Ahmedabad
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Ahmedabad (Gujarati: અમદાવાદ, Hindi: अहमदाबाद) or [Ahmadābād][Media help?]·[i] is the largest city in the state of Gujarat and the 7th largest city in India, with a population of more than 5.2 million (52 lakh) people. The city is sometimes called Karnavati, a name for an older town that existed in the same location, and is also known as Amdavad in colloquial Gujarati. Located on the banks of the River Sabarmati, the city is the administrative center of Ahmedabad District, and served as the capital of Gujarat from 1960 to 1970.
The city was founded to serve as the capital of the Sultanate of Gujarat, by its namesake, Sultan Ahmed Shah. Under British rule, a major military cantonment was established and the city infrastructure modernized and expanded. Although incorporated into the Bombay Presidency, Ahmedabad remained the most important city in the Gujarat region, becoming the home of a booming textile industry, which earned it the nickname Manchester of the East. The city also became a centre for the educated and intellectual classes in western India and an important base for the Indian independence movement. The city was the epicentre of many campaigns of civil disobedience on workers' rights, civil rights and political independence.
With the creation of the state of Gujarat in 1960, Ahmedabad gained prominence as the political and commercial capital of the state. Once typified by dusty roads and bungalows, the city is witnessing a major construction boom and expansion of its population. A rising centre of education, information technology and scientific industries, Ahmedabad remains the cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat and much of western India. The city's advancement has been marred, however by natural calamities, political instability and outbreaks of communal violence.
History
Archaeological evidence suggests that the area had been inhabited since the eleventh century CE when it was known as Ashapalli or Ashaval. In the eleventh century, Karandev I, the Solanki ruler of Anhilwara (modern Patan), waged a successful war against the Bhil king of Ashaval. Soon after the victory, he established a city called Karnavati on the banks of the 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 Dholka. A few decades later, at the end of the thirteenth century, Ahmedabad fell under the control of the Sultanate of Delhi.
In the fifteenth century, the rule of the Muzaffarid dynasty was established in Gujarat. Legend has it that Sultan Ahmed Shah, while camping on the banks of the River Sabarmati, saw a hare chasing a dog. Impressed by this act of bravery, the Sultan, who had been looking for a place to build his new capital, decided to locate the capital here and called it Ahmedabad."Setu City Map", page 1. Setu Publications, 1998
In 1487 Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, fortified the city with an outer city wall six miles (9.6 km) in circumference which consisted of twelve gates, 189 bastions and over 6,000 battlements to protect it from invaders. The last Sultan of Ahmedabad was Muzaffar II. Gujarat was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1573. During the Mughal reign, Ahmedabad became one of the Empire's thriving centres of trade, especially in textiles, which were exported to locations as far as Europe. Shahjahan spent the prime of his life in the city, and also built the Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug. In 1753, the armies of the Maratha generals Raghunath Rao and Damaji Gaekwad captured the city and ended Mughal rule in Ahmedabad. A famine in 1630 and the constant conflicts between the Peshwa and the Gaekwad armies virtually destroyed the city. Many suburbs of the city were deserted and many mansions lay in ruins. The British East India Company took over the city in 1818 as a part of the conquest of India. A military cantonment was established in 1824 and a municipal government in 1858. In 1864 a railway link between Ahmedabad and Mumbai (then Bombay) was established by the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railways, making Ahmedabad an important junction in the traffic and trade between northern and southern India. The city was an important center of trade and textile manufacturing, with hundreds of thousands of people migrating from rural areas to work in textile mills.
The struggle for Indian independence movement developed strong roots in the city. In 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa and established two ashrams in the city – the Kochrab Ashram near Paldi in 1915 and the Satyagraha Ashram on the banks of the Sabarmati in 1917. During the mass protests against the Rowlatt Act in 1919, textile workers burned down 51 government buildings across the city because of an attempt by the British to extend wartime regulations after the First World War. In the 1920s, textile workers and teachers conducted protests and strikes demanding civil rights and better pay and working conditions. Gandhi initiated the Salt satyagraha from the city in 1930. He and many followers marched from his ashram to the coastal village of Dandi, to protest against the imposition of tax on salt. The city administration and economy were rendered functionless by the large masses of people that took to the streets in peaceful protests during in the early 1930s, and again in 1942 during the Quit India movement. The city, however, was scarred by intense communal violence that broke out between Hindus and Muslims in 1946 and again in 1947, following the partition of India.
