Ahmedabad Karnavati, Ashawal
Metropolis
Amdavad
Skyline of SG Highway Hutheesing Temple Atal Pedestrian Bridge Sabarmati Riverfront Ahmedabad Aerial View Ahmedabad BRTS Station Narendra Modi Stadium Jama Mosque
Nickname(s):  Manchester of the East, Heritage City of India
Show Ahmedabad District Show Gujarat Show India
Coordinates: 23°01′21″N 72°34′17″E / 23.02250°N 72.57139°E / 23.02250; 72.57139
Country	India
State	Gujarat
District	Ahmedabad
Establishment	11th Century as Ashaval
Founded by	King Asha Bhil
Named for	Ahmad Shah I
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Body	Amdavad Municipal Corporation
• Mayor	Pratibha Jain (BJP)[1]
• Deputy Mayor	Jatin Patel (BJP)[1]
• Municipal commissioner	M. Thennarasan[2]
• Police commissioner	GS Malik IPS[3]
Area [4]
• Total	1,866 km2 (720 sq mi)
• Rank	8th in India (1st in Gujarat State)
Elevation [5]	69.65 m (228.51 ft)
Population  (2023)[6]
• Total	Est 8,650,605
• Rank	5th
Demonym(s)	Amdavadi, Ahmedabadi
Language
• Official	Gujarati
• Additional official	English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	3800xx
Area code	+9179xxxxxxxx
Vehicle registration	GJ-01 (west), GJ-27 (East), GJ-38 Bavla (Rural)[7]
HDI (2016)	0.867[8]
Sex ratio	1.11[9] ♂/♀
Literacy rate	85.3%[10]
Gross domestic product	$68 billion[11] [12]
Website	ahmedabadcity.gov.in
UNESCO World Heritage Site
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: (ii), (v)
Reference	1551
Inscription	2017 (41st Session)
Area	535.7 ha (2.068 sq mi)
Buffer zone	395 ha (1.53 sq mi)

Ahmedabad (/ˈɑːmədəbæd, -bɑːd/ AH-mə-də-ba(h)d; is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per the 2011 population census) makes it the fifth-most populous city in India,^[13] and the encompassing urban agglomeration population estimated at 6,357,693 is the seventh-most populous in India. Ahmedabad's 2024 population is now estimated at 8,854,444.^[14] Ahmedabad is located near the banks of the Sabarmati River,^[15] 25 km (16 mi)^[16] from the capital of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, also known as its twin city.^[17]

Ahmedabad has emerged as an important economic and industrial hub in India. It is the second-largest producer of cotton in India, due to which it was known as the 'Manchester of India' along with Kanpur. Ahmedabad's stock exchange (before it was shut down in 2018) was the country's second oldest. Cricket is a popular sport in Ahmedabad; a newly built stadium, called Narendra Modi Stadium, at Motera can accommodate 132,000 spectators, making it the largest stadium in the world. The world-class Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave is currently under construction and once complete, it will be one of the biggest sports centers (Sports City) in India. The effects of the liberalisation of the Indian economy have energised the city's economy towards tertiary sector activities such as commerce, communication and construction.^[18] Ahmedabad's increasing population has resulted in an increase in the construction and housing industries, resulting in the development of skyscrapers.^[19]

In 2010, Ahmedabad was ranked third in Forbes's list of fastest growing cities of the decade.^[20] In 2012, The Times of India chose Ahmedabad as India's best city to live in.^[21] The gross domestic product of Ahmedabad metro was estimated at $68 billion in 2020.^[22] In 2020, Ahmedabad was ranked as the third-best city in India to live by the Ease of Living Index.^[23] In July 2022, Time magazine included Ahmedabad in its list of world's 50 greatest places of 2022.^[24]

Ahmedabad has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under the Government of India's flagship Smart Cities Mission.^[25] In July 2017, the historic city of Ahmedabad, or Old Ahmedabad, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage City.^[26]

Based on relics found in several neighbourhoods of the old city and on writings of the Persian historian al-Biruni, it is surmised that an early Bhil tribal group settlement was known as Ashaval.^[27][28]

