AHMEDABAD
Famous For: Unique Textiles.
Best Season: Months Of October And March.
Main Languages: Gujarati, Hindi, English.
Ahmedabad,
founded in the year 1411 AD is located on the banks of
river
Sabarmati . Ahmedabad has been named after Sultan Ahmed Shah, who
was primarily responsible for building it.
Today,
this city is known as the 'Manchester of the East'. One of the highly
industrialised cities in India, Ahmedabad is also India's Textile City.
Ahmedabad, a mass of factories, mosques, temples and high-rise offices,
amazes the visitor by its unique mix of ancient and modern, along with the
combination of thriving Hindu, Muslim and Jain communities that lend the
city an appealing character that can be hard to resist.
Ahmedabad, founded in the year 1411 AD is located on the
banks of river
Sabarmati . Ahmedabad has been named after Sultan Ahmed Shah, who
was primarily responsible for building it. Today, this city is known as
the 'Manchester of the East'. One of the highly industrialised cities in
India, Ahmedabad is also India's Textile City.
The old city of Ahmedabad is dotted with labyrinthine bylanes called
'pols'. The exquisite carved wooden mansions and havelis are in no manner
less than their stone counterparts in
Rajasthan. The
city is full of architectural delights. Though the capital of Gujarat was
shifted from Ahmedabad to
Gandhinagar
, it is still the second largest industrial city in western India.
Ahmedabad, a mass of factories, mosques, temples and high-rise offices,
amazes the visitor by its unique mix of ancient and modern, along with the
combination of thriving Hindu, Muslim and Jain communities that lend the
city an appealing character that can be hard to resist.
A Witness To Indian Freedom Movement
Ahmedabad
became the base camp for the Indian freedom struggle. Gandhiji built the
Sabarmati
Ashram on the outskirts of the city. From here, he guided India to
freedom. During the freedom movement, this city of textiles became the
nerve centre of the struggle. It was a spectator to the strategies and
plans of Gandhiji, which he chalked out to make the freedom struggle a
mass movement.
In 1930, it was from here that Gandhiji started his 'Dandi Yatra' to
break the salt laws of the British. Ahmedabad is now regarded as a
national pilgrimage
, a symbol of non-violence and peace.
A Peek Into History
When
Ahmed Shah inherited the Sultanate of
Gujarat in 1411
AD, he chose to move his capital from
Patan to
the site of Asawal village, a small settlement on the east bank of the
Sabarmati, renaming it after himself. The city quickly grew as skilled
artisans and traders were invited to settle. Its splendid
mosques
were clearly intended to assert Muslim supremacy, and heralded the new
Indo-Islamic style of architecture, which though best displayed here, is a
marked feature of many Gujarati
cities .
In 1572 AD, Ahmedabad became part of the growing Mughul Empire and was
regarded as India's most handsome city. It profited from a flourishing
textiles trade, which exported velvets, silks and shimmering brocades as
far a field as Europe. But after a devastating famine in 1630 AD and a
period of political instability when government passed to and fro between
the Muslims and the Hindu Marathas, the city went into decline.
Another famine in 1812 AD left it almost crippled, but the merchants and
traders who had left during Maratha rule were encouraged to return five
years later when taxes were lowered by the newly arrived British. Trade in
opium grew as the British needed something to offer the Chinese in return
for silk and tea. The introduction of modern machinery re-established
Ahmedabad as a textile exporter that came to be known as the "Manchester
of the east".
INFORMATIONS ON AHMEDABAD
(Check all that apply)
Know more about this Package !!!
279/A, Masjid Moth, South Extention - II
New Delhi - 110 049 (INDIA)
Tel : +91-11-4164 3999 / 2626 2004
Fax : +91-11-2625 9695
Email : info@indiainfoweb.com
Home | Attractions | Destinations | Hotels | Tour Packages | Travel Agents | Help DeskDisclaimer | Privacy Policy | Old Site | Feedback / Contact Us
Copyright © 2007 India Infoweb. All Rights Reserved.