include reptiles such as lizards, cobras, kraits, and gharials. During winter, large numbers of Siberian birds are reported in sangam and nearby wetlands. The Ganga-Jamuna Doab, of which Allahabad is a part, lies on the western part of the Great Indo-Gangetic Plain region. The Doab, including the Terai, is responsible for the city's unique flora and fauna. Since human arrival, almost half of the country's vertebrates have become extinct. Others areendangered or have had their range severely reduced. The arrival of humans, with associated changes to habitat and the introduction of reptiles, snakesand other mammals, led to the extinction of many bird species, including large birds like eagles. Allahabad Museum, one four national museums in India, has undertaken an exercise to document the existing flora and fauna in the Ganga and Yamuna river belt.
The 2011 census reported 5,959,798 residents—3,133,479 male and 2,826,319 female—in the Allahabad Statistical Division. Provisional data suggest a density of 1,087 per km2 in 2011, compared to 901 in 2001. Native people from Uttar Pradesh form the majority of Allahabad's population. According to the 2001 census, 85.15% of the population is Hindu, 13.77% Muslim, 0.36% Christian, and 0.20% Sikh. The remainder of the population includes Buddhists, and other religions; 0.48% did not state a religion in the census. Iconic temples, mosques and churches are housed in the city.
Demographics
As of 2012, the Samajwadi Party controls the AMC. The city has an apolitical titular ruler, who presides over various city-related functions and conferences. As the seat of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad is home to not only the offices of the local governing agencies, but also theUttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly: the state secretariat, which is situated in the premises of Allahabad High Court. The Allahabad Police, headed by a police commissioner, is overseen by the Uttar Pradesh Ministry of Home Affairs. The Allahabad district elects two representatives to India's lower house, the Lok Sabha, and 9 representatives to the state legislative assembly.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Hindi literature was modernised through the works of authors such as Mahadevi Varma, Sumitranandan Pant,Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala', Harivansh Rai Bachchan. Another noteworthy poet was Raghupati Sahay who was more famous by the name of Firaq Gorakhpuri. Firaq Gorakhpuri and Mahadevi Varma were awarded the Jnanpith Award. Allahabad has also been the biggest centres of publication of Hindi literature for instance Lok Bharti, Rajkamal and Neelabh. Persian and Urdu literature also has a significant respect in city. Akbar Allahabadi is well known Poet of the modern Urdu Literature. Apart from him poets like Nooh Narwi, Tegh Allahabadi, Raaz Allahabadi, Asghar Gondvi, Ibn e Safi,Adil Rasheed, Azam Kuraivi, Dr.Aijaz Husain, Dr.Aqeel Rizwi, Hakeem Asrar Kuraivi also hail from the city. English author and Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling (1907) played significant role for The Pioneer as an assistant editor and overseas correspondent.
Allahabad. Is a city in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of theAllahabad District. Allahabad is the seventh most populous city in Uttar Pradesh, with an estimated population of 1.74 million living in the city and district area. In 2011, it was ranked the world's 130th fastest growing city. Allahabad is also known as the "city of prime ministers" because post independence 7 out of 13 prime minister of India belonged to Allahabad ( Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi,Gulzarilal Nanda, Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Chandra Shekhar). All these seven leaders were either born in Allahabad, were alumni of Allahabad University, or got elected from a constituency in Allahabad.
The city's original name—Prayaga, or "place of sacrifice"—comes from its position at the sacred union of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna andSaraswati. It is the second-oldest city in India and plays a central role in the Hindu scriptures. The city contains many temples and palaces. Allahabad is located on in the southern part of Uttar Pradesh. It is bounded by Pratapgarh in the north, Bhadohi in the east, Rewa in the south and Kaushambi in the west. Its area is 63.07 km2 (24.35 sq mi). Allahabad contains many suburbs. While the city and surroundings are governed by several municipalities, a large portion of Allahabad District is governed by the Allahabad City Council. The demonym of Allahabad is Allahabadi.
Allahabad was originally founded as Kaushambi (Now a separate district) by the Kuru rulers of Hastinapur, who developed it as their capital. Since then, Allahabad has often being the political/ cultural/ administrative head of the entire Doab area and beyond. First as Kaushambi, then as Prathisthanpur. Later, the Mughal emperor Akbar renamed Prayag as Allahabad in 1526 and made it a prominent administrative centre again. As a large and growing city, Allahabad is home to many well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India. Many government offices of bothcentral and state government lie within the city. Allahabad has hosted many large cultural and sporting events, including Kumbh Mela and Indira Marathon. Although Allahabad's economy was built on tourism, its main revenue now comes from real estate and financial services.