According to Merutunga, Karna, the Chaulukya (Solanki) ruler of Anhilvada (modern Patan), successfully launched a military campaign against Ashaval and founded a city nearby called Karnavati.^[27] The location of Karnavati is not definitively known.^[28] References from the 14th and 15th centuries mention Ashaval but do not mention Karnavati.^[28]

Ahmad Shah I of the Gujarat Sultanate transferred its capital from Anhilvada to Ashaval in 1411 CE; as was custom, the city was subsequently renamed Ahmedabad after the Sultan.^[29]

The area around Ahmedabad has been inhabited since the 11th century, when it was known as Ashaval.^[30] At that time, Karna, the Chaulukya (Solanki) ruler of Anhilwara (modern Patan), waged a successful war against the Bhil king of Ashaval,^[31] and established a city called Karnavati on the banks of the Sabarmati.^[32] Solanki rule lasted until the 13th century, when Gujarat came under the control of the Vaghela dynasty of Dholka. Gujarat subsequently came under the control of the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century. However, by the earlier 15th century, the local Muslim governor Zafar Khan Muzaffar established his independence from the Delhi Sultanate and crowned himself Sultan of Gujarat as Muzaffar Shah I, thereby founding the Muzaffarid dynasty.^[33][34][35] In 1411, the area came under the control of his grandson, Sultan Ahmed Shah, who selected the forested area along the banks of the Sabarmati river for his new capital. He laid the foundation of a new walled city near Karnavati and named it Ahmedabad after himself.^[36][37] According to other versions, he named the city after four Muslim saints in the area who all had the name Ahmed.^[38] Ahmed Shah I laid the foundation of the city on 26 February 1411^[39] (at 1.20 pm, Thursday, the second day of Dhu al-Qi'dah, Hijri year 813^[40]) at Manek Burj. Manek Burj is named after the legendary 15th-century Hindu saint, Maneknath, who intervened to help Ahmed Shah I build Bhadra Fort in 1411.^{[36][41][42][43]} Ahmed Shah I chose it as the new capital on 4 March 1411.^[44] Chandan and Rajesh Nath, 13th generation descendants of Saint Maneknath, perform puja and hoist the flag on Manek Burj on Ahmedabad's foundation day and for the Vijayadashami festival every year.^{[36][42][45][46]}

In 1487, Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, fortified the city with an outer wall 10 km (6.2 mi) in circumference and consisting of twelve gates, 189 bastions, and over 6,000 battlements.^[47] In 1535 Humayun briefly occupied Ahmedabad after capturing Champaner when the ruler of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, fled to Diu.^[48] Ahmedabad was then reoccupied by the Muzaffarid dynasty until 1573 when Gujarat was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar. During the Mughal reign, Ahmedabad became one of the Empire's thriving centres of trade, mainly in textiles, which were exported as far as Europe. The Mughal ruler Shah Jahan spent the prime of his life in the city, sponsoring the construction of the Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug. The Deccan Famine of 1630–32 affected the city, as did famines in 1650 and 1686.^[49] Ahmedabad remained the provincial headquarters of the Mughals until 1758, when they surrendered the city to the Marathas.^[50]

During the period of Maratha Empire governance, the city became the centre of a conflict between the Peshwa of Poona and the Gaekwad of Baroda.^[51] In 1780, during the First Anglo-Maratha War, a British force under James Hartley stormed and captured Ahmedabad, but it was handed back to the Marathas at the end of the war. The British East India Company took over the city in 1818 during the Third Anglo-Maratha War.^[38] A military cantonment was established in 1824 and a municipal government in 1858.^[38] Incorporated into the Bombay Presidency during British rule, Ahmedabad became one of the most important cities in the Gujarat region. In 1864, a railway link between Ahmedabad and Mumbai (then Bombay) was established by the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway (BB&CI), enabling traffic and trade between northern and southern India via the city.^[38] Over time, the city established itself as the home of a developing textile industry, which earned it the nickname "Manchester of the East".^[52]

The Indian independence movement developed roots in the city when Mahatma Gandhi established two ashrams – the Kochrab Ashram near Paldi in 1915 and the Satyagraha Ashram (now Sabarmati Ashram) on the banks of the Sabarmati in 1917 – which would become centres of nationalist activities.^[38][53] 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 Dandi Salt March. The city's administration and economic institutions were rendered inoperative in the early 1930s by the large numbers of people who took to the streets in peaceful protests, and again in 1942 during the Quit India Movement.

