After the Yogi Adityanath Government changed the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj, the authorities in Uttar Pradesh has changed the names of deceased poets too.
The pen-name (Tahkhallus) of famous Urdu poet Akbar Allahabadi now stands changes to Akbar ‘Prayagraji’. Names of several other poets from the Allahabad area have been changed too.
On the UP Higher Education Services Commission’s website, the names of Akbar Allahabadi, Rashid Allahabadi and Tegh Allahabadi as Akbar Prayagraj, Rashid Prayagraj, and Tegh Prayagraj respectively.
As per a report by Amar Ujala, the development has created anger among poets and writers and poets, while the President of the commission Prof. Ishwar Sharan Vishwakarma has tried to distance himself from the controversy, saying he had no knowledge about the development.
In its about section, on the official website, the U.P Higher Education Service Commission provides brief information about the history of the city. The section has not only changed the name of Akbar Allahabadi but the names of other renowned poets like Teg Allahabadi, Rashid Allahabadi have been changed from ‘Allahabadi’ to ‘Prayagraji’ as well.