Located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, Allahabad
University is a government-run central university. It was established by an Act of Parliament on
23 September 1887 and is recognized as an Institute of National Importance. It
is one of the oldest modern universities in India, the oldest central university of India by date of formation and is also known as the "Oxford
of the East".
It has its origins in Muir Central College, named after Sir
William Muir, Lieutenant Governor of the North-Western Provinces in 1876, who
suggested the idea of a central university at Prayagraj, which later evolved
into the present university. Its central university status was re-established
by the Parliament of India through the Allahabad University Act 2005.