Following independence and the partition of India in 1947, the city was scarred by the intense communal violence that broke out between Hindus and Muslims in 1947. Ahmedabad was the focus of settlement by Hindu migrants from Pakistan,^[54] who expanded the city's population and transformed its demographics and economy.

By 1960, Ahmedabad had become a metropolis with a population of slightly under half a million people, with classical and colonial European-style buildings lining the city's thoroughfares.^[55] It was chosen as the capital of Gujarat after the partition of the State of Bombay on 1 May 1960.^[56] During this period, a large number of educational and research institutions were founded in the city, making it a centre for higher education, science, and technology.^[57] Ahmedabad's economic base became more diverse with the establishment of heavy and chemical industry during the same period. Many countries sought to emulate India's economic planning strategy and one of them, South Korea, copied Ahmedabad's second "Five-Year Plan".^[58] Post independence Ahmedabad has seen development in manufacturing and infrastructure.^[59][60]

In the late 1970s, the capital shifted to the newly built city of Gandhinagar. This marked the start of a long period of decline in Ahmedabad, marked by a lack of development. The 1974 Navnirman agitation – a protest against a 20% hike in the hostel food fees at the L.D. College of Engineering in Ahmedabad – snowballed into a movement to remove Chimanbhai Patel, then chief minister of Gujarat.^[61] 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.^[62] The city was considerably impacted by the 2001 Gujarat earthquake; up to 50 multi-storey buildings collapsed, killing 752 people and causing much damage.^[63] The following year, a three-day period of violence between Hindus and Muslims in the western Indian state of Gujarat, known as the 2002 Gujarat riots, spread to Ahmedabad; in eastern Chamanpura, 69 people were killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre on 28 February 2002.^[64] Refugee camps were set up around the city, housing 50,000 Muslims, as well as some small Hindu camps.^[65]

The 2008 Ahmedabad bombings, a series of seventeen bomb blasts, killed and injured several people.^[66] The terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad claimed responsibility for the attacks.^[67]

Ahmedabad is one of few cities in India that has hosted the premiers of major economies such as the US, China, and Canada. On 24 February 2020, President Donald Trump became the first US president to visit the city. The event was named Namaste Trump. Earlier, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the city.^[68][69][70]

Population census

Year Pop. ±% 1872 119,762 —     1881 127,621 +6.6% 1891 148,412 +16.3% 1901 185,889 +25.3% 1911 216,777 +16.6% 1921 274,007 +26.4% 1931 313,789 +14.5% 1941 595,210 +89.7%	Year Pop. ±% 1951 842,643 +41.6% 1961 1,156,788 +37.3% 1971 1,750,134 +51.3% 1981 2,534,641 +44.8% 1991 3,324,197 +31.2% 2001 4,488,237 +35.0% 2011 5,633,927 +25.5%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Source: Census of India

City population increased by 23.43% from 4,519,000 as of the 2001 census of India^[update] to 5,577,940 (2,938,985 males and 2,638,955 females resulting in a sex ratio of 898 females per 1,000 males) as of the 2011 census of India^[update] making Ahmedabad the fifth most populous city in India.^[71][72][73] The urban agglomeration centred upon Ahmedabad had a population of 6,352,254 and was the seventh most populous urban agglomeration in India as of the 2011 census of India^[update].^[72][74] The population of children aged 0 to 6 was 621,034 (336,063 males and 284,971 females resulting in a child sex ratio of 848 females per 1,000 males) as of the 2011 census of India^[update].^[71] The city had an average literacy rate of 88.29%, a male literacy rate of 92.30%, and a female literacy rate of 83.85%.^[71]

