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Uttar Pradesh govt planning to change Agra’s name to Agravan

The history department of the Amberdkar University in Agra is now looking at the proposal by the state government  which has has asked it to look into the historical aspect of the name. 

Uttar Pradesh govt planning to change Agra’s name to Agravan

The Taj Mahal at Agra (File Photo: IANS)

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is planning to change the name of Agra to Agravan after changing the names of Allahabad to Prayagraj and Mughalsarai to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar.

The history department of the Amberdkar University in Agra is now looking at the proposal by the state government  which has has asked it to look into the historical aspect of the name.

Prof Sugam Anand, head of the department of history in Dr B R Ambedkar University of Agra, confirmed this to IANS. He said, “we have received a letter from the state government to look for historical evidence if Agra city was known by any other name. We have begun the research and will reply to the letter.”

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According to news agency IANS,  sources say that the Yogi government is planning to change the name from Agra to Agravan since some historians believe that this was the original name of the city that is home to the Taj Mahal.

Historians and experts have been asked to look into the circumstances and time when Agravan’s name was changed to Agra.

BJP MLA Jagan Prasad Garg, who passed away recently, had earlier written a letter to Yogi Adityanath, requesting him to change the name of Agra to Agravan.

The proposal had re-ignited the controversy on the issue.

Those who want it named as ‘Agravan’ have been placing their argument in support of it since long but many others call Agra as Akbarabad after Emperor Akbar, who made it the capital of the Mughal Empire.

Tourism trade experts, however, have reservations on any such move.

“Agra is known worldwide as the city of Taj Mahal and a change of name would not go down well,” said Rakesh Tiwari, a travel and tour operator.

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