After independence, Ahmedabad became the capital of the new state of Gujarat after the bifurcation of the Bombay State on May 1, 1960. A large number of educational and research institutions were founded in the city, making it a major centre of higher education, science and technology. Ahmedabad's economic base was diversified with the establishment of chemical and heavy industries in its vicinity. In February 1974, Ahmedabad occupied the centrestage in national politics with the launch of the Nav Nirman agitation – a protest against a 20% hike in the hostel food bill at the L.D. College of Engineering that snowballed into a mass agitation to remove the then chief minister of Gujarat Chimanbhai Patel on charges of corruption. There were two major anti-reservation protests in 1981 and 1985.
On 26 January, 2001 a devastating earthquake centred near Bhuj, measuring 6.9 on the richter scale, struck the city. As many as 50 multi-storied buildings collapsed, killing 752 people and devastating the city's infrastructure. The following year, communal riots between Hindus and Muslims spread to Ahmedabad. The crisis, which paralysed the city for over a month, resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,044 people across the state of Gujarat. The displacement of thousands of Muslims led to the erection of refugee camps around the city. Although peace and normalcy returned, the city was scarred by the violence that created tensions between people and damaged the economy and administration. The liberalisation of the Indian economy has energised the city's economy, with the establishment of scientific and diverse service industries, expansion of the information technology sector and improvement in transportation and communications. Ahmedabad is experiencing significant population growth which has resulted in a construction and housing boom, but has also raised serious challenges around the modernization of the city's infrastructure and power supply.
Geography and climate
Ahmedabad is located at in western India at an elevation of 53 metres (174 feet). Located on the banks of the River Sabarmati, Ahmedabad is in the north-central region of the state. It spans an area of 205 km² (79.15 square miles). The Sabarmati bifurcates the city into eastern and western parts. The river gets dried up in the summer, leaving only a small stream of water flowing. The city is located in a sandy and dry area. Except for the small hills of Thaltej-Jodhpur Tekra, the entire city is almost flat. Two lakes are located in the city limits – the Kankaria lake, and the Vastrapur Lake. The Kankaria lake, located in the neighbourhood of Maninagar, is an artificial lake developed by the Sultan of Delhi, Qutb-ud-din Aybak in 1451.
There are typically three main seasons – summer, monsoon and winter. Barring monsoon, the climate is very dry. The weather is very hot during the months of March to June with the average summer temperature ranging from maximum 43 °C (110 °F)to minimum 23 °C (73 °F). The months of November through February have an average maximum temperature of 36 °C (97 °F) and a minimum of 15 °C (59 °F). The climate is extremely dry during that period. Cold northerly winds are responsible for a mild chill during January. The southwest monsoon brings humid climate to Ahmedabad from mid-June to mid-September. The average rainfall is 93.2 cms (36.7 inches), but infrequent heavy torrential rains cause the river to flood. The highest temperature recorded is 47 °C (116.6 °F) and the lowest is 5 °C (41 °F).
Ahmedabad is divided by the Sabarmati into two physically distinct areas. The eastern bank of the river houses the old city which has packed bazaars, the clustered and barricaded pol system of shanty buildings, and many places of worship such as temples, churches and mosques. The old city also houses the main railway station and the General Post Office, as well as landmark buildings of the Muzaffarid and British eras. The colonial period saw the expansion of the city to the western side of Sabarmati facilitated by the construction of Ellis Bridge in 1875, and the modern Nehru Bridge. This part of the city houses educational institutions, modern buildings, well-planned residential areas, shopping malls, multiplexes and new business districts centred around the C. G. Road, Ashram Road and more recently the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway.
