or Ahmadabad
City ( pop., 2001 prelim.: metro. area, 4,519,278), Gujarat state, west-central India.
It is located on the Sabarmati River 290 miles (467 km) north of Mumbai (Bombay). Founded in 1411 by Sultan Aḥmad Shah, Ahmedabad reached its height later that century but subsequently declined. It was revived under Mughal emperors in the 17th century and came under British rule in 1818. With the opening of cotton mills in 1859, it became India's largest inland industrial centre. The city is associated with Indian nationalism; Mohandas K. Gandhi 's political agitation began there in 1930. In 2001 the city was struck by a violent earthquake that took many lives.