Etymology
The name is derived from the one given to the city by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1583. The name in Indian languages generally is Ilāhābād(Hindi: इलाहाबाद); ilah (Hindi: इलाह) being Arabic for "Lord" or "God", and -ābād (Hindi: आबाद) is Persian for "to construct or to create", which explains the meaning of the name Illahabad as "God's creation" or "City of God."
History
The city was known earlier as Prayāga - a name that is still commonly used. Its age is illustrated by Vedic references to Prayag, whereBrahma, the Creator of the Universe, is believed to have attended a sacrificial ritual. Excavations have revealed Northern Black Polished Wareobjects in Prayag, further corroborating the conjecture that Prayag existed as a town as early as 600 B.C. 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 theRigveda. Lord Rama, the main protagonist in the Ramayana, spent time at the Ashram of Sage Bharadwaj before proceeding to nearby Chitrakoot.
The Doaba region, including Allahabad, was controlled by several empires and dynasties in the ages to come.
The area became a part of the Mauryan and Gupta empires of the east and the Kushan empireof the west before becoming part of the local Kannauj empire in 15th century. The city was the scene ofMaratha incursions before colonial rule was imposed over India. In 1765, the British established a garrison at Allahabad fort. It is also known as the "Prime minister Capital of the India," the importance of the government to the city has led seven out of fourteen Prime Ministers of India. Prayag became a part of the Delhi sultanate when the town was annexed by Mohammad Ghori in A.D. 1193. Later, the Mughals took over from the slave rulers of Delhi and under them Prayag rose to prominence. Akbar built a magnificent fort (viz. Allahabad fort), on the banks of the holy sangam and rechristened the town as Illahabad in 1575.
When the Aryans first settled in what they termed the Āryāvarta (or Madhyadesha), Prayag (or Kaushambi) was an important part of their territory. The Kuru Kingdom, rulers of Hastinapur (near present day Delhi), established the town of Kaushambi near Prayag. They shifted their capital to Kaushambi when Hastinapur was destroyed by floods.
In 1765, the combined forces of the Nawab of Awadh and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II lost the Battle of Buxar to the British. Although the British did not yet establish direct rule, they realized the strategic position of Allahabad as the gateway to the northwest and established a garrison at the fort. 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-Mewara regions) were won by the British. The north western areas were made into a new Presidency called the "North Western Provinces of Agra", with their 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 laterz both were relocated to Agra. In 1857, Allahabad was active in the Indian Mutiny. After the mutiny, the British truncated the Delhi region of the state, merging it with Punjab, and transferred the capital of North west Provinces to Allahabad, where it remained for 20 years. Later, In 1877 the two provinces of Agra (NWPA) and Awadh were merged to form a new state which was called the United Provinces. Allahabad served as the capital of United Provinces until 1920.
During the 1857 mutiny, Allahabad had a significant presence of European troops. Maulvi Liaquat Ali freedom fighter of 1857, unfurled the banner of revolt. After the Mutiny was quelled, the British established the High Court, the Police Headquarters and the Public Service Commission in the city. This transformed Allahabad into an administrative center. The fourth session of the Indian National Congress was held in the city in 1888. By the turn of the century, Allahabad was a nodal point for the revolutionaries. The Karmyogi office of Sundar Lal in Chowk sparked patriotism among youth. Nityanand Chatterji became a household name when he hurled the first bomb at the European club. It was at Alfred Park in Allahabad where, in 1931, the revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad killed himself when surrounded by the British Police. The Nehru family homes Anand Bhavan and Swaraj Bhavan were at the center of the political activities of the Indian National Congress. In the years of the freedom struggle, Allahabad was home to thousands of satyagrahis, led, inter alii, by Purushottam Das Tandon, Bishambhar Nath Pande and Narayan Dutt Tiwari. The first seeds of the idea ofPakistan were sown in Allahabad. On 29 December 1930, Allama Muhammad Iqbal's presidential address to the All-India Muslim League proposed a separate Muslim state for the Muslim majority regions of India.
