Abstract:

"Ahmedabad - Life of a City in India traces the history of the city as Hindu rulers were replaced by Muslim rulers, who -- in turn -- were replaced by British rulers. Under the British, Ahmedabad became a major industrial center. Differences between laborers and mill-owners flared into industrial disputes. Gandhi, from his ashram in Ahmedabad, led a textile union in its successful non-violent struggle for fair wages. The film shows Ahmedabad today as a modern industrial and administrative center, containing, in addition to squatters and laborers, a growing middle class of clerks, civil servants, and entrepreneurs generating their own artistic and consumer cultures."