Backlash on social media as India renames famous poet Akbar Allahabadi to Akbar Prayagraj

Netizens have responded angrily to the Indian government’s move to change famous Muslim poet Akbar Allahabadi's name, Indian media reported Tuesday.

The poet has now been renamed as Akbar Prayagraj, according to the Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Services Commission (UPHESC), an autonomous body under the state government.

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The Allahabad district was renamed Prayagraj in 2018 by the extremist government of Yogi Adityanath.

The name of the Urdu poet Syed Akbar Hussain, popularly known as Akbar Allahabadi, has been updated to Akbar Prayagraj on the UPHESC’s official website in the “About Allahabad” section.

Referring to poets and writers who are from the city, the website says, “Besides Hindi literature, Persian and Urdu literature are also studied in the city. Akbar Prayagraj is a noted modern Urdu poet…”

The state government has changed the names of all such writers or poets who used “Allahabadi” as a suffix and updated their names with “Prayagraj” on the UPHESC website.

In response to queries, UP Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Dinesh Sharma told ThePrint that he was not aware of the changes and that UPHESC was an autonomous body.

“I will have to check with the officials at UPHESC about the name change, it’s an autonomous body,” he told the publication.

The famous poet passed away in February 1921. 

Here's how social media has reacted to the development: