The seat of the Gujarat High Court and the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district, the city is one of the most popular places in India for its food, culture, tradition and rich heritage.
Today, Ahmedabad is an important economic and industrial hub. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
New Delhi: Contrary to popular belief, Ahmedabad is not the capital of Gujarat. But it is the city most populous city in the state. The seat of the Gujarat High Court and the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district, the city is one of the most popular places in India for its food, culture, tradition and rich heritage. Infact, the city’s cultural heritage is so rich that in 2017, Ahmedabad, specifically the historic city of Ahmedabad, or Old Ahmedabad became the first Indian city to get the tag of World Heritage City from UNESCO.
Who founded Ahmedabad?
In the early period of the 15th century, the local Muslim governor Zafar Khan Muzaffar declared his sovereignty from the Delhi Sultanate. He became the Sultan of Gujarat as Muzaffar Shah I and established the Muzaffarid dynasty. In 1411, Sultan Ahmed Shah took control of the region we now know as Ahmedabad and selected the forested area for his new capital along the banks of the Sabarmati River. He founded a new city near Karnavati and named it Ahmedabad. While it is said that he named it after himself, some versions claim that the city was named after four Muslim saints in the area with all of them named Ahmed. The city’s foundation was laid on February 26, 1411.
Ahmedabad as the financial hub
Today, Ahmedabad is an important economic and industrial hub and has the distinction of being the second-largest producer of cotton in the country. Its stock exchange was the second oldest in the country before it was shut down in 2018. It has the largest cricket stadium in the world, the Narendra Modi Stadium. The city, since the 1990s, has moved towards tertiary sector activities like commerce, communication and construction and its increasing population has boosted the construction and housing sectors.
According to the 2011 census, the population of Ahmedabad was 5,570,585 and it was the fifth-most populous city in the country. In 2024, the estimated population of the city is at 8,854,444. Ahmedabad is located near the banks of the Sabarmati River and Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat also known as its twin city. In 2010, it was placed in the third position in Forbes’s list of ‘fastest growing cities of the decade’ and in July 2022, Time magazine called it one of the 50 greatest places in that year.
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