Allahabad summary

Know about the historical city Allahabad, and its significance to India’s independence movement

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Prayagraj.

Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India
Map showing Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh, India.

Allahabad, ancient Prayag , City (pop., 2001: metro. area, 1,042,229), south-central Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, on the Ganges (Ganga) and Yamuna rivers. An ancient holy city sacred to Hindu pilgrims, it is the site of the Pillar of Ashoka (erected c. 240 bc). The Mughal emperor Akbar founded the present-day city in 1583; it was ceded to the British in 1801. Allahabad was the scene of a serious outbreak in the 1857 Indian Mutiny. As the home of the Nehru family, it was later a centre of the Indian independence movement. It is the site of the Jami Masjid (Great Mosque) and the University of Allahabad.

drainage network of the Brahmaputra and Ganges river

Ganges River Summary

Ganges River, great river of the plains of the northern Indian subcontinent. Although officially as well as popularly called the Ganga in Hindi and in other Indian languages, internationally it is known by its conventional name, the Ganges. From time immemorial it has been the holy river of

Hinduism Summary

Hinduism, major world religion originating on the Indian subcontinent and comprising several and varied systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual. Although the name Hinduism is relatively new, having been coined by British writers in the first decades of the 19th century, it refers to a rich

Uttar Pradesh Summary

Uttar Pradesh, the most populous and fourth largest state of India. It lies in the north-central part of the country. Uttar Pradesh is bordered by the state of Uttarakhand and the country of Nepal to the north, the state of Bihar to the east, the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to the

India Summary

India, country that occupies the greater part of South Asia. India is made up of 28 states and eight union territories, and its national capital is New Delhi, built in the 20th century just south of the historic hub of Old Delhi to serve as India’s administrative centre. Its government is a