Ahmedabad is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the
former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the
Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad. It is also financial capital of
Gujarat. It is the fifth largest city and seventh largest metropolitan area of
India, with a city population of approximately 5.6 million and metropolitan
population of 6.4 million In 2010, Forbes magazine rated Ahmedabad as the
fastest-growing city in India, and third in the world after two Chinese cities
— Chengdu and Chongqing.In December 2011 a leading market research firm IMRB
declared Ahmedabad as the best of India's mega-cities. Ahmedabad is located on
the banks of the River Sabarmati, 32 km from the state capital Gandhinagar. The
city is the administrative centre of Ahmedabad district and was the capital of
Gujarat till 1960. In colloquial Gujarati, the city is commonly called
Amdavad.
Ahmedabad was founded on February 26, 1411 by Sultan Ahmed Shah to serve as
the capital of the Gujarat Sultanate, and was named after him. Under British
rule, a military cantonment was established and the city infrastructure was
modernized and expanded. Though incorporated into the Bombay Presidency during
British rule, Ahmedabad remained the most important city in the Gujarat region.
The city established itself as the home of a booming textile industry, which
earned it the nickname the "Manchester of the East." The city was at
the forefront of the Indian independence movement in the first half of the 20th
century. It was the centre of many campaigns of civil disobedience to promote
workers' rights, civil rights, and political independence.
Since the creation of the state of Gujarat in 1960, Ahmedabad had become a
bustling metropolis with beautiful classical and colonial European styled
buildings, lining the city’s thoroughfares. The city is witnessing a major
construction boom and population increase. A rising centre of education,
information technology and scientific industries, Ahmedabad remains the
cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat and much of western India.
History
Ahmedabad is the largest city in the state of Gujarat. It is
located in western India on the banks of the River Sabarmati. The city has been
under different rulers since its creation and thus had a rich history. The city
has been a former capital of Gujarat and has been the home to most important
leaders of India like Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel during the Indian
independence movement. Ahmedabad is also the cultural and economical centre of
Gujarat and the seventh largest city of India.
There is a legend associated with Ahmedabad. At the beginning of the
fifteenth century, an independent sultanate ruled by the Muslim Muzaffarid
dynasty was established in Gujarat. Sultan Ahmed Shah, while camping on the
banks of the Sabarmati river, saw a hare chasing a dog. The sultan was
intrigued by this and asked his spiritual adviser for explanation. The sage
pointed out unique characteristics in the land which nurtured such rare
qualities which turned a timid hare to chase a ferocious dog. Impressed by
this, the sultan, who had been looking for a place to build his new capital,
decided to found the capital here and called it Ahmedabad.
Archaeological evidence points to the occupation of the site from a much
earlier period than that of Sultan Ahmed Shah. It was known in ancient times as
Ashapalli or Ashaval. In the eleventh century the Solanki King Karandev I,
ruler of Anhilwara (modern Patan), waged a war against the Bhil king of
Ashaval. After his victory he established a city called Karnavati on the banks
Sabarmati at the site of modern Ahmedabad. Solanki rule lasted until the
thirteenth century, when Gujarat came under the control of the Vaghela dynasty
of Dwarka.
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