Economy
Ahmedabad is the largest inland industrial centre in western India, and has historically enjoyed a reputation as an important base of commerce, trade and industry. Under Muzaffarid rule, the city was a major trade destination for western India, because of its proximity to the port at Surat and for it's access into the hinterland of Gujarat. In the 19th century, the textile and garments industry developed and thrived in the city – on 30 May, 1861 Ranchhodlal Chhotalal founded the first Indian textile mill called the Ahmedabad Spinning and Weaving Company Limited, to be more popularly known as the Shahpur Mill later on. This was followed by the establishment of a series of textile mills such as the Calico Mills in 1880 by Maganbhai, and other mills founded by industrialists like Ambalal Sarabhai and Kasturbhai Lalbhai. The textile industry declined in the early part of the 20th century, but was revived again due to the First World War and also by the Swadeshi movement led by Mahatma Gandhi during the independence movement, which encouraged the use of homemade loom."The Ahmedabad Chronicle, Imprints of a millennium", page 34. Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design, 2002 Arvind Mills, located in Ahmedabad, is one of the largest textile mills in the country.
Ahmedabad has a thriving chemicals and pharmaceuticals industry. Two of the biggest pharmaceutical companies of India — Zydus Cadila and Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. are located in the city. The city also serves as the corporate headquarters of the Adani Group which is a leading trading and export company of India. The Nirma group of industries, running a large number of detergent and chemical industrial units in Gujarat, also has it's corporate headquarters in the city. Its rich industrial tradition has created powerful mercantile and artisan corporations and guilds. The completion and operation of the Sardar Sarovar Project of dams and canals has improved the supply of potable water and electricity for the city. The state has increased investment for the modernisation of the city infrastructure, for the construction of larger, better roads and for the development of modern networks for the supply of water, electricity and communications. In recent years, the information technology industry has developed significantly in Ahmedabad. A NASSCOM survey in 2002 on the "Super Nine Indian Destinations" for IT-enabled services had ranked Ahmedabad fifth among the top nine most competitive cities in the country.
Traditionally, Ahmedabad has always attracted migrant workers from different parts of Gujarat such as Kutch, Saurashtra and Kathiawad, as well as neighbouring states such as Rajasthan, Sind, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. This diverse labour force has founded itself into the different industrial and factory installations, as well as into the significant industry of household labour and services for the city's large middle class. Ahmedabad plays a strong and significant role in providing commercial access to the economies of neighbouring cities such as Rajkot, Surendranagar, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Bhavnagar, Surat, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Junagadh – the city provides resources, finance and access to industries based there, as well as employing workers from these cities. A majority of the citizens of Ahmedabad are traders and businessmen, known as Vanias who belong to the Vaishnavite or the Jain faith. The Indian Army's diversified activities in the cantonment area has brought military servicemen and women from different parts of India. The city's eminent educational and industrial institutions has also attracted students and young skilled workers of diverse and modern educational backgrounds.
Civic administration
| Ahmedabad city officials | |
| Mayor | Amit Shah |
| Municipal Commissioner | Anil Mukim |
| Police Commissioner | K. R. Kaushik |
Ahmedabad is administered by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Some of the regions surrounding the city are administered by the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA). AMC was incepted in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act, 1949. For administrative purposes the city is divided into 5 zones and 43 wards. There are 3 corporators elected from each ward. The corporators then elect a mayor. Executive powers are vested in the municipal commissioner, who is an IAS officer appointed by the Gujarat state government. The daily affairs of the municipality school board, the VS hospital, the MJ library and the AMTS bus service are some of the main responsibilities of the mayor. The city serves as the headquarters of Ahmedabad district and is also the seat of the Gujarat High Court.
The Ahmedabad city police is headed by a Police Commissioner, who is an IPS officer. Electricity in the city is provided by Torrent Power AEC Limited which was earlier a government organization called the Ahmedabad Electricity Company. The city elects one member to the Lok Sabha and seven to the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha. Though many national political parties contest elections from Ahmedabad, there are only two main political parties — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress. Of the seven assembly seats of Ahmedabad, 5 were won by BJP and 2 by Congress during the Legislative elections in 2002. A similar result occurred in the 2005 Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation elections — Of the 129 seats, the BJP won 96 seats, while 32 went to the Congress, leaving a lone seat for an independent.
Transport
Ahmedabad is well connected to all major cities of India and to some international destinations through a combination of road, rail and air routes. It is one of the six operating divisions of the Western Railway. Railway lines connect the city to all towns in Gujarat, as well as major cities in India. The Ahmedabad Railway Station and the Maninagar Railway Station are the most important stations of the city. The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport serves both domestic and international traffic for the city as well as the neighbouring cities of Gandhinagar, Mehsana and Nadiad. There are direct flights from the city to all other major cities of India. The airport serves direct international flights to cities in the Middle East, the Far East and select destinations in Western Europe.
