One of the largest and the most important district of Uttar Pradesh is the Allahabad district. This district is officially renamed “Prayagraj” on 16th October 2018. The headquarters of the district is located at the Allahabad city. The city was earlier known as Prayaga meaning “the place of offerings". The main reason behind this name is its location; it is the meeting point of the mythical River Ganges, Yamuna River and Saraswati Rivers. Different dynasties like Aryans, Mauryans, Gupta Empire, Kushan Empire, Mugal Empire, Nawab of Bengal and Nawab of Awadh had ruled the district at different period of time. Earlier, the Doab region comprised Allahabad was controlled by a number of empires and dynasties. The region became a part of the Maurya and Gupta Empires from the east and the Kushan Empire from the west before being governed by Kannauj in the 15^th century. The place was under the Maratha incursions prior to India got colonised. In 1801, the Nawab of Awadh ceded the Allahabad city to the British East India Company. In 1877 Britishers merged the provinces of Agra and Awadh to form the United Provinces with Allahabad as its capital. Allahabad plays a remarkable role in the Indian struggle movements for Independence. During that time Allahabad was the abode to some prominent Satyagrahis namely Purushottam Das Tandon and Bishambhar Nath Pande. After India got independence the first Prime Minister of India i.e. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was belong to Allahabad.

Shubha Mudgal, a distinguished Indian singer of Hindustani classical music like Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, and popular Indian Pop music was born in 1959 in Allahabad. She has been honoured by many prestigious awards-National Film Award in 1996, Gold Plaque Award in 1998 and Padma Shree Award in 2000. Harivansh Rai Bachchan a notable Indian poet of early 20^th century during the Chhayavaad Hindi literary movement was born on 27^th November, 1907 at Babupatti village Pratapgarh, Allahabad. He was one of the most admired poets of the Hindi Kavi Sammelan. He is well known for his vital work named Madhushala. He was honoured by the great Padma Bhushan Award in 1976 for his massive contribution to Hindi literature.

Geographically, the district lies at 25.45°N latitude, 81.85°E longitude and 98 m altitude. In the year 2021, there was a total 2.85% forest area of total geographical area. The district encompasses an area of 5,482 sq. km. and in terms of geographical area it occupies 5^th rank in the state and 192^nd rank in India. The district is surrounded by Pratapgarh district on north, Kaushambi district on north west, Madhya Pradesh on south and south west, Sant Ravidas Nagar of Uttar Pradesh on east and Mirzapur district on south east. The chief rivers in the district are Ganga and Yamuna. The climate of Allahabad is characterized as humid sub tropical climate. Generally, the district experiences three seasons likewise, hot and dry summer, cool and dry winter and rainy and humid monsoon. Its annual mean temperature is 26.1 °C (79.0 °F) and monthly mean temperatures are 18-29 °C (64-84 °F). The actual rainfall in the district was 1243.5 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administration wise, the district is divided into 8 tehsils namely Sadar, Karchhana, Phulpur, Bara, Koraon, Meja, Soraon and Handia. Tehsils are further divided into twenty development blocks. Moreover, there are 12 Assembly constituencies and 2 Lok Sabha constituencies in the district. The district also comprises 25 towns and 3,053 villages. The administrative language in the district is Hindi.

According to 2011 census the district has a population of 59,54,391 out of which 31,31,807 are males and 28,22,584 are females. The district has a sex ratio of 901 females for every 1000 males. The population density in the district is 1,086 persons per sq. km. During the year 2001-2011 the population growth rate of the district was 20.63% including 19.24% were males and 22.21% were females. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 83,752 including 42,127 were males and 41,625 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 7,908 out of which 4,059 were males and 3,849 were females. As per 2011 census the major religions in the district are Hindu and Muslim with 85.69% and 13.38% of the total population. According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Hindi with 96.98%.

Tourism, fishing and agriculture are the core sources of economy of the district. Some foremost agricultural crops of the district are wheat, paddy, different types of pulses and mustard seeds. The cultivation of the vegetable crops like potato, tomato, lady finger and peas are also contributing in its economy. Glass and wire-based industries are the prime industries of the district. Some of its other main companies are Reliance Industries, Alstom, ITI Limited, Areva, BPCL, Dey's Medical, Food Corporation of India, Raymond Synthetics, Triveni Sheet Glass, Triveni Electroplast, etc. In the year 2020-21 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 58,48,958 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 37,47,216 lakh at Constant Prices during the year 2011-2012. The Net Domestic Product in the district during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 51,08,670 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 31,70,439 lakh at Constant Prices in the year 2011-2012. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost in the district during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 74,125 at Current Price and Rs. 46,002 at Constant Prices in the year 2011-2012.

Allahabad has many colleges which provide a great platform for higher education in the state. Every year a huge number of students from different parts of the country come to the place to get admission in its reputed educational institutions. At present, Allahabad has one central university, one state university, three deemed universities and an open university. Allahabad University, founded in 1876, is the oldest university in the state. A prominent technical institute of the district is Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology. The Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) of Allahabad, a “Deemed University” was established in 1999 and its main aim is to bring excellence in the field of information technology and allied areas. As per 2011 census the literacy rate of the district is 72.32% including 82.55% are males and 60.97% are females. The total number of literates in the district is 36,65,727 including 21,99,340 are males and 14,66,387 are females.

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, the third Prime Minister of India and a central figure of the Indian National Congress party was born on 19^th November, 1917 in Allahabad. She served as the Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and then again from 1980 until her assassination in the year 1984. Vishwanath Pratap Singh, an illustrious Indian politician and the 8^th Prime Minister of India was born on 25^th June, 1931 in Allahabad. He was the member of India National Congress till 1987 and then he joined the Janata Dal in 1988.

During the year 2021, there were 1,12,13,307 domestic tourists and 189 foreign tourists who visited these places of the district. The meeting point of the three holy rivers of Hinduism Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati is called Trivani Sangam, which attracts the pilgrims from different parts of India. The biggest park in Allahabad is the Chandra Shekhar Azad Park which is named after the India’s most eminent freedom fighter, Chandra Shekhar Azad. Allahabad Fort, situated on the bank of the river Yamuna was built by Ashok, the great but repaired the same by Emperor Akbar. Allahabad Museum, established in 1931 has a great collection of antique pieces of art and crafts. Ananda Bhawan, a large bungalow was constructed by Motilal Nehru, father of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1930s. Currently, it has been turned into a museum. There is also a Planetarium named Jawahar Planetarium, situated beside the bungalow. Minto Park, New Yamuna Bridge, Thornhill Mayne Memorial, Khusro Bagh, Allahabad University, All Saints Cathedral, Allahabad High Court, etc are the some other notable centres of attraction of the district.