Estimated population of Ahmedabad city is 7,692,000 while that of the urban agglomeration area is 8,772,000 as of 2023.^[71] The 2021 census of India has been delayed to 2024-25 and the deadline to freeze administrative boundaries has been extended to 1 January 2024.^[75]

In the mid-1970s and early 1980s, the textile mills that were responsible for much of Ahmedabad's wealth faced competition from automation and domestic specialty looms. Several mills closed down, leaving between 40,000 and 50,000 people without a source of income, and many moved into informal settlements in the city centre. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), the governing and administrative body of the city, simultaneously lost much of its tax base and saw an increased demand for services. In the 1990s, newly emerging pharmaceutical, chemical, and automobile manufacturing industries required skilled labor, so many migrants seeking work ended up in the informal sector and settled in slums.^[76]

Ahmedabad has made efforts to reduce poverty and improve the living conditions of poor residents. The urban poverty rate has declined from 28% in 1993–1994 to 10% in 2011–2012.^[76] This is partly due to the strengthening of the AMC and its partnership with several civil society organizations (CSOs) representing poor residents. Through projects and programs, the AMC has provided utilities and basic services to slums. However, some challenges remain, and there are still many residents who lack access to sanitation, clean running water, and electricity. Riots, often rooted in religious tensions, threaten the stability of neighborhoods and have caused spatial segregation across religious and caste lines. There remains to be seen a concerted effort to balance pro-poor, inclusive development with national initiatives that aim to create 'global cities' that are the focus of capital investment and technological innovation.

As of 2011, about 66% of the population lives in formal housing, with the other 34% living in slums or chawls, which are tenements for industrial workers. There are approximately 700 slum settlements in Ahmedabad and 11% of the total housing stock is public housing. The population of Ahmedabad has increased while the housing stock has remained generally constant, and this has led to a rise in density of both formal and informal housing and a more economical usage of existing space. The Indian census estimates that the Ahmedabad slum population was 25.6% of the total population in 1991 and had decreased to 4.5% in 2011, but these numbers are contested and local entities maintain that the census underestimates informal populations. There is a consensus that there has been a reduction in the percentage of the population that lives in slum settlements, and that there has also been a general improvement in living conditions for slum residents.^{[76][needs update?]}

In the 1990s, the AMC faced increased slum populations. They found that residents were willing and able to pay for legal connections to water, sewage, and electricity, but because of tenure issues, they were paying higher prices for low-quality, informal connections. To address this, beginning in 1995, the AMC partnered with civil society organizations to create the Slum Networking Project (SNP) to improve basic services in 60 slums, benefitting approximately 13,000 households.^[76] This project, also known as Parivartan (Change), involved participatory planning in which slum residents were partners alongside AMC, private institutions, microfinance lenders, and local NGOs. The goal of the program was to provide both physical infrastructure (including water supply, sewers, individual toilets, paved roads, storm drainage, and tree planting) and community development (i.e. the formation of resident associations, women's groups, community health interventions, and vocational training).^[77] In addition, participating households were granted a minimum de facto tenure of ten years. The project cost a total of ₹4,350 million. Community members and the private sector each contributed ₹600 million, NGOs provided ₹90 million, and the AMC paid for the rest of the project.^[77] Each slum household was responsible for no more than 12% of the cost of upgrading their home.^[76]

This project has generally been regarded as a success. Having access to basic services increased the residents' working hours, since most work out of their homes. It also reduced the incidence of illness, particularly water-borne illness, and increased children's rates of school attendance.^[78] The SNP received the 2006 UNHABITAT Dubai International Award for Best Practice to Improve the Living Environment.^[79] However, concerns remain about the community's responsibility and capacity for the maintenance of the new infrastructure. Additionally, trust was weakened when the AMC demolished two of slums that were upgraded as part of SNP to create recreational parks.^[76]

According to the 2011 census, Hindus are the predominant religious community in the city comprising 81.56% of the population followed by Muslims (13.51%), Jains (3.62%), Christians (0.85%) and Sikhs (0.24%).^[80] Buddhists, people following other religions and those who did not state any religion make up the remainder.