The National Highway 8, which connects Delhi to Mumbai, passes though Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad is connected to Vadodara through National Expressway 1, a 94 km long highway with only 2 exits, which is part of the Golden Quadrilateral project. Ahmedabad is also directly connected by highways to Bhavnagar, Nadiad, Mehsana, Surendranagar, Bhuj, Rajkot and Gandhinagar. The city's main arteries of traffic include the Mahatma Gandhi Road, C. G. Road, the Jawaharlal Nehru Road, the Ashram Road and the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway. Auto rickshaws and taxis provide the most popular medium of transport. The local bus service in the city is run by the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service. In 2005, AMTS began a drive to convert all its petrol and diesel engine buses to run on CNG engines in an effort to reduce the effects of air pollution in the city. At present, AMTS has 750 buses servicing the city.The Times of India, Ahmedabad edition (print), 2005-04-06, pg 5 Despite diverse means of public and private transport, the use of bicycles, motorcycles and scooters is very popular for many of the city's residents, especially among school and college students.
Demographics
According to the 2001 national census, the population of Ahmedabad was declared to be 35 lakhs (3.5 million). This figure was only limited to the municipality region. The total population of the Ahmedabad Urban Agglomeration (which also includes the region governed by AUDA) came to 45.19 lakhs (4.5 million). There are 886 females to every 1000 males. Ahmedabad has a literacy rate of 79.89%, which is the highest in Gujarat (87.81% males and 71.12% females are literate). According to the census for the Ninth Plan, there are 30,737 rural families living in Ahmedabad. Of those, 5.41% (1663 families) live below the poverty line. There are 439,843 people who live in slums in the city. Ahmedabad being a centre for commerce, has traditionally had a large population of Vanias (or traders), belonging to the Vaishnav and Jain sects of Hinduism. Most of the residents of Ahmedabad are native Gujaratis and speak Gujarati, of which the dialects of Kathiawar and Saurashtra are predominant. Hindi and English are also commonly spoken, especially for the purposes of commerce, education, politics and government. Urdu is commonly used by the city's Muslim community.
Ever since its foundation, the city has attracted migrant workers from all over Gujarat, as well as the neighbouring states of Rajasthan, Sindh and Maharashtra. There is a sizable population of Punjabis, Marathis, Tamils, Sindhis, Malayalis and Marwaris who bring in their native language and culture to the city. The government institutions and military base near the city also bring peoples from across India. The city's population has increased dramatically due to the expansion and modernisation of the city's economy. Ahmedabad also enjoys great religious diversity. According to the 2001 census, 84.62% of the population in Ahmedabad is Hindu, 2.92% Jain, 11.4% Muslim and 0.72% Christian.
Culture
Ahmedabad is known for its diverse culture and the celebration of various festivals with great zeal, transcending demographic and religious lines.
Uttarayan is celebrated as a kite flying day on January 14 every year. The nine nights of Navaratri are celebrated with people performing Garba, the folk dance of Gujarat, is performed at pre-arranged venues. The festival of lights - Deepavali is celebrated with the lighting of lamps in every house, decorating the floors with the rangoli and bursting of firecrackers. Other festivals like Holi, Eid ul-Fitr and Christmas are also celebrated with enthusiasm. The annual Rathyatra procession on the Ashadh-sud-bij date of the Hindu calendar and the procession of Tajia during Muharram are an integral part of the culture of the city.
People of the city are known for their love of food. A typical Gujarati thali (meal) consists of Roti, Dal, Rice and Shaak (cooked vegetable curry). There are a large number of restaurants which cater to people of all tastes and likes. The cuisine ranges from traditional Gujarati thalis to Punjabi, South Indian, Thai, Italian, Chinese and junk food. Most of the eating joints serve only vegetarian food, as majority of the populace is vegetarian. Ahmedabad boasts of the first all-vegetarian Pizza Hut in the world. The architectural landscape of Ahmedabad stretches across the millennium. The Sultanate architecture fused Hindu craftsmanship with Islamic architecture and which later gave rise to a fusion, which is known as the Indo-Saracenic style. Many mosques in the city are built in this fashion. After independence modern buildings came up in Ahmedabad when renowned architects like Louis Kahn, Le Corbusier and Charles Correa were invited to Ahmedabad.
