Ahmedabad: The Shock City, Howard Spodek
In the twentieth century, Ahmedabad was India’s ‘shock city’ according to Howard Spodek. A ‘shock city’ is one that is at the forefront of social and economic transformations that affect an entire nation or era. Spodek’s narrative begins with Gandhi choosing Ahmedabad for his political struggle, focuses on the role of the traditional civic elites, especially in the processes that ‘westernized’ the city, and chartsthe rise of new leadership in the twentieth century. Spodek draws attention to the fact that while Ahmedabad led urban trends in India, it was also the site of the many contradictions, transitions, and conflicts that characterized twentieth century India.
