Formerly named as Akbarabad, but Agra was never called Agravan, claim historians

Agra District Magistrate, NG Ravi Kumar, told the press that no proof has been found to prove that Agra was formerly called Agravan as claimed by a local resident in an application filed by him on the state CM’s website.
Professor Sugam Anand, Head of the History Department, Dr BR Ambedkar University, also said that there is no evidence in the historical records to support that Agra was once called Agravan.

As per some historians, Akbar had renamed Agra as Akbarabad at some point during his lifetime. However, the name changed to Agra again after Akbar’s death.
As told to the press by historian Tarun Sharma, Sikandar Lodhi visited Agra from Delhi in 1504. However, even before his arrival, Lodhi did not change the name of Agra though he chose to make it as his capital city.

News has it that Agra was also formerly known by the name of Angira Kshetra. Long ago, Rishi Angira, one of the great sages, had his ashram at this place. Hence, it was named after him, and the gradually changed into a shorter version, Agra.


Reportedly, Dr BR Ambedkar University Vice-Chancellor, Dr Arvind Dixit, told the press that the application on the CM’s portal has been sent to the university by the state government to check whether or not Agra was ever called Agravan.

Meanwhile, the Head of University History Department, Professor Sugam Anand, has been assigned the duty of finding out the historical roots of Agra’s name. Any person, having evidence to support the claim, can contact Professor Anand and furnish the relevant proofs.

Jamit Ul Quresh Vice-President Haji Jamiluddin Qureshi sites the name Agravan as imaginary with no cited evidence. He also said that no one should change the name of Agra due to the fact that it is a world-famous city, courtesy the Taj Mahal. As told by Qureshi, the name ‘Agra’ has been mentioned in the written historical texts dating back to a thousand years.