Ahmedabad is the largest city in the state of Gujarat and the seventh largest urban agglomeration in India, with a population of almost 5.1 million. Located on the banks of the River Sabarmati, the city is the administrative centre of Ahmedabad district, and was the capital of Gujarat from 1960 to 1970; the capital was shifted to Gandhinagar thereafter. The city was founded in 1411 to serve as the capital of the Sultanate of Gujarat, by its namesake, Sultan Ahmed Shah. Under British rule, a military cantonment was established and the city infrastructure was modernised and expanded. The city was at the forefront of the Indian independence movement in the first half of the 20th century. It was the epicentre of many campaigns of civil disobedience to promote workers' rights, civil rights and political independence. With the creation of the state of Gujarat in 1960, Ahmedabad gained prominence as the political and commercial capital of the state. Once characterised by dusty roads and bungalows, the city is witnessing a major construction boom and population increase. A rising centre of education, information technology and scientific industries, Ahmedabad remains the cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat, and much of western India.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1455: Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany began printing the Gutenberg Bible. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg_Bible)

1903: Guantánamo Bay, Cuba was perpetually leased to the United States. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay_(Cuba))

1945: Joe Rosenthal took the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, an image that was later reproduced as the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima)

1947: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was founded. It is responsible for worldwide industrial and commercial ISO standards. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

The theory of democratic government is not that the will of the people is always right, but rather that normal human beings of average intelligence will, if given a chance, learn the right and best course by bitter experience. -- W.E.B. DuBois (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W.E.B._DuBois)