Urdu poet's name changed to 'Akbar Prayagraji' on UP site, probe ordered

Lucknow: The change in the name of well known poet from Akbar Allahabadi to Akbar Prayagraji on the website of an Uttar Pradesh government body has created a furore, prompting the officials to order a probe into the faux pas.

Syed Akbar Hussain, a nineteenth-century poet used the pen name Akbar Allahabadi, as he was born in a town close to the Uttar Pradesh city. It is a convention followed by Urdu poets to use their place names with their personal names. The Uttar Pradesh government had changed the name of the city of Allahabad to Prayagraj in October 2018, but apparently little did the 'name-changers' realise the anachronistic nature of their act, for the very name Prayagraj came into being only in 2018.

However, the Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Service Commission (UPHESC) restored the original name on Wednesday morning after social media users flagged the faux pas.

A press release issued by UPHECS deputy secretary Shiv Ji Malviya said that the website had been hacked and the change of name of the legendary poet Akbar 'Allahabadi' to Akbar 'Prayagraji' was misleading.

"The commission has not entered any such name on its website. It is being rectified," read the press release.

The UPHESC's communique further said, an inquiry from the cyber cell is being sought and strict legal action would be taken against those who have done it.

As per reports, the names of some other poets have also been changed on the website.

Rashid Allahabadi and Tegh Allahabadi were mentioned as "Tegh Prayagraji" and "Rashid Prayagraji".

Meanwhile the Hindi website of the commission has been restored and work is on to restore the English portal.

A complaint over the incident has been lodged with the police's cyber cell to nab the culprits.

The UPHESC, an autonomous body under the state government, is responsible for appointing principals and assistant teachers in 331 government-aided colleges in the state.