Allahabad is located in the southern part of the state and stands at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. The region was known in antiquity as the Vats (initially Kuru) country. To its south west is the Bundelkhand region, to its east and south east is the Baghelkhand region, to its north and north east is the Awadh region and to its west is the (lower) doab of which it itself is a part. The city is divided by the railway line running through it. South of the railway line is the Old Chowk area, while the British-built Civil lines is situated in north. Allahabad stands at a strategic point both geographically and culturally. A part of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab, it is the last point of the Yamuna river, and culturally, the last point of the Indian west. As with the rest of Doab, the soil and water are predominantly alluvial in origin. The Indian GMT longitude that is associated withJabalpur also passes through Allahabad. According to a United Nations Development Programme report, its wind and cyclone zone is "Low damage risk".
Climate
Rains brought either by the Bay of Bengal branch of the south-west summer monsoon or by the Arabian Sea from the Arabian Sea branch lash Allahabad between June and September, supplying it with most of its annual rainfall of 1,027 mm (40 in). The highest monthly rainfall total, 296 mm (12 in), occurs in August. The month with the wettest weather is August when on balance 333 mm (13 in) of rain, sleet, hail or snow falls across 21 days; while driest weather is April when on balance 5 mm (0 in) of rain, sleet, hail or snow falls across 1 days. The city receives 2961 hours of sunshine per year, with maximum sunlight exposure occurring in May.
Allahabad is subject to a humid subtropical climate common to cities in the plains of North India, that is designated Aw under the Köppen climate classification. The annual mean temperature is 26.1 °C (79.0 °F); monthly mean temperatures are 18–29 °C (64–84 °F). Allahabad experiences three seasons: hot dry summer, cool dry winter and warm humid monsoon. Summer lasts from April to June with temperatures in the low 30s Celsius; during dry spells, maximum temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in May and June. Monsoon begins in early July and lasts till September. Winter lasts from December to February. Temperatures rarely drop to the freezing point. Maximum temperatures are around 22 °C (72 °F) and minimum around 9 °C(48 °F). Allahabad also witnesses severe fog in January resulting in massive traffic and travel delays. It does not snow in Allahabad. The highest recorded temperature is 48 °C (118.4 °F), and the lowest is −2 °C (28 °F).
BiodiversityThe most common birds which are found in the state are doves, peacocks, junglefowl, black partridge, house sparrows, songbirds, blue jays, parakeets,quails, bulbuls, and comb ducks. Other animals in the state include reptiles such as lizards, cobras, kraits, and gharials. During winter, large numbers of Siberian birds are reported in sangam and nearby wetlands. The Ganga-Jamuna Doab, of which Allahabad is a part, lies on the western part of the Great Indo-Gangetic Plain region. The Doab, including the Terai, is responsible for the city's unique flora and fauna. Since human arrival, almost half of the country's vertebrates have become extinct. Others areendangered or have had their range severely reduced. The arrival of humans, with associated changes to habitat and the introduction of reptiles, snakesand other mammals, led to the extinction of many bird species, including large birds like eagles. Allahabad Museum, one four national museums in India, has undertaken an exercise to document the existing flora and fauna in the Ganga and Yamuna river belt.
Demographics
Allahabad's literacy rate of 74.41% is close to the all-India average of 74%. This rate is the highest in the region. The male literacy rate is 85.00%, while the female literacy rate is 62.67%. Among 35 major cities in India, Allahabad reported the least violations of Special & Local Laws to the National Crime Records Bureau.
Hindi, the official state language, is the dominant language in Allahabad. English is also used, particularly by the white-collar workforce. Urdu is spoken by a sizable minority. The dialect of Hindi spoken in Allahabad is Awadhi, although Khariboli is more common in the city. In the eastern, non-Doabi, part of Allahabad district, Bagheli dialect is more common. Bengali and Punjabi are also spoken in some quarters.
Civic administrationAs of 2012, the Samajwadi Party controls the AMC. The city has an apolitical titular ruler, who presides over various city-related functions and conferences. As the seat of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad is home to not only the offices of the local governing agencies, but also theUttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly: the state secretariat, which is situated in the premises of Allahabad High Court. The Allahabad Police, headed by a police commissioner, is overseen by the Uttar Pradesh Ministry of Home Affairs. The Allahabad district elects two representatives to India's lower house, the Lok Sabha, and 9 representatives to the state legislative assembly.
