Ahmedabad
Ahmadabad is the largest city in state of Gujarat (there are 28
states, Gujarat is the westernmost one)and the sixth largest city in
India has
a
population of over 3,7 million people. The city is also sometimes
called Karnavati , an older name and as Amdavad in colloquial
Gujarati .
Ahmedabad
is the administrative center of Ahmedabad District , and was the
former capital of Gujarat State from 1960 to 1970 , when Gandhinagar
replaced it.
The
city was founded in the 15th century by Sultan Ahmed Shah on the
Sabarmati river , and served as capital of the Sultanate of Gujarat.
The historic center of Ahmedabad is presently a thriving business
district.
Ahmedabad
is mainly divided in two parts, the old city, and new city. The old
city has developed rather haphazardly, and most of the roads are
narrow and crowded during business hours. The new city has
well-structured, wide roads. A wide variety of shops and businesses
exist in the city.
In
addition to its role as a commercial center, Ahmedabad is also an
important industrial center, with chemical and textile industries.
Ahmedabad is often described as the Manchester of the East, because
of its once-booming textile industry. Ahmedabad is a very beautiful
city.
History Of Ahmedabad
The
History of Ahmedabad begins in the eleventh century with the Solanki
King Karandev I, ruler of Anhilwara (modern Patan). He waged a war
against the Bhil King Ashapall or Ashaval, and after his victory
established a city called Karnavati on the banks of the Sabarmati at
site of modern Ahmedabad. Solanki rule lasted until the thirteenth
century, when Gujarat came under the control of the Vaghela dynasty
of Dwarka. Gujarat was conquered by the Sultanate of Delhi at the end
of the thirteenth century.
In
1411 , the rule of the Muzaffarid dynasty was established in Gujarat.
According to tradition, 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.
In
1487, Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, fortified the city
with an outer wall 10 km (6 miles) in circumference and consisting of
twelve gates, 189 bastions and over 6,000 battlements. Ahmedabad was
ruled by the Muzaffarid dynasty until 1573 when Muzaffar II was the
Sultan of Ahmedabad. Gujarat was then conquered by the Mughal emperor
Akbar in 1573. During the Mughal reign, Ahmedabad became one of the
Empire's thriving centres of trade, mainly in textiles, which were
exported to as far as Europe. The Mughal ruler Shahjahan spent the
prime of his life in the city, sponsoring the construction of the
Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug. 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 many
parts of the city, causing its population to flee. 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 Railway (BB&CI), making Ahmedabad an important
junction in the traffic and trade between northern and southern
India. Large numbers of people migrated from rural areas to work in
textile mills, establishing a robust industry.
The
Indian independence movement developed strong roots in the city when,
in 1915, Mahatma Gandhi established two ashrams — the Kochrab
Ashram near Paldi in 1915 and the Satyagraha Ashram on the banks of
the Sabarmati in 1917 — that would become centres of intense
nationalist activities. During the mass protests against the Rowlatt
Act in 1919, textile workers burned down 51 government buildings
across the city in protest at a British attempt to extend wartime
regulations after the First World War. In the 1920s, textile workers
and teachers went on strike, demanding civil rights and better pay
and working conditions. In 1930, Gandhi initiated the Salt Satyagraha
from Ahmedabad by embarking from his ashram on the famous Dandi Salt
March. The city administration and economic institutions were
rendered functionless by the large masses of people who took to the
streets in peaceful protests in the early 1930s, and again in 1942
during the Quit India movement. Following independence and the
partition of India in 1947, the city was scarred by intense communal
violence that broke out between Hindus and Muslims.
Ahmedabad
became the capital of the new state of Gujarat after the bifurcation
of the State of Bombay on 1 May 1960. During that period, 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 heavy and chemical industries in its vicinity around
the same period. But the growth in the next two decades was
punctuated by political events in and around the city. In February
1974, Ahmedabad occupied the centre stage in national politics with
the launch of the Nav Nirman agitation — a protest against a 20%
hike in the hostel food fees at the L.D. College of Engineering that
snowballed into a mass agitation to remove Chimanbhai Patel,
then-chief minister of Gujarat, on charges of corruption. In the
1980s, a reservation policy was introduced in the country, which led
to anti-reservation protests in 1981 and 1985. The protests witnessed
violent clashes between people belonging to various castes.
On
26 January 2001 a devastating earthquake struck the city, centred
near Bhuj, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale. As many as 50
multistory buildings collapsed, killing 752 people and devastating
the city's infrastructure.
In
recent years, the effects of globalisation and the liberalisation of
the Indian economy has energised the city's economy. The city has
witnessed the establishment of scientific and service industries, the
expansion of the information technology sector, and significant
improvements in transportation and communications. Ahmedabad's
population is growing, which has resulted in a construction and
housing boom. However, this has challenged the city's infrastructure
and power supply.
source:http://historyinworld.blogspot.in/2012/05/history-of-ahmedabad.html