Various parts of Ahmedabad are known for their specialty of folk art. Paldi area is famous for embroidery from Kutch and Saurashtra region. Rangeela pol is famous for bandhinis (tie and dye work) while Madhupura is famous for it's traditional mojri footwear. Ganesha idols are made in huge numbers in the Gulbai Tekra area. Law Garden is famous for it's mirror work handicraft.
Many Gujarati littérateurs migrated to Ahmedabad due to its prosperity. Three literary institutions were started in Ahmedabad for the promotion of Gujarati literature - Gujarat Vidhya Sabha, Gujarati Sahitya Parishad and Gujarat Sahitya Sabha. Ahmedabad has many institutes which promoting classical music and dance. A famous event in the cultural calendar of Ahmedabad is an Indian classical music festival organized by the Saptak School of Music from January 1 every year where vocalists and instrumentalists from all over the world are invited to perform. The city has many museums. The Sanskar Kendra, one of the many buildings in Ahmedabad designed by the Le Corbusier, is a city museum depicting history, art, culture and architecture of Ahmedabad. The Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya and the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial have a permanent display of photographs, documents and other articles of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel respectively. The Calico Textile Museum has a large collection of Indian and international fabrics, garments and textiles. The Hazrat Pir Mohammad Shah Library has a collection of rare original manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Sindhi and Turkish languages.
Cricket is the most popular sport in the city. Both One-Day Internationals and Test Matches are played at the Sardar Patel Stadium, also known as the Motera stadium. The stadium has a capacity of 48,000 and has frequently served as venue for matches during major tournaments as the 1987 Cricket World Cup, the 1996 Cricket World Cup and the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. Ahmedabad has a second cricket stadium at the Sports Club of Gujarat which is owned by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, which as the home ground of the Gujarat cricket team is the venue for domestic tournaments such as the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy and many inter-school and collegiate tournaments.
Even though other sports are overshadowed by the popularity of cricket, soccer, field hockey, badminton, tennis, squash and basketball are gaining popularity at inter-school and collegiate levels. There has been a significant increase in recent years in the number of private sports clubs, gymkhanas and gymnasiums in the city, as well as sports teams sponsored by corporations, private associations, schools and colleges. There are also large number of public and neighbourhood grounds where city youth congregate in evenings to play cricket and soccer. Ahmedabad's rich sports traditions have produced legendary sportsmen such as Jasu Patel and younger stars such as Parthiv Patel and Geet Sethi, a 5-time winner of the World Professional Billiards Championship and a recipient of India's highest sporting award, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
Education and media
The city is also home to prestigious institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management, the National Institute of Design, the Mudra Institute of Communications, the National Institute of Fashion Technology and the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology. Many academic and scientific institutions of national repute were set up in Ahmedabad in the 1960s, largely through the efforts of prominent astrophysicist and industrialist Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. The most important of these are the Physical Research Laboratory and the Space Applications Centre of the Indian Space Research Organization. The Vikram Sarabhai Community Science Centre aims to educate children about the various aspects and fields of science. The Ahmedabad Management Association, also founded by Sarabhai was established to impart management training and experience.
Ahmedabad has a number of newspaper publications. The major English dailies published and sold in the city are Times of India, Indian Express, Asian Age and Economic Times. There are three main Gujarati dailies in the city — Sandesh, Gujarat Samachar and Divya Bhaskar, and a large number of magazines, periodicals and journals are regularly published and circulated across the city. The city is also home to the Navajivan Publishing House $ndash; founded in 1919 by Mahatma Gandhi $ndash; which is one of India's premier publications company. The Gujarat film and television industry also has a small but significant presence in the city. The city has two local FM stations: Radio Mirchi (91.9 MHz) and All India Radio (96.7 MHz). All India Radio is also broadcast on the AM band. Satellite radio was recently launched in the city by WorldSpace. Households receive television through two main cable networks — InCablenet and Siti Cable, while DTH has little popularity in Ahmedabad. Almost the entire city is covered by a network of optical fibre cables. The city's telephone services are provided by landline and mobile operators like BSNL, Reliance Infocomm, Airtel, Hutch and Tata Indicom. Broadband internet services are provided in most parts of the city by the telecom companies.
See also
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