Gandhi launched the national freedom movement from the famous Sabarmati Ashram, located on the banks of the River Sabarmati. 'Manchester of the East', Ahmedabad continues to thrive as the centre of the textile industry in the country. Shoppers' paradise for exclusive sarees, handicrafts and bedspreads.
In circa 1411, Sultan Ahmed Shah, impressed by the sight on the banks of the Sabarmati River decided to build a city there. And so Ahmedabad, named after its founder, came into existence. One of the finest and economically most prosperous cities of 17th century India, it led Sir Thomas Roe, the royal emissary from Queen Elizabeth's court, to comment that it was a "goodly city, as large as London".
It was only in the 18th century that Ahmedabad's fame declined as a result of the dying economic situation in the region. It changed several hands because of the Rajput and the British invasions but, with the arrival of Mahatma Gandhi on the scene of the national freedom movement, Ahmedabad again came into prominence. It was here, on the banks of the River Sabarmati, that Gandhi set up base and masterminded the moves of the struggle for independence from his Ashram.
The old city is like a labyrinth, with clusters of traditional homes or pols criss-crossed by narrow lanes. In contrast, the modern metropolis is the centre of the country's thriving textile industry. Modern day Ahmedabad emerged as the second largest industrial centre in western India, notwithstanding the shifting of the state capital to Gandhinagar.
Udaipur | Ahmedabad | Mumbai | Pune | Colva Beach
Kochi | Madurai | Tiruchirapalli | Mamallapuram
Chennai | Kolkata | Darjeeling | Varanasi
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