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.