• The Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Mirzapur is the cathedral of the Diocese of Ahmedabad.^[81][82]
• Most of the residents of Ahmedabad are native Gujaratis. The city is home to some 2,000 Parsis (Zoroastrians),^[83] and some 125 members of the Bene Israel Jewish community.^[84] There is also one synagogue in the city.^[85]

Religious group	1891[86]
	Pop.	%
Hinduism	102,619	69.14%
Islam	30,946	20.85%
Jainism	12,747	8.59%
Christianity	1,031	0.69%
Zoroastrianism	723	0.49%
Animism	156	0.11%
Judaism	153	0.1%
Other	37	0.02%
Total population	148,412	100%

Ahmedabad lies in western India at 53 metres (174 ft) above sea level on the banks of the Sabarmati river, in north-central Gujarat. It covers an area of 505 km² (195 sq mi).^{[87][88][89][90]} The Sabarmati frequently dried up in the summer, leaving only a small stream of water, and the city is in a sandy and dry area. However, with the execution of the Sabarmati River Front Project and Embankment, the waters from the Narmada river have been diverted to the Sabarmati to keep the river flowing throughout the year, thereby eliminating Ahmedabad's water problems. The steady expansion of the Rann of Kutch threatened to increase desertification around the city area and much of the state; however, the Narmada Canal network is expected to alleviate this problem. Except for the small hills of Thaltej-Jodhpur Tekra, the city is almost flat. Three lakes lie within the city's limits—Kankaria, Vastrapur and Chandola. Kankaria, in the neighbourhood of Maninagar, is an artificial lake developed by the Sultan of Gujarat, Qutb-ud-din, in 1451.^[91]

According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the town falls under seismic zone 3, in a scale of 2 to 5 (in order of increasing vulnerability to earthquakes).^[92]

Ahmedabad is divided by the Sabarmati into two physically distinct eastern and western regions. The eastern bank of the river houses the old city, which includes the central town of Bhadra. This part of Ahmedabad is characterised by packed bazaars, the pol system of closely clustered buildings, and numerous places of worship.^[93] A pol (pronounced as pole) is a housing cluster which comprises many families of a particular group, linked by caste, profession, or religion.^[94][95] This is a list of pols in the old walled city^[94] of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India. Heritage of these pols^[96] has helped Ahmedabad gain a place in UNESCO's Tentative Lists, in selection criteria II, III and IV.^[97] The secretary-general of EuroIndia Centre quoted that if 12,000 homes of Ahmedabad are restored they could be very helpful in promoting heritage tourism and its allied businesses.^[98] The Art Reverie in Moto Sutharvado is Res Artis center. The first pol in Ahmedabad was named Mahurat Pol.^[99] The old city also houses the main railway station, the main post office, and some buildings of the Muzaffarid and British eras. The colonial period saw the expansion of the city to the western side of the Sabarmati river, facilitated by the construction of Ellis Bridge in 1875 (and later the modern Nehru Bridge). The western part of the city houses educational institutions, modern buildings, residential areas, shopping malls, multiplexes and new business districts centred around roads such as Ashram Road, C. G. Road, and Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway.^[100]

There are nine bridges on the river Sabarmati that connect the eastern and western regions.

The Sabarmati Riverfront is a waterfront area being developed along the banks of the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad, India. Proposed in the 1960s, its construction began in 2005, and it opened in 2012.^[101]

Ahmedabad has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh), with marginally less rain than required for a tropical savanna climate. There are three main seasons: summer, monsoon, and winter. Aside from the monsoon season, the climate is extremely dry. The weather is hot from March to June; the average summer maximum is 43 °C (109 °F), and the average minimum is 24 °C (75 °F). From November to February, the average maximum temperature is 30 °C (86 °F), and the average minimum is 13 °C (55 °F). Cold winds from the north are responsible for a mild chill in January. The southwest monsoon brings a humid climate from mid-June to mid-September. The average annual rainfall is about 800 millimetres (31 in), but infrequent heavy torrential rains cause local rivers to flood and it is not uncommon for droughts to occur when the monsoon does not extend as far west as usual. The highest temperature in the city was recorded on 20 May 2016, with it reaching 48 °C (118 °F).^[102]