Allahabad is administered by several government agencies. The Allahabad Nagar Nigam (ANN), also called Allahabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city. The corporation came into existence in 1864, when Lucknow Municipal Act was passed by the Government of India. City municipal area is divided into 80 wards, and a member (the Corporator) from each ward is elected to form the Municipal Committee. The Corporators elect the Mayor of city. The chief executive is the Commissioner of Allahabad, who is appointed by the state government. Allahabad's rapid growth has created several problems relating to traffic congestion and infrastructural obsolescence that the Allahabad Nagar Nigam has found challenging to address. The unplanned nature of growth in the city has resulted in massive traffic gridlocks, which the municipality attempted to ease by constructing a flyover system and by imposing one-way traffic systems.
CultureDuring the 19th and 20th centuries, Hindi literature was modernised through the works of authors such as Mahadevi Varma, Sumitranandan Pant,Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala', Harivansh Rai Bachchan. Another noteworthy poet was Raghupati Sahay who was more famous by the name of Firaq Gorakhpuri. Firaq Gorakhpuri and Mahadevi Varma were awarded the Jnanpith Award. Allahabad has also been the biggest centres of publication of Hindi literature for instance Lok Bharti, Rajkamal and Neelabh. Persian and Urdu literature also has a significant respect in city. Akbar Allahabadi is well known Poet of the modern Urdu Literature. Apart from him poets like Nooh Narwi, Tegh Allahabadi, Raaz Allahabadi, Asghar Gondvi, Ibn e Safi,Adil Rasheed, Azam Kuraivi, Dr.Aijaz Husain, Dr.Aqeel Rizwi, Hakeem Asrar Kuraivi also hail from the city. English author and Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling (1907) played significant role for The Pioneer as an assistant editor and overseas correspondent.
Allahabad is known for its literary, artistic and revolted heritage; as the former capital of United Provinces it was the birthplace of holy scriptures- theVedas and the grand epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and in the Puranas-as Prayag. Allahabad has been called the "literary capital of Uttar Pradesh". Allahabad's antiquity attracted curious itinerants from even the ear east. Huen Tsang and Fa Hien, the Chinese travelers, who visited it in the fifth and the seventh centuries respectively, found it a flourishing city. Over the centuries that followed, Allahabad remained on the forefront of national importance-more so during the days of the Indian independence struggle. The city has a tradition of political graffiti depicting everything from outrageous slander to witty banter and limericks, caricatures, and propaganda. Allahabad has many buildings adorned with Indo-Islamic and Indo-Saracenic architectural motifs. Several well-maintained major buildings from the colonial period have been declared "heritage structures"; however, others are in various stages of decay. Established in the 1930s to serve as the residence of the Nehru family, the Swaraj Bhavan was transformed into the local headquarters of the Indian National Congress, that showcase memorabilia of the Gandhi-Nehru family.
Though Hindu women traditionally wear the sari, the shalwar kameez and Western attire is gaining acceptance among younger women. Western-style dress has greater acceptance among men, although the traditional dhoti and kurta are seen during festivals. Diwali (celebrated between mid-October and mid-December) and Rama Navami are the two most popular festivals in Uttar Pradesh. Sherwani is a more formal male dress and is frequently worn along with chooridar on festive occasions.
Kumbh Mela
Allahabad host largest auspicious religious gathering in the world known as Maha Kumbh Mela which is celebrated once in twelve year and Ardh (half) Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years.
Sports
Cricket and Field Hockey are the most popular sport in Allahabad. The most played sports in the rural areas near the city are Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Gilli Danda and Akhada wrestling. The game of Gully cricket also known as Street Cricket is popular among the youth in the city. Children as well as teenagers play the game of cricket in alleys and lanes. There are several sports complexes that can be used by both amateurs and professionals. These include the Madan Mohan Malaviya Cricket stadium, Amitabh Bachchan Sports Complex and the Boys' High School & College Gymnasium. There is an International level swimming complex at Georgetown. National Sports Academy in Jhalwa (Allahabad west) which produces world class gymnasts, the academy had been chosen as the flagbearer of Indian Gymnastic in Commonwealth games. In Allahabad every year Indira Marathon is organised; it began in 1985–86 in memory of late prime minister Indira Gandhi